Whatever your views on Evolution or Creationism may be... I really DO hope you are aware that ALL of these "church fathers" were geocentrists.
So I guess you believe in earth, unmovable in the center of the universe, and the sun revolving around it?
Early Church Fathers Speak Out
Outline:
Introduction
1.St.Augustine (354-430 A.D.)
2.St.Jerome (334 - 420 A.D.)
3.St.Ambrose (337-397 A.D.)
4. Origen (185-254 A.D.)
5. Clement of Alexandria (150-215 A.D.)
6. Clement of Rome (35 - 99 A.D.)
7. Origen Explains Clement’s Comment
8. Flavius Josephus (37-100 A.D. -- *Note: Josephus wasn't a church father but included here due to his relevance on the issue).
INTRODUCTION
The early church fathers were the successors of the Apostles. While they weren't Scripture, they studied the Scriptures with the Apostles and then passed on that knowledge to their successors. This is called the Apostolic Succession and knowledge of the Gospel is part of that succession. The writings of the early church fathers are valuable for understanding early Christian beliefs and practices. They were all well seasoned in reading Hebrew and Greek, as well as Latin. Simple little things like defining a Hebrew word were not hard for them. The only time these early church fathers struggled to understand and interpret Scripture was when they spoke about prophecies which were not written for their time. Apart from that simple matters like the shape of the earth were easy for them.
Now many flat earthers will reject the early church fathers only for the reasons that the early church fathers don't accept their strange fire. The FE movement cannot trace their beliefs past 200 years which means what they preach is indeed strange fire and unknown to the ancient Jews and Christians. We traditional Christians can trace back all of our beliefs back to the Apostles who were eye witnesses to the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. There are no gaps in our ecclesiastical lineage which is how we know the FE movement is strange fire.
So here I will start at the 4th century and work my way down to the 1st century.
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1. St.Augustine (354-430 A.D.)
It is very clear that Augustine believed in a spherical earth. The following citations are taken from Augustine’s book The Literal Meaning of Genesis, Vol.1. (Ancient Christian Writers, Vol.41).
“But if the light first created enveloped the earth on all sides, whether it was motionless or travelling round, it could not be followed anywhere by night, because it did not vacate any place to make room for night. But was it made on one side, so that as it travelled it would permit the night to follow after from the other? Although water still covered all the earth, there was nothing to prevent the massive watery sphere from having day on one side by the presence of light, and on the other side, night by the absence of light. Thus, in the evening, darkness would pass to that side from which light would be turning to the other” (p.33).
Here Augustine is speaking about the light God created. He speaks with confidence concerning his own knowledge of the shape of the earth. He sees an earth that is spherical and rotating. He may not of had all the knowledge he would have wanted to know, but the shape of the earth is spoken with confidence.
Wikipedia has a Flat Earth page which claims Augustine was a flat earther based on his skepticism of antipodes. But Augustine never doubted the sphericity of the earth. He just didn't think that just because the earth is spherical that it immediately follows the opposite side of the earth is peopled. He was proven wrong by Columbus. The wiki page, however, is proven wrong by Augustine's words here.
“Now we are seeking to know whether the Creator, who has ordered all things in measure, and number, and weight, has assigned to the mass of waters not just one proper place around the earth, but another also above the heavens, a region which has been spread around and established beyond the limits of the air” (p.47).
Augustine understands that in Scripture the waters of the earth span all around the earth. From Genesis 1 alone he gets a round, spherical earth with the firmament which spans to and beyond interstellar space.
2. St.Jerome (334 - 420 A.D.)
Jerome is the one who translated the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures into Latin. This new Latin translation would be called the Vulgate and the most well used Bible in Christian history to date. There is an English translation of the Latin Vulgate which is called the Douay-Rheims Bible. Isaiah 40:22 reads:
"It is he that sitteth upon the globe of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as locusts: he that stretcheth out the heavens as nothing, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in."
3. St.Ambrose (337-397 A.D.)
Bishop Ambrose was the one who brought Augustine to Christ. This could not have been an easy feat since Augustine was the most educated human being in the world and highly skeptical of the Bible. So Ambrose was a very special holy man who was able to open Augustine’s eyes and find Jesus. The first citation is from On Virginity, translated by Daniel Callam.
“For the soul has its flights, as has been said: “Who are these that fly like clouds and like doves with their young?” You see, the soul has spiritual flights which, in a brief moment, circle the whole globe” (XVII.108).
“circle [Strong’s H2328 - H2329]...the whole globe.” Now the verse cited was not about spiritual flights of the souls of the deceased and it was something that was meant for future readers to understand. But Ambrose knew the earth was a globe.
The rest of the quotations come from his book Hexameron, which is a commentary on Genesis chapter 1. The rest of his quotations come from The Fathers Of The Church series translated by John J. Savage,
“Consequently, the year, too, has the stamp of a world coming to birth, as the splendor of the springtime shines forth all the more clearly because of the winter’s ice and darkness now past. The shape of the circles of years to come has been given form by the first dawn of the world” (p.12).
Ambrose is speaking about the birth of the earth on the first day of creation. Now it isn’t quite clear if he is speaking about sphericity of the earth or the earth’s movement around the sun.
