Sunday, October 14, 2018

Flat Tops- Dissecting Flat Earth Meme ( Row A)



It's been a little while since I posted my "Hey Flatty's" post and since then, I have come across this picture circulating facebook. At the time of my Flatty post, I was working with a handful of scriptures that were given to me, and hence I feel the need to bust this one apart since it's taking more. Seeing as how this graphic has super bad compression, I'll do what I can to copy the texts as I go over them.

EARTH CREATED BEFORE THE SUN:
Genesis 1:1-19
Since there is a lot of text to this one,  I'll just link to the text and ask what the earth being created before the sun has to do with the shape of the earth? I mean yes, there are details of the creation of the earth but the marking that it is made before the sun has no geometric relevance.

UNIVERSE IS COMPLETE:
Genesis 2:1
I didn't really need to link the one verse, but I'mma keep rolling with it.
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts.- Gen 2:1
Ok. So... The heavens and the earth were completed. This tells me absolutely nothing about the geometric shape of the earth... Just that it was made. I wonder how many of these 200 flat earth scriptures have absolutely nothing to do with the actual shape of the earth, but are used to bolster bad logic. As it looks now, I'm down to at least 199

EARTH MEASUREMENTS ARE UNKNOWN:
Job 38:4-5, Jeremiah 31:37, Proverbs 25:3

Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding,
5 Who set its measurements? Since you know.
Or who stretched the line on it? - Job 38:4-5

This says nothing about the shape of the earth, and frankly, if we are to take this literally as many flat earthers do with other scripture then Job is some all knowing immortal god-like man that exists before the sun and earth were made... or, certain parts are poetic in nature that are to paint understanding.  If we take this literally like flat earthers do with other things in this passage, God is clearly stating that Job was in Genesis 1. Reading Genesis 1, there is no mention of Job ergo, the logic of taking everything in Job 38 as literal is BAD and will create contradictions in scripture based on narrow and flawed understanding.   Those who take  SOME scriptures literally to apply to flat earth, even in this subheading EARTH MEASUREMENTS ARE UNKNOWN, must either reconcile that this is God's imagery... or God is a liar for saying that Job DOES in fact know the measurements of the earth.
“Where is the way to the dwelling of light?
And darkness, where is its place,
20 That you may take it to its territory
And that you may discern the paths to its home?
21 “You know, for you were born then,
And the number of your days is great!-
Job 38:19-21

Thus says the Lord,
“If the heavens above can be measured
And the foundations of the earth searched out below,
Then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel
For all that they have done,” declares the Lord- Jeremiah 31:37

Not seeing anything on a shape here. I see that you can't search the foundations of the earth... but that does not speak to the shape of the earth itself.

As the heavens for height and the earth for depth,
So the heart of kings is unsearchable.- Proverbs 25:3
Still not a shape, but I will say that as per the earth's depth. We've been to the bottom of the marina trench and still have only discovered like, 5-10% of the ocean so, we don't know how deep it goes. This verse is still accurate.... even though the unsearchability of a kings heart is not a global shape.

EARTH IS A DISC/CIRCLE NOT A BALL:
Isaiah 40:22, Job 38:13-14


It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.- Isaiah 40:22
Ok, Circle is a shape. A circle in 360 degrees is a sphere. One thing I want to ask about though if we are going to take this not as poetic imagery but instead as literal concrete text...
“The pillars of heaven tremble
And are amazed at His rebuke. - Job 26:11
Are the heavens a curtain or are they on pillars?

That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,
And the wicked be shaken out of it?
14 “It is changed like clay under the seal;
And they stand forth like a garment- Job 38:13-14
This one is interesting, until you factor in the previous verse that gives context of God rebuking Job saying
“Have you ever in your life commanded the morning,
And caused the dawn to know its place

So, "have you ever commanded the dawn to know its place that it might take hold of the ends of the earth and the wicked be shaken out of it "  Are we to believe that this is a legitimate option for Job, that he some how has this ability to do what God is suggesting, that he can commands the dawn and shake wickedness out, OR is this imagery so that God can take a broad concept and relay God's OWN grandness and justice and Majesty to a finite man of narrow perspective? The logic also has errors under the heading EARTH IS A DISC NOT A BALL, seeing as how this makes no mention of either disk or ball. If you want to suggest that a ball does not have ends, talk to every major league pitcher that has ever thrown a knuckle ball and has had to grip the ball by either... get this, the TOP END or the BOTTOM END of the ball. This verse does nothing to speak on the actual shape of the earth, just that it has vague undefined "ends" in a metaphoric reasoning.


