He Stood Alone And Wouldn't Compromise!

St. Mark Eugenikos, Bishop of Ephesus

St. Mark Eugenikos, Archbishop of Ephesus - Commemorated on January 19th, and on the first Sunday in November

"St. Mark was born ca. 1391-1392 in Constantinople. His parents belonged to a prominent family of considerable means. His father was a deacon at the Church of the Holy Sophia, the Wisdom of God. His mother was the daughter of a physician. In Holy Baptism, the future Holy Hierarch received the name Manuil (Emmanuel, meaning “God is With Us”); one can see in that fact a prophetic description of his future significance to the Church.

Manuil’s first instructor in academic subjects and in piety was his father. The boy was so successful in his studies that while he was still a young boy, his father schooled him in rhetoric and mathematics. When he was 13, Manuil lost his father, but did not succumb to laziness; he continued his studies in Constantinople with renowned professors John Cartasmeno and George Gemistus Plethon. Thanks to his great dedication, remarkable intellect and unquestionably high morals, soon the future confessor of the Church himself became an instructor, attracting the most talented youth. His great spiritual gifts would not remain unnoticed. Manuil became the favorite spiritual child of Patriarch Euphemius of Constantinople (1410-1416); the future Holy Hierarch’s closeness to and love for the Patriarch were later reflected in the canon and sticherae he composed following the archpastor’s death. Emperor Manuil II brought him into his circle as a confidant and advisor. At the direction of Manuil II’s successor, Emperor John VIII, St. Mark authored a great number of compositions addressing difficult theological questions. These works, and the extremely high position St. Mark held among the delegates to the Council in Italy indicated that he was held in great respect by Emperor John VIII.

Thus, closeness to the Emperors opened up to him a path to wealth and to finding all manner of benefits. A brilliant career stretched forth before him. However, the soul of the true lover of wisdom was seeking something else.

In 1418, at the age of 26, Manuil left the capital and went to Antigone, one of the islands then governed by Byzantium , and located at the mouth of the gulf of Nicomedia. Abbot Simeon became the Saint’s spiritual father, and tonsured him into monasticism, with the name Mark. That great spiritual director, about whom unfortunately more detailed information is unknown, led St. Mark along the narrow path toward salvation.

Life on the island of Antigone was one of constant stress and worry over expected attacks by the Turks. Under such circumstances, it was difficult for the spiritual strugglers to maintain calm, focus, and silence. Thus, Mark and his spiritual father departed for a new home at the famous Monastery [of St. George] of Mangana in Constantinople . There the spiritual Elder reposed, and there Holy Hierarch Mark later valiantly completed his own life’s course. At the Monastery of Mangana, the Saint gave himself over to the greatest spiritual struggles.

At the Emperor’s direction, St. Mark was appointed Metropolitan of Ephesus after the aged Metropolitan Joasaph reposed in 1437. The Holy Hierarch was not to remain long with that flock. On November 24, 1437, he left for Italy as part of an enormous delegation to the Council of Ferrara-Florence.

The bulk of the Greeks who left for Italy went with a sense of spiritual enthusiasm. Before their departure, patriarch Joasaph had said that they were going to the Council to contract a Union, but that they would not compromise any of the traditions of the Holy Church that had passed on to them, and that if need be, they were ready to die for those traditions, for what could be more glorious than a martyr’s crown?! Alas, everything turned out otherwise. As we know, the Patriarch never returned to Constantinople, but died in Florence. Orthodoxy was betrayed and sold out, and the Greeks returned to their Homeland not as conquerors bearing spiritual trophies, but in shame and sorrow.

