There are many positive consequences for the emergence of supporters of the Flat Earth Society. For example, thanks to the Society, those who knew absolutely nothing about the planet on which they live are actively filling this gap in general school education.
In order to get an accurate answer to this question, you will have to raise the curtain and highlight some points in people's lives that they don't like to discuss. Some - because their true intentions should not be the property of the "crowd", others - the "crowd" - because of the denial of the true role that they play in this performance.
There is no refutation in this article that the Earth is flat, and there is no evidence that the Earth is round. In essence, the shape of the Earth does not matter, because it does not depend on us people and can no longer affect our life more than it has already influenced and continues to influence.
Looking at the active propaganda of the idea of a flat earth, many ask the question: "WHY?". However, such answers as "PR", "earnings from advertising" and "sincere belief in a flat earth of people with little education", we are not interested.
However, giving an answer right away is ineffective: the truth obtained by an unproven method cannot claim to be true. Only facts matter. And the facts we'll cover in this article are easy to check on Google. Everything else, including his place in this mechanism called "life", everyone must determine for himself.
BEGINNING ZETETIC ASTRONOMY
Samuel Birley Rowbotham, who made his living by giving various scientific lectures, once came across an interesting physical phenomenon, at first glance, contrary to the theory of the spherical shape of the Earth. Samuel noticed that under certain conditions, some objects, moving away from the viewer, are in no hurry to hide behind the horizon. Having found a flat section of the water surface and sent a boat with a five-meter mast along it, Samuel was able to observe the flag on it at a distance of 6 miles (about 10 km). The telescope was only 20 inches (50.8 cm) above the water.
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It was in 1838. Did Rowbotham know about the properties of light to bend around obstacles and to be refracted, discovered by Grimaldi Francesco Marie in 1665 under the name of defraction? Given that Rowbotham lectured on Earth, one would assume he knew. However, he came up with his own original theory, which confirmed the flat shape of the Earth, explaining the sunset.
THE FIRST ORGANIZER OF FLAT EARTH
Samuel Rowbotham leads the colony of Owenith, and after being accused of abuse and exiled, he becomes an itinerant lecturer and publishes under the pseudonyms Trion, S. Gulden, Parallax and Dr. Birli. According to his contemporaries, he possessed wit and ingenuity. However, he had a bad reputation as a cynic and a liar. In 1849, Samuel published his 16-page pamphlet Zetetic Astronomy, which had expanded to 430 pages by 1881 and was renamed Earth Not a Globe. However, it should be noted that the only confirmation of a flat earth, as it was, is the same experiment in its various interpretations. There was no question of any scientific approach. Most of his contemporaries are inclined to believe that he himself did not believe in his theory and used it only for manipulating people.
Samuel Rowbotham, first flat-earth organizer.
In the early 19th century England was inundated with various Zetetic societies. This was perceived as some kind of alternative mainstream thinking, now called creationism. At this time, Rowbotham created a Zetetic Society, first in England, then in New York, where more than a thousand copies of his book were sent. After Rowbotham's death in 1884, Lady Elizabeth Blount founded on his idea the Universal Zetetic Society, the purpose of which is "to disseminate knowledge related to Natural Cosmogony in support of Scripture based on practical scientific research." So the idea gets a powerful religious background.
BIGGEST SUCCESS OF LAND-EARTH SOCIETIES
In 1888, the Scotsman John Alexander Dowie begins to develop the idea of a flat earth in America. In 1895, he founded the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church in Chicago. It is he who succeeds, using the idea of a flat earth, to achieve the greatest success. Therefore, it is he who deserves the most careful analysis.
Why was this idea needed? The idea of a flat earth helped create a niche in religion and filter out the right contingent in Chicago. As it really happened, the official history is silent. Nobody likes to brag about such phenomena. However, it is not difficult to collect a true picture of what is happening from a kaleidoscope of known facts.
Alexander Dowie, founder of the * Christian Catholic Apostolic Church * sect in Chicago.
So, the story tells that early in his career, Dowie becomes influential in Chicago. His enemies are dead, silent, or in prison. The police, who arrested him more than once, later became his support and fulfilled all his whims. The mayor and other officials were elected at the discretion of Dowie. Divine healing was widely preached, with Dowie as the chief healer. The city was divided into districts. Teams of preachers worked in each district to promote the gospel. John himself proclaimed himself the prophet Elijah and the Apostle. The sect grew rapidly and Dowie eventually realized his dream of creating a Christian community. In 1901, his community settled in the city of Zion, which he built on the shores of Lake Michigan, 40 miles north of Chicago. Dowie forgot about the humble life he previously preached in every possible way,and lived in a mansion of 25 luxurious rooms, began to wear gorgeous tailored church robes and indulge in nothing. After paralysis, he hands over the reins to his deputy. In 1906, Wilbur Glenn Voliva became the head of the sect, who renamed it the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church.