 EARTH IS MEASURED WITH A LINE NOT A CURVE:
Job 38:4-5
(already linked and quoted under section EARTH MEASUREMENTS ARE UNKOWN)

Seeing as how this is already quoted above, but posted again in another section, I'm lead to believe that it was copy/pasted to try and persuade people by a cursory glance who don't bother to look up everything on the list, they just see a lot of scriptures and think "man that is probably true, look at this big list of scriptures... I'm not going to look them all up, I'm going to go play Mario kart."
Lets look at the surrounding verses to give some context
“Or who enclosed the sea with doors
When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb;
9 When I made a cloud its garment- Job 38:8-9
Is anyone out there making a doctrine that the ocean is a giant... how do I put this right in a Bible blog... Baby factory? (wipes forehead). Are there flat earthers out there that are making gnostic stances that clouds are clothes? No? Its because certain passages are imagery, and not literal.


PATHS ARE STRAIGHT NOT CURVED:
1 Samuel 6:12, Psalms 5:8, Psalm 27:11, Isaiah 40:3, Jerimiah 31:9, Matthew 3:3, Mark 1:3, Luke 3:4, John 1:23, Acts 16:11, Acts 21:1, Hebrews 12:13 ( hoo boy we got a list now.)

I'm going to rapid fire through this nonsense fast:
1.  1 Samuel 6:12 is about cows walking down the street and not wandering to the right or left. these are cows hitched to a cart. This is the biblical equivalent of cruise control, and not a case for the shape of the earth. If I put a level on a piece of wood, and roll a hotwheels car down it, this is not in any way at foundational premise of the shape of the entire earth. This is so dumb that im a little mad that this is on this list and I have to explain that. " lowing as they went" Changes in elevation... that means... a curve to some extent in some point.
2. Psalms 5:8 "O Lord, lead me in Your righteousness because of my foes; Make Your way straight before me."  I see, because we are to walk in uprightness and blamelessness, the earth is ...flat? What kinda logic jump is that? That is a HUUUUUGE leap. Look at the next verse:
There is nothing reliable in what they say;
Their inward part is destruction itself.
Their throat is an open grave;
They flatter with their tongue 
see that... the throats are open graves... time to put dead people in those throats and then put dirt in those peoples mouths because we have to bury people in the open graves that are in the throats of those people because we're taking all imagery literally.
3. Psalms 27:11 "Teach me Your way, O Lord, And lead me in a level path Because of my foes."  If we apply the literalist bad logic of misinterpreting scriptures... this must mean that the shape of the earth is different to the foes of david. David is requesting that God lead him in a literal flat earth shape because the shape of the earth might cause him to die because of his enemies. Please tell me that people see the absurdity of this. I don't think, and I could be wrong, but I don't think that in verse 2 when David is saying "When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh" that he is literally running from cannibals. I'm PRETTY sure that the phrase devour my flesh is an idiom

"The phrase le’ekol eth besart – devours my flesh is an ancient Semitic idiom that literally means to steel something from you that is as precious to you as your life.  That could be the wicked  the ra’a’ who are so envious and jealous of you that the will do whatever it takes to suck the life out of you, they would love to have that which is bringing you such joy and satisfaction for themselves and would leave you with the feelings of despair and hopeless that they feel.  They are literally devouring your flesh."


Literalist would completely miss this meaning and assure you that David was a zombie slayer
4. Isaiah 40:3  A voice is calling, Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God."  so.... what you're sayin is that the way ISNT smooth so that it must be MADE smooth... Next verse: “Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley;"  WE STILL HAVE MOUNTAINS!!!! How can Zechariah 14:4, talking about Yeshua returning and splitting the MOUTNTAIN and CREATING A VALLEY happen if we are to interpret Isaiah 40:3 as saying that the earth everywhere is flat?
5. Jerimiah 31:9 is akin to saying  "I'll fix the sidewalk" rather than "the earth is flat"
6. Matthew 3:3  For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, The voice of one crying in the wilderness,Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight!’”    If we interpret this as being about the shape of the earth, then we would need to interpret the fact that Yeshua is the upright one, and start removing scriptures that say He bent down to scoop dirt or that He reclined with His disciples. The term is referring to His walk of a Spiritual nature.
7. Mark 1:3- see point 6
8. Luke 3:4,- see point 6 its the same point
9. John 1:23,- See point 6... its the same flawed logic applied again to the same verses
10. Acts 16:11, "So putting out to sea from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and on the day following to Neapolis"  ... Watch this video. Each of these traveled in a straight line, but also, each of these had various heights and depths that do not support flatness.
11.Acts 21:1,- See point 10. Also, if I leave work and go straight home, that means that I did not travel to the store, gas station, hair cut place or pizza place.... it does not mean that I drove through the building, through 80 trees, through the park, through a gas station through a park directly to my driveway.
12. Hebrews 12:13. If we are to take this verse literally as the earth is flat, then why are we not also applying that same logic to verse 2 "fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" as to mean that we can never blink or drive or do anything as we must constantly be staring at Jesus? How are we going to do that literalist, He hasn't come back yet... and graven images are out.. maybe we need to rethink the horrible logic for all of these

WATERS ARE STREGHT NOT CURVED
Job 37:10
“From the breath of God ice is made, And the expanse of the waters is frozen."   There is no shape in that.