The Council, held to consider the question of unification of the Eastern and Western Churches, was solemnly convened in the Cathedral Church of Ferrara on April 9, 1438. Emperor John VIII Palaeologus, head of the delegation, looked upon the Unia as a political act allowing Byzantium to count on Western support in its battle with the Turks. The Emperor, in whose court Italian influence was great as the result of his marriage to Sophia of Monferrato, thought that reaching an agreement with the West was not merely possible, but essential. Accordingly, he summoned to his ranks such accomplished enthusiastic supporters of Orthodoxy as Holy Hierarch Mark, and demanded that at the Council, sharp polemics with the Latins on theological questions be avoided. He hoped that a compromise acceptable to all might be accomplished through vague wording. Pope Eugene IV of Rome pursued other goals. First of all, he wanted to use the Unia to raise his prestige in the Catholic world, something that had been shaken at the Council of Basle; second, he wanted to assert his control over the Orthodox Church. Therefore, he insisted that as soon as possible, the two Churches form a bilateral commission to identify and analyze the points of contention between the two sides, and to chart the paths to contracting a Unia. After some delay, the Greeks authorized only Holy Hierarch Mark of Ephesus and Metropolitan Bessarion of Nicaea to take part in discussions with the Latins. Of those two, St. Mark took the lead, and was also authorized to represent the Patriarchates of Alexandria and Antioch.

At the request of Cardinal Julian Cesarini, before the commission began its work, St. Mark laid out for Pope Eugene IV the position of the Greek delegation. The Holy Hierarch yearned for Church unity, believed that a Unia was possible, and sought unity with the Latins, but a true unity, based on unity of faith and ancient liturgical practice. Holy Hierarch Mark emphasized that the purity of Orthodoxy must be preserved, and that the talks might end without success unless Rome made certain concessions, renouncing innovations introduced into the dogmas and liturgical practice of the Western Church which were alien to the ancient Church and which were reasons for the schism. The Cardinal immediately delivered that appeal not only to the Pope, but to Emperor John as well. The Emperor, who had naively hoped that in concluding the Unia, painful theological questions could be avoided, was extremely displeased, and even wanted to have the Holy Hierarch brought to trial before the Synod. However, at the urging of Bessarion of Nicaea and others, he did not act on that proposed decision. At the same time, the Pope demanded ever more insistently that the Greeks explain themselves, and finally, at the third session of the commission the Catholics themselves proposed issues for consideration: 1) the issue of the Procession of the Holy Spirit; 2) the issue of the use of azymes, unleavened bread, for the Eucharist in the Roman Catholic Church; 3) the teachings with respect to Purgatory; and 4) the primacy of the Pope of Rome.

The Greeks considered the question of Purgatory to be the simplest one, and that coming closer together on that issue would more likely allow them to come closer to agreement on the other issues. However, the subsequent debate on that question, during which Holy Hierarch St. Mark of Ephesus spoke out several times, ended without result on July 17, 1438. The Greek delegation did not agree to accept as dogma the Latin teaching with respect to a purgatory fire through which sinners could avoid eternal torment by undergoing a temporary punishment and purging. Such a view would cast doubt on the Church teaching with respect to an after-death recompense, and would tempt people of weak faith to take a “broad path” to salvation.

After the Orthodox and Latins failed to reach agreement with respect to Purgatory, the first question under discussion, and after the first attempt to find rapprochement on Orthodox and Catholic dogmatic positions failed, followed several months of inaction. It was only on October 8, 1438 that new discussions were begun, on the most important point of disagreement between the two sides – the question of the “Filioque” (i.e. “and [from] the Son,” the Roman Catholic teaching that the Holy Spirit proceeds not only from God the Father but also from God the Son.) The Latins insisted that the actual teaching with respect to the “Filioque” be reviewed, but the majority of Greeks, together with St. Mark of Ephesus, demanded that they review the question of whether it was legal to make any alteration in the Creed, the Symbol of Faith. In the course of discussions, St. Mark cited the decision of the Third Ecumenical Council which directly forbade such alterations, and called upon the Latins to acknowledge their error. However, Roman Catholic orators, aware of how vulnerable was their position, strove to justify themselves through a variety of subterfuges. After many sessions in which a number of orators spoke, many of the Greeks came to the conclusion that discussions with the Latins were going nowhere, and that it would be better for them to return to Constantinople. 

