Flat Earth: A Doctrine of Demons?

Some of you may not know it, but there is a growing number of otherwise intelligent people who actually believe the earth is flat. Flat Earthers are Bible believers who erroneously think that the Bible says the earth is flat.

You can disagree with me if you want, but I am becoming increasingly convinced that the current craze of Flat Earthers is a doctrine of devils. I am not saying that Flat Earthers are devils, nor am I saying that they are possessed by devils. But I do believe they are letting their thinking be clouded by devils. Here are some reasons I believe the Flat Earth doctrine is most likely a doctrine of devils.

1. HYPER-LITERALISM. The belief in a Flat Earth is based on a hyper-literal interpretation of some statements in the Bible about the earth. Flat Earthers dogmatically insist that those statements must be understood in an absolutely literal sense. They vehemently deny the possibility that those statements might simply be using figurative language to describe the earth as it appears to man’s naked eye, and that this figurative language is used to make a point for the benefit of mankind by speaking to man in a way he can understand. When Flat Earthers insist that a figurative statement must be understood as a literal statement, they miss the main point of that statement.

In my book Hermeneutics I discuss literalism and hyper-literalism. I am a literalist. I believe that the people mentioned in the Bible were real, literal people, and that the events mentioned in the Bible were real, literal events that actually happened. But I am not a hyper-literalist. By that, I mean that I recognize that some parts of the Bible were never intended to be taken in an absolutely literal sense. Sometimes figurative language is used. When that is the case, those passages are meant to be understood figuratively, not literally. For example:

In Revelation 1:16 John saw Yeshua (Jesus) with “a sharp two-edged sword” coming out of His mouth. This is figurative language. Jesus does not have a literal metal sword protruding from His mouth. In the Bible Jesus is said to be the lamb of God, the lion of Judah, the door, the bread, the vine, the chief cornerstone, the Alpha and Omega. But Jesus is not a literal lamb, lion, door, loaf of bread, vine, stone, or letters of the alphabet. In Galatians 2:9 Peter, James, and John are are called “pillars” of the Messianic Community. But they were not literal stone columns holding up a building made of stone.

I could go on and on. You can see more examples of figurative language in the Bible in my book Hermeneutics, but even the examples I give there are just a few of many throughout the Bible.

Flat Earth doctrine is based on a hyper-literal hermeneutic that will not tolerate figurative language. Yes, we should take what the Bible says literally, except when there is a good reason to not take it literally. And there are lots of good reasons to not take some statements about the earth literally.

2. BEARING FALSE WITNESS AGAINST PEOPLE. In 1522 Magellan’s crew proved that the earth is round by circumnavigating the world. In 1609 Galileo proved that the earth orbits the sun when he observed the heavens through a telescope. Solid evidence was presented, and the world eventually had to admit that the earth was spherical and it orbited the sun. From there, mankind moved forward and continued to explore our planet and to study the heavens.

Promoting a Flat Earth is in effect bearing false witness against people and thereby breaking the ninth of the Ten Commandments, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” Let me explain why.

Believing in a Flat Earth would require me to claim that every international sailor, surveyor, and cartographer since Magellan, and every astronomer since Galileo, every international airplane pilot since Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic, and every astronaut and NASA worker have all, without exception, been involved in a massive international conspiracy to HIDE THE TRUTH about the shape of the earth.

Believing in Flat Earth would require me to claim that thousands of people, over a period spanning 500 years, have all been liars who do not want us uninitiated underlings to know that the earth is flat. For some mysterious reason they want to hide the truth of a Flat Earth from us. To accomplish their nefarious goal, they used Magellan’s ship and crew to deceive the world into thinking the earth is round, and Galileo’s telescope to deceive the world into thinking the earth orbits the sun. And since that time, they have used sailors, mapmakers, astronomers, airline pilots, and astronauts to perpetuate the lie and to keep the true shape of our planet a secret. What benefits these thousands of lying conspirators gain from this 500-year-old hoax is unclear.

Sorry, Flat Earth Friends, I don’t buy it. For one thing, it’s the most ridiculous conspiracy theory I’ve ever heard. For another thing, it’s far more sensible to simply acknowledge that the Bible often uses figurative language, and to admit that some statements about the earth are intended to be understood figuratively, not literally. And for another thing, I refuse to bear false witness against thousands of people by claiming that all those people were and are liars.

3. GNOSTICISM. In the first century various forms of Gnosticism infiltrated the faith. Gnostics were groups of believers who claimed to have secret knowledge (gnosis) about things like angels, cosmology, spirits, etc. This secret knowledge was available only to the insiders who were initiated into the ranks of the enlightened. Theologians believe that John was likely referring to gnostic beliefs when he gave warnings in 1 John, especially in chapter 4. Paul too was likely referring to gnostic beliefs when he warned about people who were “worshipping angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind” (Col. 2:18).

