Freethought & Rationalism Archive

GenesisNemesis · 01-25-2007, 05:30 PM

Dooes Job 37:17-18, combined with Isaiah 40:22, irrefutably prove that the Bible's writers thought the Earth was flat?

Job 37:17-18

You who swelter in your clothes
when the land lies hushed under the south wind, can you join him in spreading out the skies,
hard as a mirror of cast bronze?

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.

gstafleu · 01-26-2007, 07:42 AM

I doubt if the Job bit does. It looks to me as if that is just a poetical reference to the unforgiving aspect of the skies that prevails under these conditions.

Gerard Stafleu

Roger Pearse · 01-26-2007, 09:31 AM

"You mean, the human authors living in 3,000 BC didn't know about the special theory of relativity? HAW HAW HAW! That proves the bible can't be of divine origin!"

Whether this sort of approach is the image of atheism that everyone would want to present I don't know, tho.

All the best,

Roger Pearse

Toto · 01-26-2007, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roger Pearse

"You mean, the human authors living in 3,000 BC didn't know about the special theory of relativity? HAW HAW HAW! That proves the bible can't be of divine origin!"

Whether this sort of approach is the image of atheism that everyone would want to present I don't know, tho.

All the best,

Roger Pearse

It's nice of you to worry about atheism's PR image, Roger.

But if the Bible were divinely inspired, why wouldn't the human authors at least know that the earth was an orb, in accordance with the best science of the day? And why couldn't the omnipotent divinity impart some knowledge of special relativity?

driver8 · 01-29-2007, 08:45 AM

http://cc.usu.edu/%7Efath6/worldview.html

Quote:

Eretz, the Earth
The Hebrew word for the earth, eretz, can be used both as a generic term for the entire world or for a specific land or region. Just as did the other Semitic peoples and the earlier Sumerians, the Hebrews viewed the earth as a great platter that floats upon the waters of chaos. Biblical passages make it clear that it is viewed as a flat, rectangular surface, with four corners and "ends" that lay to the east and west, where the sun rose and set. For instance, Isaiah 11:12 reads, "He will raise an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the outcaste of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth," and the "ends of the earth" are referred to repeatedly in the Bible, eg., Deut. 28:64;33:17, 1 Sam. 2:10, 2 Sam. 22:16, 1 Chron. 16:30, Job 28:24;37:3, Psalm 46:9;48:10;59:13, Isaiah 11:12, and Rev. 7:1). The continuity of this ancient world view from the times of early Hebrew scriptures to those of early Christianity is particularly well illustrated by a comparison between Job 37:3 ("Under the whole heaven he lets it go, and his lightning to the corners of the earth.") with Revelation 7:1 ("After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on the earth or sea against any tree.").

01-25-2007, 05:30 PM	#1
GenesisNemesis Contributor Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: A pale blue oblate spheroid. Posts: 20,351	"Hard as a mirror of cast metal" Dooes Job 37:17-18, combined with Isaiah 40:22, irrefutably prove that the Bible's writers thought the Earth was flat? Job 37:17-18 You who swelter in your clothes when the land lies hushed under the south wind, can you join him in spreading out the skies, hard as a mirror of cast bronze? 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.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

01-26-2007, 07:42 AM	#2
gstafleu Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: London, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,719	I doubt if the Job bit does. It looks to me as if that is just a poetical reference to the unforgiving aspect of the skies that prevails under these conditions. Gerard Stafleu

01-26-2007, 09:31 AM	#3
Roger Pearse Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: N/A Posts: 4,370	"You mean, the human authors living in 3,000 BC didn't know about the special theory of relativity? HAW HAW HAW! That proves the bible can't be of divine origin!" Whether this sort of approach is the image of atheism that everyone would want to present I don't know, tho. All the best, Roger Pearse

Freethought & Rationalism Archive

The archives are read only.