I got a link to this post from John Loftus. The post is on Edward T. Babinski. I think that this article is important. However I disagree with Babinki's points being argued. It proves that many Christians throughout history, beyond any shadow of a doubt, believed in a flat earth in a geocentric universe. So what? They were fallible human beings that were wrong. What Babinski attempts to do is to suggest that those Jews and Christians who were flat earthers and geocentric in their cosmology because the Bibles gives a wrong description of the universe. He fails to show how the Bible messes up real cosmology - he merely kept stating it. I'm not going to go through stating the Bible verses that show the universe is not geocentric and that the earth is not flat because I have blogged them before as has many others showed this over and over for centuries!
Edward T. Babinski: The Flat Earth Myth? It's true that Columbus and most Church Fathers were not flat earthers, but don't start cheering just yet. . .
If you click on the many links in the article you will see where he substantiates the claims you say he doesn't.
ReplyDeleteif you call it "substantiation"
ReplyDeleteI don 't.
ReplyDeleteHi Marcus, My blog post was about Columbus and medieval geographical notions of the world, which as I explained were mixed with theological notions from the Bible.
ReplyDeleteOn the flat earth idea held by biblical authors I wrote a chapter on "The Cosmology of the Bible" that was published last June in the book, The Christian Delusion. You can read what I wrote about that topic in that chapter. Your library may have a copy of the book, or be able to obtain one for you via interlibrary loan. You can also read the chapter or at least peruse it a bit if you spend some time in Barnes and Noble since the ones near me are carrying copies.
The Barnes and Nobles near you are also probably carrying copies.
ReplyDeleteHey thanks for pointing out that you have wrote more information on the Cosmology of the Bible. I realize that you think you have good reason for the position you have taken but there are many scholars who don't share your conclusions. I will be looking at the book however.
ReplyDeleteHey Marcus,
ReplyDeleteI've also rigorously defended Babinski's chapter against all the online criticism against it here. When you see all the verses Babinski lays out and especially in their cultural context, you realize it's a much better explanation that the authors of the Bible had some primitive ideas about cosmology. The very few verses that can be read with "modern eyes" just don't hold up to the weight of the rest of the evidence and are fully compatible with the flat-earth interpretation. You can't say the same in reverse though.
Ben