Offline Dionysios

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FE Conference Denver
« on: November 02, 2018, 01:46:19 AM »
Is anyone here going to this?
I bought a VIP ticket early in the year and looking forward to it.

http://fe2018.com/schedule/


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Offline Tom Bishop

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Re: FE Conference Denver
« Reply #1 on: November 02, 2018, 04:41:34 PM »
I am not going. However, make sure to inform them that The Flat Earth Society is not a "government-run shill operation".

MattyWS

Re: FE Conference Denver
« Reply #2 on: November 02, 2018, 04:57:24 PM »
Where's the ticket money going to? Legit question because if someone is making a profit from having you all believe the earth is flat, it is pretty much the same as peoples belief that the government profit from making us believe the world is a globe. What's stopping FET from being a conspiracy of it's own?

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Offline juner

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Re: FE Conference Denver
« Reply #3 on: November 02, 2018, 05:22:38 PM »
Where's the ticket money going to? Legit question because if someone is making a profit from having you all believe the earth is flat, it is pretty much the same as peoples belief that the government profit from making us believe the world is a globe. What's stopping FET from being a conspiracy of it's own?

You should probably ask the organizers, as tfes.org is not affiliated with the conference. Nothing here at tfes.org is for-profit. Parsifal hosts this place with his own money and time; we don't serve ads, and we are all volunteers. Even the items in the Cafe Press shop are zero markup.

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Offline stack

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Re: FE Conference Denver
« Reply #4 on: November 02, 2018, 05:36:28 PM »
One of the vendors listed for the conference uses the TFES logo for their shop and advert.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/flatearthshop?section_id=22388520

You may have authorized it. Don't know.

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Offline AATW

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Re: FE Conference Denver
« Reply #5 on: November 03, 2018, 10:55:22 AM »
I'm interested that there are sessions called:

Biblical Cosmology
The topic: Defending your cosmological worldview from the Bible: What do the Scriptures have to say about the Earth and its place in the cosmos?
14+ Ways the Bible Says Flat Earth
Where Are We? Earth According to the Bible
Flat Earth & The Bible Panel Q&A
Tom: "Claiming incredulity is a pretty bad argument. Calling it "insane" or "ridiculous" is not a good argument at all."

TFES Wiki Occam's Razor page, by Tom: "What's the simplest explanation; that NASA has successfully designed and invented never before seen rocket technologies from scratch which can accelerate 100 tons of matter to an escape velocity of 7 miles per second"

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Offline Tom Bishop

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Re: FE Conference Denver
« Reply #6 on: November 03, 2018, 05:35:48 PM »
I'm interested that there are sessions called:

Biblical Cosmology
The topic: Defending your cosmological worldview from the Bible: What do the Scriptures have to say about the Earth and its place in the cosmos?
14+ Ways the Bible Says Flat Earth
Where Are We? Earth According to the Bible
Flat Earth & The Bible Panel Q&A

If you have an interest then you should sign up and go to them. Alternatively, there is an online streaming pass which is of a cheaper cost.

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Offline AATW

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Re: FE Conference Denver
« Reply #7 on: November 03, 2018, 08:46:42 PM »
If you have an interest then you should sign up and go to them. Alternatively, there is an online streaming pass which is of a cheaper cost.
I live in the UK so it's not really practical to attend.
The online pass is more doable but $40 dollars is a bit steep to see the same sort of thing I can see on YouTube for free.
My annual round earth research budget is 0.
It's just interesting to see that their agenda and motivation is much the same as Rowbotham's, to promote Scripture
Tom: "Claiming incredulity is a pretty bad argument. Calling it "insane" or "ridiculous" is not a good argument at all."

TFES Wiki Occam's Razor page, by Tom: "What's the simplest explanation; that NASA has successfully designed and invented never before seen rocket technologies from scratch which can accelerate 100 tons of matter to an escape velocity of 7 miles per second"

Offline Dionysios

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Re: FE Conference Denver
« Reply #8 on: November 05, 2018, 04:56:17 AM »
I'm interested that there are sessions called:

Biblical Cosmology
The topic: Defending your cosmological worldview from the Bible: What do the Scriptures have to say about the Earth and its place in the cosmos?
14+ Ways the Bible Says Flat Earth
Where Are We? Earth According to the Bible
Flat Earth & The Bible Panel Q&A

If you have an interest then you should sign up and go to them. Alternatively, there is an online streaming pass which is of a cheaper cost.

