In December of 2023 a major debate, Flat Earth v. Globe Earth, was broadcast live on Youtube, between Pastor Greg Locke and Pastor Dean Odle. Pastor Locke argued in favor of heliocentrism and the globe earth, and Pastor Odle argued that neither the Bible nor true science support golobalism. It was a long debate as you can see in this video (4 hours and 8 minutes). Here is a brief summary by yours truly, and I’m going to be bluntly honest, rather than politically or socially polite. I desire to be considerate and polite, but that doesn’t mean I have to avoid hard topics that could offend the offendable. The bold truth in the face of bald-faced lies doesn’t necessarily lend itself to the current liberal mindset of “not offending anyone,” which really means no free speech for you and unlimited free speech for them. Remember what Jesus said:
Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household. Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. Matthew 10:34-37
The debate was quite one-sided from the very beginning. Pastor Locke started as globers so often do, insulting their opponent and ridiculing and demeaning their character. I was honestly expecting Pastor Locke to actually use the scriptures to try to prove that there was room for a biblical interpretation that would at least give the genuine christian the intellectual leeway to justifiably believe that a globe was possible within a heliocentric system. I can’t imagine how he could come up with such biblical arguments without twisting the Word of God upside down and inside out, but I’m teachable and love to learn from others who are far more knowledgeable and wiser than me. So I was willing to listen to Pastor Locke’s arguments and put them under the scrutiny of traditional hermeneutics and exegesis.
I was disappointed that Pastor Locke had no biblical arguments of any substance or that were even remotely legitimate. I was actually surprised he could not come up with any biblical arguments that the world is a sphere in a larger heliocentric system of planets and outer space. I should clarify myself on these last two statements. I was disappointed and surprised because I thought Pastor Locke would have “some kind of arguments,” even if they were flimsy or unbiblical or marred by pseudoscience, but he had virtually nothing. I guess one reason that surprised me is because he has been so adamant, so arrogant, so persistent in his dogmatic approach to this subject for so long. For someone who was so confident with his position, I just thought he would actually have something intelligent and slightly persuasive on the subject. He had nothing.
On the other hand, I was greatly encouraged, because it once again demonstrated that the truth is the truth, and lies cannot stand up to the Truth of the Word of God. All of us who have diligently studied the Bible as well as the pseudoscientific lies that have been promoted with billions of U.S. tax dollars since 1958, have continuously seen example after example of scholars trying to prove their globe is real, but they fail every single time. When one wakes up to these realities both in the scriptures and in true science, it is like seeing for the first time. If you’ve ever watched a Youtube video of someone who has been deaf since birth, and suddenly with new technology they are able to hear, it is deeply moving. This is how it is for the true christian who begins to question the lies they’ve been told their entire lives, and to whom God opens the truth of the Word so they can see and understand God’s Genesis story of creation.
For his part, Pastor Odle did an excellent job sharing the real truths in the Bible on the subject of flat earth, and he did an excellent job of pointing out the most egregious pseudoscientific lies, too. And I would add that Pastor Odle maintained his composure under an offensive attack by his opponent. Thank God for men and women who are standing up for the Truth and exposing the lies. Watch Youtube for future debates, because there will certainly be more Flat Earth v. Globe Earth debates.
