The Truth About The Creation
God's Glory, God's Handiwork, God's
Word, The Genesis Account
A Dissertation by Pastor Ed Rice January 2017
12: Defiance of
Science - Flat-Earth, Geocentric, and Conspiracy Conspirators
There is a tendency in man to react in kind, and since
science-so-called is absolutely defiant of Biblical accuracy, some
have become absolutely defiant of all science. Those that compromise
the Bible's accuracy in order to accommodate science-so-called
are a dangerous lot. They try to insert huge time gaps into the
Genesis account in order to accommodate science-so-called's
geological age of rocks, or they suppose that God used the
science-so-called's model of evolution. Compromising Biblical
accuracy is a slippery slope leading to a dangerous fall. But there
are also those who go to the other extreme and completely defy all
science; they think of themselves as “literalists”
and hold their
defiance of science as a badge of sincerity and truth. These
“literalists” are equally dangerous.
There are “Flat Earthers” who believe the world is
not spherical
but flat, like a coin. This falsehood, widely taught by Muslims, has
become accepted by some Christians who want to show their absolute
defiance of science. True science, and careful observation show that
our world, our moon, the other planets that one can readily view with
telescopes are all obviously spherical in shape; so are bubbles and
BBs, i.e. it is a perfectly natural shape for any fluid mass. The
Flat-Earthers insist that they are the true Bible believers, i.e.
literalists, and that you and I have been deceived by the master
deceiver. The worldly demonic government has deceived us, they
insist, and no matter what evidence one gives them, they defy all
science. They are convinced that the world is flat and the
government, led by Satan, has deceived the whole world about the
Earth's spherical shape. The government deceit, they insist, is an
ongoing conspiracy.
There are “Geocentrics” who believe that the Earth
is the center
of God's universe and it does not move. The Sun, they insist, and all
of its planets, and all the stars of heaven, must orbit around the
unmovable Earth. These geocentricists (geo Greek for
“Earth”,
centric
English for “center
of”) defy the science, and the obvious observable facts,
which
prove that the Earth is one of nine planets in orbit around the Sun
(Mary's Velvet Eyes Make John Stay Up Nights Proposing, i.e Mercury,
Venice, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto; of late
some think John was not really Proposing and Pluto is not big enough
to be called a real planet). It is one thing to defy
science-so-called when it supposes billions of years after a supposed
big bang, or that dogs evolved into horses, and lizards into eagles.
It is quite another thing to defy what is obviously observable
phenomena in the universe which God created. The Geocentrics insist
that they are the true Bible believers, i.e. literalists, and that
you and I have been deceived by the master deceiver. The worldly
demonic government has deceived us, they insist, and no matter what
evidence one gives them, they defy all science. They are convinced
that the Earth is unmovable and that the government, led by Satan,
has deceived the whole world about the Earth's orbit around the Sun.
The government deceit, they insist, is an ongoing conspiracy.
There are conspiracy
conspirators
who believe that the United States of America never did launch to the
moon, nor did Apollo 11 land Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin
on its surface on that July 20th
of 1969. This, they insist, was all an elaborate hoax, pulled off by
our lying, cheating, stealing government officials. It never
happened, they say, and Neil Armstrong, a professed born-again
believer in our Lord Jesus Christ, an aerospace engineer, naval
aviator, test pilot and university professor, was lying and deceiving
in every interview and lecture that he made. Lying all the way up to
his death in 2012! Those who hold this persuasion are sincere, and
are motivated by a massive mistrust of all things government. They
have no list of Scripture per-se, to hang this government conspiracy
on, but they often hang out with geocentrics and are in sympathy with
“TheFlatEarthSociety.org.” They are convinced that
all government
is the tool of Satan, and that our government deceived the whole
world about the Apollo 11's mission. The government deceit, they
insist, is an ongoing conspiracy.
There are a myriad of cult-like offshoots claiming to be Bible
believers and spreading their deceit throughout Christendom. These
three, however, depend on a staunch defiance of science, ergo they
need to be moderately addressed in this dissertation. Science is not
the enemy. There is an enemy, but he does not use science in his
deceit, he uses science-so-called, as explained earlier.
