Today's Scripture Reading (November 9, 2024): Exodus 9
I live in an area where the Earth
is very flat. So maybe it shouldn't be surprising that on one of the main
highways out of the city, there is a sign that advertises the local chapter of
the "Flat Earth Society." Maybe when you live on the Great Plains of
North America, it is easier to believe in a flat earth rather than living in
areas that have hills and trees or mountains, and you just can't see very far in
the distance in the first place. On the plains, it sometimes seems that you can
see forever. I once heard someone describe the road between two cities that lie
not far to the east of where I live. They described the road as going straight
for about an hour, then it turns and travels through a valley before it turns
again on the way out of the valley and continues straight for another couple of
hours. I heard the description and heard someone say, "I know that road,
and that is exactly how it goes."
I have had conversations with
flat earthers, and let me say that they have never convinced me that this is what
they believe, but if you ask them why these Flat Earthers believe that the Earth
is flat, they will often point to the verdict of your senses. If you go to
places like the Great Plains, it feels like you can see forever, and you don't
see the curve of the Earth. It seems easy to believe that maybe the Earth really
is flat.
However, you must overcome
some indications that the Earth just might be some kind of a sphere. Some of
the evidence is just what we can see in our planetary neighborhood. Our naked
eyes show that both the moon and the sun are spherical. Not only that, but if
we use a telescope, we find that Venus, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, and
Neptune are all spheres. In fact, if the Earth is flat, it is the only body in
the known galaxy that is not spherical.
Flat Earthers would defend
that idea of a flat earth in a universe of spheres by arguing that the Earth is
different because we are at the center of the Universe. Everything else
revolves around us, just as it was created to do. One Flat Earther has even
told me about an experiment where an airplane went up with a level on board,
and as far as the plane flew, the level never moved off of center, proving that
the Earth is flat. As far as I know, these believers have never explained how a
plane or boat can circumnavigate the Earth, even taking vastly different
routes.
However, as I said, I am not
convinced that Flat Earthers really believe the Earth is flat. There is so much
evidence to the contrary, and the reality is that we as a race have believed
that the Earth was a sphere for longer than we sometimes think.
Pharaoh did not believe in
Israel's God. At least, that is his public testimony. And yet, he investigated
the situation after the night the animals of Egypt died. What he found was that
the animals of the Egyptians had been killed, but that not one animal of the
Israelites had passed away. Israel's animals remained healthy. Pharaoh had
enough belief to at least investigate the claims of Moses and Aaron. At the
same time, he said He didn't believe but was hoping against hope that he could
find another logical explanation for what had happened. But it was becoming
hard to disregard the prophetic message of Moses and Aaron, almost as hard as
believing in a Flat Earth in a neighborhood of globes.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading:
Exodus 10
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