If the Bible is interpreted literally, then it is clear that its authors believed that the world was a flat disc, which was originally said to be covered by a giant crystal dome. It was a common belief at the time in all the neighboring regions. But it was still wrong. The Biblical authors obviously knew nothing about the real state of this world nor the worlds beyond this one either.
But we know what lies outside our atmosphere. And that proves that there is no water above where the firmament isn't.
Genesis 1:6-7: "Then God said, "Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth. And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens."
Outer space is not full of water! There are NO "waters" of the "heavens". And no windows to let it drain in if there was either water or firmament there ([Genesis 7:11]). Some Persians at that time said that the god, Mithras had the stars sewn into the lining of his cloak, which he would drape over the crystalline firmament to bring on the night.
But we know that night is not a veil to be spread over the missing firmament like a curtain ([Psalms 104:2]) or a tent
Isaiah 40:22: “He’s the one who sits above the disk of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. He’s the one who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in,”
We also know that the stars are not made to stand in the span of this expanse ([Isaiah 48:13]) because they are not "high" in the firmament ([Job 22:12]); there is no firmament, and they are so far beyond our puny world that "height" is meaningless and inapplicable. They are much too far away to be blown out-of-place by any storm ([2 Esdras 15:34-35]) and they couldn't be taken "down" by anything at all.
We've also proven that the illusive heavenly firmament has no foundations either ([2 Samuel 22:8]), and neither does the Earth ([Job 38:4-6]). There are no pillars in outer space, wherein there exists no such thing as “up” or “down”.
1 Samuel 2:8: “He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s, and on them he has set the world.”
Job 9:6: “He shakes the earth from its place and makes its pillars tremble.”
Holding the Earth above the deep.
Genesis 1:2: "When the earth was as yet unformed and desolate, with the surface of the ocean depths shrouded in darkness, and while the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters,"
Because there is no deep. The first oceans did not form until hundreds of millions of years AFTER the earth formed. [B:1] [B:4]
We also now know what lies outside our gravitational field. And that proves that you can't have any passage of days and nights without a sun
Genesis 1:13-14: “The twilight and the dawn were the third day.” [A:3]
"Dawn" is sunrise. According to the Genesis account itself, this was BEFORE the formation of the sun. There can be no sunrise without a sun. To measure them against an Earth which constantly moves ([Psalms 104:5]).
We also know that the sun cannot be made to set at noon ([Amos 8:9]), and that neither the sun nor the moon can be stopped in the sky ([Joshua 10:12-13]).
We also now know what is beyond our solar system. And that proves that the stars can't fall from the sky ([Matthew 24:29]), and even if they did, we still couldn't stomp on them.
Daniel 8:10: “And it was magnified even unto the strength of heaven: and it threw down of the strength, and of the stars, and trod upon them.”
Because they're each superheated, thermonuclear-fusion-powered gaseous masses dozens of times the size of planets millions of miles around. Which makes it a bit silly to imagine a whole group of them having conscious minds, and ganging up in combat with a mere human being ([Judges 5:20]). We even know now what lies beyond our galaxy. And that proves that nothing or no one could ever "seal up the stars" ([Job 9:7]).
We also know that the Earth with its fictitious firmament didn't predate the "lights in the heavens" by any amount of time
Genesis 1:17-19: "And God maketh the two great luminaries, the great luminary for the rule of the day, and the small luminary -- and the stars -- for the rule of the night; To shine in the firmament of heaven, and to give light upon the earth. And it was so done. to dominate the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good."
The sun formed hundreds of millions of years BEFORE the earth. [B:7]
And that the stars weren't "set" specifically to light the Earth; because the Earth is not at the center, or the beginning of the universe in any respect.
Genesis 1:1: "In the beginning, God created the universe." [A:1]
According to the First Law of Thermodynamics, the Law of the Conservation of Energy, the act of creation is a physical impossibility. [B:2] [B:3] [B:5] [B:9] [B:11] The way the Bible depicts the Earth in relation to the rest of the universe is wrong and has been known to be wrong for thousands of years.
The Bible was very definitely written by men, and not superior men either; far from it! This is why so much of it can be shown to be historically and scientifically dead wrong about damned-near everything back-to-front.
