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The Christian Church during the Middle Ages promoted the idea that the earth was flat.

Claim:
The Christian Church during the Middle Ages promoted the idea that the earth was flat.

The Truth:
Statements by Christians about the earth being flat were actually refuted by the early church fathers. During the Middle Ages there was a continuing battle between the defenders of ignorance and the enlightened science, but the church never weighed in on the side of a flat earth. Through antiquity and up to the time of Columbus, "nearly unanimous scholarly opinion pronounced the earth spherical." In fact, not only did the church not promote the flat Earth, it is clear from such passages as Isaiah 40:22 that the Bible implies the earth is spherical.