St. Mark Bishop of Ephesus

  

In early January 1439, at the last meeting of the Council in Ferrara, a papal bull was read, announcing that the Council was being moved to Florence. Florence became the place at which, in St. Mark’s words, the Latins threw off their masks, not just with respect to their attitude toward the Orthodox delegates, but with respect to their treatment of them. The Orthodox Greeks found themselves in a difficult position: exhausted, suffering from privations, submitted to a variety of restrictions, lacking the resources to return to their homeland, and recognizing Byzantium’s truly sorry state. In effect, they were invited to “sell out” the Orthodox Church in return for generous assistance both to the state and to the Greek delegates to the Council; they were even promised that a Crusade would be launched against the Turks. All of these factors led to a fracturing of the unity that had made the Greek delegation so strong in Ferrara. While in Ferrara, Holy Hierarch St. Mark of Ephesus had had the support of Metropolitan Bessarion of Nicaea and Isidore of Kiev, and the Emperor himself was on the side of the enthusiastic supporters of Orthodoxy, but in Florence the picture changed. The Greek hierarchs’ original objectives – to preserve Orthodoxy in all of its purity and to sway the Latins toward Unia by convincing them that they had an erroneous understanding of the dogmas on which they disagreed with the Orthodox – were replaced by a search for compromising, ambiguous decisions and unstable, shaky, dogmatic definitions. The fundamental theological search pursued by the Greek delegates became “To find some middle ground.” In essence, Holy Hierarch St. Mark of Ephesus found himself alone, in isolation. The Catholics, in their turn, no longer sought an agreement on unification, but rather sought unconditional dogmatic and administrative capitulation by the Eastern Church. Having accepted the Latin “Filioque” teaching, the Orthodox delegates to the Council of Florence were forced to compromise on other issues as well. On July 5, 1439, they signed the Florence Unia. St. Mark was the only Council participant who did not sign the Act of Union. In fact, he turned out to be the only one to have defended Orthodoxy. That is evidenced by the fact that on hearing of St. Mark of Ephesus’ categorical refusal to sign the Acts of the Council, the Roman Pope stated that the Unia was a complete failure.

St. Mark, along with the Emperor and others who represented the Orthodox Church at the Council in Italy, returned to Constantinople on February 1, 1440. An active opponent of the Unia, St. Mark left the capital on May 15 without notifying the Emperor. He departed for Ephesus, which was under the control of the Turks. There St. Mark devoted all of his efforts to putting his ravaged diocese in order: converting those who had gone astray, ordaining priests, and interceding with the authorities on behalf of the needy. At the same time, he considered the battle against the Unia to be the most pressing issue. Thus, in his encyclicals, he continued to denounce the Greek-Catholics and the decisions of the Council of Florence. An encyclical he addressed to all Orthodox Christians of the East in July 1440 was of particular significance. It elicited both extreme dissatisfaction on the part of the uniates, and wrath on the part of the Emperor. As a result, during a journey to Mt. Athos, the Saint was arrested on the island of Limnos, and was incarcerated for two years, during which he suffered from sickness, a severe climate, and deprivation of many of the essentials of life.

In 1442, at the order of the Emperor, Holy Hierarch St. Mark was released, on the day of commemoration of the Holy Seven Youths of Ephesus (4 August or 22 October). In a poem written on that occasion, the Archpastor thanked the Holy Youths of Ephesus for their intercession and assistance. St. Mark returned to Constantinople , where he lived until his blessed repose in 1457. It was God’s Providence that he remain a warrior for Orthodoxy until his final hour."

Icon of the three new hierarchs Sts. Photios the Great, Gregory Palamas, and Mark of Ephesus. These three great defenders and pillars of Orthodoxy are jointly commemorated on the first Sunday in November. 

