In addition to the “Proofs” of concept given by Cecil, lets remember our old greek friend, Eratosthenes, who in about 300 BC used a stick to compare the shadow when the sun was directly overhead to the shadow at some known distance directly north at the same time. He used the angle to very acurately calculate the circumfrence, and therefor the diameter of the earth. Of course to do this he was already assuming the earth was round becasue of the differences in the shadow length on the same day in different locations - the conclusion was inescapable. Except apparently for the “Church” who only within the last 30 years admitted that the earth was round.
Which church is that, and when did they admit it?
Actually, it’s kind of pear-shaped.
As long as you’re careful to note that it’s less “pear-shaped” than a cue ball, IIRC.
No. Pears are prolate. Terra is oblate.
Seeing that educated people in the West have known that the Earth is round for over 2,300 years, that would apparently be the Church of Straw.
Or the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church.
That would presumably be the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church of Zion, Illinois, of which the less said, the better.
I said less than you!
I hope they don’t use candles in their services, because that could easily become a disaster.
Well it’s round 'round here, is it round 'round you? 
A guest does post a link, that’s one thing.
But half a dozen members pile on with still no link. Shame, shame. 
The column in question appears to be You say the earth is round? Prove it.
Welcome to the boards, oh guest who provides a fine example that Cecil missed.
No, you’re probably thinking of this: It may have been only in the last 30 years that “the Church” (by which I assume you mean the Vatican, harlot of Babylon, Holy Mother Church, keeper of the death cookie, your mileage may vary) officially conceded that the earth was not the center of the universe. They probably also maintained that it was a near-perfect sphere.
That said, considering the fringe “Biblical Astronomy” group is out there publishing (I think they’re medieval-style geocentrist astrologers), & then there was the guy that insisted we live inside a hollow earth, I’m not shocked that anyone is going further to Flat Earth-ism.
Rubbish. The RCC has accepted heliocentrism for centuries. What you are probably thinking of is the reopening of the case as to whether Galileo was guilty of defying the Church, even though the Church had been wrong. (For which a good case can be made; there’s no doubt that Galileo was a bit of a smartass.)
Who on earth says that the earth is round? I tend to lean towards it being spherical.
Someone’s got to say it - though I’m not sure why - it just seems necessary:
What with global warming, other environmental concerns, the same worries about hunger and poverty, and the access that yo-yo’s around the world have to advanced weapons of local destruction - the world’s in poor to fair shape.
I’m working on a cite, but I think he more or less called the pope a simpleton. Maybe he wasn’t so bright after all.
I think that the character Simplicus that he used in his book was a thinly veiled reference to the then Pope. I also seem to remember that there was a lot of fuss made over him having dolphins on the front of the book, which were interpreted as being an anti-Vatican reference, too.
I would cast plenty of doubt on the proposition that Galileo was a bit of a smartass. He was not a bit of a smartass, he was 100% smartass jerk, through and through. Were he a member of the SDMB, he’d probably have been banned within six months of joining.
But he was still right.
Ah. I thought the world had gone all pear-shaped.