Analysis of Biblical Criticism -Second-

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.

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[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.

[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)