Welcome to my first foray into the blogosphere! A little something by way of introduction to this blog...
In over ten years as a youth counselor and pastor, I have heard time and time again questions from young people on issues involving science and the Christian faith. The situation is no different in my role as a science teacher. With the authority given to scientists by our society, our young people are desperate for reasonable answers showing how science and theology can interact harmoniously. There is a distinct need for ambassadors for Christ who are capable of taking an intelligent stand for the faith, who are knowledgeable of the deeper issues and implications involved in the study of both nature and Scripture, and who have the character and wisdom to articulate this understanding in a convincing manner.
In over ten years as a youth counselor and pastor, I have heard time and time again questions from young people on issues involving science and the Christian faith. The situation is no different in my role as a science teacher. With the authority given to scientists by our society, our young people are desperate for reasonable answers showing how science and theology can interact harmoniously. There is a distinct need for ambassadors for Christ who are capable of taking an intelligent stand for the faith, who are knowledgeable of the deeper issues and implications involved in the study of both nature and Scripture, and who have the character and wisdom to articulate this understanding in a convincing manner.
My hope is that this blog provides resources and insight to equip others to be such ambassadors, with reasonable and ready answers to the pressing questions of today, with specific focus on the interaction between science and theology.
When this site refers to the Antipodes, I was curious; did the people of the Middle Ages believe that you could still fall off the earth if you got to the bottom? They knew that if you drop an object it falls, it does not stay floating in the air.
It occurred to me that it would be very easy for people of the Biblical Era to think that the earth was flat. In Revelation 7:1 John says he saw angels on the four corners of the earth, implying that the earth was flat, but this was only poetic writing.
Mark Haugaard
When Augustine and others discussed the issue of antipodes (people living on the other side of the planet), to the best of my knowledge I do not think they thought that these people would "fall off" the planet. Otherwise they would have thought that as you walk or sail away from the "top" of the planet, you would eventually reach a point where you would not be able to stand up straight and would instead slip and fall off, like when you try to climb down from the top of a dome.
The four corners of the world are seen as metaphorical, in the same sense that when we talk about the four compass directions we don't mean that the Earth is flat. You can follow this link to see how someone addresses Scriptural passages that are often mistakenly cited as "proof" that the Bible teaches a flat Earth.