St. Mark's final meeting with the Pope

"The Pope asked of the Emperor that St. Mark appear before him. The Emperor, having summoned him beforehand, persuaded him, saying: 'When the Pope asks you to appear before him already two and three times, you must go to him; but have no fear, for I have spoken and requested and arranged with the Pope so that you will be given no offense or injury. And so, go and listen to everything he says, and reply openly in whatever manner will seem to you the most suitable.' And so Mark went to appear before the Pope, and finding him sitting informally in his own quarters with his cardinals and his bishops, he was uncertain in what fashion he should express respect to the Pope. Seeing that all who surrounded the Pope were sitting, he said: 'I have been suffering from a kidney ailment and severe gout and have not the strength to stand,' and proceeded to sit in his place. The Pope spoke long with Mark; his aim was to persuade him also to follow the decision of the Council and affirm the Union, and if he refused to do this, then he should know that he would be subject to the same interdictions which previous Ecumenical Councils laid upon the obstinate, who, deprived of every gift of the Church, were case out as heretics. To the Pope's words Mark gave an extensive, commanding reply. Concerning the interdictions with which the Pope threatened him, he said: 'The Councils of the Church have condemned as rebels those who have transgressed against some dogma and have preached thus and fought for this, for which reason also they are called ''heretics''; and from the beginning the Church has condemned the heresy itself, and only then has it condemned the leaders of the heresy and its defenders. But I have by no means preached my own teaching, nor have I introduced anything new in the Church, nor defended any foreign and false doctrine; but I have held only that teaching which the Church received in perfect form from our Saviour, and in which it has steadfastly remained to this day: the teaching which the Holy Church of Rome, before the schism that occurred between us, possessed no less than our Eastern Church; the teaching which, as holy, you formerly were wont to praise, and often at this very Council you mentioned with respect and honor, and which no one could reproach or dispute. And if I hold it and do not allow myself to depart from it, what Council will subject me to the interdiction to which heretics are subject? What sound and pious mind will act thus with me? For first of all one must condemn the teaching which I hold; but if you acknowledge it as pious and Orthodox, then why am I deserving of punishment?' Having said this and more of the like, and listened to the Pope, he returned to his quarters."

St. Mark Archbishop of Ephesus 

Troparion - Tone 4
By your profession of faith, O all-praised Mark, the Church has found you to be a zealot for truth. You fought for the teaching of the Fathers; you cast down the darkness of boastful pride. Intercede with Christ God to grant forgiveness to those who honor you!

Kontakion - Tone 3
Clothed with invincible armor, O blessed one, You cast down rebellious pride, you served as the instrument of the Comforter, and shone forth as the champion of Orthodoxy. Therefore we cry to you: "Rejoice, Mark, the boast of the Orthodox!"

St. Mark Bishop of Ephesus, depicted as shaming the Pope through his steadfast adherence to Orthodoxy

THE SOUL OF THE EAST

This image is the header for this website: https://souloftheeast.org/2016/08/26/biblical-defense-of-icons/

Well worth checking out...

WHY THE WORLD AND MAN WERE CREATED

 Lactantius was an early Christian author who became an advisor to the first Christian Roman emperor, Constantine I, guiding his religious policy as it developed, and a tutor to his son. 240 AD to 320 AD

WHY THE WORLD AND MAN WERE CREATED

"Now let us mark the whole argument by a brief definition. 

The world has been created for this purpose, that we may be born; 

we are born for this end, that we may acknowledge the Maker of the world and of ourselves -- God; 

we acknowledge Him for this end, that we may worship Him; 

we worship Him for this end, that we may receive immortality as the reward of our labours, since the worship of God consists of the greatest labours; 

for this end we are rewarded with immortality, that being made like to the angels, we may serve the Supreme Father and Lord for ever, and may be to all eternity a kingdom to God. 

This is the sum of all things, this the secret of God, this the mystery of the world, from which they are estranged, who, following present gratification, have devoted themselves to the pursuit of earthly and frail goods, 

and by means of deadly enjoyments have sunk as it were in mire and mud their souls, which were born for heavenly pursuits."

From the Divine Institutes by Lactantius

The Computer Is Satan's Favorite Tool

"The whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one." 1 John 5:19

Whole means everything...relationships, entertainment, education, politics, science, business, history, medicine, food, water...air, land and sea.

What is true becomes false, what is false becomes true.

What is real becomes fake and what is fake becomes real.

Love is called hate and hate is called love.

Wickedness is extolled and righteousness is mocked.

God becomes evil and evil becomes god.

Chaos is idolized and order is disdained.

The Evil One is a liar and there is no truth in him.

Anyone not of God the Father, God the Holy Spirit and God the Son, Jesus Christ is of the devil and will perish in their sins.

SCIENCE REALITY CHECK

“For they willingly forget the fact that the heavens existed long ago by the word of God, and the earth was formed out of water and by water.” 2 Peter 3:5

Hydrogen is the first element on the Periodic Table.

Hydrogen broken down means hydro, (water) and gen, (beginning)

Hydrogen is the building block from which all other elements of the Periodic Table are built.

Humans are not 70% water, we are 100% water and everything is 100% water in different configurations and densities.

These are forgotten facts.

This is real science.

Welcome to reality!

