Draper and White use the flat earth myth (which they are in part responsible for inventing) as a centerpiece, one might even say mascot, for their broader ideas of conflict. It represents for them the emerging literalism that would become a staple for creationism in the mid 20th century. On the other side, Samuel Robotham, the man who styled himself with the nickname Parallax and is largely single handedly responsible for the myth of the flat earth as he perpetuated it as part of his broader money making strategy along with quite literal snake oil salesmanship, is also one of the first to invent the myth of the perpetual war of science and Christianity, and this primarily in terms of the flat earth. His argument is startlingly similar to that which we find in creationism among Seventh Day Adventists following Ellen White’s supposed prophetic visions: a literal, clear eyed reading of Genesis not only leads to a young earth, but a decidedly flat one. To believe otherwise is to place one’s faith in godless science that has forsake God, and with its professionalization in the Royal Society, has forgotten the common man’s opinions of what he sees in nature. The flat earth myth migrates from here into the very definition of scientist, where William Whewell, who coined the term scientist in 1833, uses the flat earth myth as representative of the Dark Ages supposedly perpetuated by Catholics that he, as a good Anglican and scientist, finds reprehensible. Thus several things are historically tied together: the flat earth, the conflict of science and Christianity, and the emerging class conflict and conflict over the professionalization of science and what that means. The flat earth is constantly and consistently from the 1830’s used in the literature (again, White and Draper being particularly relevant examples) as not only representing the conflict of science and Christianity, but being one of its primary driving forces. Belief in a flat earth did not really exist before the early 19th century. But because it arrived at this time, was tied to an emerging biblical literalism that fancied itself as for the common man and against the emerging professionalization and elitism of science, and flat earth defenders quite literally had public debates with key figures like Alfred Russel Wallace in the emergence of Darwinian evolution, became styled as the key element of Christian opposition to science (despite the fact that many who wrote this, such as White, were themselves Christian and were ultimately championing a different vision of true synthesis between religion and science as opposed to flat earthism and its literalistic creation myths etc). This also occurred at the same moment history (and then history of science) were themselves becoming institutionalized in universities as a recognized discipline. So suddenly, despite having little to no precedent and standing on myths like that of Columbus, the flat earth as the key factor of Christian opposition to science found an artificial pedigree in history of science textbooks that painted it as a historically perennial occurrence.
In addition it made its way into others like the father of the history of science like George Sarton, who put the work of White and Draper into textbook form where the open polemics were lost, and the idea that this was “history as it happened” because of the more subdued, dry as dust wisdom that Sarton exuded gave it impeccable street credit among scholars. The association between this myth, science, and the emergent discipline of the history of science continues to this day as many scientific figures like Richard Dawkins, Jerry Coyne, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, and others, perpetuate the idea that Christians because of the flat earth, and now six-day creationism, have always opposed science in the majority. The flat earth might just seem like some bizarre but ultimately innocuous pop culture myth, but it is part of the very homework of the history of science, and even the defining moment of the coining of “scientist.” While medievalists and historians of Christianity have for some time known it is total bunk, truly expunging it from scientific works was no small thing. Neil Degrasse Tyson not just a few years ago tweeted that it was part of the Christian dark ages, and that is was why Christians laughed at Columbus. The flat earth is a constant and vexing tool of many scientists who should know better but who show a startling lack of curiosity at anything other than their pet subjects or in their broader communiques to a public that hangs on every word like the oracles of old. It is no little problem, however bizarre it seems.