Question of the Week: Why do so many people subscribe to the Flat Earth Theory?
In order to properly address the question, we need to clarify what isn’t being asked. We aren’t being asked what evidence is used for or against the Flat Earth Theory. We aren’t being asked to debunk the claims of those who support a Flat Earth. And we aren’t being asked how to respond to those who claim the Bible teaches a Flat Earth. Those are all questions that can be addressed in their own time. For now, the only question being asked is why people are subscribing to it. Therefore, that will be exactly what we seek to answer.
The first and most important rule when talking to someone you have good reason to disagree with is to first recognize that people don’t subscribe to certain points of view without good reason. They may be inconsistent in that reasoning. But no one wakes up one day and decides to be irrational. If we don’t give the person we’re talking to enough credit to at least have a reason to believe what they believe, we will not treat them like a human being made in the image and likeness of God. That is the first and most important rule to remember when talking to someone who supports a Flat Earth. They’re not a walking argument waiting to be debunked. They are a human being that has chosen to believe something. This is the same standard we should have for those in cult groups, false religions, or even rejecting the idea of God in general. Don’t dehumanize someone for holding that position. Their reasons for doing so might be understandable even if the conclusions they came to don’t match the rationale of the journey.
There are two kinds of people you’ll run into that subscribe to a Flat Earth.
- People who have chosen it in reaction to those in scientific authority violating their trust.
- People who have chosen it in order to achieve the sense of community and purpose they aren’t finding elsewhere.
The first reason is a lot more reasonable than most people would give its adherents credit for. When someone violates your trust, it doesn’t naturally follow for people to give them the benefit of the doubt regarding other things they have said/claimed. In fact, the less reasons you have to trust a person in a particular field, it naturally becomes less reasonable for the individual to trust anything else they have to say. In order to properly understand this position that leads many into support of the Flat Earth Theory, apply the same reasoning to those who were caught up in the scandals of the Church. Priests who were molesting children, televangelists that were denouncing people for lifestyles they themselves practiced, and organizations founded in the name of Christianity defrauding people all made the same impact on large groups of people. The reactions were as follows; They associated how they were harmed with the title of Pastor/Priest/Christian and wanted nothing to do with anyone who claimed the name of Christ, regardless of whether or not Jesus Christ never defrauded or violated anyone. The association was an attempt to cope with trauma and a violation of trust. While the association is not rational, it is understandable why decisions were made concerning distancing themselves from the places they experienced this. Going back then to the field of science, what happens when people discover over and over again that scientific studies are skewed in order to fit a political narrative or to receive grant money even at the expense of truth? The Flat Earther eventually got tired of being lied to. The person who put these scientific authorities on pedestals only to discover they had feet made of clay reacted through the same mistake as those who left the faith because of the behavior of particular teachers. The field of science never lied, but the scientists have and continue to more and more. In assuming the truth will be found in the opposite direction of the claims of liars, they have simply made the same mistake (trusting scientific claims blindly) by committing the same fallacy in the opposite direction. This is going to be key in understanding why someone who take this position in the first place. They aren’t irrational. They’re usually reacting to a legitimate violation of trust. That is why evidence against their position rarely makes any difference. Instead of distancing them from false data, you’re merely leaving them with nowhere else to go in the department of science. Even if you prove that Flat Earth claims are as equally false as the narratives that drove them to this position in the first place, they’ll simply follow their pattern of thought and run away from that as well. What needs to be addressed is the difference between who you’re trusting and why.
The second reason is like the first. We as human beings are communal creatures. We don’t thrive off of isolation and social deprivation as a rule. While some can be more self-reliant than others, people generally find the most value in life based on their association with groups. Political groups are more popular when they communicate their cause as one that can and will change the way society functions for the better. Those who associate with them are very passionate for them because they believe merely by association that they will be a part of the cause that righted wrongs they saw in the world. Religious groups grow as their claims demonstrate an accurate view of who God is. Adherents of these religious groups, Christian or otherwise, are equally as passionate because they believe that their association with these groups will play a direct role in their lives here and in the hereafter. Those who subscribe to the Flat Earth Theory believe that association with this group is not only because the claims are accurate, but in open defiance of the false scientific narratives they see are being sold to the world. Misguided though they may be, understand that the passion that comes with this entirely stems from that cause. They want to stand for truth against commonly assumed lies. Therefore, any dismissal of their claims shows that you are the reason they chose that cause in the first place. Any evidence you show is treated as merely another one of the lies that motivated them to seek out this community. The responses need to be on the actual issue, If we don’t address the bad thinking, then bad thinking will continue even as we present them with good ideas.
The goal of this post is not to present Flat Earth Supporters as a lost cause. The purpose of this information is to clarify that some issues have nothing to do with good or bad information. What needs to be addressed concerning the Flat Earth are not only the false claims, but the false thinking that led them to those conclusions. Love the people caught up in these movements. Take the time to understand why they believe them instead of just reacting to the bad information they’ve been fed online. Deal with the heart as much as the mind. The more we get into the habit of addressing bad thinking, the less opportunity there will be for bad ideas to grow.
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