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crusadre
Registered Member
Date Joined Oct 2003
Total Posts : 7
| Posted 10/21/2003 8:23 AM (GMT -6) |   | My grandfather, a retired lawyer with a great mind, has this fairly strong belief that aliens and extraterrestials are behind the historical events of the bible - especially the miraculous ones. This belief has been made popular by Erich von Däniken. I have been dialoging with my Grandpa via e-mail in an effort to open his eyes to Jesus.
The arguments I came up with that I think deems this belief unreliable are:
1. Lack of reliable proof in the existance of extraterrestials
2. Lack of clear motive to create such a complex and elaborate hoax.
3. The question, "random accident or creation" still remains, and the God-astronaut worldview does not better explain our existance.
Anyone have any other arguments to help dismantle this worldview. | | Back to Top | | |
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Laika
Registered Member
Date Joined Mar 2003
Total Posts : 2433
| Posted 10/21/2003 8:50 AM (GMT -6) | | quote:
Originally posted by crusadre
My grandfather, a retired lawyer with a great mind, has this fairly strong belief that aliens and extraterrestials are behind the historical events of the bible - especially the miraculous ones. This belief has been made popular by Erich von Däniken.
I ripped this off a web-site, I'd reference it but I'm out the door, MASUGU!!!
8. Ancient Astronauts and Erich Von Daniken
A convicted Swiss embezzler (who wrote part of his best-selling Chariots of the Gods while in jail), Von Daniken claimed that there is a large amount of archaeological evidence that alien visitors helped us build many of the impressive artifacts that ancient civilizations left behind. (The insulting subtext here is that we needed the aliens' help because we humans were too stupid to build the Nazca lines or the pyramids by ourselves.) In fact, Von Daniken's books involve massive misinterpretations of archaeological data and a great deal of fabrication; the past, as the title of one the best debunking books vividly asserts, is human.
Books
Stiebing, William Ancient Astronauts, Cosmic Collisions. 1984, Prometheus. A good skeptical introduction.
Story, Ronald The Space Gods Revealed. 1976, Harper & Row. Debunks Von Daniken's ideas.
Thiering, Barry & Castel, Edgar, eds. Some Trust in Chariots. 1975, Popular Library. Sixteen skeptical articles.
White, Peter The Past is Human. 1974, Taplinger. An archaeological perspective on Von Daniken's inventions.
Wilson, Clifford Crash Go the Chariots. 1972, Lancer; The Chariots Still Go Crash. 1975, Signet.
Feder, Kenneth Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries: Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology. 2002, McGraw-Hill.
Articles
Krupp, E. "Observatories of the Gods and Other Astronomical Fantasies" in Krupp, E.C., ed. In Search of Ancient Astronomies. 1977, Doubleday. Debunks von Daniken and Velikovsky's ideas, as well as the Sirius myth.
Lingemann, R. "Erich Von Daniken's Genesis" in the New York Times Book Review, March 30, 1974.
Nickell, J. "The Nazca Drawings Revisited" in Skeptical Inquirer, Spring 1983.
Web Sites:
Science or Charlatanism: http://www.debunker.com/texts/vondanik.html Robert Sheaffer's short article challenges a number of Von Daniken's claims.
Von Daniken's 'Maya Astronaut': http://members.shaw.ca/mjfinley/vondaniken.html Examines the silly claim that a Maya sarcophagus lid shows an astronaut.
The Real Erich Von Daniken: http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/R/real_lives/daniken.html A brief biography.
Skeptic's Dictionary: http://skepdic.com/vondanik.html
inside you the time moves and she don't fade
the ghost in you she don't fade | | Back to Top | | |
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