We’re talking about people who believe SNAKES AND DONKEYS CAN TALK ([Genesis 3; Numbers 22:1-35]), who believe in
INCANTATIONS
Genesis 1:3: "And God said: Be light made. And light was made." [A:2]
BLOOD SACRIFICE ([Genesis 4:4 & 31:54; Leviticus 1:9 & 9:18; 2nd Kings 16:15; Ezekiel 39:17]),
RITUAL SPELLS ([Leviticus 14]),
ENCHANTED ARTIFACTS (1 Samuel 5: 6-9; Exodus 7:8-12; 1 Samuel 5:69, 6:19]),
PYROTECHNIC POTIONS ([Numbers 5:20-26]),
ASTROLOGY
Genesis 1:14-15: ""Then God said, "Let there be lights in the sky to separate the day from the night. They will be signs and will mark religious festivals, days, and years. To shine in the firmament of heaven, and to give light upon the earth. And it was so done." [B:8]
Job 38:32; Isaiah 14:12-14; Luke 21:25; Matthew 12:32 & 28:20
and the FIVE ELEMENTS OF WITCHCRAFT ([Leviticus 14]). They thought that if you use a magic wand to sprinkle blood all over someone, it will cure them of leprosy.
We’re talking about people who think
that RABBITS CHEW CUD
Leviticus 11:6: "You must never eat rabbits. (Rabbits are unclean because they chew their cud but do not have divided hoofs.)"
and that BATS ARE BIRDS
Deuteronomy 14:11-18: "But here are the birds that you should never eat: eagles, bearded vultures, black vultures…the stork, the heron after its species, the hoopoe, the bat."
Leviticus 11:13-19: "Here are the kinds of birds you must consider disgusting and must not eat. They are eagles, bearded vultures, black vultures…the stork, the heron according to her species, the lapwing, and the bat. "
and WHALES ARE FISH (Jonah 1:17; Matthew 12:40]),
and that PI IS A ROUND NUMBER (1st Kings 7:23; 2nd Chronicles 4:2]). These folks believed thatOffspring’s’ traits are determined by what the parents see during copulation, that if you display striped patterns to a pregnant cow, it would bare striped calves.
Genesis 30:37-43: "Jacob then took branches of fresh poplar, almond, and plane wood, and peeled the bark, exposing white stripes on the branches. And he put them in the troughs, where the water was poured out: that when the flocks should come to drink, they might have the rods before their eyes, and in the sight of them might conceive. And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth flocks striped, speckled, and spotted.”
How could anyone say that who knows anything about genetics? Obviously the authors of this book didn’t.
The Earth’s sun rose and set three times before it, or any other star like it, was “created”:
Genesis 1:5: “calling the light “day,” and the darkness “night.” The twilight and the dawn were day one.” [A:3]
Genesis 1:8: “God called the canopy “sky.” The twilight and the dawn were the second day.” [A:4]
Genesis 1:13: “The twilight and the dawn were the third day.” [A:5]
Genesis 1:16: “God fashioned two great lights—the larger light to shine during the day and the smaller light to shine during the night—as well as stars.”
According to the Book of Genesis, Humans were made of dirt before all other species of animal or plant:
Genesis 2:7: “And the Lord God formed man of the slime of the earth: and breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul.”
Genesis 2:19-20: “And out of the ground Jehovah Elohim had formed every animal of the field and all fowl of the heavens, and brought them to Man, to see what he would call them; and whatever Man called each living soul, that was its name. He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him.” [B:10]
Livestock and cattle [domesticated animals] were among the first animals “created”:
Genesis 1:24-25: “Then God said, “Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind–livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and wild animals.” And that is what happened. God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.”
Photosynthetic plants were “created” before there was sunlight:
Genesis 1:11-12: “And God said, Let the earth bring forth green grass, herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after its nature, whose seed is in itself upon the earth; and it was so. And the earth brought forth green grass and herb yielding seed after its kind and the tree yielding fruit whose seed was in itself, according to its nature; and God saw that it was good.” [B:6]
Genesis 1:16: “And God maketh the two great luminaries, the great luminary for the rule of the day, and the small luminary — and the stars — for the rule of the night;”
Insects have four legs:
Leviticus 11:20-23: “And any winged insect that crawls on four legs is detestable for you. There are, however, some flying insects that walk on all fours that you may eat: those that have jointed legs for hopping on the ground. But all other flying insects that have four legs you are to regard as unclean.”
The planet earth has four corners (the property of a two-dimensional [flat] square, rectangle, or other quadrilateral parallelogram):
Ezekiel 7:2: “Son of man, this is what the Almighty LORD says to [the people in] the land of Israel: The end is coming! The end is coming to the four corners of the earth.”
Isaiah 11:12: “He will lift a signal flag for the nations; he will gather Israel’s dispersed people and assemble Judah’s scattered people from the four corners of the earth.”
