Why are so many Christians adopting flat earthism?

[KingsGambit]

A few celebrities have gotten a lot of attention for proclaiming the flat earth in the last couple of years, but on a rank and file level, there seem to be an awful lot of Christians going along for the ride, including a couple I know. One of them posted on her Facebook this morning that modern astronomy is idolatrous because heliocentrism is the worship of the sun, and bragged that she is not an idolater.

William Lane Craig weighed in on this a few weeks ago. His theory was that it's atheists masking as Christians trying to make us look stupid, but I don't think that explains it because the people I know who have fallen for this really are Christians.

[Cow Poke]

Wow, I had no idea!

[Leonhard]

I've sometimes seen geocentrism growing in popularity. This holds that the Earth is the center of the universe, and the sun and stars rotate around it. We've had a few like that on this forum, and I've seen this opinion as well on some hyper-traditionalistic Catholic and Eastern Orthodox forums.

But not flat earth proponents. That's quite surprising if its the case.

Are you user its flat earth, and not geocentrism?

[QuantaFille]

There is one at my church (only one, that I know of) and for him, it's because he believes the Bible teaches that the earth is flat. According to him, Satan is controlling NASA et al in order to oppose God. If you can get everyone to believe the earth is a globe, then since that directly contradicts the Bible, nobody will believe anything else the Bible says. If you bring up any scientific evidence that the earth is not flat, he says "you have to go back to the Scriptures!" and has some quick comeback to every evidence brought against his view. He says that airplane windows are intentionally designed to make the horizon look curved at high altitudes, the moon is a magnet on the surface of the sky and that's what makes tides work, etc. All the evidence of a global planet is a conspiracy from scientists, who are all Satan's pawns who work to discredit the Bible.

My dad has gotten into some pretty heated debates with this guy, but they are coming at it from different directions and are really talking past each other. You can't make him see how implausible such a conspiracy is because he's already decided what he believes the Bible really teaches, and for him to admit the Bible really says something else (or at the very least, allow for it to be a purely spiritual document without it needing to be scientifically accurate) is tantamount to heresy.

[QuantaFille]

I've sometimes seen geocentrism growing in popularity. This holds that the Earth is the center of the universe, and the sun and stars rotate around it. We've had a few like that on this forum, and I've seen this opinion as well on some hyper-traditionalistic Catholic and Eastern Orthodox forums.

But not flat earth proponents. That's quite surprising if its the case.

Are you user its flat earth, and not geocentrism?

I've run into some of those, and they aren't necessarily flat earthers. Flat earthers are necessarily geocentrists, though, so they sometimes use the same arguments.

[rogue06]

A few celebrities have gotten a lot of attention for proclaiming the flat earth in the last couple of years, but on a rank and file level, there seem to be an awful lot of Christians going along for the ride, including a couple I know. One of them posted on her Facebook this morning that modern astronomy is idolatrous because heliocentrism is the worship of the sun, and bragged that she is not an idolater.

William Lane Craig weighed in on this a few weeks ago. His theory was that it's atheists masking as Christians trying to make us look stupid, but I don't think that explains it because the people I know who have fallen for this really are Christians.

On another website a particularly bizarre poster who claimed to have 5 PhDs kept declaring that heliocentrism was an ancient Greek belief that the entire universe revolved around the young Greek sun god named Helios.

Here was his mantra: "Helios is the young Greek god of the sun. Have evidence? Greeks say he is the center of universe. Do you agree with heliocentrism?"

He kept repeating it no matter how often you pointed out that Helios wasn't the young Greek god of the sun but was the older Greek god who was eventually replaced by Apollo, and that isn't even close to what heliocentrism means. It is "the astronomical model in which the Earth and planets revolve around a relatively stationary Sun at the center of the Solar System." That what he said wasn't even close to what the Greeks believed^[1].

