by jimwalton » Sun Nov 06, 2022 11:38 pm
No, it doesn't. I know the ancients perceived of the world as flat, but that doesn't mean they taught it was flat (there's a difference). When I look at a water tower, it can look like a rectangle. When I look at the sky it can look like a dome over my head. Where does the Bible teach the Earth is flat?
For instance, Isaiah 40.22: "He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in." Um, doesn't claim the Earth is flat. The chapter is addressing the question: Does the Israelite exile prove that God is beaten and He has turned tail and run, deserting His people, or is He still the Lord of history? The author uses creation vocabulary and imagery to assure us God is sovereign. It’s wrong to try to read science into the text. He’s not saying the Earth is flat any more than he is saying people are insects or the atmosphere is a tent. In other words, the text is not making a scientific statement, but rather a theological one: God created the material world; He is not bound by it, and He is still sovereign over it.
No, it doesn't. I know the ancients perceived of the world as flat, but that doesn't mean they taught it was flat (there's a difference). When I look at a water tower, it can look like a rectangle. When I look at the sky it can look like a dome over my head. Where does the Bible teach the Earth is flat?
For instance, Isaiah 40.22: "He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in." Um, doesn't claim the Earth is flat. The chapter is addressing the question: Does the Israelite exile prove that God is beaten and He has turned tail and run, deserting His people, or is He still the Lord of history? The author uses creation vocabulary and imagery to assure us God is sovereign. It’s wrong to try to read science into the text. He’s not saying the Earth is flat any more than he is saying people are insects or the atmosphere is a tent. In other words, the text is not making a scientific statement, but rather a theological one: God created the material world; He is not bound by it, and He is still sovereign over it.