(May 8, 2022 at 6:48 pm)Green Diogenes Wrote: I never made that claim, I did however make the claim that the Flat Earth movement, in the modern incarnation, originated in the 19th century in the USA, and emerged out of a culture which had known the Earth was a sphere for about 2200 years.
I did make the claim that Young Earth Creationism emerged in the 19th century USA, but I should say I mean the mainstream Christian branch of Young Earth Creationism which is predominant in the western world today. I don't mean the Islamic YEC which is more globally relevant, and much older. I don't mean previous forms of YEC invented throughout history. The mainstream scientific view before that I also exclude, as while it predicted a younger earth than current models, it did not adhere to the 7000 year old Earth of the Young Earth Creationism movement.
One of the founding myths of the New Atheist movement is that all Christians always believed in the literal reading of the Bible -- talking snakes, flat earth, etc. -- until the 19th century or so, when science showed that such things couldn't be true. Then, according to the myth, Christians had to invent metaphorical readings or "sophisticated" theology to jury-rig explanations not contradicted by science.
This myth is false, but strongly held by some atheist members of this forum.
As you know, challenging people's fondly-held myths gets a strong reaction.