Defying
The Flat-Earthers
Flat-Earth deceivers insist that when the Bible says, in Daniel 4,
that a tree grew, “the
height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end
of all the earth,” then, they
insist, this recorded
dream must be taken exactly physical and exactly literal. Ergo, in
their mind, the Earth has to be flat. They will not let any amount of
evidence dissuade them, they insist that the Bible says the world is
flat and they are going to believe the Bible and reject everything
else. “I don't care what science 'proves' about the earth's
spherical shape,” they emphatically reason, “if the
Bible says it
is flat, then it is flat” (cf. Dan 4:10-11). They apply this
misguided and illogical reasoning to another Scripture in Matthew.
Again, Flat-Earthers insist, that if the Devil can take Jesus to an
exceeding high mountain, and show him all the kingdoms of the world,
then it must be that the world is flat. They insist that the Bible
says so (cf. Matt 4:8, Luke 4:5)! The only way that Flat-Earthers can
reconcile these Scriptures, in a very literal way, is by imagining
that the Earth is flat. They insist dogmatically, even fanatically,
that anyone disagreeing on this point, is deceived and a puppet of
the worldly diabolical government.
Be very careful of Flat-Earthers. They are a cultist radical fringe
group who bring mockery to Christianity. They are very defiant of
real science because of their very faulty Biblical interpretations.
Recall that the disciples of Christ were casting off in a ship,
“And
he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the
Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod” (Mark 8:15, cf Matt
16:6).
They, displaying tendencies of literalists, “reasoned among
themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread” (vr. 16).
Jesus
rebukes them. One can be too literal in understanding God's words.
Recall when Jesus taught, “I am the living bread which came
down
from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever:
and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the
life of the world... Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat
the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in
you” (John 6:51, 53). The literalists all left Jesus (6:66),
and
his rebuke said, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh
profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit,
and they are life” (vr.63). Exotic cults are born when
misinterpretations of God's words are concreted into finite minds. So
to, flat earthers are born, and replicate.
Without using a fish-bowl lens from the government, I observed, with
my naked eye, on September the 27th and 28th,
2015, between the hours of 9 PM and 1:30 AM, from my home in upstate
New York, the shadow that a spherical planet, Earth, cast upon the
moon during a lunar eclipse. I took pictures. Aristotle (384
– 322
BC) did the same in his day. I don't believe, however, that he took
pictures. The Earth is a planet and a sphere just like all the other
ones that one sees in space. Flat-earthers are defying the blatantly
obvious and insisting on an unmitigated conspiracy on the part of
world governments.
Today, orbiting around a spherical planet Earth, satellites beam
television signals, radio signals, internet connections, and
telephone communications right into our homes. A satellite cannot
orbit a coin shaped, flat Earth. Flat-earthers are very sincere, but
obviously very misled. Their defiance of science, taken with a
vengeance, has made them beside themselves and double minded. In my
experience, one will have more effect praying for them than arguing
with them.
Anyone can take this hyper-physical hyper-literal interpretation
method or hermeneutic, and develop their own little cult. Solomon
states in Ecclesiastes, “A wise man’s heart is at
his right hand;
but a fool’s heart at his left.” Physically right
handed people
put their hand over their heart on their left hand side. That is
where their heart is physically located. Consequently, here is
Scripture that says only left handed people are wise, and all right
handed people are fools. Of course ambidextrous people will need an
MRI to find which side their heart is on before it can be determine
whether they are wise or fool. If one asks right handed people about
this interpretation they will say it is just wrong! But, then too,
they are the fools in this context and they are likely entangled in a
mass deception about a proper literal hermeneutic for this verse. I
speak as a fool; don't miss the sarcasm, and don't be a hyper
literalist.
Defying
The Geocentrics
The Geocentrics, like the Flat-Earthers, insist on a very literal and
very physical interpretation of a couple Bible verses. They then
allow their literal misinterpretations to defy all other observations
and scientific data. For example, the Bible says that “the
sun
stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a
whole day” (Josh 10:12). Obviously, the Geocentrics reason,
the Sun
had to be orbiting the Earth and God caused it, in this Scripture, to
stand still. What Geocentrics miss here is that the Bible gives
information in our human context. This describing things as they
appear is called phenomenological. The Sun does not truly set
in the west, but that is how man observes it and describes it. When a
phenomena is described, it is presented as it is observed by man
setting on the planet Earth. God often speaks phenomenologically.
When Geocentics dismiss this truth, they insist that the Bible says,
“the sun orbits the earth.” It does not, but they
insist that the
Bible says so. They believe that you and I are deceived and that
they, the Geocentrics, are the true Bible believers.
