- Series:Philosophy, Transcript English
Isaiah 40:22
“It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:”
A number of Christians have, in the last couple of years, posted articles and YouTube videos, and even published books, stating that the Earth is not a sphere, but is flat.
Flat earth advocates have suggested that we have been lied to about the spherical nature of the Earth, just as we have been lied to about the millions of years of deep time. But these concepts are not equivalent. I have shown that evolutionary deep time concepts are not part of observational science. However, the signs of a spherical Earth most definitely are legitimate aspects of observational science. Moreover, author Jeffrey Russell, in his book Inventing the Flat Earth, has shown that no one throughout history has seriously believed that the Earth is flat.
Flat Earth advocates point to Scriptures like Isaiah 40:22, which refers to the circle of the Earth. Ironically, in this they make common cause with atheists, who accuse this Bible passage of teaching a flat Earth. But the Hebrew word translated as circle is khûg, which has to have a 3D quality about it. So Isaiah 40 is stating that the Earth is a sphere. That is why, throughout history, people like Bede, writing in the 7th Century, have maintained that the Earth is indeed a sphere.
As creationists, we frequently call on people to validate what they believe by Scripture. This is not the same position, as those who believe that all science is a conspiracy. The Bible reveals to us a God of order, who has made scientific endeavor possible.
Prayer: Lord, we thank You that You created a universe of order. We pray that all our academic endeavors will be founded on Your word, without which we cannot know anything at all. Amen.
Author: Paul F. Taylor
Ref: Russell, J.B. (1991), Inventing the Flat Earth: Columbus and Modern Historians, (Praeger)
Image: Public Domain