Revelation 7:1: “After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree.”
The earth is flat:
Daniel 2:35: “The whole statue was crushed into small pieces of iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold. Then the wind blew them away without a trace, like chaff on a threshing floor. But the rock that knocked the statue down became a great mountain that covered the whole earth.”
Daniel 4:10-22: “These are the visions I had while I was asleep: I was looking, and I saw an oak tree in the middle of the earth. It was very tall. The tree grew large, became strong, and its top reached the sky. It could be seen to the ends of the earth… The tree you saw, which grew and became strong, so that its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth… it is you, O king! For you have become great and strong. Your greatness is such that it reaches to heaven, and your authority to the ends of the earth.”
Matthew 4:8: “Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their grandeur.”
Luke 4:5: “The devil also took him to a high place and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in an instant.”
Psalms 33:14: “From his dwelling place, he looks down on all the inhabitants of the earth.”
Revelation 1:7: “”Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all Peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! Amen.”
The Earth has edges (something spherical objects never have):
Deuteronomy 13:7: “They might suggest that you worship the gods of Peoples who live nearby or who come from the ends of the earth.” [A:6]
Isaiah 5:26: “The LORD raises up a flag for the nations far away. With a whistle he signals those at the ends of the earth. Look, they are coming very quickly!”
Job 28:24: “For he looks as far as the ends of the earth and sees everything under the sky.”
Job 37:3: “Under the whole heaven he lets it go, and his lightning to the corners of the earth.”
Job 38:13: “that it might seize the corners of the earth, and shake the wicked out of it?”
Jeremiah 16:19: “O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come to you from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.”
If the Bible had been written by a supreme being, then it wouldn’t contain the mistakes that it does.
If it was written by a truly superior being, and meant to be read as a literal history, then the Bible wouldn’t contain anything that it does.
And as far as Biblical prophecy goes, some of them came true, like when Jesus stated that he would cause violence:
Luke 12:51-53: “Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I have come to divide people against each other! From now on families will be split apart, three in favor of me, and two against–or two in favor and three against. A father will be against his son and a son against his father. A mother will be against her daughter and a daughter against her mother. A mother-in-law will be against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”
Mark 13:12: “Brother will betray brother to be killed, and fathers will betray children; and children will rise against their parents and have them put to death.”
Matthew 10:21: “Brother will hand over brother to death; a father will hand over his child. Children will rebel against their parents and kill them.”
Mathew 10:34-36: “Don’t think that I came to bring peace to earth. I didn’t come to bring peace but conflict. For I came to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s own family will be his foes.”
Others didn’t come true, such as when he guaranteed his followers (in the early first century CE) that they would live to see the end of the world:
John 1:51: “Jesus said to Nathanael, “I can guarantee this truth: You will see the sky open and God’s angels going up and coming down to the Son of Man.”
Luke 9:27: “I can guarantee this truth: Some people who are standing here will not die until they see the kingdom of God.”
Matthew 10:23: “So when they persecute you in one city, flee to another. I can guarantee this truth: Before you have gone through every city in Israel, the Son of Man will come.”
Matthew 16:28: “I can guarantee this truth: Some people who are standing here will not die until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Matthew 23:26: “I can guarantee this truth: The people living now will be held accountable for all these things.”
Matthew 24:34: “I can guarantee this truth: This generation will not disappear until all these things take place.”
1 Thessalonians 2:19: “For what is our hope or joy, or the crown of which we boast? Is it not you yourselves in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His Coming?”
Appendix A: Biblical Citations
- Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
-New International Version, New Living Translation, English Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, King James Bible, Holman Christian Standard Bible, God’s Word Translation, Jubilee Bible 2000, King James 2000 Bible, American King James Version, American Standard Version, Darby Bible Translation, English Revised Version, Webster’s Bible Translation, World English Bible
- Genesis 1:3: “Then God said, "Let there be light!" So there was light.”
-New International Version, New Living Translation, English Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, King James Bible, Holman Christian Standard Bible, International Standard Version, God’s Word Translation, Jubilee Bible 2000, King James 2000 Bible, American King James Version, American Standard Version, Darby Bible Translation, English Revised Version, Webster’s Bible Translation, World English Bible
- Genesis 1:5: “God called the light "day" and the darkness "night." And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day.”
-New Living Translation, Net Bible
“And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.”
-King James Bible, Jubilee Bible 2000, King James 2000 Bible, American King James Version, Webster’s Bible Translation
- Genesis 1:8: “God called the space "sky." And evening passed and morning came, marking the second day.”
-New Living Translation
“And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.”
