The greeks were the first to discover that the earth was actually a sphere. Eratosthenes of Cyrene ( 230 BC ) was the first person to calculate the circumference of the earth.
Mythbusters...
Isa 40:22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
Isaiah beat him to it.
Obviously, only a circle can have a circumference. Eratosthenes had the idea of measuring the circumference because everyone already knew that the earth was round. He knew that in Syene, 800 km south of his home in Alexandria, there was no shadow at noon on 21st of June. So on that day, he measured the shadows in Alexandria at noon. He could then calculate the sun's angle of elevation - It was just over 7 degrees. Since a full circle is 360 degrees, right? he concluded that the distance from Alexandria to Syene must be 7/360 of the earth's circumference of the Earth must be fifty times the distance from Alexandria to Syene or 40,000km
This is pretty well correct!
Myth: Busted!
And for your second Question...
You need to take a course on hermeneutics, your understanding of texts in their context is so misguided. firstly, you cannot take one scripture like Job 9:6 and say boom theres proof, pillars! read the entire of Job 9…thats why it is there. Try and understand the writers tone and to what degree something is metaphorical or literal. I understand clearly the whole purpose is to bash Christianity, but try a little to be intellectual and unbias in your interpretation. Otherwise your goal of getting people against the bible is merely just going to fuel the already anti-biblical people, and not any sceptics. Also, the earth hangs upon nothing, please explain how that can be metaphorical? how many times have writers in the bible expressed the earth in a metaphorical way, especially like that. 1 Samuel 2:8, again taking one piece of writing and ignoring the context completely. “But imagine if tomorrow we discovered that the earth actually was set on pillars! Wouldn’t Christians immediately say the exact opposite?” – no, because then Job would not have written that. Come now…
Ah, there is where I went wrong, I believed the scripture instead of my professor...
Isa 28:9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.
Isa 28:10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line;
here a little, and there a little:
Isa 28:13 But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Mat 13:14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Mat 13:15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Mat 13:16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
The above are words in red in my Bible. It is not what I learned in class.
Thank you all for caring so much about the issue, have a great day or night depending on where you are.