My Line Challenge

Am I implying the Earth is flat?


  • Total voters
    10
  • Poll closed .

AV1611VET

SCIENCE CAN TAKE A HIKE
Supporter
Jun 18, 2006
3,850,665
51,418
Guam
✟4,896,428.00
Country
United States
Faith
Baptist
Marital Status
Married
Politics
US-Republican
Isaiah 40:22a It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers;

I draw a two inch line on a globe to explain that God can sit above that line and see us as grasshoppers.

Am I implying the Earth is flat?
 

Speedwell

Well-Known Member
May 11, 2016
23,928
17,625
81
St Charles, IL
✟347,270.00
Country
United States
Faith
Other Religion
Marital Status
Married
Isaiah 40:22a It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers;

I draw a two inch line on a globe to explain that God can sit above that line and see us as grasshoppers.

Am I implying the Earth is flat?
No.
 
Upvote 0

durangodawood

Dis Member
Aug 28, 2007
23,408
15,557
Colorado
✟427,892.00
Country
United States
Faith
Seeker
Marital Status
Single
Isaiah 40:22a It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers;

I draw a two inch line on a globe to explain that God can sit above that line and see us as grasshoppers.

Am I implying the Earth is flat?
No you are not implying a flat earth. But your Isaiah quote is.

How does one sit "on a circle" anyway?
 
Upvote 0

AV1611VET

SCIENCE CAN TAKE A HIKE
Supporter
Jun 18, 2006
3,850,665
51,418
Guam
✟4,896,428.00
Country
United States
Faith
Baptist
Marital Status
Married
Politics
US-Republican
Same thing. You made a circle. Thats different from the "circle of the earth", which is a description of the nature of the earth.
So if I drew a circle on a globe, then said that God sits above that circle and sees us as grasshoppers, you would not construe that as I espousing a flat earth cosmology?

So if I'm not espousing it, why would God be?
 
Upvote 0

Friedrich Rubinstein

Well-Known Member
Aug 20, 2020
1,243
1,302
Europe
Visit site
✟171,008.00
Country
Germany
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Private
Some people have difficulties with perspective. We say "the sun is low" to describe the position of the earth in relation to the sun, not saying that the sun is literally low. We also call it "sunrise" even though the sun is not even moving. It's rather silly to take perspective-based terms literally.

When you look at a globe from above it seems to be a circle.
 
Upvote 0

durangodawood

Dis Member
Aug 28, 2007
23,408
15,557
Colorado
✟427,892.00
Country
United States
Faith
Seeker
Marital Status
Single
So if I drew a circle on a globe, then said that God sits above that circle and sees us as grasshoppers, you would not construe that as I espousing a flat earth cosmology?

So if I'm not espousing it, why would God be?
"A circle on the earth" describes where you chose to draw a circle.

"The circle of the earth" describes the nature of the earth.

Totally different, at least in plain language terms.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: Ophiolite
Upvote 0
This site stays free and accessible to all because of donations from people like you.
Consider making a one-time or monthly donation. We appreciate your support!
- Dan Doughty and Team Christian Forums

driewerf

a day at the Zoo
Mar 7, 2010
3,308
1,892
✟257,746.00
Faith
Atheist
Marital Status
Married
Isaiah 40:22a It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers;

I draw a two inch line on a globe to explain that God can sit above that line and see us as grasshoppers.

Am I implying the Earth is flat?
A line is not a circle.
A circle is not the circle.
AV1611VET is not Isaiah.
 
Upvote 0

disciple Clint

Well-Known Member
Mar 26, 2018
15,258
5,990
Pacific Northwest
✟200,679.00
Country
United States
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Private
Isaiah 40:22a It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers;

I draw a two inch line on a globe to explain that God can sit above that line and see us as grasshoppers.

Am I implying the Earth is flat?
If the circle of the earth is the earth's orbit path, would that make the earth flat?
 
Upvote 0

AV1611VET

SCIENCE CAN TAKE A HIKE
Supporter
Jun 18, 2006
3,850,665
51,418
Guam
✟4,896,428.00
Country
United States
Faith
Baptist
Marital Status
Married
Politics
US-Republican
If the circle of the earth is the earth's orbit path, would that make the earth flat?
If you tied the globe to a string and spun it around the room, would that make the globe flat?
 