Robbie Davidson, the organiser, says 80% will be viewable on YouTube for free - apparently live. In any case, the one he put on a year ago in Raleigh, NC was viewable online for free shortly after the conference.   

Offline Dionysios

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Re: FE Conference Denver
« Reply #9 on: November 05, 2018, 05:03:35 AM »
I am not going. However, make sure to inform them that The Flat Earth Society is not a "government-run shill operation".
copy

I state the difference between this and Daniel’s forum when the subject arises and that the online libraries on both are fine sources of information.

Actually, that last part is well worth mentioning to folks there looking for sources of info. I used to think Daniel’s forum had the best library, but Tom Bishop has supplemented so much material here that both are worth knowing.

Significantly, I perceive their collective hostility to the “flat earth society” is based on a lot of the same causes which motivated this forum’s separation from Daniel’s old forum in the first place. I don’t recall exactly which year this forum began, but if memory serves it was fairly shortly (a year or two) before their YouTube movement took off in 2014.

If you’re suggesting that they get a bit too tied up in conspiracy theory, then I would agree.

Incidentally, Robert Sungenis (Galileo Was Wrong) will debate a flat earther at the event.
« Last Edit: November 05, 2018, 05:12:38 AM by Dionysios »

Offline Dionysios

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Re: FE Conference Denver
« Reply #10 on: November 05, 2018, 05:23:01 AM »
I know two of the presenters already. I drove up to Seattle in 2017 and met both Darryle Marble and Mark Sargent at my first meetup. I’ve met Darryle a few times since and corresponded with Mark, but this conference will be my first time meeting the others.

I have to say. Although they’ve done well, their leaders have been flat earth believers only three and a half or four years. 

Even Robert Sungenis the spherical geocentrist said he began believing that way in 2003. I first read Rowbotham’s book and believed in 1996, but I first believed in geocentrism like Sungenis back in 1994. I got him by a decade.

I’ve still got a letter that Robert Schadewald sent to me back in 1997. Maybe I should dig it up and bring it along.
« Last Edit: November 05, 2018, 05:25:39 AM by Dionysios »

Re: FE Conference Denver
« Reply #11 on: November 05, 2018, 11:01:31 AM »
R. Sungenis will be very difficult to deal with, more so than any RE (by comparison).

Here are his views on the UA/3000 mile Sun:

http://www.robertsungenis.com/gww/features/Flat%20Earth%20Geography.pdf


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Offline Pete Svarrior

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Re: FE Conference Denver
« Reply #12 on: November 05, 2018, 02:45:20 PM »
I've been avoiding these conferences for a number of reasons, mostly the profit-motivation, the Biblical literalism, and the small matter of them repeatedly calling me a government agent (I might be confrontational, but I don't really want to deal with that). Of course, all publicity is good publicity, so I wish them all the best nonetheless.

Last time they held one of these I was contacted by a journalist writing for the Canadian Geographic. When I realised that he was writing a hit-piece and withdrew consent, he tried blackmailing me by saying he'll write super-mean stuff about the society if I don't comply. Strangely, no article was published in the end - I wonder why.
Read the FAQ before asking your question - chances are we already addressed it.
Follow the Flat Earth Society on Twitter and Facebook!

If we are not speculating then we must assume

Offline Dionysios

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Re: FE Conference Denver
« Reply #13 on: November 08, 2018, 04:54:29 PM »
I've been avoiding these conferences for a number of reasons, mostly the profit-motivation, the Biblical literalism, and the small matter of them repeatedly calling me a government agent (I might be confrontational, but I don't really want to deal with that). Of course, all publicity is good publicity, so I wish them all the best nonetheless.

Last time they held one of these I was contacted by a journalist writing for the Canadian Geographic. When I realised that he was writing a hit-piece and withdrew consent, he tried blackmailing me by saying he'll write super-mean stuff about the society if I don't comply. Strangely, no article was published in the end - I wonder why.

