Last week I had an online exchange with a very contrary atheist that kept changing the subject every time I tried to get him to back up his assertions. One of the things that he brought up was the “fact” that the Bible said the earth was flat. He claimed several times that the Bible didn’t know the earth was round because we didn’t discover it until the 1600s, therefore the Bible was written by man.

Really.

I always find it amusing when the very people who say that they do not believe in God because “there is no evidence” neglect to check the evidence of their own claims. They are not only denying the vast amount of evidence for God, but they base their arguments on myths and atheistic memes that a simple Google search would dispel. Which one of us is really working from “blind faith”?

Here is a James Hannam quote from a Wikipedia article that was at the top of the list on a Google search for “flat earth”;

The myth that people in the Middle Ages thought the earth is flat appears to date from the 17th century as part of the campaign by Protestants against Catholic teaching. But it gained currency in the 19th century, thanks to inaccurate histories such as John William Draper’s History of the Conflict Between Religion and Science (1874) and Andrew Dickson White’s A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom (1896). Atheists and agnostics championed the conflict thesis for their own purposes, but historical research gradually demonstrated that Draper and White had propagated more fantasy than fact in their efforts to prove that science and religion are locked in eternal conflict.^[9]

And another quote from the same article;

According to Stephen Jay Gould, “there never was a period of ‘flat earth darkness’ among scholars (regardless of how the public at large may have conceptualized our planet both then and now). Greek knowledge of sphericity never faded, and all major medieval scholars accepted the Earth’s roundness as an established fact of cosmology.”^[3] Historians of science David Lindberg and Ronald Numbers point out that “there was scarcely a Christian scholar of the Middle Ages who did not acknowledge [Earth’s] sphericity and even know its approximate circumference”.^[4]

So you see, this historical myth is widely known to be false and easy to debunk with only a few moments’ research. In the past, with the widespread illiteracy and lack of education, it is understandable if the common man had some misconceptions, but anyone spreading such falsehoods about history in the present day is either willfully ignorant, or intentionally malicious. This is not to say that some primitive or eastern cultures did not adhere to this belief, but this was far from universal. This looks like another one of those things, that when repeated often enough, takes on a life of its’ own. It doesn’t matter that it has been thoroughly refuted, it is a standard part of their toolbox and they refuse to give it up.

Later I may address the Bible verses that critics use to claim a Judeo-Christian flat earth tradition. I suspect that it will be a lengthy post as there are many ways to twist the scriptures, and many scriptures to twist. The atheist I was dealing with refused to point to a specific passage to support his declaration, preferring to accuse me of not knowing my Bible. I guess he was expecting me to make his case for him. The closest thing to a reference I got from him was “look it up in Deuteronomy and Job”. When I started researching what verses are popularly used to support such accusations I found none listed for either of those books. Hmm, methinks he was just blowing smoke and had no idea what he was talking about, just passing along something he had heard, again.

I have had some very interesting debates with atheists. Thoughtful people who have had a case to make and have had support for their claims. We have had polite arguments that ended without hard feelings and with agreements to disagree. Unfortunately these are the exceptions, not the rule. Most internet atheists (at least the most vocal ones) seem to prefer to shout about lack of proof on your part, while expecting you to accept their unsubstantiated assertions. They deny any evidence you present while expecting you to accept their bald proclamations as fact, proclamations that they themselves have never bothered to research. Why do they bother?

OK, I’m done with my rant now. I was feeling very frustrated over this and it feels better to get it off of my chest. I see it as an instance of casting pearls before swine, and realize that I should expect this once in awhile.

**I have posted an update to this post!**