A myth has been dispelled for me today. I thought it was only in newer times that the earth was considered round. I had thought everyone thought it was flat. I was wrong. There were two philosophers who thought it was flat – one believed the earth had two sides and on the other side everything was upside down. But many writers and thinkers thought it was round. Hildegard of Bingen wrote an entire monograph on the spherical nature of the earth, the microcosm and macrocosm, and the place of God above. There is a beautiful illustration of God sitting cross legged on top of a blue earth. Augustine wrote of the roundness of earth over 100 times. In his understanding of the creation story, God made a mass of water and land that was spherical.
With the internet many theories like reptilians and a flat earth can be found fitting in under general conspiracy theories. COVID-19 has a fair number of these conspiracies. Misinformation and false accounts abound as the world ramps up its anxiety level. But there can be good advice about social distancing, maintaining good hygiene practices and avoiding other people’s coughs.
The Bible told us that the earth was round. The expanse created has a spherical sense. There’s Isaiah 40:4-5 which gives an account of a time when valleys and mountains will be levelled. In Psalm 8 we hear about the paths of the sea which scientists have just discovered fish use as they migrate in the winter.
You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.
Nehemiah 9:6
The is round and everything in it belongs to the Lord. Let us today give thanks for how God has worked in our lives, yesterday today and going forward into tomorrow.
Examine me, God, from head to foot,
Psalm 26: 2-3 (The Message)
order your battery of tests.
Make sure I’m fit
inside and out So I never lose
sight of your love,
But keep in step with you,
never missing a beat
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