Some of this earth being a sphere is from the creation myth from Babylon. Marduk kills Tiamat (the serpent) and flays open her/his body, the lower half of the body becomes the ground and the upper half becomes a dome like over the ground keeping the water of the sky in. In the conception of this myth the earth is round like a plate and then theres the heavens above it, so it like a plate with a dome over it.
JW.org says that the Bible knew that the earth was suspended in empty space
by opusdei1972 19 Replies latest watchtower bible
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cofty
Genesis describes the sun and moon as lights to dominate the day and night repsectively.
How did they not notice that the moon only dominates the night for a few days every month?
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prologos
from what time do the statues of ATLAS the body builder type date, with the EARTH like a boulder
on his shoulder?
S&N that the ancient epyptians knew the ~size of the earth globe is news to me, but was not the sun shining intoa well in Egypts south prompt a GREEK measurment and analytic geometry calculation 200 bc? and
could the people that build stonehenge, the pyramids not have figured out by watching eclipses that there were no turtles under the plate?
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snare&racket
I read it in a book on the history of arabic science and mathmatics, but I am looking for references now and can't find one. I remember discussing it with my math prof in uni and he had read it too, but I need to check how valid it is.
Just reading about christians holding onto the belief the earth was flat until very recent times. It struck me how familiar the arguments for a flat earth sounded, with evidence being ignored based on the argument that maybe we are misintepreting the 'evidence'... why? because the bible says differently!
"Scripture simply says that the moon, the sun, and the stars were placed in the firmament of heaven, below and above which heaven are the waters...We Christians must be different from the philosophers [astronomers] in the way we think about the causes of things. And if some are beyond our comprehension like those before us concerning the waters above the heavens, we must believe them rather than wickedly deny them or presumptuously interpret them in conformity; with our understanding."
Martin Luther: First Lecture on Genesis - 1545I have heard the same argument in respect to evolution, the big bang, abiogenesis, the age of the earth + universe etc etc. I just wish they would be honest and at least admit that the evidence contradicting the bible MAY just be an indicator that the bible is fallible, but nope, that not being an option it is either the evidence or our intepretation of it that must be wrong, the bible can't be...it says so..... face palm!
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Focus
The Babble is no more and no less accurate (i.e., it is wholly inaccurate) than most of its contemporaneous religious fraudworks.
That jw.org attempts to paint it otherwise is consistent with the other thousands of lies that underpin this dangerous and damaging cult.
By contrast, Hinduism demonstrated a far better appreciation of sizes and timescales (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalpa_(time_unit) ) if not of structure, and much earlier on at that.
Face the facts, those barbarous stone age shepherds simply weren't very bright at all. The science of the Babylonians and Mesopotamians was far in advance of that of the idiot Babble-authors and fraudsters.
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Focus
("Numbers 31" Class)
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wizzstick
By contrast, Hinduism demonstrated a far better appreciation of sizes and timescales (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalpa_(time_unit) ) if not of structure, and much earlier on at that.
You do realise that most on here are atheists nowadays?
We've left one lot of religious nutters, we don't need any other religious nonsense thanks!
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wizzstick
On a different but related point, the WT likes to suggest that Isaiah 40:22 says:
There is One who dwells above the circle* of the earth,
The * states 'or "sphere"'. Problem is, that the hebrew word for sphere is dur: http://biblehub.com/hebrew/1754.htm
But the Hebrew word for circle is chug: http://biblehub.com/hebrew/chug_2329.htm
As in a compass circle, or the circle of a camp. Something more like a disc.
Another WT myth exposed!
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jws
If ancients were to look up in the sky, they would see the moon and sun and stars suspended on nothing they could see. Is it a stretch to assume they might think the same of the earth? So I'll give them that one. Not from God, but from observation.
Note also that they said the circle of the earth in Isaiah. A circle is 2-dimensional, not 3-dimensional. Think pizza vs. soccer ball. There is a hebrew word for ball (I looked this up once, don't recall where). The earth was not described as a ball, but a circle. If inspired by God who would know the true shape, would God not have used the appropriate term? Thus impressing future generations with his superior knowledge?
In the link the OP posted, I also liked this one:
The universe is governed day-to-day by rational natural laws, not by the whims of deities. (Job 38:33; Jeremiah 33:25) Myths from around the world teach that humans are helpless before the unpredictable and sometimes merciless acts of the gods.
Oh, like floods? Stopping the world so that the sun could shine longer? Waters turning to blood?
God controls the rain: Deut 11:14-17, Deut 28:12, Job 5:10, Job 37:6,11,13, Matt 5:45, James 5:17-18
God sends lightning: Psalms 97:4, Job 37:3,11
God causes snow: Job 37:6
God produces the cold: Job 37:10
Jesus controls natural things too: Matt 8:27 , Mark 4:39
There are dozens of other examples, but you get the point.
Or this:
Sanitary practices protect health. The Law given to the nation of Israel included regulations for washing after touching a dead body, quarantining those with infectious disease, and disposing of human waste safely. (Leviticus 11:28; 13:1-5; Deuteronomy 23:13) By contrast, one of the Egyptian remedies in use when these commands were given called for applying to an open wound a mixture that included human excrement.
Rather than comparing the Bible's view of sanitary practices with modern ones, they compare them to ancient Egyptian practices. If it were God writing this, wouldn't he impart much greater wisdom than something a little better than the Egyptians?
And then there's the actual sanitary practices. Like Leviticus and the menstrual cycle. If you touch a woman who is menstrating, you're unclean until the evening. Why are you unclean? OK, there's the small possibilty of coming into contact somehow with menstrual blood, maybe. But then why is it only time that makes you clean. Wait until the evening, you're clean. What if it's 5 minutes before sunset? Clean by waiting 5 minutes?
And if a man lies with a woman during her period, they are both to be cut off. Really? Why? A little water and soap?
And then the woman has to bring 2 turtledoves to the priest to attone for her sin of being a woman and having a menstrual cycle.
How do people read this stuff and say it's the word of God? Hell, they don't even know one verse from another.
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snare&racket
good work wizz, didn't know the hebrew , cheers x
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Focus
Focus: By contrast, Hinduism demonstrated a far better appreciation of sizes and timescales (see http://tinyurl.com/kalpa432 ) if not of structure, and much earlier on at that.
You do realise that most on here are atheists nowadays?
We've left one lot of religious nutters, we don't need any other religious nonsense thanks!
I should b****y well hope most of you lot here are atheists, wizzstick. Others and I spent enough time sowing the seeds of atheism on H2O and here 15 years ago, lol.
As a Viprous Atheist myself, I'm hardly likely to be pushing a religion. Any religion, lol. They're all bunkum, delusion, fantasy, fraud, ignorance, power/control/money oriented, nonsensical, etc. They vary mainly in the level of damage they do.
The fact remains that while Babble-idiots had timescales of a few thousands or perhaps tens of thousands of years since creation, in Hinduism they happened upon far more realistic periods (billions of years - the kalpa coincidentally equates to within 5% of the best estimates of the age of the earth). Vaguely similarly re "heavenly" distances. Coincidence plus it evolved in a more scientifically inclined environment, perhaps. And with its enormous multitude of Hindu gODS to choose from, you might strike it lucky and find one that you fancy - and of the right gender, whatever that may be.
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Focus
("Objective" Class)