Greek philosophers Pythagoras in the 6th century B.C. While there were many, including the sailors in Christopher Columbus’ day, that still believed in the superstition of a flat earth and sea monsters that would attack ships that went too far from land, the science affirming the earth was round had been around nearly 2000 years. The claim that there was persecution of those who didn’t believe the earth was flat, is a myth as documented by Creation Ministries International. The Catholic Church reports on this “Galileo Controversy” by essentially saying that scientists of the day claim the Galileo did not prove his case scientifically.
So why pick on Christians for believing in a flat earth? Well, a lot of the criticism is based on the persecution by the Catholic Church in Rome of those such as Galileo for his belief that the universe did not rotate around the earth, but the earth rotated around the sun.
To sailors, this suggested a hill or curvature of water between the observer and the ship. Columbus noted that as ships sailed away from a point of observation, they slowly disappeared from view starting with the hull until the only thing that was left to see was the tops of the masts. Ancient Norse, German, Japanese, and Chinese believed in a flat earth as well.Įven in the days of Christopher Columbus, it was a common belief that the earth was flat and that if one sailed too far from shore, they would fall off the edge of the earth. Even the Jain and Buddhist religious traditions also taught a flat earth belief. Well respected philosophers such as Thales, Leucippus, Democritus, and others believed the earth was flat until about the 5th century B.C. Likewise, poets such as Homer and Hesiod believed the same. For the record, early Egyptians and Mesopotamians believed the earth was a flat disc floating on the sea. Unfortunately, those who make these comments are ignorant of the facts of history and what the Bible says concerning the same.įirst, history is full of examples of many civilizations and respected individuals that believed the earth was flat. Because of this, Christians are often called ‘flat earthers” as a derogatory term to indicate their stupidity and to belittle their beliefs. It is commonly stated that because of ignorance, Christians at one time did not believe that the earth was round until the scientific evidence was so overwhelming that they changed their beliefs.
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