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Is the Earth flat?
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The Bible says that the Earth is a stationary object and is flat

Many proponents of the flat Earth theory draw from biblical Scripture to back up their argument, which provides a specific interpretation that, to them, confirms their hypothesis. Further, because the Bible has been around for thousands of years and its essence has not changed, it must be the de facto truth.

The Argument

The Bible clearly establishes that the Earth is flat. There are hundreds of scriptures that suggest that the Earth is a stationary object and flat. According to 1 Chronicles 16:30, it states that "He has fixed the earth firm, immovable," which means that the Earth is an immobile, fixed object within space. This line of reasoning is continued with other scriptures including Psalm 93:1 which states that "Thou hast fixed the earth immovable and firm..." and Isaiah 45:18 with "...who made the earth and fashioned it, and himself fixed it fast..."[1] Although flat Earth is never explicitly stated within the Bible, the state of the Earth as a flat object can be inferred from verses such as Daniel 4:10-11. In Daniel, the king "saw a tree of great height at the centre of the earth... reaching with its top to the sky and visible to the earth's farthest bounds." [2] If the Earth were actually spherical, then it would be impossible to see this tree from all corners of the Earth. Because it is possible, it proves that the Earth is flat. The flatness of the Earth is further proven due to the ability of people within the Bible to see to all edges of the Earth. Matthew 4:8 states that "Once again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world [cosmos] in their glory." Seeing all of the kingdoms in the world would be impossible unless the Earth was flat. This is further supported by Revelation 1:7 stating "Behold, he is coming with the clouds! Every eye shall see him..." A flat Earth would allow everyone on the planet to see someone who is flying above them.

Counter arguments

Every biblical verse that flat Earth proponents use to support their claim, makes reference only to a small portion of the Earth. In no place does the Bible claim the entire Earth is flat. In fact, nowhere in the Bible is it explicitly stated that the Earth is flat at all; instead, flat-earthers are drawing assumptions based on certain scriptures within the Bible. The Bible was written thousands of years ago and is not reflective of the changing scientific atmosphere today. The Bible is also a text written first and foremost for the sake of religion, which can result in conflicts of interest with science. Some scriptures used to prove that the Earth is flat is inaccurate. For example, in Daniel 4:10-11, the tree mentioned is actually in a dream, not the real world.[3] Dreams are not based on real, accurate science. Therefore, such a situation of being able to see the tree regardless of where you are in the world is actually not applicable to the real world. It does not prove that the Earth is flat.

Proponents

Premises

[P1] Numerous scriptures within the Bible state that objects can be seen by everyone, which would be impossible if the Earth were not flat. [P2] The Bible's essence has not changed while science is always changing opinions. Therefore, the Bible must be accurate.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] No scriptures within the Bible explicitly state that the entire Earth is flat. [Rejecting P2] The Bible is not reflective of the scientific advancements that have been made over the years.

References

  1. https://www.ic.unicamp.br/~stolfi/misc/misc/FlatEarth/FlatEarthAndBible.html
  2. https://lockhaven.edu/~dsimanek/febible.htm
  3. http://www.lockhaven.edu/~dsimanek/bible.htm
This page was last edited on Wednesday, 8 Jul 2020 at 16:19 UTC

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