EARTHQUAKES SHAKE EARTH AND DOES NOT MOVE (how does that work?)
2 Samuel 22:8? Isaiah 12:13???? Revelation 6:12-13

2 Samuel 22:8 “Then the earth shook and quaked, The foundations of heaven were trembling
And were shaken, because He was angry." How exactly does the earth shake and quake without moving?


Isaiah 12:13.... it's easy to say there are 200 verse when you do this, just make up verse. Isaiah 12 only goes to verse 6. I'm about 98% sure that this theory and list was created by atheists to prey upon believers apathy to actually look up real stuff and make them look ignorant.

Revelation 6:12-13. Oh at least we're back to real verses again, this one says " I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind"  Again, where in there is the shape of the earth?  If we were on a globe and we were surrounded by stars (which we are on both counts) then the stars could "fall" to earth from any point in the solar system/galaxy...this doesn't speak to earth shape and being Shook doesn't say anything about earth shape.


EARTH IS FIXED AND UNMOVEABLE
Psalms 93:1, Psalms 96:10, Psalms 104:5,  Psalms 119:89-90, Isaiah 45:18, 1 chronicles 16:30

1. Psalms 93:1  "The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty;
The Lord has clothed and girded Himself with strength;
Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved." So instead of taking this to mean that the earth will not be moved say, from the axis it rotates on, or the circuit from which it spins, we're supposed to take this literally as the earth doesn't move at all... and I guess we're to take it that water talks too? verse 3 "The floods have lifted up, O Lord, The floods have lifted up their voice,
The floods lift up their pounding waves". How is this POETIC IMAGRY speaking to the shape of the earth?

2. Psalms 96:10. See point 1 above
3. Psalms 104:5 "He established the earth upon its foundations,

So that it will not totter forever and ever." Again, spinning on an axis like a globe achieves this. The earth does not totter, the earth spins the way it always has... on its axis.
4. Psalms 119:89-90 "Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven. Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations; You established the earth, and it stands." That has nothing to do with shapes.
5. Isaiah 45:18 "For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited),“I am the Lord, and there is none else." How does "People live on earth" = "Checkmate Globies" This is not a flat earth scripture... its just a scripture.
6. 1 Chronicles 16:30 "Tremble before Him, all the earth; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved."  same context as before... unless you want to account for all of nature being people...

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
And let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”
32 Let the sea roar, and all it contains;
Let the field exult, and all that is in it.
33 Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the Lord;
For He is coming to judge the earth.
Careful now, starting to sound like a wiccan if you take this as literal.

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD
Psalm 46:10
"Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” ... please, please tell me that you're not trying to shoehorn this into a bad doctrine as if it were to mean that God saying cease or be still He's some how making a statement about the "immovability of the earth" because if that IS what you're trying to suggest... take any remaining credibility you have as a Bible 'scholar' and use it to light your pilot light.
EARTH HAS PILLARS AND HANGS ON NOTHING
1.1 Samuel 2:8  "“He raises the (a) poor from the dust He lifts the (b)needy from the ash heap
To make them sit with nobles, And inherit a seat of honor; (c) For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,

And He set the world on them."    So... (a) symbolic (b) symbolic  (c) literal?

2. Job 9:6 "Who shakes the earth out of its place, And its pillars tremble" Uh-oh... we got a conflict if we're taking everything literally because above you said the earth doesn't move out of its place... remember....  Psalms 93:1  "The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The Lord has clothed and girded Himself with strength; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved."  You're breaking the Bible with your bad reasoning.3.  Job 26:7 “He stretches out the north over empty space And hangs the earth on nothing." This maybe one of the closest to a reasonable verses that would look like something for a flat earth... but it doesn't. Even in a globe, to say that he's stretched out the north out into space, that doesn't mean flat that can mean the curve of the earth.

4. Psalm 75:3 "“The earth and all who dwell in it melt; It is I who have firmly set its pillars. Selah"  See, this is one that you have to take a step back and look how your reasoning for one half being hammered into your preconceived notion doesn't fit with the other half of the verse. I am not melted. You, if you are reading this are not melted. We are not melted.  Look at this verse in the same chapter "And all the horns of the wicked He will cut off, But the horns of the righteous will be lifted up." Since you didn't melt.... are you telling me that you have horns, are you some sort of goat creature?

5. 2 Peter 3:5 "For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water" This neither states that the earth has pillars, hangs on nothing, or that the earth is any particular shape.... Just that it was made from water.

Speaking of Pillars of the Earth, let me show you something....
These are Pillars in the earth. They exist. This doesn't mean flat.  I will continue more of this terrible list of misguided scriptures in future post as God allows, but this post is getting long so I'm going to break it into 3 sections. Lord help me heal the violence done to the text in with this bad logic.


Row B

passover notes

   Exodus 12 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves,...