I’d say that hostile media is the common enemy of both. What that incident brings to my mind is finding a civil rights commission with jurisdiction, perhaps contacting his employer, and even his employer’s advertisers. Hit them where it hurts. Research and hit ‘em hard.

As to that growing strata of the flat earth community, I would say it’s perhaps similar to these forums in one sense which is that their leadership can be more mature than some of the rank and file - just like on these forums. I’ve seen a couple of I’ll advised comments against wasting time with Sungenis, but Rob Skiba told event organiser Robbie Davidson earlier this week that he’d like to eat with him the night before they spar.

For what it’s worth, I’ll try to make the leadership’s understanding of the history of these forums a bit more nuanced.

As far as the preponderance of biblical literalists in that crowd (which is far from complete vis a vis agnostics like Jeran is one of them), I cannot help. It seems that niche is theirs in the same way these many on these forums have an inclination towards agnosticism.

Offline Dionysios

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Re: FE Conference Denver
« Reply #14 on: November 24, 2018, 03:49:01 AM »
After the debate between the Protestant flat earther Rob Skiba and the catholic geocentrist Robert Sungenis, I thanked Rob Skiba for mentioning Saint Jerome of Bethlehem’s commentary on Isaiah which I actually ordered through amazon before he had even finished that segment. I later discovered that commentary on the oft contested passage in Isaiah 40:22 did not say what Skiba claimed during the debate (that Jerome therein rejected the globe theory) Jerome objectively stated how both sides used the passage.

Skiba in person actually responded to my appreciation by saying that Jerome believed the earth is a globe (which is opposite of what he said in the debate). I angrily responded stating that I have a whole flat earth cosmography book written by Saint Jerome which was translated from Latin to English and published within the past decade. I then asked where he gets his information, and he sheepishly responded that he relied upon Robert Sungenis’s book ‘Flat Earth, Flat Wrong’.

For this and several other things he said, Rob Skiba was for me the biggest disappointment of the conference - more than Logan Paul.

That said, the conference was a blast. From several conversations and from what I knew of him already, I would say Bob Knodel is perhaps the most competent of the speakers. Bob Knodel’s colleague Jeran Campanella gave me a ride to the billboard meetup. I also thought all of his output was great.  Dave Marsh from the UK and Rich Hopkins gave notably outstanding presentations on the moon.

Had great times and conversations with all of them. Paul on the Plane is such a down to earth guy. Bought Patricia Steere a drink (non-alcoholic) and had a couple of good conversations. Had a conversation with Darryle Marble about a video he did with Australians and Britons simultaneously in daylight while Russia was in nighttime which seems to me to confirm the ancient Christian view of the elevated height of the arctic ice making a shadow from the sun over Rowbotham’s diagram’s of diminishing sunlight lucidity because it was bright enough to reach Britain and Australia simultaneously.

I actually learned some useful history from the spherical geocentrist Robert Sungenis who quoted a book entitled ‘Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography’ by Wayne Horowitz of Hebrew University.

https://books.google.com/books/about/Mesopotamian_Cosmic_Geography.html?id=P8fl8BXpR0MC&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button

The book surveys all the known cosmographies of ancient Babylon and Assyria. While the most ancient ones are flat earth, the author says the vast majority throughout their history were global earth even in pre-Christian times. The book purports to give original language passages side-by-side with English language translations.

While Rob Skiba ignorantly dismissed this evidence out of hand sight unseen, it caught my attention especially because I remember Cosmas Indicopleustes stating that the Greeks got their spherical ideas from the Babylonians. To a Christian it makes utter sense as Babylon is derided in scripture as a source of error.