Wilbur Glenn Voliva.
Voliva established a tough regime in Zion and organized control over his 6,000 followers. Thus, women were forbidden to wear short dresses, high heels, bathing suits, and use lipstick. Ham, bacon, oysters, liquor and tobacco were strictly prohibited. Medicine and pharmacies were prohibited. Not to mention cinemas and other entertainment venues. From 22 o'clock, the curfew was strictly observed. Voliva defended and promoted the theory of a flat earth “flock” by all available means and tried to carry this teaching as widely as possible. But his sermons were less successful. As a result, after his death in 1942, the most powerful organization that has ever been in the history of flat earth organizations collapsed.
John Alexander Dowie and later his successor Wilbur Glenn Voliva knew exactly the answer to the "Why?" Question. But only Dowie still knew the answer to the question "How?"
In fairness, we can talk about other participants in the propaganda of the idea of a flat earth.
AT THIS TIME IN ENGLAND
In 1890, Lady Elizabeth Blount's followers formed the Universal Zetetic Society. The Society published The Earth Not the Globe Review and remained active in the early 20th century. However, no one succeeded in taking off like Dowie, and the activities of society gradually faded away.
Therefore, the next count in the history of flat-earthers is Samuel Shenton.
Samuel Shenton Founder of the International Flat Earth Society.
Shenton created his International Flat Earth Society in 1956. He positioned himself as the successor to the General Zetetic Society and led it as an "organizer-secretary" from his home in Dover, England. However, this idea was not particularly successful. Shenton died in 1971 without having time to raise her to a sufficient level.
Charles Kenneth Johnson inherited part of Shenton's library from Shenton's wife and became president of the International Flat Earth Research Society of America and the Covenant People's Community in California. Over the next three decades, under his leadership, the Flat Earth Society grew to 3,500 members. The secret of growth itself is simple: they gathered members against the US government and all its agencies, in particular NASA and all scientists. It is here that mankind learns that landing on the moon is a hoax, all scientists are wizards-malefactors, governments are a grand conspiracy, scientific institutions are engaged in a giant swindle.
In total, it turned out that 80% of people are in a conspiracy against the remaining 20%. But that didn't bother Johnson at all. Johnson was an illiterate and impulsive person. Basic flat-earth arguments were based on the interpretation of the Bible. He called himself “the last iconoclast”. Although scientific explanations and evidence are offered, and the Society expressed its readiness to show scientists the inconsistency of their concepts, the Society's arguments did not look convincing enough for serious controversy.
Is the Flat Earth Society successful?
In the press, the society was positioned as prosperous. Where did the finances come from? The society constantly distributed leaflets, brochures and carried on propaganda.
Even based on the maximum number of members (3500 people), each of whom contributed $ 8-10 per membership, a rather modest amount of $ 31,500 comes out. On the other hand, according to most sources, Johnson almost always lived below the poverty line. In any case, after his death in 2001, no one wanted to continue his work. It seemed that the war, as he himself said, against the "greasy ball" had become history.
However, the wheel of history tends to repeat its lessons over time. Only the shell and the characters are changing, on which it depends in what clothes and under what slogans this grandiose movement will be organized. Success depends only on the goals and true desires of the central executors and those involved. It is unlikely that most of them fully understand and realize what kind of club they are brandishing.
But the awareness of one's place in this process, unfortunately, in most cases does not free one from involvement. The phenomenon, in which all participants are involved, operates regardless of whether they know about it or not.
IS THERE REALLY A "CONSPIRACY"?
If you take a quick look at the history of flat-earth pilgrimage, it is not successful. Could someone or any structure deliberately cultivate and support the movement? To understand this, you need to analyze what happens as a result of the activities of society, who needs it and why. It makes no sense to delve into the behind-the-scenes games of the "powerful" of this world, which allow you to control the minds and mood of the "crowd". Any attempt to do this will only add water to their mill wheels. Of course, it is highly likely to assume that someone is supporting the movement. But that's a completely different story …