Debunking Flat Earth

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

.

Is that your current position?

 

[Radagast]

Is that your current position?

Of course it is. The earth is round, and so small compared to the size of the universe that it is just a point. Like so: .

These facts were known to the ancient Greeks, and @Yekcidmij is reminding us of that.

 

[Mike Rome]

 

[Mike Rome]

God sits above the circle, not "ball".
God made the Sun to stand still, not the Earth.
The Earth is STATIONARY! And does not move.
It's more silly to think we are spinning thousands of miles an hour while hurling through "space".

 

[Tom 1]

Ya know I always thought the "flat earth" movement of the last few years was kind of like an inside joke. that there were people out there who simply wanted to be goofy so they started claiming the earth was flat...you know, ironically or just plain silly.

It scares me to think there is anyone out there who actually thinks this seriously. I hold out hope it is still just a funky joke in the modern age.

Nope, it's real, and it is entirely resistant to any kind of evidence. I'm convinced there will always be flat earthers, regardless of anything that happens in the future.

 

[Ophiolite]

God sits above the circle, not "ball".
God made the Sun to stand still, not the Earth.
The Earth is STATIONARY! And does not move.
It's more silly to think we are spinning thousands of miles an hour while hurling through "space".

3.5 billion years of evolution will sometimes be wasted. Don't let it trouble you.

 

[Freodin]

It's more silly to think we are spinning thousands of miles an hour while hurling through "space".

Is it? Why?

That's a serious question, not meant to deride your position. Why is this "silly"?

Do you think it is impossible for things to be "spinning thousands of miles an hour", or do you have a certain idea of what that should look like, and feel that your expectation is not met?

These are the two reasons I have encountered yet, and they both are baseless. If you have a different reason, please tell me.

 

[Whyayeman]

'God sits above the circle, not "ball".' Is there anything to back this up? It is not biblical as far as I know.

'The Earth is STATIONARY! And does not move.' The obvious question here is - 'stationary relative to what?' Not the sun, because we understand how the seasons are a result of the earth going round the sun.

'It's more silly to think we are spinning thousands of miles an hour while hurling through "space".' The earth does spin. It does travel through space. Absolutely nothing silly there. Science is true, even if you don't believe it!

 

[Paulos23]

God sits above the circle, not "ball".
God made the Sun to stand still, not the Earth.
The Earth is STATIONARY! And does not move.
It's more silly to think we are spinning thousands of miles an hour while hurling through "space".

Stellar Parallax is evidence the Earth moves.

Is there a proof that Earth moves? (Intermediate) - Curious About Astronomy? Ask an Astronomer

 

[essentialsaltes]

'God sits above the circle, not "ball".' Is there anything to back this up? It is not biblical as far as I know.

It is biblical. At least as far as the words.

Isaiah 40:22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in.

It reflects the common Ancient Near Earth belief of a flat earth and a solid dome/canopy/firmament.

 

[Whyayeman]

OK. If we want to be pedantic, 'circle' here could refer to the earth's orb it - or it could be - as I think it to be - a piece of poetic imagery. The next sentence has a metaphor and two similes. There is nothing in this Old Testament quotation to persuade me that 'circle' implies that the earth is not a globe.

The Bible no doubt holds much for religious people to reflect on and contains much powerful wisdom. However it is not a scientific treatise and religious people need not seek proof of religious truth there or elsewhere. Nor does a sincere religious faith require a belief in a flat earth. Faith is enough without any seeming proofs of anything.

Nonetheless, science is true whether you believe it or not.

 

[Subduction Zone]

God sits above the circle, not "ball".
God made the Sun to stand still, not the Earth.
The Earth is STATIONARY! And does not move.
It's more silly to think we are spinning thousands of miles an hour while hurling through "space".

Why is it silly to know that we are rotating very very slowly? And why is it silly to know that we are moving through space?

What would all of the various space agencies have to gain by lying? Why has no one spoken out? It is much sillier to think that ancient peoples with nothing approaching the formal education of today had a correct view of the world that they lived on. This not saying that they were not intelligent. It takes a long time for knowledge to build up.

