Robert
J. Schadewald, of the NCSE is also an expert on pseudoscience. Has pointed out
that there are many Biblical references which are affected by “Geocentrism” both
in the Old Testament and the New Testament. For instance, as for the Old
Testament, he explains that Genesis 1:6[1], Isaiah 40:21-22[2] and many other passages
suggest: “the Earth is immovable and others treat the sun and moon as minor
bodies” (Schadewald, 95). Interestingly, By contrast, some people strongly
refute this perspective by countering that the Old Testament actually states
that the earth is spherical. Henry M. Morris, an American Young Earth Creationist,
Christian apologist, and engineer, stresses that Isaiah 40:21-22 implies the Earth
is spherical saying that “khug” in Isaish 40:22 means "sphericity” and
adds that “thus both earth and the deep
are components of the great terrestrial sphere" (Morris, 2000, P113). Schadewald,
though, points out the same passage is based on the image of a flat Earth. In
this way, Biblical interpretations on various matters occasionally vary quite
widely depending on a scholar’s theological stance, and it is often very
difficult to determine which opinions are more precise or correct. To confuse
matters more, Schadewald also indicates that the New Testament also has
passages that express the authors’ geocentric notions. The proofs for the claim
are exemplified by the two cases. One is Revelation 1:7[3] and the other is the story
of the temptation of Jesus from Matthew and Luke. In terms of Revelation 1:7,
the passage at issue is: “Behold, he comes with clouds; and every eye shall see
him.” The similar descriptions that Jesus comes with clouds can be found in
some Gospels as well. According to Matthew 24:30, “all the peoples of the earth
will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Schadewald insists that those scenes portray the geocentric view of the authors
of the Holy Scriptures. Furthermore, he points out that Matthew 4:8[4] asserts that the “word
translated as ‘world’ is the Greek kosmo, meaning the whole universe.” He adds
that “from a sufficiently high mountain, one could see all the kingdoms of a
flat world of limited extent, but the passage is nonsense when applied to a
spherical Earth” (Schadewald, 95). This explanation about Geocentrism in the
Bible might sound firmly rational. Nevertheless, there is always a way to
refute any position, especially in theological study, because of its complex
nature. Regarding the New Testament’s Geocentrism conspiracy, we might be able
to touch a sore spot in that some of the Schadewald’s understandings of the
Biblical world might be a little inaccurate. For example, in the story of the
temptation of Jesus, the Greek word world
which is used in Mark is surely “kosmo” meaning the whole world. On the other
hand, In Luke, in the same episode, the word is replaced by a different Greek
word “oikoumené” which means “the inhabited world” that implies the both “the
whole world” and “the limited world.” Luke 2:1[5] clearly denotes that the
word can be grasped as “a part or a large part of the world” instead of “the
whole world.” Thus the phrase “of the world” might point to the near regions
like “Palestine” or “Canaan.” Moreover, the meaning of the expression “all the
kingdoms” in the story translated from the Greek word “basileias” used by both
Gospel writers is similarly confusing. It generally suggests “kingdom” in which
a king sovereignly rules. Given the characteristic of the Jewish community, it
is highly possible that this word directly indicates “all the Judean kingdoms”
where the sons of Herod then reigned. Therefore, there can be at least two
potential interpretations for the meaning of “all the kingdoms of the world” in
this part. One is “all the nations of the whole world” as Schadewald supports,
and the other is “all the Judea kingdoms of the Palestine” or “all the Judea
kingdoms of the Canaan,” as Barnes notes[6]. Likewise, as for
Revelation 1:7, we might be able to regard its message as a regional event or
simply as part of the parable: “though seeing, they may not see; though
hearing, they may not understand” (Luke 8:10). This parable, of course,
discounts all scientific reasoning when attempting to understand the Bible. When
it comes to seeking the truth in the Biblical stories, the result can be
greatly changed depending on the approach of the analysis.
[1] And God said, "Let there be a
vault between the waters to separate water from water."
[2] Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not
been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
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.
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.
[3] "Look, he is coming with the
clouds," and "every eye will see him, even those who pierced
him"; and all peoples on earth "will mourn because of him." So
shall it be! Amen.
[4] Again, the devil took him to a very
high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.
[5] In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should
be taken of the entire Roman world.
[6] http://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bnb/matthew-4.html
(Matthew 4:8 commentary)
