I was in a heated debate with a far-left liberal acquaintance of mine and he says to me, "That's the problem with you flat-Earth, Bible thumping Christians - you are narrow minded and unwilling to recognize that not only is the Earth not the center of the universe, but that there is nothing special about Earth. Hell, you people even persecuted Galileo for daring to come to scientific conclusions that didn't agree with the Church."
The statement was so laden with untruths, I didn't even know where to start.
People like my liberal friend loves to call Christian Conservatives Narrow-minded, yet these are the people with such a narrow mind that they are unwilling to give God a chance in their lives. Their agenda is about the destruction of Christianity, and the removal of "organized" religion from the face of the Earth. Could you imagine if I went around declaring I wished to force atheism out of the schools, and out of the public square?
These people operate on a double standard.
In order to achieve their goals, facts and the truth get in the way, so they must create lies, and then convince you they are the truth, in order to win their way. Then, what happens is they repeat the lies so many times that even they begin to believe the lies are the truth. My friend's statement at the opening of this piece is laden with those untruths.
For example, he called me a flat-Earth Christian.
The lie that is taught to each and every one of us as children is that the people of Europe believed the Earth was flat before Columbus dared to challenge that line of thinking - and that the flat-Earth theory came from the Christian Church leadership based on some Bible verse that nobody has yet to provide me with.
The truth is, scholars at the time of Columbus knew the Earth was a sphere. The ancient Greeks knew it was a sphere. Christians had determined the Earth was a sphere thousands of years before through biblical text.
Isaiah of the Old Testament, which dates back to a little over seven hundred years before Christ, tells us the Earth is a sphere in plain language. "It is he that sitteth upon the CIRCLE of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in." --Isaiah 40:22
In the original text the word used for Circle in this passage is a Hebrew word: "chuwg", which specifically means "sphere".
Likewise, in the New Testament, Luke 17:34-36 the verses telling of the coming rapture read: 34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Notice in the first verse it is night, and in the other two verses it is daytime. Only on a spherical Earth could it be night and day simultaneously on different locations of the Earth. If there was any flat-Earth Christians during the years shortly before Columbus made his trip, they didn't know their Bible real well.
Believing the Earth is the center of the universe would also not be a typical Christian opinion. In fact, that would be a belief you would expect from the "enlightened ones" since they were the ones always exalting humanity. Unlike other religions, Christianity does not rely on "self-righteousness." Righteous deeds do not get a Christian to Heaven, according to Christian doctrine. Muslims believe they must pray five times a day, fast, and be a martyr if they desire a fast track to Heaven. Hindus believe you must do things to escape the continuous spiral of reincarnation. Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses also declare that it is only possible to reach the highest level of whatever part of Heaven they deem to exist by your works. Christian's believe that God's standard is impossible for humans to reach because His standard is perfection. We try to do the right thing, but to use our actions as a means to Heaven is like bribing God, and bribery doesn't work with Him. Our imperfection, according to the Christian Faith, makes us unworthy, and it is only because the price for our sin was paid through Christ's death that we even have the opportunity to be in God's presence. Ephesians 2:8-9 (King James Version) 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. Doesn't sound like a bunch of folks that would raise humanity up on a pedestal as the center of the universe, does it?
The age of Enlightenment made man the measure of all things, putting humans at the center of everything. Christian theology never placed man in the center of anything. When it was discovered that the Earth was not the center of the universe as The Enlightenment taught, the story by science was later retold saying the Church, despite evidence to the contrary, put humans in the center. And to this day that little white lie is still taught to our children in schools.
As for Galileo, his condemnation had nothing to do with the Church rejecting Galileo's belief the Earth revolved around the Sun. As you can see from what we have already discussed, the Church was willing to accept such a finding, for the Christian Faith did not place man in the center, and the spherical nature of the Earth and the planets was already understood based on Biblical text. Galileo's problems with the church resulted in a much more complex interplay that involved political circumstances, political ambitions, and huge egos. Galileo insisted the church accept all of his findings without question, of which the church did not. Galileo himself later proclaimed the major cause of his troubles, according to the writings of Historical Researcher Philip J. Sampson, was that he made fun of Pope Urban VIII, partially for not being willing to accept Galileo's demands. As a result, "Galileo suffered an honorable detention and a mild reproof, before dying peacefully in his bed."
Hardly the persecution we are taught.
As for the statement by my acquaintance that there is nothing special about the Earth, many physicists, astronomers, and cosmologists would beg to differ. Science wishes to convince us that the Earth is not special, and that there could be many such planets teeming with life in the universe, in order to discredit the notion of a Creator. Based on science, however, it turns out that Earth is very exceptional, indeed. In Chapter seven of the book, The Case for a Creator, Lee Strobel states that "Earth's location, its size, its composition, its structure, its atmosphere, its temperature, its internal dynamics, and its many intricate cycles are essential to life - the carbon cycle, the oxygen cycle, the nitrogen cycle, the phosphorous cycle, the sulfur cycle, the calcium cycle, the sodium cycle, and so on - testify to the degree to which our planet is exquisitely and precariously balanced."
The Earth is hardly ordinary.
So, to my debate mate, before you say something as ignorant as is quoted in the first paragraph of this post in response, I suggest you learn the truth first, instead of jumping to conclusions based on the subjective lies you have been taught by the indoctrination centers also known as the public school system.
I'm just trying to look out for you.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
By Douglas V. Gibbs
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