You know, it’s pretty wild how invested Flat Earthers are; they’re dropping serious coin, talking thousands, just to prove everyone wrong, all because their convictions are absolutely rock-solid. And speaking of convictions, many Flat Earthers are super religious, which honestly puts “conspiracy number 5” into a whole new light, making a lot more sense, wouldn’t you agree?
The World According to Flat Earthers: Their Core Beliefs
So, get this: we’re about to dive headfirst into seven mind-boggling conspiracies that Flat Earthers absolutely swear by. Let’s kick things off with the most glaring one: our planet, to them, isn’t some spinning sphere; nope, it’s a stationery, flat disk, nestled under what they picture as a giant snow globe, all fenced in by an ice wall – but more on that icy barrier in a bit.
One of the first head-scratchers for anyone chatting with a Flat Earther is always, “How do sunsets even work on a flat surface?” And then there’s gravity, which some of them just brush off as an “illusion,” completely cooked up by the flat Earth’s own acceleration. Seriously, that makes about as much sense to me as it probably does to you!
Antarctica: Not a Continent, But a Glacial Barricade
Here’s another juicy one: some Flat Earthers are convinced that the landmass we call Antarctica is actually a monumental ice wall, wrapping around their disc-shaped flat Earth. Its whole job, they reckon, is to keep anything and everything from just tumbling off the edge. This colossal frozen boundary often goes by the moniker “the ice wall.”
But Mark Sargent, who’s kind of a big deal in the Flat Earth Theory circles, doesn’t even call it that. “It’s just Antarctica,” he says, pretty matter-of-factly. Try asking him what lies beyond that icy perimeter, though, and he’ll admit it’s a tough nut to crack. Yet, some Flat Earthers don’t hesitate, confidently declaring that hidden continents are just chilling out past the wall.
Mark also pointed out that, even if you wanted to, you couldn’t just pop over to see this surrounding ice because the Antarctic Treaty has it all locked down, forbidding access. And when it comes to the North Pole? Flat-Earth maps always plonk it right in the center. As for the South Pole – well, for some Flat Earthers, it’s a no-show, doesn’t even exist. Others, though, just label that massive ice wall as the “South Pole Ice Wall.”
Celestial Mechanics, Flat-Earth Style
The Sun as a Spotlighter, the Moon as Its Own Luminary
In the Flat Earthers’ universe, the Moon isn’t just a reflective surface bouncing the Sun’s light; oh no, they genuinely believe the Moon is its own light source, shining independently. And if you really want to dive deep, “The Flat-Earth Conspiracy,” another widely read Flat-Earth book, elaborates on this, describing moonlight as something silver, cool, damp, even putrefying, and, get ready for it, septic.
“Shadow Object”: The Culprit Behind Eclipses
So, here’s their take on eclipses: Flat Earthers are convinced there’s a mysterious satellite, dubbed the “Shadow Object,” which is totally responsible for both lunar and solar eclipses. They argue you can’t spot this Shadow Object because it’s perpetually orbiting super close to the Sun. But they do give us a ballpark figure for its size, estimating it to be somewhere between five to ten miles (that’s 8 to 16 km) in diameter.
The Flat Earth Society explicitly states that eclipses only go down when the Sun, this Shadow Object, and the Moon all line up perfectly, and when the Moon happens to slice through the Sun’s orbital plane.
Spiritual and Governmental Deceptions
The Bible: A Flat-Earth Blueprint?
It’s pretty common for Flat Earthers to pull out the Bible, touting it as a totally reliable blueprint for Earth’s shape. They love to quote verses like Isaiah 40:22 – “He sits enthroned above the circle of the Earth” – to back up their claims. Another go-to verse for them is Job 38:14: “The earth takes shape like clay under a seal.”
While some folks, genuinely religious, seem to buy into this, American philosopher Dr. William Lane Craig has his suspicions. He thinks those online spreading these “false facts” are actually infidels trying to undermine the Bible. Dr. Craig also pointed out that these individuals clearly have zero grasp of literary interpretation or genre. For instance, just because Isaiah 11:12 and Revelation 7:1, 20:7 in the Bible mention “the four corners of the Earth” doesn’t magically make our planet square.
NASA: The Grand Deceiver
Let’s be real, it’s no secret that governments, at some point or another, have totally pulled the wool over our eyes. Flat Earthers latch onto this truth, pushing the idea that it wouldn’t be surprising in the slightest if NASA was lying to us all along.
The Moon Landing: A Grand Illusion?
Considering Flat Earthers are convinced NASA is feeding us a line, it naturally follows that they also believe the Moon landing was a complete fabrication. Scientists typically shut this down by pointing to the Moon rocks brought back from the missions as solid proof that the Moon landing was absolutely real.
However, some Flat Earthers brilliantly counter-argue, saying you don’t even need to go to the Moon to snag Moon rocks, since some naturally fall to Earth. These are what we call lunar meteorites, often discovered in places like Antarctica and northwestern Africa. But here’s the kicker: Moon rocks and lunar meteorites aren’t actually the same thing. Lunar meteorites sport a fusion crust, while the rocks collected during the Apollo mission do not.
Reflecting on Skepticism and Growth
You know, it’s actually pretty cool that Flat Earthers are so skeptical and don’t just fall in line easily. That’s a quality we should all probably try to embody a bit more, don’t you think? But, and this is a big “but,” we really need to remember when it’s time to just throw in the towel, wave that white flag, once we’ve been proven wrong. Yeah, it totally stings the ego, but owning up to our blunders is absolutely crucial for personal growth.
So, if there’s one thing we can really take away from the Flat Earthers, it’s this: skepticism, as awesome as it can be, is totally a double-edged sword!