“For they willingly forget the fact that the heavens existed long ago by the word of God, and the earth was formed out of water and by water.” 2 Peter 3:5

greenfieldnaturals.com

The Foolishness Of Man

Excerpts from the writings of Ephraim, the great light of the Syrian Church of the fourth century.

Who is more foolish than men, who rather than for himself cares for his dwelling! 

The garments that are in his closet he examines daily, and a worm is lurking in his body. 

The tears that are in his clothes, he mends, but a tear is made in his soul. 

His house is lit up but his soul is dark. 

He shuts up his senses but opens his windows.

He closes his door and guards his money; his mouth is open and the treasure of his thought is stolen. 

The fool makes more of his animals than himself, for he cares for his possessions rather than his own soul. 

Good seed he sows in his ground; in his heart he sows tares.

His understanding is thrown open and cast down; but at the fences of his vineyard he labors.

He chooses and plants vine plants; while his mind is a vine of the vines of Sodom.

He keeps off the wild ass from his sowing; but the wild boar of the woods devours his thoughts.

By closing men's eyes I teach the signs of the Zodiac, though they are not in the heavens.

The Evil One said, "I fear Him, even Jesus, lest He destroy my arts. For lo! I am thousands of years old, and never have I had repose. I have seen nothing established, that I have not turned from and left. There has come one making the unchaste pure; there is sorrow since He has destroyed all that I have built. Many have been my labors and my teachings, that I might cover all creation with all evils. 

Blessed is He who came and laid bare the wiles of the Crafty One!

"Heliocentrists Are Possessed By The Devil!" John Calvin

One of the founders of the Protestant faith was a flat earther!

(and the other great reformer wasn't much different)

The Global Lie!

The Copernicum principal places humanity as inconsequential participants, unimportant, having evolved out of goo and devolving into nothingness in a universe too vast to even contemplate that mankind is anything but an insignificant accident upon an tiny speck of a planet in a universe of endless galaxies of millions and billions of planets and stars of which earth is but a speck of granular sand. All is meaningless, yet awesome but fleeting and a Creator has no place in this plan, only chaos, aliens, pride and fear.

A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS

WHICH OF THESE IMAGES IS NOT LIKE THE OTHERS?

(sung to the Sesame Street tune)

The map on the left is an map of flat earth. The map on the right is an map of flat earth.

This is the famous 'Blue Marble' image of earth supposedly photographed by Apollo 17 in 1972. 

Did You Guess Which Is Not Like The Others?

NASA claims it's the only actual photograph ever taken of earth. Supposedly there have been tens of thousands of satellites orbiting earth for decades and yet we don't have even one real photograph of the globe. How come? Because there is no globe and there are no satellites. There is a growing movement on youtube and the internet exposing one of the most diabolical lies of all time. 

Click here for just one of hundreds of flat earth videos showing up on Youtube

Here's a link to a NASA site telling the story behind one of the other only images of earth.

note: perhaps I should have titled this blog post: "A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Lies"

Death Conquered Death

The tree that conquered Adam of old
Is the tree that conquered death foretold

The wood that darkened Adam of old
Is the wood illumining all who behold

Adam and Solomon were easily swayed
So it has been for every age

The tempter of old ruled the hearts of men
Not knowing that his time would soon end

Adam of new went forth conquering
The tempter lost his sway among men

Adam fell to promises false
Christ fell but to promises true

All far and near must pass by the gates
The unquenchable heat and flames thereof

Though you be singed, will you live?
As you pass the demons way

Two men of old, they did prevail
Not a hair was burned nor smoke was smelled

Enoch and Elijah men of renown
Though Satan searched, he found them not

His treasure chest has overflowed
Though riches he disdains

It is only souls of men he seeks
The rich, the poor, the great, the low

It matters not to him of old
He takes them all into his fold

In darkness and dungeons deep
He keeps them there, his treasures to keep

But lo not the gates of hell prevail
Against He who is both mighty and lowly

For no one else could enter in
Yet escape the awesome darkest foe

As bubbles pop upon the froth
The tombs enclosed burst open forth

As light shines forth in brightest beams
Upon the earth and glistening seas

The dead rose up like shining stars
To brighten the heavens for all to see

The gate keeper has been trampled down
The gates he no longer keeps

For He who goes conquering forth
Has forever done away with him

And glorious shall our dwellings be
For those who put their trust in thee.

