The consensus among scientists is that the Earth is a roughly spherical object. It is worth noting that the prevailing scientific understanding of the shape of the earth has long been established as a sphere, based on evidence from various fields of study such as astronomy, geology, and physics. When examining passages that may seem to imply flat earth, it is crucial to interpret them in light of the genre, cultural context, and the overall message of the Bible. It contains various genres, including historical narratives, poetry, wisdom literature, and apocalyptic writings.

William Lane Craig's website: Bible is a collection of ancient texts that were written over a span of many centuries by different authors, each with its own style, purpose, and cultural background.

This post and other resources are available on Dr. The burden of proof, then, lies upon these literalists to justify their assumption that such ancient literature was intended by its original authors and readers to be understood literally. I doubt that any ancient Israelite believed, for example, that if he traveled far enough north he would eventually come to some gigantic pillar supporting the dome of the sky. Soden, In the Beginning… We Misunderstood: Interpreting Genesis 1 in Its Original Context (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel Publications, 2012) of what a literalistic understanding of such myths would involve. In order to appreciate this point just take a look at the artistic illustrations in Johnny V. These accounts are often metaphorical or symbolic, and ancient people would have been quite surprised if one of these modern literalists were to confront them with the claim, ”So you believe that the world literally _ (fill in the blank) ?”. There I discuss ancient creation stories such as ancient Egyptian creation myths and ask whether ancient peoples understood these literally. I suggest you listen to or read my Defenders lectures (Series 2, Section 9) on Creation and Evolution, parts 9-12. I have seen one person even claim that when the Bible uses such figures of speech as “the four corners of the Earth” it asserts that the Earth is a square! Imposing such wooden literalism on even modern parlance would make all of us Flat Earthers as well! These people have no understanding of literary interpretation or literary genre. I suspect what’s going on here is internet infidels masquerading as Christians in a misguided attempt to make the Bible look silly.

Bible verses for flat earth