-King James Bible, Jubilee Bible 2000, King James 2000 Bible, American King James Version, Douay Rheims Bible, Webster’s Bible Translation
- Genesis 1:13: “And evening passed and morning came, marking the third day.”
-New Living Translation
“And the evening and the morning were the third day.”
-King James Bible, Jubilee Bible 2000, King James 2000 Bible, American King James Version, Douay Rheims Bible, Webster’s Bible Translation
- Deuteronomy 13:7: “Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, near to you, or far off from you, from the one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth;”
-King James Bible, Jubilee Bible 2000, King James 200 Bible, American King James Version, American Standard Version, Darby Bible Translation, English Revised Version, Webster’s Bible Translation, World English Bible, Young’s Literal Translation
“of the gods of the peoples who are around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other end),”
-English Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, Holman Christian Standard Bible, International Standard Version, Douay Rheims Bible
Appendix B: [Scientific Citations]
- "Ocean formation made Earth habitable for life at about 4000 million years ago, leading to today’s highly complex organisms." -Abreu, V, et. al. “Climate: Atmosphere and Oceans”. University of Michigan. October 30, 2006. http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/gctext/Inquiries/Inquiries_by_Unit/Unit_8.htm
- "Energy is neither created nor destroyed." -Benson, Tom. “Conservation of Energy (specific form) 1st Law of Thermodynamics”. National Aeronautics and Space Administration Glenn Research Center. July 11, 2008. http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/k-12/airplane/thermo1f.html
- "Energy cannot be created nor destroyed, but it can be converted or transferred...The First Law of Thermodynamics states that energy can be converted from one form to another with the interaction of heat, work and internal energy, but it cannot be created nor destroyed, under any circumstances...energy is never created nor destroyed (thus, the first law of thermodynamics)...Energy is never created nor destroyed...the First Law of Thermodynamics states that energy is not created nor destroyed." -Boyle, Lauren. “1st Law of Thermodynamics”. University of California Davis. 2010. http://chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/Physical_Chemistry/Thermodynamics/Laws_of_Thermodynamics/First_Law_of_Thermodynamics
- "An ocean-free Earth existed, perhaps for several hundred million years as a consequence of extremely high surface temperatures following planetary accretion." -Cavosie, Aaron. “When did oceans form on Earth? What evidence is preserved in the rock record?”. Carleton College Science Education Resource Center. May 29, 2012. http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/earlyearth/questions/formation_oceans.html
- "First Law of Thermodynamics: Energy can be changed from one form to another, but it cannot be created or destroyed...The First Law of Thermodynamics (Conservation) states that energy is always conserved, it cannot be created or destroyed.” -Farabee, Mike. “Laws of Thermodynamics”. Estrella Mountain Community College. May 18, 2010. http://www2.estrellamountain.edu/faculty/farabee/BIOBK/biobookener1.html
- The first fruit trees evolved millions of years AFTER the first plants. -Giuliano, Giovanni and Zamir, Dani et. al. “The
tomato genome sequence provides insights into fleshy fruit evolution”. Nature.
November 30, 2012. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3378239/pdf/ukmss-47545.pdf
- The sun is about five billion years old. -Graps,
Amara. “How old is the Sun?”. Stanford University Solar Center. 2008. http://solar-center.stanford.edu/FAQ/Qage.html
- There were no religious festivals for tens of BILLIONS of years after the stars formed. The oldest known star is fourteen and a half billion years old. -Gundy,
Cheryl. “Oldest Known Star Gets a Birthdate Update”. The Pennsylvania State
University Eberly College of Science. March 7, 2013. http://science.psu.edu/news-and-events/2013-news/Bond3-2013
- "Energy can neither be created nor destroyed." -Nave, R. “Conservation Laws”. Georgia State University Department of Physics and Astronomy. 2013. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/%E2%80%8Chbase/conser.html
- The first life on earth dates to three and half billion years ago. Species homo Sapiens only evolved 200,000 years ago. -O’Neil,
Dennis. “Early Modern Homo Sapiens”. Palomar Community College Behavioral
Sciences Department. 2012. http://anthro.palomar.edu/homo2/mod_homo_4.htm
- "The 1st Law of Thermodynamics simply states that energy can be neither created nor destroyed (conservation of energy)...The 1st Law of Thermodynamics tells us that energy is neither created nor destroyed, thus the energy of the universe is a constant." -Woodward, Pat. 1st Law of Thermodynamics”. The Ohio State University Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. 2011. https://chemistry.osu.edu/~woodward/ch121/ch5_law.htm