Again, they see in the Bible, “The world shall be stable,
that it
be not moved and the sun has its circuit unto the ends of it”
(1Chron 16:30, Psalm 96:10, 104:4, and Psalm 19:6). They insist on a
strictly nonphenomenological and obsessively literal interpretation
of these Scriptures. In their mind, with no phenomenological
allowances, the Sun is orbiting the Earth. Like the Flat-Earthers,
the Geocentrics insist that the logical thinkers here, have all been
deceived by the master deceiver and his government. They insist that
all of our orbital mechanics are flawed because their Bible
interpretation tells them that the Sun orbits the Earth.
They so radically dismiss all phenomenological interpretations that
Geocentrics even insist that Ecclesiastes 1:5 describes a sun
orbiting the Earth. “The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth
down,
and hasteth to his place where he arose” (Ecclesiastes 1:5).
The
obvious observations of a rotating Earth, the four seasons caused by
our orbit around the sun, and the systematic sightings of the other
orbiting planets, are completely dismissed by Geocentrics. Their
dogmatic misinterpretation of these Scriptures blinds them to the
obvious. They continue down a cultist path to defy all science and
insist that all other professed believers are being deceived.
If groups of Christians
want to
follow this obscure line of thinking, and suppose that Earth is not a
planet, what is that to me? Isn't it more important what they believe
about our Lord Jesus Christ? Can't we just sort out who has been
orbiting what after we get to heaven? In actuality there is a true
science, and a science-so-called. A true science supports every truth
of God's inerrant, infallible, inspired Word. Science-so-called mocks
the same. Christians rejecting all science, because of conspiracy
theories are hindering the cause more than helping. In this effort
true science, “the
observation, identification, description, experimental investigation,
and theoretical explanation of phenomena,”
is used to highlight the exactness of God's Word. In the mean-time,
this contingency of Geocentrics, are blatantly defiant of the
observation, identification, description, experimental investigation,
and theoretical explanations of phenomena. The world mocks all
christendom when these do such treason against true science. Let us
therefore dissuade the Geocentrics, and other fringe groups who
reject the truth and preach such foolishness.
God
has given us
seven objects which move with varying speed across the backdrop of a
multitude of fixed stars. The Sun, which marks out our days, rises in
the east, follows a track across our sky and sets in the west. The
track that it takes moves up (north) and down (south) during the four
seasons which we observe from our northern hemisphere.
The moon, which marks out our months, follows a similar, but not
identical daily track across our sky. Those who spend more time
observing the night sky than the Night Show, know that Venus, the
brightest wandering “star,” Jupiter and Saturn,
less bright
wandering “stars,” and Mercury and Mars, the least
bright, but
readily visible wandering “stars” all wander across
the night sky
on a very similar track but at very varying speeds. These five
“stars” were called “planets,”
which comes from the Greek and
means “wanderers.”
The
celestial highway traveled by these principle planets, the moon and
the sun was called the zodiac.
It
was eight degrees wide and marked off into twelve equal regions
bearing the name of the constellations which they originally
occupied. Things have significantly changed because of the
precession
of the equinoxes, but some still hold the twelve signs of the zodiac
to be mysterious and worshiped for fortune telling. As these stars
wandered on this celestial highway they would change speed and
sometimes change directions. A planet might pass another, then slow
down, and let the other pass, then speed up and pass again. People
actually thought that personalities might be determined by what the
stars were doing at their birth. This false god worship is still
printed in daily newspapers.
In
the second century AD Ptolemy, also known as Claudius Ptolemaeus, an
Egyptian astronomer of Greek descent, put together the mathematics
which would calculate planet positions of the Greek geocentric
system.
He used complex combinations of uniform circular motions for this
model. It was not until Johannes Kepler (1571 – 1630)
discovered
three major laws of planetary motion that the motions of these
“wandering stars” was accurately determined. Kepler
was the first
to successfully model planetary orbits to a high degree of accuracy.
He publishing his laws in 1605.
Isaac
Newton published more general laws of celestial motion in his 1687
book, “Philosophiæ
Naturalis Principia Mathematica.”
It is important to note that although Ptolemy's system of mathematics
predicted where the planets would be, Kepler with Newton's
applications of angular momentum united rudimentary laws of physics
with the preliminary considerations of gravity to show why the
planets do what they do.
Kepler
and Newton
had captured all the physics involved in orbital mechanics. Their
mathematical model of how a smaller planet orbits a larger
gravitational source was genius. Their laws of planetary motion
exactly detail all the planets motions around the sun, the moon's
orbit around the Earth, and all the moons that were found in orbit
around all known, and yet unknown planets. Their discovered laws
calculate the orbits of every satellite we have ever launched into
Earth orbit. Their laws are used to move astronauts into and out of
Earth's orbits. They are not theories but proven laws.Ptolemy's math
could do no orbital mechanics whatsoever.