Ephraim The Syrian, One of the early Church Fathers inspired me to compose this poem.

Muslim Mocks Bible Teaching Flat Earth

A Graphic Interpretation Of A Biblical Earth And Heaven

Comment: The post below was taken from the site of a Muslim who was attempting to expose the Bible as a book of lies. I must say this dear chap did a wonderful job of accurately interpreting the Bible. 

I am reminded of the scripture that states, "What men mean for evil, God means for good." Be prepared to have your world shaken up and literally deflated by a Muslim!

The Bible says:  The Earth is flat!

The sections of this article are:

-  The Bible says:  The Earth is flat!
-  The flat Earth is established and can never move?!  The Sun hurries back to where

    it rises?! 

-  The Earth has pillars?!
-  The Earth has Edges?!  The wicked might get shaken off of it and fall off in
    space?!
-  Does Isaiah 40:22 really say that Earth is Round?  The Earth is a flat circle?!
-  Christian Theologians' Commentaries that further suggest that the Earth 

    is flat. 

-  The light of the Universe and the flat earth's dimensions in the Bible.
-  Conclusion.

When it comes to scientific claims, the Bible has the dumbest claims, with all due respect to Jews and Christians.  The Bible claims that Earth has four ends and four corners.  Nobody can ever think a ball or a cycle to have corners and ends!  Only flat items can have corners and ends, and this is exactly what the bible is trying to express regarding the shape of the earth.  The earth is not flat, as once thought and it has no corners or ends at all.   If Magnetic Poles can be taken as ends or corners of earth, then this definitely opposed to the axis of rotation. 

Genesis 11:1-9
The Tower of Babel
1 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech.
2 As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.
3 They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar.
4 Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."
5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building.
6 The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.
7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."
8 So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.
9 That is why it was called Babel —because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

Not only these verses are seriously very insulting to Allah Almighty because they present Him as a GOD who feared men, but they also reveal a very serious scientific blunder through suggesting that the earth is both flat and sitting still in the universe - something that is quite contrary to what the Holy Quran teaches.

Isaiah 11:12  

12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the FOUR CORNERS OF THE EARTH. (KJV)

Revelation 7:1 

1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on FOUR CORNERS OF THE EARTH, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. (KJV) 

Job 38:13 

13 That it might take hold of the ENDS OF THE EARTH, that the wicked might be shaken out of it? (KJV) 

Jeremiah 16:19 

19 O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ENDS OF THE EARTH, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit. (KJV) 

Daniel 4:11 

11 The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the ENDS OF ALL THE EARTH: (KJV) 

Matthew 4:8 

8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; (KJV) 

Astronomical bodies are spherical, and you cannot see the entire exterior surface from any place. The kingdoms of Egypt, China, Greece, Crete, sections of Asia Minor, India, Maya (in Mexico), Carthage (North Africa), Rome (Italy), Korea, and other settlements from these kingdoms of the world were widely distributed. 

The flat Earth is established and can never move?!  The Sun hurries back to where it rises?!

The Psalm 104:5 and Ecclesiastes 1:5 verses from the Bible in this section were sent to me by Abdullah Bisyir; may Allah Almighty always be pleased with him.

"He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved.   (From the NIV Bible, Psalm 104:5)"

"The LORD reigns, he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed in majesty and is armed with strength.  The world [The deceiving translators should've said "earth", not "world"] is firmly established; it cannot be moved.   (From the NIV Bible, Psalm 93:1)"

"Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns."   The world [Again, the deceiving translators should've said "earth", not "world"] is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.  (From the NIV Bible, Psalm 96:10)"

"The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.  (From the NIV Bible, Ecclesiastes 1:5)"

Well, I don't think there is any need for much explanation to the nonsense above!   It is crystal clear that the Bible is full of man-made corruptions and alterations.   Since when the Earth is flat and can never move?!  We all know that the Earth and the other planets rotate and move in space around the Sun.  Since when the Sun hurries back to where it rises, like if there is some hole it rises from and another hole it sets through on Earth?!

