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Does the Bible teach that the earth is flat?



    
    

Clarify Share Report Asked July 01 2013 Mini Anonymous (via GotQuestions)

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16
Shea S. Michael Houdmann Supporter Got Questions Ministries
Many a skeptic claims that the Bible depicts a flat earth. Scriptural references such as Revelation 7:1 are cited, which speaks of "four angels standing at the four corners of the earth." However, ...

July 01 2013 6 responses Vote Up Share Report


6
Mini Georg Kouz
(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.
This is only one of many pre-scientific insights of the Bible written by divine inspiration long before the rise of modern science.

November 28 2014 0 responses Vote Up Share Report


1
Data Danny Hickman Supporter Believer in The Gospel Of Jesus Christ
If the bible taught that the earth is flat it would be teaching something as true that isn't true. The bible would be deceiving us. Why would the Word of Truth, the Holy Scriptures, teach us anything that we know to be untrue? If it did we would dismiss the whole thing. The question, with no accompanying scripture reference, implies that a person with no scientific knowledge, apparently a rube, has written something somewhere in the bible, that suggests the writer thought the earth to be flat. 

There are many misinterpretations by us of the bible message. I don't mean by laymen, but by bible doctors, people with theologian credentials. For instance, some scholars say the bible teaches that upon death we are instantly transferred to our permanent eternal resident, the destination being either heaven or hell. Others say it teaches that we sleep in a grave, awaiting the day of resurrection. (I guess the term "grave" includes the river where the ashes of the cremated might have been scattered). Of course, someone is misunderstanding the scriptures. Unbelievers say both camps are wrong. They use the fact of these theological heavyweights disagreeing on such a grave matter (pun), all the while professing to being indwelled by the same Spirit of God, the Spirit of Knowledge and Understanding, as solid evidence that the whole story should be scrapped and dismissed as a time worn fable. I hear it all the time; they say 'Y'all need to get your story straight.'

The only thing it proves is that we who believe in Jesus are mere men and women, regardless of our personal level of accomplishments. 

The theme of the bible isn't scientific knowledge. Even the creation story of Genesis 1 isn't meant to be a lesson in science or history, although it's usually reduced to that kind of discussion. The story teaches, but it doesn't teach science or history. It teaches that an almighty God created all of creation, and He did it with the power of His word. He spoke it into existence. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible (Heb 11:3). SAY WHAT?

Why would anyone attempt to explain the scriptures and what they teach using science, which dots every "I" and crosses every "T"? 

What happened scientifically when God spoke the universe into existence? The scriptures speak as if it all happened like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat. Did it happen like that, or was a process begun? It all depends on who you ask.

Goliath was more than a plain old everyday run-of-the-mill giant, he was quite the warrior. Saul, the king of Israel was the portrait of a brave and courageous soldier... He was afraid of Goliath. 

With Saul and his army available to stand against Goliath, why would God use a shepherd boy to fight him? (1 Sam 17) Is the story there to teach us that shepherd boys make better warriors than kings and seasoned soldiers? The answer to that will depend on who answers the question; a mere man or woman or an almighty God. 

Could God make a flat earth function with the same efficiency as the round one we live on? I think He could, but I don't believe everyone would agree. Someone will always have a different view, regardless of what we read in the scriptures. (I'm just waiting for someone to say that the earth was once flat, created that way by God, but was changed when the flood waters receded or something like that... and will once again be flat when Jesus returns)...

September 02 2021 0 responses Vote Up Share Report


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