Until which year did Christians believe that Earth was flat?

Question

Did they believe this because religious leaders told them it was so?

Lots of fun stuff here:

http://www.edwardtbabinski.us/dave_armstrong/catholic.html

Answer 1

the earth isnt flat?!?!

Answer 2

Long before Colombus, a number of erudite people believed that the earth was round such as Ptolemy and about the year 235 BC a Greek Astronomer Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of the earth and about 5 BC a Greek geographer Strabo determined different climatic zones because of the spherical shape of the earth. Shen Kua of China suggested in about 1000 AD that erosion, sedimentation and uplift processes are related to the shape of the earth. European science was buried by ideas that conflicted with the church and many scientists were stiffled. However in 1735 a British meteorologist, George Hadley, advanced his ideas that the trade winds could be explained by a sphere and an orbital spin. The original idea of man existing on any surface other than a flat plane was alien as man had no understanding of gravitational forces and so it was logical for them to assume a large flat table top existed. This continued for a long time because most boats stayed within sight of land and wouldn't vanish over the horizon. The sun was believed to go beneath the table top and appear the next day from the opposite side. The church leaders never made it an issue, but when the ideas of forces other than those used by God were bought forward, the church rejected it, and even blasphemous to suggest that Nature, not God, might be the originator.

Answer 3

The ancient Greeks knew the world was round, and the approximate circumference by about 500 BCE. Some learned Christians were probably aware all along, but kept it to themselves so as not to incur the wrath of the church.

Answer 4

1492

Answer 5

"He (God) stretches out the North over empty space, AND HANGS THE EARTH ON NOTHING" (Job 26:7)

It was the accepted teaching of the Church, and I suppose most cultures, BUT, it was never the teaching of Scripture, as seen from the verse above from the Book of Job, by the opinion of some scholars, the oldest Book of the Bible.

Answer 6

How do you know Christians believed the earth is flat.
The Bible doesn't teach such a thing.
Like everything else, Christians may have been trying to tell everyone the world was more or less round but , as usual, NO ONE LISTENED.

Answer 7

The idea that the world was round was first suggested by a Christian

Putting this aside, many humans -- christian and non -- believed the world was flat before it had been proven

Answer 8

The Roman Church is run by men, what they believe is one thing, but any biblical Christian never believed the Earth was flat because the bible has always said its round. See Isaiah 40:22

"the roundness of the earth"

Answer 9

Cool link! Christians will believe anything they're told

Answer 10

Are you kidding????? The "W" still thinks the world is flat,for god's sake he had to be rushed to the hospital cause he nearly choked to death on a PRETZEL!!!!

Answer 11

Next year.