Flat Earth - It's NOT Ridiculous

[A_Thinker]

They also tend to be religious. And their religious beliefs often turns 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).

Not really ... though there are some religious among them, just as there are in every other conspiratorial venue (i.e. birthers, truthers, 911 conspiracists, anti-vaxers, chem-trailers, etc.).

Of the leading Flat Earth proponents, only one of them is overtly christian, ... and he receives a lot of flak from fellow christians about it.

I've been watching Flat-Earth pro/con media (i.e. videos, books, articles, blogs, conference overviews, plus ad-hoc commentary) for about a year now ... and it doesn't even remotely come across as christian.

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

Not really ... though there are some religious among them, just as there are in every other conspiratorial venue (i.e. birthers, truthers, 911 conspiracists, anti-vaxers, chem-trailers, etc.).

Of the leading Flat Earth proponents, only one of them is overtly christian, ... and he receives a lot of flak from fellow christians about it.

I've been watching Flat-Earth pro/con media (i.e. videos, books, articles, blogs, conference overviews, plus ad-hoc commentary) for about a year now ... and it doesn't even remotely come across as christian.

Again, I didn't say christian.

I said religious.

The ones *I* have personally conversed with, are ALL found on this very forum. I've never met one in real-life (thank goodness, I'll add).

The ones *I* have spoken with, sooner or later pulled out their bibles and at the very least demonstrated being extremely dogmatic and fundamentalistic in their bible beliefs (regardless of christian majority vote about what the bible says or doesn't say about flat/round earth - it does not matter to my point).

But off course, I'ld think it's to be expected that IF you come accross a flat-earther on a site called "christian forums", chances are rather big that that person is going to be a fundamentalist christian of some sorts.

Be honest now....

If you log in on the forum and see a thread of which the subject clearly shows it's a defence of a flat earth and it is posted by a username you haven't seen before....

Are you really going to tell me that the chances of that person being an atheist vs being a christian (or claiming to be christian, if that makes you feel better) is 50/50?

Come on now....

We both know that if you would assume it's an atheist, you'ld be wrong the vast vast vast majority of the time. If not every time.

 

[A_Thinker]

The ones *I* have personally conversed with, are ALL found on this very forum. I've never met one in real-life (thank goodness, I'll add).

Oh ... this is where I first encountered the reemergence of Flat Eartherism also. But, eventually, I sought answers for this beyond the Christian Forums.

The ones *I* have spoken with, sooner or later pulled out their bibles and at the very least demonstrated being extremely dogmatic and fundamentalistic in their bible beliefs (regardless of christian majority vote about what the bible says or doesn't say about flat/round earth - it does not matter to my point).

Even here at Christian Forums, ... my experience has been different. Flat Earth discussions I've participated in ... have dealt with issues of sunrise/sunset, gravity, density, seasons, the Coriolis Effect, refraction of light, evidence(s) of (non)-curvature, airflight times, GPS, ships going over the horizon, the fluidity of water, shadows on the moon, tides, perceptions of the horizon, eclipses, etc.

And, given that this is the Christian Forums, every now and then, someone will assert that the Bible supports Flat Earth belief. But, as I alluded to previously, those discussions don't last long, in part, because they're so easy to refute.

But off course, I'ld think it's to be expected that IF you come accross a flat-earther on a site called "christian forums", chances are rather big that that person is going to be a fundamentalist christian of some sorts.

Or, more generally, ... a christian, yes ..

If you log in on the forum and see a thread of which the subject clearly shows it's a defence of a flat earth and it is posted by a username you haven't seen before....

Are you really going to tell me that the chances of that person being an atheist vs being a christian (or claiming to be christian, if that makes you feel better) is 50/50?

I would agree with you that the very limited community of Atheists on Christian Forums ... are not likely to be supportive of Flat Earth belief.

But ... you are still dealing with a very limited sampling of true believers (i.e. here on Christian Forums). If you widen your scope beyond these forums, I would wager that you might find things to be somewhat different.

Also, it wasn't my claim that the proponents of Flat Earth are particularly Atheist, ... it's more that they are fairly irreligious in their presentation.

 

[Strathos]

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.

That's ridiculous. He obviously prefers Burger King.

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

Also, it wasn't my claim that the proponents of Flat Earth are particularly Atheist, ... it's more that they are fairly irreligious in their presentation.

Cool.

My claim is that their "flat earth"-ism will almost always fit into a bigger religious picture, which posits a flat earth (in their opinion, anyway).

Just like how creationism and anti-evolution stances (and all the conspiratory nonsense that flows from that position), also almost always fit into a bigger religious picture, which posits some creationistic event.

And I'm saying "almost always" because there usually are exceptions to such things. Eventhough I am personally not aware of a single one.

 

[A_Thinker]

And I'm saying "almost always" because there usually are exceptions to such things. Even though I am personally not aware of a single one.

But, by your own admission, ... your personal experience is limited to these forums ... (and ... it's the first time I've even seen you in these flat earth threads) ...

 

[juvenissun]

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.

In this model, the sun is too small and too close.

 

[RDKirk]

But, by your own admission, ... your personal experience is limited to these forums ... (and ... it's the first time I've even seen you in these flat earth threads) ...

So...are there any prominent atheist flat earthers you can point us to?

Or even testify to knowing personally?

 

[RDKirk]

The more important question:

Does anyone really know what time it is?

 

[A Realist]

The more important question:

Does anyone really know what time it is?

Does anybody really care?

 

[Strathos]

In this model, the sun is too small and too close.

You can see that, and I can see that, but they can't.

 

[A_Thinker]

So...are there any prominent atheist flat earthers you can point us to?

Or even testify to knowing personally?

It wasn't my claim that the proponents of Flat Earth are particularly Atheist, ... it's more that they are fairly non-religious in their presentation.

For non-religious presentations, they are easy to find on YouTube. You can check out these videos as a start ...

 

[mama2one]

.

 

[A_Thinker]

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).

The numbers turn out to be 75% of Flat Earthers consider themselves to be somewhat religious, ... while the remaining 25% of Flat Earthers consider themselves to be non-religious.

 

[RDKirk]

Does anybody really care?

Glad to see someone picked up that reference.

But, really: What time is it? And how do you prove it?

 

[A Realist]

Glad to see someone picked up that reference.

BIG Chicago fan back in the day.

 

[HitchSlap]

Does anybody really care?

About tiiiiiiiiiiiiime?

 

[A Realist]

About tiiiiiiiiiiiiime?

If so I can't imagine why.

 

[(° ͡ ͜ ͡ʖ ͡ °) (ᵔᴥᵔʋ)]

Why did I read this thread?

 

[Radagast]

In this model, the sun is too small and too close.

You are correct.

I didn't say it was a good model, I said that northern hemisphere timezones were the one thing it could explain.