Did Jesus know that the earth is round? If so - why did he not tell us? If he had told us it would have saved the church lots of credibility loss and humans lots of time and confusion. If not how come - he could just have asked his dad. A silly answer would be that he wanted us to find out for ourselves - but which father does not explain to his kids what kind of house they live in?
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Hellenistic astronomy in Ancient Greece had already established that the Earth was round three centuries before Jesus was (supposedly) born, and earlier Greek astronomers had been arguing in favour of a round Earth for another three centuries prior to that (there is some evidence that earlier civilisations knew it too, as mentioned by Matias in his answer). Bearing in mind that Jesus lived in an area which was greatly influenced by both Greece and the Romans who were themselves greatly influenced by Greece, he might have been aware that the world is not flat - perhaps, if he did exist, he was like many modern people and considered the concept of a flat Earth so ridiculous that he didn't feel he needed to devote any time arguing against it.
Or maybe, as he was able to water into wine, he just assumed the world was wobbly and hazy without any particular shape.
Jnei
Level 8
Sep 24, 2018
1
Stig:
Here are some answers I got from the Catholic community:
- Scripture says that the earth is round…see Isaiah 40:22.
- The never taught the earth was flat. That is a myth.
- Whether the earth is round or square is of no importance to our salvation. And in addition, are you sure the earth is not flat really? do not believe everything the scientists say …
- If told the first men and women they would not have understood.
Stig:
- Off course He did He created it.
- The ancient Greeks knew the Earth was round, so even if wasn’t given ‘divine knowledge’ he would have known anyway.
- He was not there to be a science teacher. I don’t think most people walking on this earth in biblical times could have even began to get their head around the concept or at least been willing to concern themselves with it.
- Details about geography are not necessary for our salvation. In any event, many knew the Earth was likely to be round, even in ancient times.
Should have told us about atomic power.
Jesus was likely not even a real person, but an invention or composite character. So again, a misplaced question.
However, again, you get at an important truth.
Why does the Bible always lead from behind? Why for example does it not only fail to decry human slavery as a great evil, but assumes it as unremarkable and then proceeds to advise slave owners how to be "good" slave owners, and to advise slaves on how to properly "submit to" their masters?
The obvious answer is that the Bible simply reflects the assumptions and thinking of the era in which it was written. And prior to the Enlightenment, that is basically some form of serfdom in a totalitarian monarchy and a patriarchal society. So god is simply a glorified king, who is served without question; heaven is simply an extension of inequitable and unjust social and cultural systems of that era; hell is simply an extension of the draconian penal systems of the day, etc.
Why does the Bible depict the "firmament", the "foundations of the heavens" that it rests upon, and other fantastical ancient cosmologies? Because that's what was assumed as common knowledge to be true in the era in which it was written.
In a perverse double back-flip of mental gymnastics, modern Bible believers even seize upon phrases in the Bible and project modern scientific understanding upon it. So when an OT passage describes god "sitting upon the circle of the earth" they say, see, the Bible teaches that the earth is a sphere (apparently not themselves understanding the difference between a circle and a sphere).
mordant
Level 8
Sep 23, 2018
1
Stig:
I appreciate your intellectual input. My question is meant as provocative to the people of religious knowledge and therefore not misplaced even though placed on a more atheist orientated website. I have placed the same question on a catholic church site. A true intellectual would be interested in the answers from them....
@Stig I've always been interested in how theists answer this and frequently engage them about it, but there are very few of those doing so here. In any case, it's a misplaced question not because of that or because I'm incurious about other's reactions, but because there's no real basis to think someone named Jesus of Nazareth, much less the miracle-working god-man depicted in the canonical gospels, said anything, much less this. That is what I would lead with in a conversation. In debate one must establish one's premises and definitions or you just end up talking past each other. My response to this question, then, is no different from any other rhetorical question with a false premise, such as, "Did the Cat in the Hat know that the moon is not made of cheese?"
I'm almost 100% certain that "Jesus Christ" never existed. Here is why. No one that wrote the bible ever met him. A guy by the name of Josephus claimed to, but that has been proven to be a forgery for 100's of years. There is no record of him outside the bible. Romans kept track of every little thing. No mention of the guy. That would have been of great historical significance. The bible at the earliest was written about 40 years after his "death". His name also wouldn't be Jesus Christ. It would translate into something like Joshua son of Joseph. Last names were basically non-existent at the time. I could have been something like Jesus of Nazareth. Christ is a title, not a name. It comes from Latin meaning "the holy one' or "the anointed one".
So not a lot going in his favor for ever existing.
@TheGreatShadow These are all valid points but not my primary reasons for subscribing to the mythicist position. I don't focus on these particular points because most theists who have delved into this at all make way too much of the few scraps of glancing references to Christianity as if they substantiate anything, and I just prefer not to waste breath on them.
Mercifully, some of them have learned to shy away from citing the "pious fraud" insertion in Jewish Wars by Josephus, but there are others they like to flog. It bores me.
For the same reason he didn't know E = mc2? Impossible to know at the time. Yes, I know I could look through the charachter map and find the squared symbol, but it'd take forever.
TheGreatShadow
Level 9
Sep 23, 2018
0
Stig:
It might have been impossible for mankind to know the laws of the universe - but the creator knew 13.4 billion years ago. So why not let man know....?
Please post a recent photo of your face, write a profile and answer the profile questions. I feel uncomfortable talking to a man who hides.
birdingnut
Level 8
Sep 23, 2018
0
The jesus character thought that the earth was flat. When the devil took him to a mountain top he was shown all of the cities in the world. This flat earth model is in agreement with genesis. Another bummer for Christians.
Happyheretic
Level 7
Sep 23, 2018
0
Stig:
Great reply. Found Matthew 4:8 that describes this.
jesus, if he existed, was a middle eastern jew (not greek, so his name couldn't have been jesus) who had no more knowledge of geography, astronomy or anything else than his contemporaries.
g
genessa
Level 8
Sep 23, 2018
0
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