Belief is a very individual thing; from gods to science to government, there are as many opinions as there are people, and those who share the same ideas often come together in groups for support of their claims. There are religious organizations, vegetarian societies, and factions dedicated to promoting everything from the New World Order conspiracy to the expanding Earth theory.
Today, I am pleased to bring you the Flat Earth Society, a group dedicated to spreading the claim that the Earth is flat. Their basis is in Samuel Rowbotham's literal interpretation of the Bible, which does refer to the planet as being flat on 18 separate occasions. (I counted) Now, they obviously don't think that our planet is flat a la a sheet of paper; more that it is cylindrical, like a cosmic hockey puck. Additionally, the faithful also believe that the Sun, Moon, Planets, and the remainder of the cosmos is very near, only a few hundred to a few thousand miles away in most instances, and that if you climb the wall of ice (Antarctica) around the Earth, you'll fall off.
So what of the photos of the globe taken from space? FES members insist that it is a NASA conspiracy and all images of our orb are so because they have been professionally manipulated to appear this way. Additionally, adherents postulate that the North Pole is in the centre of the Earth's surface and that sunlight and set are caused by the Sun moving closer and further from our intergalactic tuna can. I swear on my very mortal atheist life that I'm really not making this up, nor are these folks joking. They believe this way because it is in the Bible. I even had a very heated discussion one night on the webs with a guy who is not a member of the Society, but also believes the Earth is a disc.
I'm not really the type to point at belief and laugh, but I couldn't help it. I'm really trying to hold an open mind here. I know that being indoctrinated with an overly literal interpretation of the bible can cause certain folks to believe all sorts of peculiar things, so I hold no malice towards them. That said, I do wonder how, in our day and age, educated people can believe in things as absurd as our planet actually being God's pet Frisbee.
If you're curious as to exactly what the FES believes and why they do, wander over HERE to get your spacemind blown.
Flat globe stolen from John Krygier at DIY Cartography , an amazing site for anyone interested in the scientific art of map making.
Story about flat-earthers, and there's a rotating globe of user activity on the side of the page.
ReplyDeleteGot rid of the globe. :)
ReplyDelete