Ptolemy
matched up
some tricky math to a flawed hypothesis; Kepler discovered the laws
of all planetary motion. There is a significant difference here. When
a hypothesis does not meet all the known conditions, it is replaced
by the one that does. The hypothesis that replaced the geocentric
model, went on to become a theory, and was tested extensively to
become Kepler's laws of planetary motion, and Newton's laws of
orbital mechanics. That's how true science works; hypothesis, test,
modify, test, modify, validate, advance to a theory, test, modify,
test, modify, prove, validate, and tentatively call it the law.
A
few Muslims
holding onto a flawed hypothesis and a geocentric model of the
universe is understandable. That is what their prophet believed, he
said he got it straight from Allah, and they will not let it go.
Christians, however, have no misguided prophet as their founder. Our
founder is the Only begotten Son of God (Psalm 2, John 3), the
creator of the universe (Gen 1, John 1), the Lamb of God (Exod 12,
Isa 53, John 1, Rev 5), and the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Gen 49:9,
Rev 5:5). There is no conceivable reason for a genuine Christian to
hold on to a hypothesis that did not prove to be accurate or truth.
There
are a few
Geocentrics trying to make the Holy Bible fit a long ago discarded
hypothesis. Their primary motive seems to be a raw defiance of
science. Their outspokenness brings a justified mockery to
Christianity. There are things a Bible believer can do to help
squelch this disturbance. God said, “For after that in the
wisdom
of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (1Cor
1:21).
Those undertaking “the sore travail” of seeking and
searching out
by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven (Eccl
1:13, 3:10) should know the difference between the foolishness of
preaching and the preaching of foolishness. Flat-Earthers and
Geocentrics are found to be dangerously doing the latter.
Defying
The Conspiracy Conspirators
This author worked for the government for over twenty-five years as a
USAF electrical engineer, military officer, and R&D program
engineer. After working for ten years in “black,”
very sensitive
areas, I have given several testimonies that our government is so
laden with incompetence that it could never pull off a major
conspiracy. I have found that those who believe that Roswell hosted
“alien beings” in 1947, that Area-51 houses saucers
and UFOs, and
that Neil Armstrong never put his foot on the moon, will not be
dissuaded by any mere eyewitness! Let us be very careful about an
open defiance of the obvious. Like the Flat-Earthers and Geocentrics
the small group of conspiracy conspirators insist that they are the
only ones who are not deceived. They not only have a defiance of
science, they are willing to defy the blatantly obvious.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines a conspiracy as “An
agreement to perform together an illegal, wrongful, or subversive
act.” Two unfortunate
things about conspiracy
conspirators is that they carry an air that says, “my mind is
made
up, don't confuse me with the facts,” and they bring a
mockery of
Christianity. I have found no argument that would sway them, so let
me tell three stories that might keep a believer from becoming one of
them.
The USAF has “black” research and development
programs. So do
other branches of our government. It is labeled
“black” because
no one is to know about the capability being developed. Often the
developers themselves only know their small portion. When a black
program is in danger of some compromise any cover story that will
take the lime-light off of the situation is plausible cover.
When developing some of our supersonic capabilities things happened.
One development glowed with ominous colors as it streaked through the
night sky. It was commonly reported as a UFO and when the USAF was
asked about it they gave the well trained answer, “We can
neither
confirm nor deny.” The conspiracy conspirators took it from
there.
Black test aircraft have crashed. When asked about crash sites which
were shrouded in secrecy the answer was, “We can neither
confirm
nor deny,” and the conspiracy conspirators took it from
there.
Plausible cover included UFOs, recovered aliens, abductions et al..
Some “inside intelligence” about these cover ups
would often come
from one who, perhaps, had a piece of the truth and a charismatic
flare for the drama. They were not allowed to reveal the truth, but
wild speculations would often be winked at with the clause,
“I can
neither confirm nor deny.” The conspiracy conspirators had an
even
greater charismatic flare for such drama.
When developing some of our stealth technology things happened. Every
conceivable shape and configuration was radar tested while mounted
upside down on a pole in the now famed and unclassified Area 51. If
technicians left a saucer shape on the pole during a known
surveillance satellite overflight, the answer, “We can
neither
confirm nor deny,” exuded an unbelievable tirade of Popular
Science
articles. There are still conspiracy conspirators who “know
for
certain” that the USAF developed flying saucers. In actuality
the
USAF bolted two huge wings on that saucer and designated it the B-2
bomber.
