Tag: civilization

ALTERNATIVES

Gary Pollard

I love ancient history. The events of the New Testament were the most important in all of history, so I do not mean to cheapen their significance in any way. The period of time that interests me the most is from roughly ancient Egypt’s Middle Kingdom and before (all of the world, too, not just Egypt). A lot of writers have many and varying opinions about these eras, but I’ve come to the conclusion that we simply know very, very little about the life and times of the ancient world. The further back we go, the more interesting it gets. This is probably because mystery is fascinating! 

When it comes to the Antediluvian period (a catch-all term for anything that happened prior to the first destruction of the previous age), it’s most fascinating of all. It seems to me there are four main camps of interpretation concerning deep antiquity: 

  1. The Mainstream
  2. The Alternative (West, Hancock, etc.)
  3. The Really Alternative (Talbot, Cochrane, Velikovsky, etc.)
  4. The Weird Alternative (ancient alien crowd)

One does not have to buy their theories hook, line, and sinker to gain some kind of value from each major camp (well, except for that last one). I know faithful, devout Christians who find themselves more or less in at least one of these camps. I’ve read as much of the first three camps’ work as I could get my hands on over the last several years — and the primary sources they base their work on. I’m fallible and subject to bias in ways I may well be blind to, so this is a subjective judgment: none of them can conclusively prove their assertions. 

So I’ll give you my opinion in a few sentences — and I can’t stress enough that opinion is all it is. No one asked for it, and it isn’t worth much. But I can see the writing on the wall, and know that the mainstream’s days are numbered, and that vacuum will be filled by one of the other three major alternatives. 

Mainstream

To be transparent, this is my least favorite category. At least the ancient alien types, as far-fetched as their ideas are, are intellectually honest about what remains unknown or inadequately accounted for. The mainstream camp posits a linear model of civilization’s development, is rigidly uniformitarian (and openly hostile to the possibility of global cataclysms in recent millennia), and resorts to censorship and dirty tricks when it comes to their opponents. I have no love for gatekeepers or bullies. Despite the glaring mysteries surrounding ancient architecture and some ancient writings, the mainstream camp presents themselves as having figured it all out, with just some tweaks and a couple extra archaeological finds needed to wrap it all up with a bow. One can achieve machine-age precision in megalithic architecture with sand, trying hard, and dolerite pounding stones, apparently. Since the views of the mainstream are readily available and monopolize educational materials, I have merely highlighted two or three of the major flaws in this model. 

Alternative

Since the 1980s or so, this camp has been most influenced by John Anthony West, Graham Hancock, Robert Bauval, and other writers like them. This camp believes that a great, technologically advanced civilization lived before and during the last ice age (dated in their materials to about 12,000 years ago), and was brought to the brink of extinction after a catastrophe (probably a comet or meteor in their view) reset and remodeled the earth. This is an oversimplification of their views, but is generally correct. They believe that our cultural memory of a Golden Age, the great megalithic architecture that defies explanation, and global cataclysm myths come from the survivors of this Golden Age and cataclysm. To the hunter-gatherers who also survived the cataclysm (usually referred to as the Younger Dryas catastrophe), these people were remembered as “sages” who gave them the marks of civilization (agriculture, architecture, laws, language, etc.) in exchange for food and other survival necessities. 

For dating, they often point to prominent constructions that appear to be aligned to certain constellations, but only as they would have appeared in the time they posit. Precession of the equinoxes plays a major role in this view. All of these writers use Hamlet’s Mill (de Santillana and von Deschend) as their starting point, especially where archaeoastronomy is concerned. It seems to be from this one prior that all subsequent theories come. 

So here are the problems: these researchers reject uniformitarianism in favor of catastrophism (while still seemingly accepting an evolutionary model), but still assume that a) the earth has maintained its current inclination (minus obliquity modification) for all of human history, b) that dating methods, which rely on uniformitarian assumptions, are mostly reliable, c) that the rate of precession has never deviated in any meaningful way, d) that archetypal figures were exclusively human, despite their profound astronomical or celestial tone, e) that monotheism was a much later development, and a few others we don’t have the space for. 

This camp does a very good job of highlighting the holes in mainstream dogmatism, but don’t necessarily shrug off all of the baggage of modern scientific dogma. They have contributed greatly to archaeological work outside the mainstream and are totally opposed to the practice of classifying or covering up finds. But I do not find their theories convincing. 

