did the bible say that earth was flat?
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did it?
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From TalkOrigins CH131
The passage saying the earth is round is Isaiah 40:22:
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.
The TalkOrigins article presents 2 arguments:
1. Bible authors believed the earth was a flat, round disc. This is consistent with other biblical writings.
2. Even if the word 'round' referred to a globe, it was already known during those periods that the earth was a globe.
An opposing view can be found here.
In my opinion, the argument only goes to show the level of mental gymnastics christian apologists are willing to go through to protect the bible. However, the fact remains that the bible really doesn't tell us anything. The bible is constantly being reinterpreted in light of knowledge gained through reason and science.
It is clear that that the Church thought the earth was flat. Even the most strident apologist can't do away with Galileo Galilei.
Some of course argue that the bible is not wrong. It was inspired by god and it is the fault of man that we did not interpret it correctly.
My response would be you would think that a perfect god would be able to grant clearer inspiration.[/url][/i][/quote] -
actually, it is the romans that said that the earth is flat, and you travel to the end of the map, you will fall off
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i guess in the early days, anybody would have believe that earth is flat.Originally posted by allentyb:actually, it is the romans that said that the earth is flat, and you travel to the end of the map, you will fall off -
ya but they also believed in a host of other myths and gods.Originally posted by allentyb:actually, it is the romans that said that the earth is flat, and you travel to the end of the map, you will fall off 
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Okay sorry. I misunderstood your question.
My earlier post was a response to apologetic arguments that the bible predicted that the earth was a sphere.
You asked if the bible stated the earth was flat.
The bible does not explicitly say the earth is flat. That's not surprising as the bible is not an exposition on cosmology. The bible does not cover the structure of the universe any more than it describes gravity. However, even though gravity is not explicitly mentioned, you can tell from the writings that the people in the bible are living in a world where gravity exists.
Similarly, there are numerous examples where you can see that biblical authors followed the flat earth paradigm.
A more through treatment can be found at http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/febible.htm