For those Jews and Christians who would like to see where in the Noble Quran does Allah Almighty say that the planets in space rotate and move, read the following Noble Verse:

"It is He who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon, all (the celestial bodies) swim along, each in its orbit with its own motion.  (The Noble Quran, 21:33)"

For more information and other Noble Verses, please visit:

Science in the Noble Quran and Islam.

The Earth is round according to Islam.

The Earth has pillars?!

"He shakes the earth from its place and makes its pillars tremble.  (From the NIV Bible, Job 9:6)"

"Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand.  (From the NIV Bible, Job 38:4)"

The Earth has Edges?!

"that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it?  (From the NIV Bible, Job 38:13)"

"He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven and sends it to the ends of the earth.  (From the NIV Bible, Job 37:3)"

"for he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.  (From the NIV Bible, Job 28:24)"

"Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.  (From the NIV Bible, Job 11:9)"

Does Isaiah 40:22 really say that Earth is Round?

It is quite clear that the above Biblical Verses suggest and claim that the Earth is flat, has Edges, has Four Corners, has Pillars, and has Foundations.  No unbiased person would deny the straight forward quotes above.  Only the desperate biased Jews and Christians would.

Some desperate Christians have gone as far as presenting Isaiah 40:22 to try to prove that the Bible claims that the earth is round.

Let us look at what the Verse says:

"He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers.  He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in.  (From the NIV Bible, Isaiah 40:22)"

First of all, a circle is not a ball or sphere or an egg-shaped object.  A circle is a flat round surface, similar to flat rectangular, or square, or triangular surfaces.   So if the Bible claims that the Earth is a circle, then this is still bogus because the earth is obviously not a flat surface.

We have two conditions here:

1- Isaiah 40:22 is claiming that the Earth is a flat circle.

2- Isaiah 40:22 is claiming that the Earth has a circle above it.

If we were to take condition #1, then we are left with a clear and irrefutable contradiction between Isaiah 40:22 and some of the Bible's verses that I mentioned above in the article, because a flat circle doesn't have "four corners", and ironically in either case, we still have a scientifically false claim about the Earth's shape.

IF we were to take condition #2, then it doesn't prove that the Earth is an egg-shaped figure, and Isaiah 40:22 surely becomes irrelevant to this subject.

One thing is for sure clear, and that is Isaiah 40:22 is obviously ambiguous and not clear if we wish to prove from it that the Earth is not flat and is egg-shaped.  If we look at what the entire Bible says (as presented above by all the Verses) about the shape of the Earth as the Roman Catholic Church did in the past, then we would reach the same conclusion they reached, and that is:  The Earth is Flat!

Certainly, when Christopher Columbus thought that he could reach India by going west in the Atlantic ocean instead of east as it was traditionally done, the Church in Europe was afraid that he will eventually reach the "end of the earth" and the "Edges of the earth" as the Bible clearly says above, and fall off into the space and die.

After he was able to convince the Queen that the adventure was worth the try, Christopher Columbus had survived several assassination attempts while he and his people were sailing in the ocean, because his Christian Church-believing mates were afraid and wanted to go back. 

When he finally found America, he thought he reached India.  That's why the North American Continent was called "India", and the Native Americans were called "Red Indians".

This is at least what I learned from my "US History" class when I was in High School.

Christian Theologians' Commentaries that further suggest that the Earth is flat:

The following is an email I received from brother Mohammed; may Allah Almighty always be pleased with him.

Subj:    (no subject)

Date:    4/24/02 8:22:58 AM Central Daylight Time

From:    MOHAMMEDALTAFK@aol.com 

To:    ISLM4EVR1@aol.com

Assalamu alaikum Dear brother

Look at this Pre-scientific view: Ancient Pagan religions in the Mediterranean area and Middle East taught that the universe was quite tiny.  Earth is more or less flat, like a dinner plate.  Mountains around the edges held up a rigid dome which formed the sky.  The sun, moon, planets and stars traveled across the underside of the dome of the sky on a daily basis.  God sits on his throne in Heaven, which lies above the canopy.  This applies to Isaiah 40:22.