Really Alternative

This one is too complicated to adequately summarize, but I will do my best. Most of these writers got their inspiration from Immanuel Velikovsky, whose work likely needs no introduction. The field as it exists today pays homage to Velikovsky, but does not accept his theory. The field is one part plasma physics to one part comparative mythology. Most seem to agree with David Talbot’s theory as put forward in The Saturn Myth and in Thunderbolts of the Gods. So as to not misrepresent their work, I’ll give a stratospheric overview: 

The present solar system arrangement is not the same one our ancient predecessors saw. They point to archetypes in all ancient mythologies, ancient rock art, and even major holes in modern gravity-dominant/General Relativity cosmologies (which they replace with a complete, alternative cosmology known as Plasma Cosmology or EU). Their work is difficult to get through for someone like me, but is certainly compelling in many points. I will say, as subjective as this is, that some of their points resolved a couple of nagging questions I’ve had for some years, which no one else seemed to be asking. Beyond this, I cannot go into further detail without misrepresenting their views. Some of their major premises are so different from what we’ve always been taught that I find them very difficult to accept. My official view is to file the relevant data away and consider it possible-but-radical. 

So if you aren’t familiar with their work, you’ll have to trust me when I point out the major problem: God is nowhere in their theories. Many of them are scientists and secular mythologists, so they seem to universally reject a Sovereign. This is ironic, considering their cosmology fits, in my opinion, more perfectly with scripture and descriptions of God than any other cosmology today. But they attempt to explain away all of the supernatural events in the Bible (and in other writings considered sacred by the peoples who read them) as merely extreme celestial phenomena. As far as I know, none of them has attempted to account for consciousness, and they — despite rejecting gradualism — still speak of cosmic timescales in terms of billions of years. I’m not opposed to an older earth or universe (and I don’t agree with Bishop Usher’s view that creation took place in 4004 BC at 9:00 in the morning, either), but have yet to see evidence not based on assumptions to support it. The typical arguments against this group are irrelevant to this discussion because those are based on an a priori fealty to the standard model. 

Conclusion

We don’t know for certain what exactly happened in the ancient world. Neither the Standard Model nor any of the alternative theories have a monopoly on truth. My approach has been to read as much as I can, and not outright reject anything unless it is wholly incompatible with what the Bible has revealed about God. At this point, I find so little value in the mainstream models of history and cosmology that I use them exclusively for reference or to steel man something else I’m researching. No model that allows for gatekeeping or concealing discoveries is worth anything. 

So we should read as much as we can, always using the text of scripture (not peoples’ opinions about the text, but the text itself) as a standard. Be open to everything, but very slow to fully accept anything. This may be useful to remember when the Standard Models collapse, and that vacuum is filled with one of these alternatives. No one has a monopoly on the truth, except the Father — and Christ himself is Truth. When we see him just as he is, and when what is seen only partially is revealed, we will finally Know. 

Theos

Gary Pollard

One of the most difficult words to nail down is “god”. Our understanding of God is very different from how most cultures have understood it for the last few millennia. Even with the Mystery revealed in the person of Jesus — the one who showed us the Father — “God” is a nebulous enough word that it makes understanding it very difficult. This will remain true for as long as we’re in these limited bodies with their limited consciousnesses. But the New Testament writers still used the Greek word θεος, different from their pagan counterparts only it that it was nearly always singular in Christian writings (when referring to God). God is one, not a pantheon of over 400. Egypt had a staggering number of gods as well, though this was not always the case. In the earliest writings, the things venerated as gods appeared to be personified forces of nature. In fact, there’s some evidence that our word nature was inspired by the Old Egyptian word for god — ntr (sing. neter or netjer). 

Moses recorded that, at one time, all people worshipped God by whatever name he had before the Flood (Gen 4.26). Both the Deluge itself and the collapse of the Bronze Age reset all of civilization and seriously muddied the waters of memory. Plato recalled the words spoken to Solon by Egyptian priests some centuries before, “These things escaped your notice because for many generations [after the cataclysms] the people had no power to express themselves in writing.” Contrary to what the mainstream has taught for a long time, it seems the most ancient systems were monotheistic first, then devolved into polytheism later. It is difficult to grasp the significance of this, but all cultures venerated deities that represented planets (the chief “gods”), or forces of nature (lesser “gods”), or even human emotions. There was usually only one highest deity responsible for creation, but everyone under them was worshipped, too. 