Never doubt the sincerity of conspiracy conspirator. They are certain
that the government has things out there that they are not being told
about. Note three things here. No deterrence comes from a high
stealth weapon system like the F-117, if the enemy never finds out
that we have it. All government secrets are eventually leaked,
period. Second, never underestimate the flare for the public to
create, develop and sustain an ongoing, never-ending conspiracy
theory. Thirdly, there are no alien beings, there is no secret
hollowed out mountain where the elite will dwell in luxury after they
kill all our pigs and chickens with the a swine/bird flu, and on July
20th of 1969 Neil Armstrong did step out of
Apollo 11 and
step on the surface of our moon.
Why
defy the defiance of science?
There is an ugly irony in the realization that I must pause this
exciting development to address flat-earthers, geocentrics and
conspiracy conspirators. I am developing that, “The heavens
declare
the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork,”
that
black-holes present in every galaxy confound the atheistic
evolutionist, and that theories of relativity disquiet their wild
speculations about time. Yet we must pause in order to show that the
Earth is indeed a planet, and that it is indeed spherical and man,
through true science, has learned some things about God's universe
and stepped on Earth's moon. There is a rogue group of conspirators who
are so defiant of all science that they are like a dead fly in
the apothecary. Solomon put it, “Dead flies cause the
ointment of
the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little
folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour” (Eccl
10:1).
Carl Sagan (1934-1996) the arch-atheist of the 20th
century, said, “If we long to believe that the stars rise and
set
for us, that we are the reason there is a Universe, does science do
us a disservice in deflating our conceits?” Atheists mock at
Christian foolishness. There is a difference between the foolishness
of preaching and the preaching of foolishness. Christians need to be
wise as serpents and harmless as doves, Jesus said so (Matt 10:16).
I bring up these three groups which have an overt defiance of science
because they present a clear and present danger to the advancement of
God's truth. They defy the efforts of those who would emphatically
hold to the true inerrancy and infallibility of God's verbally
inspired word. Their extravagant overreach into the absurd makes an
ugly mark on those who would truly hold to the accuracy of the Holy
Bible.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines a fanatic as a person marked
or motivated by an extreme, unreasoning enthusiasm, for a cause.
Denying the spherical shape of our planet is unreasonable. Denying
the Earth's orbit and the laws of orbital mechanics is unreasonable.
Calling Neil Armstrong and an unprecedented team of 3,000 engineers,
dirty rotten liars is unreasonable. I do not oppose the defiance of
science-so-called but there must be a reasonable limit to our
defiance when it starts attacking true science.
There are obvious observations which refute the flat Earth, the
geocentric, and the conspiracy conspirator's ideologies. It is
important that a believer be well grounded in truth: “That we
henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about
with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning
craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive” (Eph 4:14).
Another wording of that verse might include the word gullible, and
Christians, especially those taught from their youth that the Bible
is an allegorical book, are too often quite gullible.
That Scripture continues, “But (we) speaking the truth in
love, may
grow up in all things, which is the head, even Christ” (Eph
4:15).
If one has been swayed into the camp that teaches that the world is
flat, the Bible says so, or if one has been persuaded that the Sun
orbits the Earth, because the Bible says so, or if you are entangled
in conspiracy theories, this is meant to be a reproof, in love. If
one knows someone who has been persuaded into this sort of defiance
of science, do not just write them off as screwballs. They have been
lead down a garden path by cunning craftiness and need to be reproved
in love. If one has never met someone so deceived, they will. These
are a fast growing sect in our paranoid “Christian”
society.
Remember, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and
is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for
instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect,
throughly furnished unto all good works” (2Tim 3:16-17). Use
it to
defy atheistic evolutionists, to reprove flat-earthers, geocentrics
and conspiracy conspirators. Be careful of those who defy true
science, and strive for the limelight, they are a dangerous lot.
To Continue in this series click the link below:
13: Measuring The Speed Of
Light And
Distance to Stars.
. . 249
www.truthaboutthechrist.com/thetruthaboutthecreation/13speed_of_light.html
. . . Essays in Science
– Speed
of Light. . . 249
. . . Essays in Science
– Measure
of Space Distance. .
. 250
God's Glory, God's Handiwork, God's Word, The Genesis Account
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