The question of whether the Bible teaches a flat earth has reemerged in recent years, fueled largely by online communities and digital speculation. Many believers encounter these claims not because they distrust Scripture, but because they want to take God’s Word seriously. As a pastor and theological student, I want to engage this question with clarity, charity, and fidelity to Scripture. While the Bible speaks truthfully in all that it affirms, a careful examination shows that it does not teach a flat-earth cosmology. Instead, Scripture reflects phenomenological language—describing events as they appear to human observers—while maintaining complete theological accuracy. This essay will argue that the flat-earth claim arises not from the biblical text, but from reading ancient metaphorical or observational language as if it were a modern scientific description.

The doctrine of inspiration affirms that “All Scripture is breathed out by God”¹. Because of this, the Bible speaks truthfully and authoritatively. However, the Bible’s purpose is not to function as a scientific textbook; rather, it reveals God’s character, His redemptive plan, and His work in creation and history.

Scripture commonly uses phenomenological language, which describes the world as it appears to the human eye. Modern believers speak this way as well, using expressions such as “sunset” and “sunrise” without implying a geocentric universe. Similarly, when the psalmists speak of “the ends of the earth” or the prophets refer to “the four corners of the earth,” these are idiomatic expressions referring to the whole inhabited world, not geometric statements about its shape².

This reading aligns with the grammatical-historical method, respecting the literary genre, cultural setting, and linguistic norms of the biblical authors rather than imposing modern scientific categories upon the text.

Far from presenting a flat earth, several biblical texts suggest a round, inhabited globe.

Isaiah writes, “He sits above the circle of the earth”³. The Hebrew word often translated “circle” refers to a round or curved shape, not a flat plane. While it does not demand a fully developed scientific model, the imagery is consistent with a circular, curved, or spherical world.

Job declares, “He hangs the earth on nothing”⁴. In a time when surrounding cultures imagined the earth resting on animals, pillars, or cosmic waters, this statement is astonishingly unique. The text describes the earth as freely suspended—a description remarkably aligned with later astronomical understanding.

When Jesus speaks of His return, He describes differing human activities occurring at the same moment:

This teaching assumes a world where night and day occur simultaneously in different regions—something that only happens on a rotating, spherical earth⁵. This is not incidental; it demonstrates that Scripture’s worldview accommodates a global understanding of human experience.

Contrary to popular claims, the flat-earth model has not been the historic position of the Christian Church. Early Christian thinkers—including major theologians in the patristic and medieval eras—did not construct doctrine around a flat earth. By the time of the early church, educated opinion in the Greco-Roman world already recognized the earth as spherical, and Christian writers generally accepted this without controversy.

The modern narrative that “Christians believed in a flat earth until science corrected them” is largely a nineteenth-century myth, popularized by critics who wished to portray Christianity as anti-intellectual. In reality, the flat-earth movement is not a return to historic Christianity, but a recent phenomenon arising from conspiracy thinking and misreadings of ancient texts.

Many who adopt flat-earth ideas do so out of sincere intentions:

These are admirable instincts. But good intentions do not justify poor interpretation. When metaphor is misunderstood as physics, and imagery is misread as scientific assertion, the result is confusion rather than faithful biblical reading.

Paul warns Timothy about becoming entangled in “myths and endless genealogies” that “promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith”⁶. The issue is not curiosity but distraction from the gospel. When secondary theories eclipse primary Christian truths, spiritual harm can follow.

Flat-earth readings risk undermining several key theological commitments.

Scripture is clear in what it intends to teach. Imposing modern scientific standards on ancient phenomenological expressions confuses what the Bible is—and is not—saying.

When believers defend scientifically indefensible claims as “biblical truth,” skeptics are given unnecessary grounds to dismiss the gospel. The problem is no longer the offense of the cross, but the distraction of avoidable error.

Paul urges believers to “avoid foolish controversies” that are “unprofitable and worthless”⁷. Flat-earth debates often produce division rather than discipleship, consuming time and energy that should be invested in spiritual growth and mission.

The church is called to proclaim Christ crucified and risen, to make disciples of all nations, and to teach believers to obey all that Christ has commanded. Our calling is not to champion cosmological conspiracy theories but to herald the saving reign of Jesus.

The Bible does not teach a flat earth. It speaks in the normal language of human observation, employs poetic imagery, and reflects God’s accommodation to human understanding without making scientific assertions. The passages often cited by flat-earth proponents are metaphorical, idiomatic, or phenomenological—not literal cosmological claims.

At the center of Christian faith is not the shape of the earth but the Son of God who came to save sinners. The Christian’s confidence is rooted not in fringe theories but in the trustworthy Word of God and the risen Christ who declared, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life”⁸.

Let us therefore be a people grounded in Scripture, committed to truth, and focused on the redemptive mission of the gospel. In an age of confusion, conspiracy, and cynicism, the church must hold fast to the clarity and authority of God’s Word while avoiding unnecessary distractions. Our calling is not to decode the cosmos but to proclaim Christ until He comes.