So in practically every culture, the “gods” were powerful aspects of creation (especially planets), with one or two deities worshipped as the creator. In every culture, the story goes that these “gods” in great wrath destroyed the world because of its wickedness. Moses, thanks to his position among the elite of the late Middle Kingdom, likely had access to very ancient records. With the help of divine inspiration, his account of creation, destruction, and God is beautifully simple — but still frustratingly vague, if its symbolism is rejected in favor of reductionist literalism. 

We still cannot and will not understand the nature of God fully in this body. But it is reasonable to say: God is the Source of everything in existence. From him come the forces of nature. His power and light are what all things, material and immaterial, visible and invisible, exist in. He is the totality of the universe. He is consciousness itself, from this infinite reservoir each human life briefly borrows. I believe we will rediscover the fact that there is only one force at work in the universe (all others being aspects of the one, or otherwise deriving their power from the one), its fundamental state being that of light. It issues from God, either at his command or as a seamless extension of his being. Jesus is the visible form of God, and he used this power to make earth habitable for life. Everything else that exists is necessarily inferior to God in position and power because all things came from him. They are a descent in the hierarchy of being. This is why we worship one God, and someday we will see him just as he is. 

Sorry, Chase

Gary Pollard

This week’s article is an introductory one, maybe the first of two or three. About a week ago, Chase Hughes (a popular YouTuber) posted a video that already has almost 2,000,000 views (The ancients decoded reality). He makes a lot of good points and is, understandably, skeptical of the mainstream historical narrative. But he makes some leaps that I think need to be addressed, since the topics he covers are becoming more and more accepted. In many ways this is awesome! The mainstream view of history is one of linear progression: primitive people become more advanced over time, and no ancient civilization was truly advanced in any way (despite all of the insanely precise megalithic structures, the math and astronomy encoded in them, and the sheer logistical impossibility of their construction). Anyway, this linear-evolution view of history is full of holes, and most people interested in the mysteries of our past have rejected it. 

What fills the vacuum? If a person’s ability to spit out the bones is tuned properly, there’s some excellent modern material out there: West, Hancock, Seyfzadeh, Velikovsky, de Santillana, de Lubicz, and many other heretics like them. What’s missing from this topic is a balanced Christian viewpoint that isn’t married to the mainstream historical (or even a traditionalist religious) narrative. That vacuum is filled by universalists, pantheists, self-professed pagans, and others who are hostile to Christianity (or who feel that it is just one of many paths to God). Even the eminent Graham Hancock once said on JRE (NP: Joe Rogan Experience), “I have little patience for the mainstream monotheistic religions…so much of the evil in this world came from them.” 

People are tired of a materialistic worldview, of capitalism-gone-wrong, of narrow-minded dogmatism, and, most of all, censoring or classifying the mysterious. There is so much potential here for good! People are searching for existential meaning and genuine truth. We need to produce some open-minded, grounded, honest alternative historians to bring balance to the decidedly-pagan framework dominating the conversation. 

Back to Chase Hughes’ video: his premise is that all ancients made observations about the nature of reality at the most fundamental level. These observations were filtered through the woefully inadequate lens of human language, so symbolism was employed. In the 190+ ancient writings he surveyed (Christian, Buddhist, Taoist, Gnostic, Egyptian, Mayan, Hermetic, Confucian, Sumerian, and Indigenous), he noticed significant overlap in their major themes. This despite them being “thousands of miles apart…with no way to communicate or influence each other…all whispering the same message” (01:35). 

Many of his observations are spot-on! I’ve seen the overlaps and similarities with my own eyes, especially in Egyptian and Sumerian and Jewish literature. The problems, which we will address in greater detail in a future article, come from his conclusions. A .22LR bullet has almost exactly the same base diameter as .223 Remington, but that similarity doesn’t make them compatible in the other’s platform. They’re both excellent varmint rounds. They’re both extremely popular and widely used. They’re both inexpensive. They’re both “.22” rounds — but they aren’t the same thing. Essentially, as we’ll hopefully see in a future article, Mr. Hughes sees the same level of Truth in all world religions because of the many similarities in their observations. Those similarities are absolutely there! His research is valuable for that reason, don’t misread me. But to conclude that one is just as true as another is like saying you can run a .223 Remington in your factory Ruger 10/22. It’s the differences between them that matter, and the same principle is relevant to this discussion. God-willing, we will use the structure and premises of Mr. Hughes’ video to address the topic as a whole and hopefully bring a balanced, Christian perspective to Truth and our pursuit of God. 

