The first, Revelation 7:1, states: “And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree”. There are three verses in the Bible that are often quoted by Christian proponents of the flat earth theory. Two such men are Dr Danny Faulkner, a creationist who specializes in mathematics and physics and has a PhD in astronomy, and Dr Randal Younker, professor of Archaeology and History of Antiquity at Andrews University, USA. There are teachers and theologians who have carefully analysed the subject and their conclusions are worth the attention of honest and open-minded Christians investigating this topic. In response to the concerning trend we see here, this article will focus on some of the Bible verses most frequently referenced by Christian proponents of the flat earth theory. For Christians who claim that the Earth is flat, a single Bible verse is considered superior to any number of scientific arguments. Unfortunately, it has been noted that many Christians have become swept up in this trend, using shaky theology to argue their points. On this point as on many others, the Bible simply reflects the current cosmological ideas and language of the time.Against the background of declining confidence in the elites-be they political, religious or scientific-the flat earth theory has lately been revived and promoted by a wave of fake news and misinformation that circulates on social media. in the air as distinct from the firmament. In conformity with these ideas, the writer of Genesis 1:14-20 represents God as setting the stars in the firmament of heaven, and the fowls are located beneath it, i.e. Isaiah 42:5, emphasize rather the idea of something extended: ôThus saith the Lord God that created the heavens and stretched them outö (Cf. to serve as a wall of separation between the upper and lower of water, it being conceived as supporting a vast celestial reservoir and also in the account of the deluge ( Genesis 7), where we read that the ôflood gates of heaven were openedö, and shut upö (viii, 2). The same is implied in the purpose attributed to God in creating the firmament, viz. The notion of the solidity of the firmament is moreover expressed in such passages as Job 37:18, where reference is made incidentally to the heavens, ôwhich are most strong, as if they were of molten brassö. The Hebrew means something beaten or hammered out, and thus extended the Vulgate rendering, ôfirmamentumö corresponds more closely with the Greek stereoma ( Septuagint, Aquila, and Symmachus), ôsomething made firm or solidö. In the first account of the creation ( Genesis 1) we read that God created a firmament to divide the upper or celestial from the lower or terrestrial waters. That the Hebrews entertained similar ideas appears from numerous biblical passages. According to the notion prevalent among the Greeks and Romans, the sky was a great vault of crystal to which the fixed stars were attached, though by some it was held to be of iron or brass. Likewise to the mind of the Babylonians the sky was an immense dome, forged out of the hardest metal by the hand of Merodach (Marduk) and resting on a wall surrounding the earth (Jensen, Die Kosmologie der Babylonier, Strasburg, 1890, pp. Thus the Egyptians conceived the heavens to be an arched iron ceiling from which the stars were suspended by means of cables (Chabas, LÆAntiquiteÆ historique, Paris, 1873, pp. The notion that the sky was a vast solid dome seems to have been common among the ancient peoples whose ideas of cosmology have come down to us. (Septuagint stereoma Vulgate, firmamentum). Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more all for only $19.99. Please help support the mission of New Advent and get the full contents of this website as an instant download.
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