What had happen' was.....: Aug 30, 2011

Today, I reposted a video here I got from David Woods blog regarding how some Muslims believe that Muhammad taught that the Earth is flat. Ryan Anderson posted the following comment.

Not sure how this doesn't equally apply to the Hebrew Bible (Isaiah 40:22 and 44:24-28*, 1st Samuel 2:8, Proverbs 8:27 and Luke 4:5).
Sure, you can cite Job 26, but that just demonstrates that it's a hodge podge mess.

*probably the inspiration for the very Koranic verse in question.

So why is this FacePalm worthy? Simple: If you examine each of the scriptures Ryan cites, you can see how you assuming that the Bible is teaching a flat earth is unwarranted.

Isaiah 40:22

²² He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.

This is obviously figurative language. Is Isaiah saying that people are grasshoppers? No.Compared to God, we are like grasshoppers like grasshoppers are just like us. Four descriptions are made in a single verse:

a. Above the circle of earth
b. People like grasshoppers
c. Heavens like a canopy
d. Heavens spread out like a tent

Why would you take a single description out of four and claim it's a truth claim while the others are figurative and all are making a point. Anyone who thinks this is the Bible saying the earth is flat, is missing the point.

Isaiah 44:24-28

²⁴ “This is what the LORD says—
   your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb:
   I am the LORD,
   the Maker of all things,
   who stretches out the heavens,
   who spreads out the earth by myself,
²⁵ who foils the signs of false prophets
   and makes fools of diviners,
who overthrows the learning of the wise
   and turns it into nonsense,
²⁶ who carries out the words of his servants
   and fulfills the predictions of his messengers,
   who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited,’
   of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,’
   and of their ruins, ‘I will restore them,’
²⁷ who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry,
   and I will dry up your streams,’
²⁸ who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd
   and will accomplish all that I please;
he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,”
   and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.”’

Here Ryan cites 4 verses. In verse 24, how do "stretches" and "spreads" mean that the earth and heavens are flat? If you are going to think that it's saying the earth is flat then why assume that it is not saying that the heavens are flat too? Most people who misinterpret the Bible think it's teaching that the earth is flat capped by a sky dome. Obviously God is being poetic and not expecting you to literally imagine the image on the right. Perhaps if one understood verses 25-28, one would not make such a big mistake.

1st Samuel 2:8

⁸ He raises the poor from the dust
   and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
   and has them inherit a throne of honor.
   “For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s;
   on them he has set the world.

More figurative language. "Foundations" at this point means the underlying rules and source on which creation is based. This does not imply that the earth is flat.

Proverbs 8:27

²⁷ I was there when he set the heavens in place,
when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,

This is in the middle of a discourse spoken by Wisdom personified as a woman. . Setting the "heavens in place" does apply to the earth or heavens being flat. Why make that assumption? It's merely stating that God put everything where it is. As for the horizon, a poetic description of the horizon is used and not a statement of science. The point is showing how much in control God is on everything.

Luke 4:5

⁵ The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.

I'd assume that Ryan and others look at this and think that what is being explained is that the Devil took Jesus to a mountain somewhere and showed him all the land that could be seen from the mountain. The problem is the text does not say that. The text states that the devil showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in an instant. No one thought at the time that one could naturally go to a mountain anywhere and see all the kingdoms of the world. No one thinks that now, either - even if the earth was flat. Therefore I'd take it as a miraculous thing that happened - to see all the kingdoms of the world in a short time. Why not? The New Testament is full of miracles.