Don’t Hit Your Dome on the Dome!

 

Is the Earth Flat?

A debate that has resurfaced in a big way in recent years regards whether or not the earth is flat. While proponents of a flat earth come from a variety of religious backgrounds, many have used the Bible in an attempt to defend their view, suggesting that a literal interpretation of Scripture necessarily causes one to believe in a flat earth. However, the flat earth view is not necessary with a literal hermeneutic, nor does it withstand scientific scrutiny. Here are the reasons:

1. The Bible does not actually state that the earth is flat. This is a huge, gaping hole in the argument that a literal interpretation of Scripture necessitates a flat earth. Without such direct scriptural evidence, flat-earth proponents are left with interpreting certain figurative passages of Scripture in such a way as suits their theory. Passages that are emphasized include those that speak of the earth having four corners (e.g., Isa. 11:12; Rev. 7:1; 20:8), being set on pillars (e.g., 1 Sam. 2:8), and being unmoved (e.g., Ps. 104:5).

The problem with their view is that the Bible also speaks of the earth as a circle (Isa. 40:22; cf. Prov. 8:27). A circle doesn’t have corners. And a circle is the shape that a sphere appears from any single vantage point. In addition, the biblical words for “earth” and “land” are the same. The land of planet earth does have corners, such as the extremities of continents and so forth.

In regard to the passages that speak of pillars or the earth not being moved, we also have passages that say the earth is suspended over nothing (Job. 26:7) and does move (Isa. 24:20; Nah. 1:5; Heb. 12:25–29). Thus, we can reconcile the full counsel of Scripture in that the planet itself is not moved from its stable course and orbit, and the land of the earth is not moved from the vantage point of an earth dweller. The pillars of the earth are a figurative symbol, but if taken literally, perhaps a description of the natural structures that undergird the surface of the land since the earth isn’t actually hollow.

In summary, flat-earth theory has no explicit scriptural support, nor is it any more literal than the alternative.

2. Other celestial objects appear to be spheres, including the sun, moon, planets, and stars. They’re not just simple lights in the sky. And in fact, we can actually observe many of these objects rotate on their axes. This can't merely be dismissed as an illusion by NASA. Decent backyard telescopes reveal the curvature of the moon and other objects. They also reveal rotation and even the [also] spheroid moons of Saturn and Jupiter.

3. The earth casts a circular shadow on the moon. Shadows are cast on the underside of clouds when the sun is lower in the horizon.

4. Objects over the horizon don’t suddenly pop into view, but appear to emerge from below the horizon because of the earth’s curvature. This is direct, observable evidence.

5. Even with no obstacles, an observer at ground level cannot see the same distance as an observer higher than him. This is because the earth is round. If it was flat, then an observer at ground level would see the same distance as an observer who is miles up in the air. Again, direct, observable evidence.

6. The argument of a mass, coordinated deception of evidence is necessary to defend the flat earth view. There is substantial, observable proof that the earth is a sphere: circumnavigation via aircraft, circumnavigation via ship, pictures taken from thousands of satellites and spacecraft, and so forth. The "it's just CGI" argument doesn't work. There are literally hundreds of thousands of pictures and videos of the earth from space, and not just from NASA, but from every nation that performs rocket and satellite launches.

7. Gravity, the force that attracts a body toward the center of the earth, or toward any other physical body having mass, doesn't work with a flat earth—like at all. In fact, flat-earth proponents have had to concoct a theory that the earth disc is actually moving vertically through space so as to replicate gravity. Ironically, the only way they can [sort of] reconcile gravity is by denying 1. that the earth is not moved, and 2. that the earth rests on pillars—the two key flat earth assumptions they began with. The physically observable spheroid of earth not only reconciles gravity, but also a literal interpretation of what the Bible says! (See #1 again).

8. You can physically measure the curvature of the earth on a body of water. No NASA needed! All you need to know is 1. how far an object on the horizon is from you, 2. how tall the top of the object is from water level, and 3. how high your eyes are from water level. As the object moves away from you, it will always [like 100% of the time] drop below the horizon because the earth is curved. (See here and here for how to replicate the experiment yourself).

9. It only takes about 12,000 miles to circumnavigate Antarctica. That's roughly one-fifth the length it should be if Antarctica was actually an ice wall at the edge of the world.

10. Belief in a spherical earth is nothing new. It wasn't started by NASA or even Columbus. It was well established at the time of Christ, and even some 4–5 centuries beforehand (see Plato, Aristotle, and Eratosthenes, among others). Just because many believed in a flat earth thousands of years ago, doesn't mean everyone did. In fact, it's now pretty well established that a spherical earth was a strong assumption by many of the scholars of antiquity.

In conclusion, the idea that a spherical earth is a new theory and a Satanic deception is categorically false. Furthermore, the idea that the Bible states the earth is flat is also categorically false. Deriving a flat earth from the relevant biblical passages takes a great deal of proof-texting, decontextualizing, and fudging of the data. It's no more a literal interpretation of the text than is a spherical earth—in fact, far less so in my humble opinion.

I would strongly exhort friends and fellow believers to steer clear of this faulty hypothesis. There is definitely a deception going on, but it isn't that the earth is round. It's a deception causing many to believe in something without any scientific support, and, honestly, without any real biblical support either—to believe in and defend something that is causing the world to quickly dismiss everything else we're saying, including prophecy and the good news of Jesus Christ. Don't jump on this bandwagon.

Paraphrasing Lee Brainard: The flat-earth-and-dome theory reflects a god of less power and glory. The rotating globe surrounded by the infinite expanse of an infinite universe with trillions of galaxies to inherit and explore reflects the infinite glory of the infinite God.

In other words, the cosmos of flat-earth theory is small, trivial, and rather unremarkable. The real universe as we know it is infinitely bigger and infinitely greater, reflecting the creative power of our infinite God.

Final note: I recognize that many dear brothers and sisters truly believe in a flat earth. I want to be clear: this is not intended to be a personal slam in any way. I respect others' views, but have felt this issue becoming a big stumbling block for many both inside and outside of the Church. In fact, a recent post I made along these lines prompted some to even suggest those that believe in a round earth are believing the lie and the deception and perhaps may not even be saved. This is now becoming a Gospel issue and that means those making such claims are causing tremendous harm to themselves and others.

You don't have to believe in a flat earth to take the Bible literally. You don't have to believe in a flat earth to see the real end-times Satanic deception that is unfolding before our very eyes, leading right to global cataclysm.

For further study, check out this list of "easy observations and experiments" that confirm that the earth is round.

And for a thorough (and accurate) study of the verses often used as "evidence" of a flat earth, take a look at this detailed analysis by Dr. Robert Carter and Dr. Jonathan Sarfati.

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