According to their cosmology, water is above the dome and below the earth. The Babylonians believed that the universe consists of a reasonably flat earth surrounded by water, with the whole covered by a huge dome. Preserved-Sumerian, Babylonian, Hebrew, Egyptian-describe a spherical earth. It’s not surprising that none of the early cosmologies which are still From any sort of hill, the calm surface of the ocean looks flat as a flapjack. That settles it.”īefore the dawn of history, those people who gave the matter any thought probably concluded that the earth was essentially flat. Its philosophy is summed up by a bumper sticker now popular among fundamentalists: “The Bible says it. The modern flat-earth movement arose in 19th century England as a reaction against the burgeoning fields of astronomy and geology. The flat-earth cosmology the ancient Hebrews borrowed from the Babylonians is implicit throughout The spherical heresy has incensed literal-minded Christians since time (The orthodox version of the story, of course, is that Columbus believed the earth was spherical, but his crew didn’t share his belief, and feared that they might sail over the edge of a flat earth!) Johnson, late president of the Flat Earth Society, told the story. Columbus and his ships sailed safely across the flat sea and reached America. Columbus finally convinced them that their fears were groundless, for the earth is flat. Fearing they would slip down over the edge of the globe, never to return, they nearly mutinied. When Columbus sailed in 1492, he knew he could safely reach the Indies by sailing west.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |