2.24.2006

Modern day "flat-earthers"

"There was nothing original in what medieval scientists wrote about the size and shape of the earth [that it was a sphere, not flat] and its continents; they were merely following where the Greeks had led. Originality came in the nineteenth century when historians decided that in the Middle Ages people had been "flat-earthers," probably because they considered that the centuries between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance had been a time of barbarism, superstition and ignorance: the Dark Ages. Even today many people still believe that in the Middle Ages everyone thought the earth was flat; we live in our own age of faith, the faith that "we" are superior, more rational than the superstitious people of the past."

from 1215: The Year of Magna Carta, pg 227

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous2:04 AM

    If you think about it, the idea that we are so much more intelligent than people a thousand years ago is just another effect of evolutionary thinking.

    A creationist understanding of the past should make it clear that "early" man was much more intelligent than we are. We may have (re)discovered all sorts of interesting thingies, but we've had thousands of years of biological degeneration as a modern handicap.

    Adam was created good and perfect physically and mentally.The Fall didn't make him a moron. But it's been downhill ever since. :(

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