 

[Subduction Zone]

OK. If we want to be pedantic, 'circle' here could refer to the earth's orb it - or it could be - as I think it to be - a piece of poetic imagery. The next sentence has a metaphor and two similes. There is nothing in this Old Testament quotation to persuade me that 'circle' implies that the earth is not a globe.

The Bible no doubt holds much for religious people to reflect on and contains much powerful wisdom. However it is not a scientific treatise and religious people need not seek proof of religious truth there or elsewhere. Nor does a sincere religious faith require a belief in a flat earth. Faith is enough without any seeming proofs of anything.

Nonetheless, science is true whether you believe it or not.

There are many Christians that interpret the Bible literally. Yet most do not when it comes to the equally literal statements that the Earth is flat. It describes it that way in word and deed. I would have no problem with a poetic translation if they applied that consistently.

 

[Strathos]

There are many Christians that interpret the Bible literally. Yet most do not when it comes to the equally literal statements that the Earth is flat. It describes it that way in word and deed. I would have no problem with a poetic translation if they applied that consistently.

If you were to go whole hog with the literalism, you would have to believe that the earth was not only flat, but square, as 'four corners' are mentioned. I haven't yet met a flat earther who is willing to defend that model.

 

[Whyayeman]

Ah, yes, interpretation of the Bible. I have met people who claim to take the bible as the literal word of God. Invariably they have claimed that the Bible is literally true - which to me means there can be no 'interpretation' as that would mean it was not literally true at all. Almost invariably the same people have gone on to claim that the Old Testament must be re-interpreted in the spirit of the New Testament.

It is hard for me to respect this dodgy reasoning. Especially difficult is to rely on the Bible to try to oppose scientific observations and the inferences they compel.

 

[Ophiolite]

Ah, yes, interpretation of the Bible. I have met people who claim to take the bible as the literal word of God. Invariably they have claimed that the Bible is literally true - which to me means there can be no 'interpretation' as that would mean it was not literally true at all. Almost invariably the same people have gone on to claim that the Old Testament must be re-interpreted in the spirit of the New Testament.

It is hard for me to respect this dodgy reasoning. Especially difficult is to rely on the Bible to try to oppose scientific observations and the inferences they compel.

Some people jaywalk. You and I know it is silly. We would generally try not to do it ourselves, certainly not as a life choice. All we can really do is point out that there are well designed pedestrian crossings, then shake our heads when they continue to walk out into the traffic.

 

[SLP]

God sits above the circle, not "ball".
God made the Sun to stand still, not the Earth.
The Earth is STATIONARY! And does not move.
It's more silly to think we are spinning thousands of miles an hour while hurling through "space".

I feel like I am in the middle east in 326 AD....

 

[SLP]

If you were to go whole hog with the literalism, you would have to believe that the earth was not only flat, but square, as 'four corners' are mentioned. I haven't yet met a flat earther who is willing to defend that model.

Well, obviously THAT is silly!

 

[Whyayeman]

'Four corners' is a metaphor, just as 'the circle of the earth' is a metaphor. The Bible is full of them, because it is full of poetic ideas. Good stuff, but just not science - which is true whether you believe it or not.

We should put the issue aside. The earth is not flat. People who assert that it is are either naively swallowing dishonest arguments or mischievously perpetuating them.

 

[jayem]

Years ago my wife and I cruised French Polynesia--Tahiti, Raiatea, Bora Bora, etc. Bora Bora has 2 distinctive mountain peaks. Looking from the east, one is conical, and one is a butte that slopes downward. See the photo.

We sailed in on a nice clear day with good visibility. I was on deck with my binocs. As we approached the island, I first saw the very highest points of the 2 mountains. As we got closer, I could see the full tops of both mountains. As we got nearer still, the central masses of the mountains were visible. Getting still closer, I could see the mountain bases. And as we finally approached the shore, I saw both mountains in their entirety, along with the sea level features and the docks. Sailing in, the island appeared in stages from the top downward. This can only happen if our ship was approaching Bora Bora on a convex curved surface. And when we sailed away, the island disappeared in reverse--from the bottom up. Suppose we were sailing on a truly flat ocean. The island would appear small from a distance and become larger as we got nearer. But the entire island would always be visible. This doesn't happen. The features of the island appear and disappear in stages. Which means that we were approaching and leaving Bora Bora on a curved surface. This is clearly obvious to anyone with eyes in their head.