Flat Earth doctrine is a modern-day form of Gnosticism. It puffs up the mind and makes the adherent feel like he is now an insider. He is enlightened to the truth about the shape of the earth. He has gnosis, secret knowledge that formerly belonged only to the enlightened minority who were part of the 500-year-old international conspiracy to deceive the world into thinking the earth is round. But unlike the conspirators who try to keep the shape of the earth a secret, the Flat Earther wants to broadcast the truth to the world. He wants to shout it from the housetops. This is now a very important part of his mission as a disciple of Jesus.

Paul writes about doctrines of devils in 1 Timothy chapter 4. In verses 1 and 2, he warns against giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. In verses 3-5 he gives a few examples of teachings that are doctrines of devils. In verse 6 he talks about the importance of being nourished by words of faith and good doctrine. In contrast to words of faith and good doctrine, in verse 7 he says to “refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.”

Flat Earthers need to refuse the foolish old wives’ fable of Flat Earth, and exercise themselves rather unto godliness. Instead of focusing on the shape of the earth, focus on being nourished by words of faith and good doctrine.

4. A WASTE OF TIME AND A BAD WITNESS TO THE WORLD. Flat Earthers, please quit wasting your precious time promoting an idea that is not only ridiculous but also irrelevant to our faith. Even if you convince someone that the earth is flat, how does it benefit him? It doesn’t. It only puffs up his mind and motivates him to waste his time, like you do, promoting an irrelevant idea that is of no real benefit to anyone except the Devil who wants you to waste your time.

Flat Earth is a divisive distraction of the Devil. Stop it. Just stop. Promoting Flat Earth is not only a waste of time, it is also a bad witness to the world. If lost sinners are told “The Bible says the earth is flat,” this makes them think that the Bible is a book of mythology. It makes them think it would be stupid for them to take the Bible seriously. In Matthew 23, Yeshua rebuked the Pharisees for shutting people out of the kingdom by their bad example. If you want lost sinners to believe the Bible, quit saying the earth is flat.

5. HOW NOT TO USE STRONG’S CONCORDANCE. When a Hebrew word sounds similar to an English word, some people think there is a connection between the two words. For some English words that is true. The English word amen is a transliteration of the Hebrew word amen. The same goes for words like cherub, satan, shekel, and manna. These are all Hebrew words transliterated into English and adopted into the English language.

However, there are lots of English words that sound the same as or similar to a Hebrew word, but have no connection to that Hebrew word. The English word coal has no connection to the Hebrew word kol (“voice”). The English word ten has no connection to the Hebrew word ten (masculine singular imperative “give”). The English word hem has no connection to the Hebrew word hem (masculine “they”). The English word hen has no connection to the Hebrew word hen (feminine “they”). The English phrase ma’s leg has no connection to the Hebrew word mazleg (“fork”).

Similar-sounding words can sometimes be used as mnemonic aids for memorizing vocabulary. To remember the Hebrew word for “they” in the feminine form (hen), I thought of a hen party. To remember the Hebrew word for “fork,” mazleg, I thought of my mom’s leg with a fork stuck in it. (The more bizarre the mnemonic aid, the easier it is to remember. Sorry, mom.)

Similar-sounding words can be used as mnemonic aids, but they are not always cognates. More often than not, there is no semantic connection. That brings me to the Hebrew word nasa.

Strong’s correctly translates nasa as “to lift, in a great variety of applications.” But Flat Earthers have hijacked the word, claiming that it means “to deceive” and that it has some connection to NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. In other words, the Hebrew meaning of nasa exposes NASA’s efforts to deceive us by telling us the earth is round. I have seen memes on the internet promoting this nonsense. “When you find out NASA means ‘to deceive’ in Hebrew!”

This would be ridiculous enough if nasa really did mean “to deceive,” but it doesn’t. Nasa is never once translated “deceive” or “delude” or any such thing. Whoever first came up with this goofy idea apparently looked at the wrong word in Strong’s. Nasa is #5375. Slightly below it is nasha, #5377. Nasha means “to lead astray, to delude, to seduce.” Nasha is an entirely different word with an entirely different meaning. Nasha has no connection to nasa and nasa has no connection to deception nor to NASA.

Oh well, at least stuff like this gives me ideas for cartoons, like the one below.

| DB

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Image: (Top) Psalm 95 by Daniel Botkin from his Psurrealistic Psalms Gallery. See this and all Daniel's art pieces on his art website, DanielBotkin.com. (Bottom) Mandrake cartoon, by Daniel Botkin. Check out his cartoon books in the Gates of Eden Store!