Offline Dionysios

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Re: FE Conference Denver
« Reply #15 on: November 24, 2018, 03:55:13 AM »
I gave Nathan Thompson an approximately 15 minute interview concerning how I personally came into Flat Earth. Apologise that his phone died before I got much into the internet era and these forums. FYI, although not captured on camera which focused upon myself, Robbie Davidson was sitting silently on the other side of Nathan throughout this interview including the part where I described Rowbotham and the modern flat earth movement he founded as the dumbed down version of Cosmas Indicopleustes. This interview took place the first night of the conference late at night (well past midnight) after the debate.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1276465849031989?view=permalink&id=2724540654224494
« Last Edit: November 24, 2018, 04:00:35 AM by Dionysios »

Offline Dionysios

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Re: FE Conference Denver
« Reply #16 on: November 24, 2018, 04:09:31 AM »
Earlier this year I bought a hard bound facsimile reprint of the 1897 edition of the ‘Christian Topography’ by Cosmas Indicopleustes published by the Hakluyt Society which is likely the best way to have it in English.

During the conference I discovered an awesome full colour book which collected the drawings from the three chief manuscripts of this book. I immediately decided to order it the next day, but I noticed a few hours later that Dave Marsh made a post publicising this very same book which only had two copies still available on amazon. I told him that same night over a beer that he endangered my chances of obtaining the book!

Actually only one copy sold that night, and I did order it. It was in my mailbox when I returned from the conference.

‘The World of Kosmas’
By Maja Kominko

https://books.google.com/books/about/The_World_of_Kosmas.html?id=iZx7AAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button

Offline Dionysios

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Re: FE Conference Denver
« Reply #17 on: November 24, 2018, 04:41:30 AM »
I wanted to add that by “dumbed down version” a couple of posts above that there are no concepts in Rowbotham’s book which are absent in that of Indicopleustes except only for those needed to confute the stupidity which has arisen during the intervening centuries.

Concepts such as the daily orbit of sun, moon, and stars around the arctic north expanding and contracting with the seasons and others are all to be found in the ancient Christian model, but there are important aspects of the ancient Christian model which are absent in Rowbotham’s book.

This interview I gave was not exhaustive, but I’d like to mention a difference I noticed.

 While both Sam Rowbotham and Cosmas Indicopleustes respect scripture, it is not as integral to Rowbotham’s argument as it is with Cosmas who constantly mentions scriptural passages to make his points throughout the book. By contrast, Rowbotham saves most of his scriptural quotations for a special chapter towards the end of the book. This difference is manifested in their two flat earth models. Cosmas’s model is more biblical than Rowbotham’s which is a bit more simplistic. The chief differences in their two models stem mainly from scriptural points that perhaps Rowbotham overlooked or in any case omitted. They do not disagree on science with the possible exception of the size of the sun which is perhaps the only instance in which Rowbotham outshines Cosmas who was evidently a closer student of the bible than Rowbotham or dwelt in the company of such. Perhaps Rowbotham focused a bit more upon scientific measurements.

That said, I would fault Rowbotham in this field I’m only one instance that I can currently think of: when the moon (or sun) appears larger than usual, Rowbotham argues that this is due to refraction which it seems to me is essentially the same argument his opponents use to explain away the clear visibility of objects at an impossible distance over an alleged curve. It seems to me that it is unnecessary for Rowbotham to use such reasoning. It seems to me the real reason the sun or moon appear larger than usual is simply because they are actually physically closer to the observer on such occasions.

At any rate, I didn’t mean to diminish the utility of Rowbotham and his book which are credits to the flat earth movement.

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Offline juner

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Re: FE Conference Denver
« Reply #18 on: November 24, 2018, 06:11:40 AM »
Thank you for the recap, Dionysios. That was really interesting to read about.

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Offline Tom Bishop

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Re: FE Conference Denver
« Reply #19 on: November 25, 2018, 10:08:25 PM »
Thank you, Dionysios. Perhaps I will go to next year's.

I do not have any problem with scripture being used as evidence myself, since scripture, whether you believe the spiritual nature or not, represents our previous knowledge of the world. It is the handed-down knowledge of the ancients; of how many civilizations before ours believed the world worked. That they deduced that the earth was flat and that the sun moved is of importance, and should not be discarded. Of interest is that we can point out that all of humanity empirically deduced one thing, as it was the most readily and apparent, while later researchers went to great lengths to provide "proofs" for their alternate theory (which do not stand up to scrutiny), apparently under the knowledge that they were trying to convince others against the empirical nature of our world.