How could a Christian justify the Bible saying that the earth is flat?
Q. I'm a fairly new Christian, but I've never considered this before: The Bible does not specifically claim that "the earth is flat" but it is strongly hinted in several places. It is also rarely hinted at that the earth is round, or a sphere, etc. So if the Bible is God's word, how could a Christian justify the Bible's claims of our earth being flat, when God created earth? Surely God should know that the earth is round, and so this should be said in the Bible?
Asked by anonymous - Sun Sep 6 08:49:32 2009 - - 28 Answers - 1 Comments

A. The Bible states that the earth is spherical, but the word spherical doesn't exist in the ancient Hebrew language that the Old Testament was written in, so "spherical" is described using terminology that could only have been revealed by God at that time. I should start by pointing out that in Isaiah 40:22, the Hebrew word for circle is "chug" , and its Strong's translation may be "circle:" H2329 chu g khoog From H2328; a circle: - circle, circuit, compassive Likewise, the Hebrew word used in Isaiah 22:18 may mean circle, the english translators just chose to use "ball", here is Strong's definition of the ambigous Hebrew word used: H1754 du r dure From H1752; a circle, ball or pile: - ball, turn, round about. Other answerers have… [cont.]
Answered by John The Baptist - Sun Sep 6 09:02:33 2009

Why does the week on the Christian calendar start on Sunday?
Q. According the Christian religion, God rested on the seventh day. Presumably, that seventh day was Sunday because Christians celebrate the Sabbath on Sunday. Why, then, does the week on the calendar created by the Christians start on Sunday, making Saturday the seventh day?
Asked by growing backwards - Tue Aug 4 18:42:59 2009 - - 32 Answers - 0 Comments

A. What a great observation!!! However, the calendar has ALWAYS started with Sunday as the first day of the week. Though, they have tried to change the display order of the days of the week on European calendars. Your assertion that "presumably, that seventh day was Sunday" is incorrect. The seventh day has ALWAYS been what we call Saturday. Most of Christendom have their day of worship on Sunday because of tradition, not because of Biblical teaching. However, there are some Christians that still observe the Bible Sabbath from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. For example, the Seventh-Day Adventists. Sunday observance happened as Constantine tried to unite his empire which consisted of Christians and Pagans. The Pagans worshiped the sun… [cont.]
Answered by DenBorg - Tue Aug 4 18:57:37 2009

When and how did the Christian church determine that Jesus's mother ascended bodily into heaven?
Q. My understanding is that Mary's "Assumption" was not part of the Christian belief system until several hundred years after her death. When was she officially declared a saint, in which century? How did the Christian church decide that she was taken bodily into heaven? Are there any Protestant religions that believe Mary ascended into heaven in the flesh?
Asked by Sweetchild Danielle - Fri Nov 21 08:18:41 2008 - - 7 Answers - 0 Comments

A. The Christian church never determined this. This legend is ascribed first to Semerimas, and survives in more well-known fashion as Venus, Diana, Astarte, Isis, Ishtar, etc... - all the mystery pagan religious had a female deity that was assumed up into heaven. After 313 AD, when Constantine united the empire by blending Roman Paganism with Christian Iconography, many of these pagan practices died hard and were maintained by the subjects of the empire. This "miracle" was transferred and attributed to Mary along with the Immaculate conception, etc... approximately 451 AD, close to the time of the council of Chalcedon. This kept the pagan mystery female deities alive and well under the new alias of "Mary." With so many other names, one more… [cont.]
Answered by Monica V - Fri Nov 21 08:30:14 2008