The site that is talking about this is at: http://www.religioustolerance.org/cosmo_bibl.htm

Further on we now have refuted those layman scholars who say the word in Isaiah means a Globe: EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN scholars who agree that Isaiah 40:22 does NOT speak of a spherical earth.  There are even Evangelical publishers of books and Bible commentaries who do NOT teach that Isaiah 40:22 speaks of a spherical earth.  BAKER BOOKS and evangelical publisher published the following book about Isaiah 40:22:

What You Know Might Not Be So: 220 Misinterpretations of Bible Texts Explained by David C. Downing Paperback (September 1987) Baker Book House; ISBN: 0801029759.

And EVANGELICALS now have a commentary on Genesis available which takes the ancient Near Eastern context of Genesis seriously.  It is Genesis, The NIV Application Commentary by John H. Walton (past professor of OT at Moody Bible Institute, and now at Wheaton),published by Zondervan, 2001.  

Although it is not a technical commentary like Gordon Wenham's, it is a solid scholarly piece of work.  759 pages, nearly half of which deal with Genesis 1-11.  Paul Seely, an Evangelical scholar, has even written a paper that was published in the WESTMINSTER REVIEW (an EVANGELICAL college), in which he says the following:

The Geographical Meaning of Earth Seas in Genesis 1:10 

by Paul Seely:

"There is one verse in the OT, however, which has often been cited at least by laymen as a proof that the earth was understood to be a globe.  I refer to Isaiah 40:22 which speaks of God as the One sitting above the circle of the earth.   This verse does imply that the earth is circular, but there is nothing either in the underlying Hebrew word (hug) or in the context which necessarily implies anything more than the circularity of the flat earth-disc which the historical context and Genesis 1 have given us as the meaning of.  If Isaiah had intended to speak of the earth as a globe, he would probably have used the word he used in 22:18 (dur), meaning 'ball.' "

For as E. J. Young noted, Isaiah 40:22 describes God as seated on the zenith, the highest point directly overhead.  Thus the verse implies that earth's dwellers, all mankind according to Psalm 33:13, 14, are clearly visible from a very high point directly overhead.  This imagery fits most naturally the conception of the earth below as a flat disc, not a globe.  For if the earth were a globe, part of all mankind namely earth's dwellers in Australia, Argentina, South Africa, etc... could not be seen from a point directly overhead.  One could force the issue by appealing to God's omniscience, but Isaiah 40:22 (as well as the other verses which mention God looking down) is focused on God's height above the earth; and his seeing all mankind is derived from that height.   That phrase "the circle of the earth" in no way implies sphericity is confirmed by the fact that in Egypt this phrase was used to refer to the earth as a flat circular disc.  So when interpreted within its historical and biblical context Isaiah 40:22 implies indeed that the earth is circular in shape but also that it is flat. 

The light of the Universe and the flat earth's dimensions in the Bible:

The following is an email I received from brother Mohammed Riaz M; may Allah Almighty always be pleased with him.

Here is excellent proof that the author of the corrupted bible thought that the earth was a flat one.

1. Job 37:33 He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven and sends it to the ends of the earth.

Riaz : Lighting doesn't travel around the earth the biblical god thought his earth was a small, flat one.

2. Job 38:44 "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it?

Riaz : If the author of the bible thought of a globe earth then the last question in job 38: 44 should of read "Who stretched a measuring line around it?"

Job 38:13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?

Riaz : Does a sphere have ends, and how can you grab the ends of a sphere? Only a flat disc or square could be grabbed and shaken in this way.

Conclusion:

The Bible not only failed to claim that the Earth was egg-shaped, but it also claimed in numerous verses as shown above that the Earth is flat, has Edges, has Four Corners, has Pillars, and has Foundations.  As I said above, no unbiased person would deny the obvious and embarrassing quotes above.  Only the desperate biased Jews and Christians would.

My Closing Comments

The Ancient Fathers of the Church interpreted the scriptures as teaching that the earth is flat and is covered by an impenetrable firmament. 

Within this firmament are located the sun, the moon and the stars. Planets are merely wandering stars or luminaries with no physicalness to their structure. 

The sun and moon are disk shaped luminaries identical in size and approximately 32 miles across and approximately two to four thousand miles from earth. 

The sun, moon and stars are revolve around the earth which is the center of the universe. That's right folks, it was all made just for us by our Creator God.

There is so much more to say on this topic and as much as you may be thinking that I have lost my mind, then I must say I'm in good company with the ancient Church Fathers and the Word of God. 

Gary Greenfield