In the next quotation, Ambrose defines what the immovable earth means.
“How the disposition of the earth therefore depends upon the power of God, you may learn also where it is written: ‘He looketh upon the earth and maketh it tremble,’ and elsewhere: ‘One again I move the earth.’ Therefore, the earth remains immovable not by its balances, but is moved frequently by the nod and free will of God, as Job, too, says: ‘The Lord shaketh it from its foundations, and the pillars thereof tremble.’ And elsewhere: ‘Hell is naked before him and there is no covering for death. He stretched out the north over the empty space and hangeth the earth upon nothing. He bindeth up the waters in his clouds. The pillars of heaven fled away and are in dread at his rebuke. By his power the seas are calmed, by his wisdom is struck down the sea-monster, and the gates of heaven fear him.’
By the will of God, therefore, the earth remains immovable. ‘The earth standeth for ever,’ according to Ecclesiastes, yet is moved and nods according to the will of God. It does not therefore continue to exist because based on its own foundation. It does not stay stable because based on its own props. The Lord established it by the support of His will, because ‘in his hand are all the ends of the earth.’ The simplicity of this faith is worth all the proffered proofs.
Let others hold approvingly that the earth never will fall, because it keeps its position in the midst of the world in accordance with nature. They maintain that it is from necessity that the earth remains in its place and is not inclined in another direction, as long as it does not move contrary to nature but in accordance with it. Let them take occasion to magnify the excellence of their divine Artist and eternal Craftsman. What artist is not indebted to Him? ‘Who gave to women the knowledge of weaving or the understanding of embroidery?’ However, I who am unable to comprehend the excellence of His majesty and His art do not entrust myself to theoretical weights and measures. Rather, I believe that all things depend on His will, which is the foundation of the universe and because of which the world endures up to the present” (pp.22-23).
So the immovable earth is an expression that means how the earth, which is suspended in space over nothing, will not fall or drift away from the laws God ordained for it; that the earth maintains its position in the solar system without corruption, as the laws ordained are fixed laws and will not change.
More on the shape of the earth,
“However, in the circular quality of a sphere these elements are confused and lose the impulse of their course, inasmuch as a sphere is turned around in its orb and hence the elements above change place with the elements beneath and vise-versa” (p.23).
The circular quality of a sphere [Strong’s H2328 - H2329]. This sphere is turned (Job 38:14). We can see how Ambrose is reading and interpreting Scripture.
The next citation from Ambrose’ Hexameron deals with how the skeptics of the Bible claim that the earth cannot be a sphere because water could not remain on it.
“And first of all these interpreters wish to destroy the profound impressions which frequent reading of the Scriptures have made in our mind, maintaining that waters cannot exist above the heavens. That heavenly sphere, they say, is round, with the earth in the middle of it; hence, water cannot stay on that circular surface, from which it needs must flow easily away, falling from a higher to a lower position. For how, they say, can water remain on a sphere when the sphere itself revolves?” (p.52).
Sounds like a modern argument from flat earthers, doesn’t it? This just goes to prove that there were skeptics of the Bible then who doubted the earth was round and believed it was flat.
This one deals with how he arrives to the spherical earth concept. He begins the paragraph with “Scripture points out”, and then cites from Isa.40:22,
“And further on: ‘Who sitteth upon the globe of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as locusts, who stretcheth out the heavens as an arch?’ Who, then, ventures to put his knowledge in the same plane with that of God?” (p.231).
Ambrose is clearly not reading from modern lexicons. He had easy access to the knowledge of Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and old Latin. He knew how to read and properly translate Scripture. His reading of Isa.40:22 uses the word globe instead of circle. This has to do with the type of circle Isaiah 40:22 is actually referring to. Therefore the circle of Isaiah 40:22 which Ambrose is reading was understood to be a 3D circle -- a globe.
4. Origen (185-254 A.D.)
Origen of Alexandria was a Ante-Nicene church father who wrote On First Principles, which is the very first book on Theology ever written by a Christian. The following quotation is taken from the John C. Cavadini edition.
“Certainly what some say of this world, that it is corruptible because it was made, and yet does not go to corruption because the will of God, who made it and preserves it from being mastered by corruption, is stronger and more powerful than corruption, may more rightly be believed of that world which we have above called a “fixed” sphere, because by the will of God it is in no way “subject to corruption” (cf.Rom 8:20, 21), for the reason that it has not admitted the causes of corruption" (On First Principles, Book II, Chapter III, p.113).
Origen continues:
". . . . and the entire condition of the world we know, in which the spheres of the planets are said to be, is left behind and superseded, there exists above that sphere which is called "fixed" an abiding place for the pious and blessed, in as it were a "good land" and a "land of the living," which the "meek" and gentle will receive for an inheritance. To this land or earth belongs that heaven which, with its more magnificent circuit, surrounds and confines it, and this is the true heaven and the first to be so called" (On First Principles, Book II, Chapter III, p.114).
The spheres of the planets is a clear reference that Origen's reading of Scripture revealed that our earth is a sphere.
1 Samuel 2:8,
