Re: concordance & genesis (edited)

In a message dated 12/20/03 10:02:29 PM Pacific Standard Time,
pruest@pop.mysunrise.ch writes:

> >>PR: I don't question the claim that there were many people in those days
> who believed in a flat earth, even some poets and historians ;-). The
> question is how reliable these sources are for proving that _all_ Greeks of those
> times did so. There even appear to be modern authors who claim all ancient
> Israelites believed the earth to be flat... Misinterpreting _the_ worldview of
> sophisticated ancient peoples is of course even easier than those of
> contemporary "primitive" peoples, with whom one at least can talk directly, if one has
> learned their languages thoroughly. <<
>
> >PS: The problem with your approach is that you set aside all of the
> evidence falsifying your position and then appeal to rationalistic speculation to
> support your view. This is the same thing the YEC's do. Just because you and
> they can imagine a scenario where your theories will hold up is not the same
> thing as actually having evidence to support your theory. You can prove any
> idea no matter how absurd if imagination can be used as evidence.
> >Where is the evidence that anyone before Pythagoras or more clearly Plato
> believed in a spherical earth? Being able to imagine that such people existed
> is not evidence, Without evidence you can claim no more than that you have a
> very nice private world.<
>
> PR: You are claiming too much. You have not shown that I ignore
> evidence, at least not after having been given it. But by comparing me
> with YEC, you ignore lots of evidence about my worldview, approach and
> motivation, which I have given many times on this list and in PSCF.
> Please try to understand what I am saying, without imputing to me things
> I haven't thought or said!
>

I am not comparing you with YEC. I think your worldview is sounder than that
of a YEC. I am comparing your methodology to the methodology of a YEC. YEC's
regularly ignore probable interpretations of data in favor of barely possible
interpretations even if all they have to support their interpretations is
speculation. I see you doing the same thing regarding the question of the shape of
the earth in ancient times. All of the evidence is that peoples before the
fifth century and those without a Western education even after that believed the
earth is flat. That sets up an historical probability that this belief was
universal in ancient times. If you respect the evidence, you have to conclude
that ancient peoples probably believed the earth is flat. You cannot respect the
evidence and conclude "> I think the belief that most of the ancients believed
> in a flat earth is a modern myth."

Paul>
>

>
>

 
Received on Mon Dec 22 00:25:10 2003