Question from a reader:
What do you find in God's Word about the flat earth theory? I never believed it, but honestly, some things about it make sense. I am studying this subject, but would love your opinion on it.
Answer from Eternal Perspective Ministries:
We would encourage you to be very careful about these teachings and those who promote them.
Here is an article from Got Questions, a website we recommend, answering the question, “Does the Bible teach that the earth is flat?”
This is an excellent but long article from Answers in Genesis. We highly recommend you read through it to the end. The author, Dr. Danny Faulkner, talks about several Christian men who have been astronauts. He writes, “Christians who think that the earth is flat or that men never set foot on the moon are effectively accusing several Christian brothers of lying about one of the biggest things that ever happened in their lives. Are the Apollo moon landing deniers prepared to make this accusation?”
Not long ago, Randy had the opportunity to meet Shane Kimbrough, a brother in Christ who is an astronaut. They both spoke at a Christian event, and in fact, when he was introduced up front, Shane said with kindness and humor, “Sorry to those who believe the earth is flat. I’ve been up there in space, and I can most definitely tell you that it isn’t!” Randy has a beautiful, framed image Shane personally photographed showing the atmosphere of the earth. The earth’s curvature is clearly visible in the photo. (You can view Shane’s Instagram, where he shows some photos and videos he’s taken, like this one.)
Randy writes, “NASA would have had to go to pretty great lengths to fool Shane daily on three different missions in three different spacecraft with three different crews (who also had to all be fooled), for a total of 388 days in space (fifth most in American history). Not sure how they would pull off that sustained a level of hoax!”
You can read more about Shane here. And here’s an interview he did with Bob Goff.
Dr. Faulkner wrote another article that addresses some of the Scripture passages brought up by those who believe in a flat earth.
In his conclusion, he writes,
I have learned of the corrosive effect that the flat-earth movement is having on Christians who have been sucked up into it. I’ve heard from wives whose husbands have been turned into surly, paranoid, negative men because of their belief in all sorts of conspiracies. I’ve heard from husbands whose wives no longer give them due respect because the wives are convinced that their husbands are deceived and hence can’t be viewed as the spiritual leaders in their families. The flat-earth movement is tearing families and churches apart. Many flat-earthers leave their churches in search of another church that teaches what they consider to be true biblical cosmology. Unable to find a flat-earth church, many flat-earthers simply stop attending church. All these attitudes and actions directly violate God’s commands and will for our lives.
A final thought: in our experience, becoming drawn into subjects like this one does not yield good “fruit” in people’s lives. It often leads to confusion and distraction from what God says matters most. God wants you to build your life on Him, the rock, a solid foundation for life (Matthew 7:24-25) and to invest your life in what truly matters for eternity. Our time is short so may we invest in what will last forever: serving God and loving people!
God bless you.
