Flat Earth - It's NOT Ridiculous

[TagliatelliMonster]

You guys need to learn some humility. Honestly.

This has nothing to do with humility or the opposite.
This has everything to do with paying an immediate social price when you profess belief in obviously nonsensical things.

It is the same kind of price you pay when you say that you saw the real Elvis alive and well and the local McDonalds.

Are FEs right?

Obviously not.

You don’t think so?

I know so. Everybody knows so. Everybody that went to high school, at least. Or pre-school. Or isn't completely oblivious to the world around them.

I wrestle with the idea myself

Why?

However, for me it’s a Biblical matter at the moment.

Why, for the love of all that is good, would you EVER doubt an obvious fact like the shape of the earth, just because some book says otherwise????

No matter what you think of the book. I'm not just saying this as an atheist.

Even if I would be absolutely convinced that the book is straight from the allmighty creator of the universe, if it would say the earth is flat, then I would not believe that because it is demonstrably not flat.

I'ld assume that somehow a mistake slipped in, or that it's not meant literally or what-have-you.

The VERY LAST THING I would, is ignore the facts and go with what the book says.
It makes ZERO sense to do that. What the books says is just what the book says. If the facts of reality disagree with a book, then it's not reality that is incorrect...........

If the Bible says it’s flat, it’s flat

No.

If it's flat, it's flat - no matter what any book says.
But it's not flat. It's spherical. So it's spherical and if the book says it's flat, then the book is wrong. Demonstrably wrong.

I just need to discern if the Bible really does say such things, to be certain. (No, don’t argue and tell me it doesn’t). There is a very good case for it doing so.

It doesn't matter what the book says.
The earth is demonstrably, observable, verifiably, objectively NOT flat.

I don't care if your books says that it's a flat triangle, a circle, an icosahedron, a pyramid, a dodecahedrong,..... If it's wrong, it's wrong.

Furthermore, I’m not going to trust a bunch of Athiests and FEs at their word that the Bible is an FE book

You don't need to trust any person to know the earth is spherical. The objective evidence speaks for itself.

I need to find out for myself

10 easy ways you can tell for yourself that the Earth is not flat

They AREN’T stupid

They are extremely, extremely misguided, delusional OR stupid.

Sorry, but that is the truth.
That the earth is spherical has been known for SO long and you don't need ANY hi-tech equipment to find out, one really is without excuse to not know this.

One was without excuse even before the internet. With the internet, it is embarassing really.

They are people and they DO have good reasons to believe (or disbelieve) what they do.

They don't have good reasons to believe. That's just the point..............................

Relax and remember people aren’t their ideas, they are people.

Sure. But sometimes, ideas tell us things about the people that have them.

 

[Radagast]

But it's not flat. It's spherical. So it's spherical and if the book says it's flat, then the book is wrong.

As a matter of fact, however, the Bible does not say that the Earth is flat, and Christianity has never taught that the Earth is flat.

To quote the Venerable Bede, 1300 or so years ago: And therefore it happens that the stars of the northern region always appear to us, but never those of the southern region; and in turn, these northern stars are not seen by those people, because they are blocked by the globe of the earth. -- On the Nature of Things, 46

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

There's no branch of Christian theology that claims the world is flat. Indeed, there never has been.

And most flat-earthers aren't Christian.

I don't think I singled out christians. I said "theological".

Also, I think you should read through the flat earth threads on this very forum.
You'll see that all flat-earthers are quoting bible verses as evidence of their claims.
They most definatly consider believing in a flat earth, to being a theological obligation.

I know of no flat-earther who's motivation isn't some form of fundamentalist religious belief.

You are welcome to point some out.

 

[Radagast]

You'll see that all flat-earthers are quoting bible verses as evidence of their claims.

No branch of Christianity, fundamentalist or otherwise, teaches a flat earth.

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

As a matter of fact, however, the Bible does not say that the Earth is flat, and Christianity has never taught that the Earth is flat.

That's nice, but I'm not making any claims about what the book does or doesn't say, or what the people believing the book do or don't teach about it.

I'm just responding to someone that does.

 

[Radagast]

.

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

No branch of Christianity, fundamentalist or otherwise, teaches a flat earth.

That's neat.

Regardless, flat-earthers in "debates" on this forum (and elsewhere), frequently quote bible verses to support a flat earth AND will openly tell you that they believe in a flat earth because the bible tells them the earth is flat. Just like the OP is doing in this very thread.

Your disagreement is with them, not with me.​

I'll just repeat my point: every single flat earther that I am aware of, is only a flat earther because (s)he believe it to be a theological obligation in his/her fundamentalist experience of their religion.

 

[Radagast]

Regardless, flat-earthers in "debates" on this forum (and elsewhere), frequently quote bible verses to support a flat earth

These people do not represent any recognised branch of Christianity. Indeed, their theology is often just as unorthodox as their science.

Your disagreement is with them

Yes it is.
​

I'll just repeat my point: every single flat earther that I am aware of, is only a flat earther because (s)he believe it to be a theological obligation in his/her fundamentalist experience of their religion.

Well, several big-name flat-earthers do not even pretend to be Christian.