Upvote 0

Speedwell

Well-Known Member
May 11, 2016
23,928
17,625
81
St Charles, IL
✟347,270.00
Country
United States
Faith
Other Religion
Marital Status
Married
A line is not a circle.
A circle is not the circle.
AV1611VET is not Isaiah.
And ח֣וּג in Isaiah 40:22 is not being used in a way which justifies reading it as making a precise statement about the geometrical shape of the Earth. ח֣וּג doesn't just mean "circle" and it is never used to mean "sphere."
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0

Mr Laurier

Well-Known Member
Mar 26, 2021
1,141
366
57
Georgian Bay/Bruce Peninsula
✟31,584.00
Country
Canada
Faith
Atheist
Marital Status
Private
The people who wrote the bible, thought that the Earth was a flat disk that rests on pillars. They thought the sky was a solid structure that supports weight. and that there was a city in top of it. They appear to have assumed that either the city of Jerusalem, or the Valley of Habrun, marked the physical center of both the Earth, and the universe. Something not possible if the Earth is a sphere.

And they do not seem to have looked up very much.
The bible fails to say anything about the night sky, beyond "It never changes". A statement that is contradicted by both;
-All the other sacred texts of antiquity... which all mention the seasonal procession of the constellations, the rise and fall of the north star over the course of the year, the peculiarities of planet movements, and the eclipse cycle.
-And modern scientific observation... which confirms what all those ancient peoples documented, albeit in secular and concrete terms.
 
Upvote 0
This site stays free and accessible to all because of donations from people like you.
Consider making a one-time or monthly donation. We appreciate your support!
- Dan Doughty and Team Christian Forums

AV1611VET

SCIENCE CAN TAKE A HIKE
Supporter
Jun 18, 2006
3,850,665
51,418
Guam
✟4,896,428.00
Country
United States
Faith
Baptist
Marital Status
Married
Politics
US-Republican
The people who wrote the bible, thought that the Earth was a flat disk that rests on pillars.
What's modern scholarship's excuse though?

Why can't modern scholarship understand that a circle (line, triangle, square, rectangle) can be drawn on a globe, with the person who drew it standing over that circle, looking down on the globe and commenting on what he sees?

And for the record, anyone who says Isaiah didn't write that passage, then claiming "the people who wrote the Bible ..." is just being facetious.

Scholars like to think they can put themselves inside of the minds of those who lived back then and think like they did, and that's about as ... well ... scholarly as you can get.
 
Upvote 0

Mr Laurier

Well-Known Member
Mar 26, 2021
1,141
366
57
Georgian Bay/Bruce Peninsula
✟31,584.00
Country
Canada
Faith
Atheist
Marital Status
Private
What's modern scholarship's excuse though?
For?
Why can't modern scholarship understand that a circle (line, triangle, square, rectangle) can be drawn on a globe, with the person who drew it standing over that circle, looking down on the globe and commenting on what he sees?
Because modern scholarship is not a person.
And for the record, anyone who says Isaiah didn't write that passage, then claiming "the people who wrote the Bible ..." is just being facetious.
Huh?
Scholars like to think they can put themselves inside of the minds of those who lived back then and think like they did, and that's about as ... well ... scholarly as you can get.
I know of no scholar who thinks this. And fewer who like it.
And anyone who likes to do something so absurd, is as un-scholarly as you can be.
 
Upvote 0

Bungle_Bear

Whoot!
Mar 6, 2011
9,084
3,513
✟254,540.00
Faith
Agnostic
Marital Status
Married
Isaiah 40:22a It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers;

I draw a two inch line on a globe to explain that God can sit above that line and see us as grasshoppers.

Am I implying the Earth is flat?
Given that there is no English equivalent of ח֣וּג the word "circle" isn't really a great translation. You may make whatever argument you like concerning English words, it's not really addressing the original meaning.

If you want to argue that the bible was originally written in Jacobian English we can have a different discussion.
 
Upvote 0

AV1611VET

SCIENCE CAN TAKE A HIKE
Supporter
Jun 18, 2006
3,850,665
51,418
Guam
✟4,896,428.00
Country
United States
Faith
Baptist
Marital Status
Married
Politics
US-Republican
Given that there is no English equivalent of ח֣וּג the word "circle" isn't really a great translation.
That's nice.

Now, back to the two-inch line please.
 
Upvote 0
This site stays free and accessible to all because of donations from people like you.
Consider making a one-time or monthly donation. We appreciate your support!
- Dan Doughty and Team Christian Forums

Speedwell

Well-Known Member
May 11, 2016
23,928
17,625
81
St Charles, IL
✟347,270.00
Country
United States
Faith
Other Religion
Marital Status
Married
That's nice.
It's also critical to the discussion. Isaiah 40:22 does not imply, much less teach, anything definite about the shape of the Earth.

Now, back to the two-inch line please.
Why? I thought that question had been dealt with.
 
Upvote 0