Claim CA662:
It is not true that the church used to teach that the Earth was flat.
Only two Christian theologians (Lactantius and Cosmas Indicopleustes)
taught it, and they were largely ignored and uninfluential. The flat
earth myth is a product of Darwinism meant to make it look like religion
was the enemy of science when it was not so.
Source:
Wells, Jonathan, 1999 (Oct. 20). "Evolution: Teaching the Controversy",
debate at Burlington-Edison High School, sponsored by Skagit Parents for
Scientific Truth in Education.
Response:
- Wells, who has a PhD in theology, is ignorant of Theophilus of Antioch,
Irenaeus, Tertullian, Methodius, Theodore of Mopsuestia, John
Chrysostom, Cyril of Jerusalem, Ephraim Syrus, Athanasius of
Alexandria, Diodorus of Tarsus, Epiphanius of Salamis, Hilary of
Poitiers, and Severianus of Gabala. It is true that flat Earthism was
never a majority or official position of the early church, and that it
became practically nonexistent among the educated during and after the
Middle Ages, but many of the early Fathers were flat
Earthers (Schadewald, 1999).
- One need not manufacture myths to show a hostility of religion towards
science. The church's reaction to heliocentrism is another well known
example, as is Wells himself.
Links:
Ethical Atheist. 2001. The flat earth: A detailed study of personal bias
and historical thinking.
http://www.ethicalatheist.com/docs/flat_earth_myth.html
References:
- Schadewald, Robert. 1999 (Oct. 24, 16:15). "Re: Wells speech at
Burlington Edison High School", USENET post to talk.origins, Message-Id
<3.0.1.32.19991024161523.01174958@gold.tc.umn.edu>.
created 2001-2-18