 

[juvenissun]

Actually, that's just about the one and only fact that flat-earthers are able to explain.

How is that? Please reveal.

 

[Radagast]

How is that? Please reveal.

They claim that the sun is a sort of moving floodlight:

This cannot explain sunsets, and it cannot explain the appearance of the sun over the course of a day, and it cannot explain Southern Hemisphere seasons, and it cannot explain the stars, and it cannot explain distances between cities, and it cannot explain other stuff, but it can explain Northern Hemisphere timezones.

 

[Lost4words]

Science can explain a spherical earth 100%. Fact.

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

Well, several big-name flat-earthers do not even pretend to be Christian.

Such as?
And are they believers of other religions that they believe tells them the earth is flat?

 

[Radagast]

Such as?
And are they believers of other religions that they believe tells them the earth is flat?

People believe in a flat earth for psychological, not religious reasons.

Many, like Kyrie Irving, are not religious at all.

But the good news here is that a full two-thirds of US Millennials believe that the world is round. [/sarcasm]

 

[Petros2015]

Flat Earth
It's NOT Retarded

I would very much agree. There is a big difference between the Inability to comprehend reality, and the Refusal.

 

[A_Thinker]

Regardless, flat-earthers in "debates" on this forum (and elsewhere), frequently quote bible verses to support a flat earth AND will openly tell you that they believe in a flat earth because the bible tells them the earth is flat. Just like the OP is doing in this very thread.

Most Christians already know that the Bible doesn't support the belief that the Earth is flat.

The recently emerged Flat Earth movement is borne out of distrust in authority (Science). Though it pops up on this forum from time to time, ... it finds its real context in the YouTube video world. If you spend some time there, you will easily discern that belief in Flat Earth really has little to do with any religion, and is more likely to be held to by those who are prone to conspiratorial thinking.

Even on these Christian fora, ... Biblical reasons to believe in a Flat Earth are only presented only every so often, ... until they are once again refuted by other Christians who quickly inform of the fact that the Bible doesn't support flat Earth belief.

The basis for the current Flat Earth beliefs is a work by non-christian yoga-instructor, Holocaust denier and anti-semite Eric Dubay. In his "200 Reasons Why the Earth is not a Spinning Ball", you will find most of the "reasoning" which backs current Flat Earth belief.

Its practicioners hold to such axioms as ...

"There is no Curve"
"Water will always seek its Level"
"The Moon is Self-Illuminating"
"The Horizon Always Rises to Eye-Level"
"Water Doesn't Bend"

Believers in Flat Earth tend to believe that the world is run by Masonics/Jews who hold absolute sway over world powers (including Science) and hold the world in a grip of deception.

 

[RDKirk]

Very pc and appropriate title. Seriously, who uses that word anymore? Especially in genuine conversation...

I use it when appropriate. It's useful in discussions about mechanics, for instance.

 

[RDKirk]

The only reason that they’re questioning the shape of the world is that they are poorly educated in basic science.

No, the reason they question it is as a matter of rebellion.

 

[mama2one]

.

 

[SpiritualBeing]

Who cares what they believe. We have observable evidence the Earth is round. 500 humans have been in space and none have observed a flat Earth. This is a FACT.

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

Most Christians already know that the Bible doesn't support the belief that the Earth is flat.

Just like most christians already know that genesis doesn't need to be taken literally and life evolved?

It's true though. Most christians, indeed do know that.

That doesn't change the facts of what we are witnessing in this thread, and by extension this entire forum and just about all other venues where fundamentalists pit their dogmatic religious beliefs against scientific fact....

The recently emerged Flat Earth movement is borne out of distrust in authority (Science). Though it pops up on this forum from time to time, ... it finds its real context in the YouTube video world. If you spend some time there, you will easily discern that belief in Flat Earth really has little to do with any religion, and is more likely to be held to by those who are prone to conspiratorial thinking.

Conspiracy, ey?
Where have I encountered that before?

Ow, right, with fundamentalist creationists who claim a global conspiracy among biologists etc to promote the "satanic lie of evilution" while suppressing "the truth of god".

The basis for the current Flat Earth beliefs is a work by non-christian yoga-instructor, Holocaust denier and anti-semite Eric Dubay. In his "200 Reasons Why the Earth is not a Spinning Ball", you will find most of the "reasoning" which backs current Flat Earth belief.

Eric isn't a fundamentalist christian, that is correct.
But he is a religious fundamentalist nonetheless. And somehwat delusionally crazy.
He's also anti-evolution, is into numerology and also quite into afterlife stuff. It's hard to pin down what religion he really follows. It seems to be somewhat of a mix of several. So you could say he created his own unique religion.

My hypothesis, is that the dude suffers from chronic psychosis or similar. It would explain his tendency of writing with much incoherence at times. It would also explain his downright bizar and magical thinking and his tendency to see conspiracies in literally everything. Typical paranoia, really.

Believers in Flat Earth tend to believe that the world is run by Masonics/Jews who hold absolute sway over world powers (including Science) and hold the world in a grip of deception.

They also tend to be religious. And their religious beliefs oftenly turn out to play a big role in their motivation for believing what they believe (not just about a flat earth, but also about creationism etc).