Contemporaries of Eratosthenes give him credit for figuring out the diameter of the earth He lived a couple hundred years BC. He lived on the tropic where the angle to the sun gets to 90 degrees, and he knew the angle to the sun from a city that was a known distance away.
There is no science in the OP. For science, there needs to be evidence. Picking words that can be made to conform to science is also not science. Besides, with the number of translations and the vagueness of much of the wording (since the objective of the Bible isn't science), one could propose the Bible supports just about anything in our physical world.
Apparently that knowledge didn't quite make it to the texts and teachings in all other societies. They continued to believe the world was flat, as did Isaiah.
I seem to remember that Isaiah lived before that time as well as not in the same region. The writings of Eratosthenes were lost in the burning of the Alexandria library. However, there was some other author who had writings survive and that include an indication of what Eratosthenes did.
'Isaiah' was written at different times by at least two different writers and a hundred and more years apart. The first part is written from Jerusalem about Judah. Second part about other nation, Third part back to Judah. Fourth part is written in Babylon after the fall of Jerusalem. Unless, of course, Isaiah lived to 150-200 years of age. Some say that the Babylon writing was written earlier as prophetic writing and was 'collected and published' after his death. But the styles differ. But who knows?
Yes - I know. BUT, that's still outside Eratosthenes life time by 600 years or so, isn't it? I think I'm on pretty darn safe ground.
Tosca..1st of all I want to tell you I appreciate what you are doing here. Like you, I hold a deep faith in what I believe to be true. "The Word of God is sharper than any two edged sword...." unfortuneatly there are those that do not want to hear it. That is a given. And when they do hear it, they will mock. It is pointed that you do not mix philosophy, science, or religion. I would say that those that point that out, confuse "religion" with "faith" so they are wrong from the getgo. Actually the three fit hand in hand and the commonality is "Truth". Why does "TRuth" stir up this controversy? I believe it all has to do with human pride. This describes it.... "It's a common mistake of every era of man throughout history to call themselves ", modern man" and think they have it all figured out. It's also SOP that in a hundred years people will think they have it all figured out and look back at us and chuckle about things we didn't know and shake their heads at our decisions that in the future will be so patently obvious to be wrong. It's the story of man." It really gets their back up when they find out "we have not arrived". History repeats and we are no more "enlightened" than we were 3000 years ago. Solomon was right when he said "there is nothing new under the sun"...".vanity of vanities, all is vanity!"
The strata found in the Grand Canyon can be found all over the earth. Strata said to be millions of years apart are bent in upheaval like a giant roller coaster meaning they were laid down and while still moist were heaved up....not fractured and not millions of years apart. It was quick and cataclysmic!
Not quite sure what we are discussing. Pythagorus was the first Greek to propose a spherical earth around 500 BCE. I believe Plato also suggested it. But you are right about Eratosthenes..
Neither Margot nor Yardmeat want to hear anything about a Creator beyond their own two ears. It's a given. Submission to anything greator than themselves is not in their reality.
It says nothing about sea creatures becoming land creatures. According to the Bible they were created separately.
There was NO global flood. There is NO global flood footprint. It was a flood that lasted four days on the Euphrates river basin in 2900 BC.
So you are saying your ancestors crawled up out of the ooze. That is what is not mentioned. Frogs crawl up out of the ooze and live on land. They were created that way. Are you a frog?
Margo, let's get this right. It rained for forty days and nights before it began to flood, then the waters covered the earth for 150 days. I think I have seen it rain intermittantly for "four days".....and there was some minor, local flooding. I have never seen it rain torrentially for forty days, have you?
I, Margot, Yardmeat all submit to things greater than ourselves, just not a mythical supernatural being described in the historical novel called the Bible. I submit to the laws of the UK, and to those who are in authority or more knowledgeable than myself. I imagine the others do.
I didn't say he was the first to suggest we're a globe. I'm sure that came before. My point was that by a couple hundred years bce there were those who actually knew the diameter within a small percent.
