Questions about the Earth

Creationism, Evolution, and other science issues

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servant
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Questions about the Earth

Post #1

Post by servant »

Did science or the bible first note that the earth hangs on nothing?

Did science or the bible first note that the earth was a circle and not flat?

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Re: Questions about the Earth

Post #2

Post by Furrowed Brow »

servant wrote:Did science or the bible first note that the earth hangs on nothing?

Did science or the bible first note that the earth was a circle and not flat?
Well science says neither that the earth hangs on nothing nor is it a circle. So I guess the answer must be the Bible.

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Post #3

Post by servant »

So you think the earth is attached to something in space? Maybe a string or something :-k

I should have said round for the earth not circle, but does it matter really.

Your right the bible first talks about the earth being expanded in space and the earth not being flat.

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Re: Questions about the Earth

Post #4

Post by Goat »

servant wrote:Did science or the bible first note that the earth hangs on nothing?

Did science or the bible first note that the earth was a circle and not flat?
Why do you think a circle is not flat? A circle is a two dimensional object.

Therefore,by definition, a circle is flat.

You are thinking of a ball.. that is 3D.
“What do you think science is? There is nothing magical about science. It is simply a systematic way for carefully and thoroughly observing nature and using consistent logic to evaluate results. So which part of that exactly do you disagree with? Do you disagree with being thorough? Using careful observation? Being systematic? Or using consistent logic?�

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Post #5

Post by servant »

It talks about the earth being round in Isaiah 40:22: "It is he that sits upon the circle of the earth."

This was written somewhere between 740 and 680 B.C.

The word "circle" in Hebrew is "chuwg" which is also translated "circuit" or "compass" (depending on the context). It indicates something spherical, rounded or arched, not something flat.

This was at least 300 years before Aristotle suggested, in his book "On the Heavens" that the earth might be a sphere and not flat.

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Post #6

Post by Furrowed Brow »

Servant wrote:So you think the earth is attached to something in space? Maybe a string or something :-k
Nope. The earth does not hang...end of. It hangs on neither nothing nor something.
Servant wrote:Why do you think a circle is not flat?
.
Yep.
Servant wrote:A circle is a two dimensional object. Therefore,by definition, a circle is flat.
Darn it. We agree again.
Servant wrote:You are thinking of a ball.. that is 3D.

Well not exactly a perfect sphere. The earth bulges a bit. But I'll cut you some slack.
Servant wrote:Your right the bible first talks about the earth being expanded in space and the earth not being flat.
So the bible clearly states that the Earth is approximately spherical as opposed to "round" which is also a synonym for circle? It also makes a clear statement that when it says the earth expands into space it does not mean an increase in the area of a disc with mountains which make it a bumpy disc. We are able to rule out that possibility - yes? And you are working from the original text and not a translation from an age where they had pretty much worked out the world was spherical?

And even if the writers of the bible were on the nail on that one what does it demonstrate? The Egyptians were reasonable astronomers and built structure unequalled even today. Though there are some things we should expect to be beyond the ancients - quantum physics for example - non beliefs does not insist the ancients were morons.

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Post #7

Post by Goat »

servant wrote:It talks about the earth being round in Isaiah 40:22: "It is he that sits upon the circle of the earth."

This was written somewhere between 740 and 680 B.C.

The word "circle" in Hebrew is "chuwg" which is also translated "circuit" or "compass" (depending on the context). It indicates something spherical, rounded or arched, not something flat.

This was at least 300 years before Aristotle suggested, in his book "On the Heavens" that the earth might be a sphere and not flat.
No, it does not indicate something 'spherical' .. it is CIRCLE or COMPASS.
You are quoting from strong, who is wrong on that.

Chuwg is always a 'flat circle'.
“What do you think science is? There is nothing magical about science. It is simply a systematic way for carefully and thoroughly observing nature and using consistent logic to evaluate results. So which part of that exactly do you disagree with? Do you disagree with being thorough? Using careful observation? Being systematic? Or using consistent logic?�

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Re: Questions about the Earth

Post #8

Post by Wyvern »

servant wrote:Did science or the bible first note that the earth hangs on nothing?

Did science or the bible first note that the earth was a circle and not flat?

I think the more important thing is which one PROVED these things after all anyone can say nearly anything and if it is ambiguous enough it can be interpreted as being correct, prophets and seers have been doing this for millenia. Over two thousand years ago Democritus(iirc) put forward the basics of the atomic theory but it was quickly discarded in favor of the elemental theory. In just the last few hundred years have we dusted it off and PROVEN to be essentially correct.

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Post #9

Post by Demon38 »

So we can definitely say the Bible was wrong about the earth. It doesn't hang in space, it orbits the sun due to gravity.
And it doesn't describe a spherical earth, it describes a flat earth floating on a great ocean, covered by a great bowl, the sky.
No matter how creationists try to twist it, the bible is not a book of science.

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Post #10

Post by Openmind »

Did science or the bible first note that the earth hangs on nothing?

Did science or the bible first note that the earth was a circle and not flat?
With confidence, we can state that the Bible first "noted" that the Earth is a circle hanging on nothing.

With further confidence, we can state that science corrected the Bible, and noted the Earth to be a roughly spherical planet in orbit around a sun.

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