But then again he would also frequently claim that the "invention" of time was "Kronus worship" and created for the purpose of worshiping the god Kronus. Aside from confusing Kronos for Chronos^[2] with the latter being regarded as the personification of time -- time that can be measured (seconds, minutes, hours, years) in pre-Socratic philosophy -- and also not a god.He also referred to "old Lady Kronos" but both Kronos and Chronos are depicted as male.






1.2. In Greek mythology the former was a Titan associated with the harvest not a god, and his Roman equivalent is Saturn.

[Leonhard]

Its a mystery what attracts them to it. Usually they also tend to absorb a lot of other conspiracy theories: Kennedy being secretly assassinated, 9/11 being an inside Job, the US being secretly run by satanic Jesuits (if they're protestant), the US being secretly run by freemasons (if they're Catholic), School shootings being false flag operations to justify gun control, flouridation is sapping vital fluids...

I just wonder if its a really paranoid mindset, coupled together with a prideful superiority that makes them reject any other opinion than their own?

[rogue06]

I've sometimes seen geocentrism growing in popularity. This holds that the Earth is the center of the universe, and the sun and stars rotate around it. We've had a few like that on this forum, and I've seen this opinion as well on some hyper-traditionalistic Catholic and Eastern Orthodox forums.

But not flat earth proponents. That's quite surprising if its the case.

Are you user its flat earth, and not geocentrism?

JohnMartin, who used to post here, was both and IIRC also held to the idea that the firmament was a solid structure in which the stars and planets were physically embedded.

[Cow Poke]

JohnMartin, who used to post here, was both and IIRC also held to the idea that the firmament was a solid structure in which the stars and planets were physically embedded.

So, you think he really believed that, or was doing that just to get attention.

[rogue06]

So, you think he really believed that, or was doing that just to get attention.

He fought too long and too hard not just here but elsewhere as well, without giving even the slightest slip that showed he was trolling, to be a Poe.

[Leonhard]

So, you think he really believed that, or was doing that just to get attention.

I think he really believed it. He still posts about it on various blogs he opens now and then. He posted about it on a hyper-traditionalist forum somewhere. And I've seen other people like that online. Its definitely a real phenomenon.

[Cow Poke]

I think he really believed it. He still posts about it on various blogs he opens now and then. He posted about it on a hyper-traditionalist forum somewhere. And I've seen other people like that online. Its definitely a real phenomenon.

wow

I guess it takes all kinds.

[KingsGambit]

I think there is something to the idea that it's a broader worldview. The lady I know is a diehard Trump supporter who accuses everything of being "fake news". She simply chooses what she wants to believe and dismisses any evidence otherwise.

Teal and I got into it over this awhile back. She thought it was harmless. I see real epistemological harm with wide consequences.

[LeaC]

I think there is something to the idea that it's a broader worldview. The lady I know is a diehard Trump supporter who accuses everything of being "fake news". She simply chooses what she wants to believe and dismisses any evidence otherwise.

Teal and I got into it over this awhile back. She thought it was harmless. I see real epistemological harm with wide consequences.

Genuinely curious, what harm do you see in it?

[KingsGambit]

Genuinely curious, what harm do you see in it?

It encourages a level of distrust that isn't helpful. The evidence that the earth isn't flat is so overwhelming that it causes people to be skeptical even in the face of clear evidence. As a result, it trains people to be overly gullible.

In the case of Christians holding the belief, it brings shame to the cause of Christ. As Augustine said, "Usually, even a non-Christian knows something about the earth, the heavens, and the other elements of this world, about the motion and orbit of the stars and even their size and relative positions, about the predictable eclipses of the sun and moon, the cycles of the years and the seasons, about the kinds of animals, shrubs, stones, and so forth, and this knowledge he holds to as being certain from reason and experience. Now, it is a disgraceful and dangerous thing for an infidel to hear a Christian, presumably giving the meaning of Holy Scripture, talking nonsense on these topics; and we should take all means to prevent such an embarrassing situation, in which people show up vast ignorance in a Christian and laugh it to scorn".