I can’t believe I have to make this post, but some of the members of the body of Christ have made the same mistake that many evangelical Christians have made in recent years as well, and have concluded that the earth is flat, as well as that everything we know about outer space is a lie (among various other related conspiracy theories). Now, I’m not going to get into all the reasons as to why these ideas are so ridiculous myself; I don’t have the time to write up an in-depth treatise on the subject. Thankfully, I don’t have to, because there are already so many good explanations out there that I can link to, so I’m just going to post links to websites and YouTube videos that explain just how easy it is to debunk these ideas (and I’ll probably add more in the future as I come across them as time goes on).
However, before I do so, it’s important to note that the main reason some “Concordant” believers have even bought into these ideas in the first place isn’t because they’re into science and, through using the scientific method, have discovered something that the rest of us haven’t. The reason is primarily simply because they believe the Bible teaches that the earth is flat, and so they’re (rightfully) trying to stick with what they believe Scripture actually says. This is why the first link I’m going to share is to a webpage created by Young Earth Creationists which explains that the Bible doesn’t actually teach this at all (and that the idea that it does is based on misinterpretation of Scripture), and the next few will also be to articles by Young Earth Creationists on the topic of the flat earth theory. Of course, I’m not a YEC (Young Earth Creationist) myself. Like most of us in the body of Christ, I believe in what’s referred to as the Gap Theory; so while I believe God is ultimately behind the creation of the universe in some manner (from an absolute perspective, as we like to say), I don’t believe the planet or universe is particularly young, or that the universe was originally created in 6 days (the 6 days of Genesis 1 were about something else altogether, but that’s a whole other topic). But these pages by these creationists demonstrate well — by those who should be the most inclined to buy into the flat earth idea — that believing in Scripture doesn’t mean one has to reject what the scientific method has demonstrated to be true (and, as I said recently to someone, theology can’t contradict reality; when it does, we have to look into how we might be misinterpreting Scripture).
I should add, there’s another reason why some “Concordant” believers might be inclined to buy into such things as well. Because most of us grew up in the Christian religion, we’re used to religious authorities lying to us (whether intentionally or otherwise), and hence having to become sceptical about claims made by said religious authorities. Because of this experience, a number of believers have carried that scepticism over to claims made by other types of authorities as well, including claims made by scientific authorities, and so some of the members of the body of Christ are more inclined to automatically assume we’re being lied to by anyone who calls themselves an expert or an authority on a topic, regardless of whether that’s actually the case or not.
Anyway, I encourage anyone who believes the earth to be flat, people who might still be on the fence about the matter, or even those who are just wondering what this whole debate is all about, to take the time to study the following websites and videos carefully. I’ve included a variety of websites and videos on the topic, including some about Antarctica (because of the connected conspiracy theory that nobody is allowed near Antarctica or they’ll be shot by UN soldiers — yes, some people actually believe this). Please don’t just take for granted that the talking points you’ve heard a few conspiracy theorists on YouTube (most of whom I’m fairly sure don’t actually even believe what they’re saying themselves) repeat are true, because anybody can actually prove for themselves very easily that the earth actually is a globe, as some of these websites and videos make clear.
- A flat earth, and other nonsense: Debunking ideas that would not exist were it not for the Internet (by Creation Ministries International)
- Is the Earth Flat? (by Answers In Genesis)
- Reflections on the Flat-Earth Movement (by Answers In Genesis)
- What The Bible Says About Flat Earth Theories
- 10 easy ways you can tell for yourself that the Earth is not flat
- Five Ways to Disprove Flat Earth From Your Backyard
- Five Impossible Facts That Would Have To Be True If The Earth Were Flat
- 8 ways life would get weird on a flat Earth
- When Flat Earthers Spent $20,000 Trying To Prove Earth Is Flat And Accidentally Proved It’s Round
- The weather helps disprove the flat-Earth hypothesis
- The Illusion of Clouds Appearing ‘Behind’ the Sun or the Moon
- Flat-Earthers “Prove” Sun Is Closer Than Clouds
- Is it true that there exists no real pictures of Earth taken from space?
- Flat Earth Busted
- Flat Earth Insanity
- FlatEarth.ws: Debunking Flat Earth Misconceptions
- How to debate a flat-Earther
- How to argue with flat-earthers
- How to Win an Argument With Flat Earth Conspiracy Theorists
- Fighting flat-Earth theory
- Felicity Aston skis across Antarctica
- People Cross Antarctica All the Time. It’s Still Crazy Hard