Could this simply mean atmosphere, or outer space?Ī little reading helped clarify matters. The first fact I wanted to establish was the meaning of “firmament”, which some translations render “expanse”. This is particularly tempting where matters of faith are concerned, and especially hard when significant time, effort, and reputation has been staked in ground that can no longer sustain the assumptions laid upon it. It can be simplified considerably by avoidance invalidating, disregarding, or ignoring the difficult conclusion. You cannot be seriousĬoming to terms with such a significant change in perspective is not easy. In other words, Genesis 1 was not describing physical creation. The realisation that upset my expectations was that the ancients pictured the sky as a solid dome over a flat earth, and that this was why the sun, moon, and stars are described as being set in the firmament. When I was later reminded of these passages as an adult I already had a mental model that recognised the “waters above”, firmament, or canopy as a legitimate interpretation of the text.
The fact that the sun, moon, and stars were apparently in that canopy was noted, but never really explained. Though I didn’t know the source at the time, much of what I was taught was based on the writings of Morris and Whitcomb, who used the same proposition to describe a water canopy above the atmosphere which provided the source of water for Noah’s flood.
I was first introduced to the concept of the firmament as a teen. Day five notes that the birds fly across the face of this firmament. Day four explains that the sun, moon, and stars are set in the firmament, the waters above. Creation day two describes waters separated to form two bodies the water “above” and “below”, or sky and seas respectively. The Bible says what now?įor such a profoundly surprising concept, the glass ceiling (or to give its proper name: “firmament”), doesn’t need a string of disparate passages or complex word studies to explain: a pencil, paper, and Genesis 1 will suffice. My aim is to keep the graphic as concise, accessible, and self-contained as possible, so if you do wish to explore the subject more deeply, the foot of the graphic contains references and related resources for further reading.
This is not because I think the graphic exhaustively covers every nuance of the subject, but because I believe it is more important to address the pastoral concerns that arise from what may be a significant shift in world view. Instead of delivering an extended commentary on the infographic I’d like to use this accompanying post to narrate my own exploration of ancient near-eastern cosmology, through discovery, incredulity, acceptance, and adoption. Note: the rest of the post will make more sense if you’ve read through the infographic first. Rather than undermining our faith, this peculiar subject helps us develop a credible and robust approach to scripture.
Dome firmament free#
In this infographic we see how the Bible describes humanity’s place in the universe, and how this unexpected revelation helps us to break free of modern preconceptions that limit our understanding of the Bible’s message. Have you ever wondered where all the water came from for Noah’s flood? Or how the tower of Babel’s builders expected to reach into heaven? Or how many rungs there would need to be on Jacob’s ladder?
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