ok, I can use the one A_Thinker referenced:
First, what is the context of Isaiah 40? It is a prophetic word of comfort to Israel, specifically Jerusalem in a terrible, terrible time (under siege by a brutal army for 2 years). When you read the entire chapter God is talking about how much BIGGER He is than their current circumstances. His word endures forever. His strong hand will deliver them. He is their reward. He knows better. The nations that come against them are nothing to God. And on, and on, and on.
"Circle of the Earth" was a common phrase then which basically meant "as far as the eye can see". Verse 22 is saying: "It may not look good now, but God is above the highest mountains and He can see things you cannot see, so trust Him". Not literally, but He can see the victory in what looks to them to be a utterly hopeless situation (and that is exactly what happened later). This is completely consistent with God's nature and character and with many other scriptures including the Gospels.
Further, if one were to apply the FE logic consistently to the rest of the chapter (which is all the same prophetic word) one would have to conclude:
God audibly calls out our names from the sky
God puts people into the ground so they will grow like plants
That He is literally carrying around a bunch of baby sheep in His arms
(that's just to name a few)
To say Is 40:22 refers to the shape of the earth requires selective interpretation and application of the scripture. It changes the meaning of a powerful prophetic word to NOT be about God's greatness and power, and deliverance, but instead the shape of the Earth. It is also entirely inconsistent with the nature of the prophetic.
thanks, I'm back. I'd like to start by saying that earlier I was on this forum for about 3-4 hours and that I hardly have the energy for a debate anymore. I gave most of my energy to the person that was here before you arrived on the post, going back and forth. I also must add, that I have had this belief for a long time now, and am not as sensational about it as when I first learned about it. Such beliefs does make a person passionate, for they go against very deeply ingrained fundamental beliefs, and can be quite shocking. I say this to say, that my mind is mostly made up on the subject, and that it doesn't really bother me if you never come around mainly because in the grand scheme of things, i think it is inconsequential. The gospel to me, is the only thing that truly matters out of all this--flat earth being a very minor debate if people are open-minded enough to hear it. I don't see it as an essential doctrine in any way. I just simply believe that it is true biblical cosmology, and that God's word, being God's, is correct. I don't go around screaming at the rooftops flat earth stuff, I know that it sounds crazy to just about everyone because I would think the same if I didn't believe it. In fact, I keep it to myself because I don't really ever see the need to go there, and have big fusses--unless I know someone more intimately. If you see my first post here, you will actually see that I came merely in the defense of the original poster. To give them encouragement, and to let them know that I agree with them.
But since I said I'd come back and give some more time to this, I will keep my word for a few more posts and then depart. Like you I think there are greater things than to accomplish than what is in this forum.
So firstly, I'd like to see the list of your 200 verse rebutalls so that I can properly see your positions on verses.
And so going back to Isaiah 40, you mention this common adage of 'circle of earth', but haven't yet defined the other earthly characteristics within the same verse, such as the stretching out of the heavens as curtains, and the tents to dwell in part. When it relates back to Genesis 1:6-10, of a physical firmament holding up waters, acting as a barrier, like a curtain or a tent. And as well, can a tent be hitched up on a ball? It sure can on a flat piece of land. Analogies are used to explain reality. Why claim that God would say something so incorrect about the earth that He made? Such as us being like grasshoppers, to Him. It is true, that we are small compared to Him, from His habitation. And as well, where do you believe is His habitation? I believe it to be above the firmament, above the waters, in the highest heaven. In Isaiah 40 the verse that we are using, He is stated as being over the earth as well. In Deutoronomy 26:15 He is also stated as being just above us, "Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey". In Psalms 33:14 "From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth". Why say this same thing so many times, to have people today say it is all just lyrical prose? That whenever God does say something about the earth, it's "oh, he's just kidding". Another, "Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where [is] thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me? are they restrained?" Isaiah 63:15. And this verse again, just shows such consistency that I just can't bring myself to not see the same pattern here, "Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that
be above the heavens" Psalm 148:4. Why would a man of God, inspired by Him, say something so untrue, even if it were to be merely poetic, and have it also line up with everything else not even mentioning the creation account? I would need the best explanation from you you have ever conceived, because I just cannot unwrap my mind around those verses. You can claim that I am pulling from context, re-contextualize all that you want, but with all of these verses the truth is that the author is talking about God's habitation, and he is clearly stating that it is above him. Not beneath Him, not in some other dimension, or a trillion miles cubed away, but above Him. And this is what I see time and time again, everywhere.
I don't just think the earth is flat, my argument isn't only about shapes. It is about the whole creation account of our 'universe', there being a whole lot of water above us, and a firmament over our heads, keeping it from spilling in, like it did Noah. God living in the highest of heavens. Sheol being beneath us. The whole of this creation hanging over nothing. This is what I see very plainly, when I dropped all of the science I knew before and honestly asked myself what the scriptures were saying about the creation account of the earth. Do I believe and trust Him when I read it, or do I go with the facts of man, and chop up what God says to nil?
I'm sure you are set on you're doctrine, but I'd like to ask, where do you think God is? Do you think we're on a big ball moving through an endless space, heading towards a black hole in the center of a barred spiral galaxy, like the rest of what science says? capable of being pelted by asteroids every 5-10 years, or in danger of a catastrophic weather meltdown, at the complete whim of nature? or do you believe something in the middle? and lastly, is their biblical evidence, for the things that you believe, like there is for me? (of which I know you do not agree, but I've yet to be convinced)
