a b "Series No. 2 The Flat Earth Society of Canada". Leo C. Ferrari Fonds. UNB Archives and Special Collections . Retrieved 16 March 2013. When Arda (the Earth) was created, "innumerable stars" were already in existence. [T 2] To provide greater light, the Valar later created the Two Lamps in Middle-earth, and when these were destroyed they created the Two Trees of Valinor. These gave rise to the Ages of the Lamps and the Years of the Trees, however the Ages of the Stars did not conclude until the creation of the Sun. [T 19] During the Years of the Trees, shortly before the Awakening of the Elves, Varda created the Great Stars: "new stars and brighter" and constellations. [T 16]

Voliva, Wilbur Glenn (March 1979). "Is the Earth a Whirling Globe?" (PDF). Flat Earth News. Lancaster, CA: International Flat Earth Research Society. p.2. Tolkien stated that the "Flame Imperishable" or "Secret Fire" represents the Holy Spirit in Christian theology, [1] the creative activity of Eru, inseparable both from him and from his creation. In the interpretation of Christopher Tolkien, it represents "the mystery of authorship", the author both standing outside of his work and indwelling in it. [2] In the First Age, Eru alone created Elves and Men, the "Children of Ilúvatar". [T 4] The race of the Dwarves was created by Aulë, and given sapience by Eru. [T 5] Animals and plants were fashioned by Yavanna during the Music of the Ainur after the themes set out by Eru. [T 4]On July 30, 2021, Shenzhou 12 astronaut Tang Hongbo photographed the spectacular scenery of thousands of lights in North Africa, clearly showing the curvature of Earth. (Image credit: Tang Hongbo/China Manned Space Engineering Office) In The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien justifies the nature of the Ring by explaining that Elves and other immortal beings dwell in "both worlds" at once (the physical and the spiritual, or Unseen world) and have great power in both, especially those who have dwelt in the light of the Two Trees before the Sun and Moon; and that the powers associated with "magic" were spiritual in nature. [T 11] [T 12] The Flat Earth Society recruited members by speaking against the US government and all its agencies, particularly NASA. Much of the society's literature in its early days focused on interpreting the Bible to mean that the Earth is flat, although they did try to offer scientific explanations and evidence. [1] Criticism The flat earth is a scientifically false hypothesis that the surface of the Earth is not roughly a sphere, but rather flat (a plane). Belief in a flat Earth is found in writings predating around 500 BC. Early Mesopotamian maps showed the world as a flat disk floating in the ocean. Homer's description of the disc cosmography on the shield of Achilles with the encircling ocean is repeated far later in Quintus Smyrnaeus' Posthomerica (4th century AD), which continues the narration of the Trojan War. [26] Philosophers Possible rendering of Anaximander's world map [27]

de La Mothe Le Vayer, François (1662). Oeuvres de François de La Mothe Le Vayer, Volume 3. Paris. p.777. Heigl, Alex. "The Short List of Famous People Who Think the Earth Is Flat (Yes, Really)". People . Retrieved 19 August 2017. In 2013, part of this society broke away to form a new web-based group also featuring a forum and wiki. [53] Per country Canada

I have in my library," interrupted the deputy, "a very curious work: Levayer's letters. I recall having read there of a good anchorite who bragged of having been 'to the ends of the earth,' and of having been obliged to stoop his shoulders, because of the union of the sky and of the earth at this extremity." [13]