Fair not fair

Fair is a non-profit organization dedicated to provide well-documented answers to criticisms of LDS doctrine, belief and practice.(1) Although their claims seem well balanced and flawless to the untrained reader, Fair has done a fantastic job of dodging the bullet. Philosophical fallacies being made in many of their arguments, but one stood much higher above the rest.

In an article called "Answers to 50 Anti-Mormon Questions" Fair tries to answer this question: "Since the time when Brigham Young taught that both the moon and the sun were inhabited by people, has the Mormon church ever found scientific evidence of that to be true? (Journal of Discourses )1870), 13:271)"

Fair answers: "Brigham and others were most likely repeating what had been told to them by the science of the day." Fair continues: "Lots of Biblical prophets talked about the earth being flat, the sky being a dome, etc. - it is inconsistent for conservative Protestants to complain that a false belief about the physical world shared by others in their culture condemns Brigham and Joseph, but does not condemn Bible prophets."

Has Fair really answered the question or simply thrown mud at those who threaten the validity of their early prophets? The question asks if the church has found any scientific evidence and the answer is virtually invisible. If they were truly prophets of God, wouldn't they be discerning of the truth rather then following common beliefs of the day? As Fair attempts to mirror a fault found in Brigham Young and Joseph Smith with faults they perceive in the Bible, they fail to give any specific Bible verses that talk about the earth being "flat." Through personal research the only verses in the New King James Bible that contain the word "flat" are Leviticus 21:18, Numbers 22:31, Joshua 6:5 and Joshua 6:20 -- none of them refer to the earth. Fair could be referring to the numerous verses that say "four corners of the earth" or "ends of the earth." (2)

With a greater understanding of Hebrew this "problem" may resolve itself. In the phrase "four corners of the earth," the word "corner" is the Hebrew word "kanaph." Kanaph means extremity. " It is translated “borders” in Numbers 15:38. In Ezekiel 7:2 it is translated as “four corners” and again in Isaiah 11:12 as “four corners.” Job 37:3 and 38:13 as “ends."

"The Greek equivalent in Revelation 7:1 is "gonia." The Greek meaning is perhaps more closely related to our modern divisions known as quadrants. Gonia literally means angles, or divisions. It is customary to divide a map into quadrants as shown by the four directions." (3)

So does the Bible actually teach that the earth is flat? A Spherical shaped earth is described in Isaiah 40:22 "the circle of the earth." Not only has Fair blatantly misinformed readers about verses in the bible but has ignored important ones such as Isaiah 40:22.

So is Fair being fair about the information they provide? Have they provided "well-documented answers" as they so boldly claim? Or have they ignored important facts and details while highlighting their own ideas and biases? Have they attempted to bypass the question altogether by shifting the focus to the Bible?

(1) www.Fairlds.org

(2) Isaiah 11:12, Revelation 7:1, Job 38:13, Jeremiah 16:19, Daniel 4:11, Matthew 4:8.

(3) http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-c017.html

Thank you Erin Vidovich for your insight and help.