The City Of Atlantis Has Been Found?

Tuesday’s Column: Dale Mail

Dale Pollard

It was just about 2,400 years ago that a philosopher by the name of Plato would write about a place that has captured the imagination since. The legends of that fabled Atlantis have been the inspiration behind movies, TV shows, and countless documentaries. 

Some believe that it was a place that held secrets and hidden knowledge of the universe. Some will even claim the inhabitants had access to advanced technology— surpassing even our own! 

Disney’s movie, “Atlantis,” depicts hover crafts which are powered by crystals and robotic stone giants that guard the city. 

There’s some credence to the idea that the mythology around the “City of the Sea” was a product of a pre-flood civilization. It’s not hard to see how an earth-altering event like the flood could inspire stories of a great city vanishing beneath the waves. There was a time when people’s hands grew idle after they were no longer focused on their own immediate survival. History paints a picture time and again of the spiritual and physical destruction that follows when we have time to sit and scheme. Nimrod was one of the first “mighty men” mentioned in the book of Genesis, as well as a visionary nation builder (Gen. 10.8).  He broke away from the nomadic life that was modeled before him and he instead— decided to build. The end result would lead to a catastrophe that is symbolic of our own, were we to reject the invitation to board the ark (Gen. 6.5, Heb. 11.7ff). 

In 1830 and almost every year since, there have been those who claim that the ancient city of Atlantis has finally been found. From Africa to Europe, archeologists and self-proclaimed experts have hotly contented the whereabouts of a place that likely doesn’t exist. 

It’s undoubtedly fascinating to listen to the latest Atlantean news and it’s never in short supply but it’s a tragedy that so many people give their lives chasing a city they’ll never find. 

There’s another group of people on a quest to find a city far more incredible and beautiful than Atlantis, though. Unlike Plato’s writings, the city of Heaven is based entirely on the writings of God Himself. 

It’s a place made up of inhabitants spanning every generation on earth (Phil. 3.20). 

A place so difficult to describe, even inspired writers struggle to find the words (2 Cor. 12.2). 

It wasn’t built with advanced ancient technology, but by two hands bearing the marks of the ultimate sacrifice (2 Cor. 5.1). Oh, and it’s a place literally to die for (1 Thess. 4.16-17). 

Why would anyone spend the time searching for a place the pales in comparison to the city of God? We’ve got the map and we’ve got the promise, let’s not settle for anything less than. 

For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. – 2 Corinthians 5.1 

Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things. – Colossians 3.2 

Not Atlantis, but Lake Powell, Utah

The Age Of Rage

Monday’s Column: Neal At The Cross

Neal Pollard

For the last few years, it has become vogue to refer to the current state of incivility as “the age of rage.” The British newspaper, The Guardian, featured an article in 2019 by Oliver Burkeman, entitled, “The age of rage: are we really living in angrier times?” Janie Watkins wrote the book, “The Age of Rage”: This is a mad, mad world, in 2005. While it’s written in the context of America, it points back to examples like Nebuchadnezzar, Ahab, and other Bible characters, alongside modern dictators and megalomaniacs. At least one source, Science Focus, wisely observes, “The Age Of Rage: Why Social Media Makes Us So Angry…And What You Can Do About It” (3/20). Writers in Australia, Ireland, and other countries are all observing the same disturbing trend of people who disagree being willing to amplify their indignation with intimidation and violence. Outrage has simply become rage.

Any number of current events in the last few years would serve to prove that we’ve gone that far in our society. Civilization depends on civility. More than that, Christianity, as Jesus and His disciples teach it in the New Testament, requires us to “be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves” as He sends us out “as sheep in the midst of wolves” (Mat. 10:16). You see, it doesn’t matter how the world acts. God expects us to assuage the rage.

The Bible identifies what qualifies as rage. The main word translated “rage” in modern translations is thumos, and it is found eighteen times in the New Testament. The NASB renders it “rage” (Luke 4:28; Acts 19:28), “indignation” (Rom. 2:8), “angry tempers” (2 Cor. 12:20), “outbursts of anger” (Gal. 5:20), “wrath” (Eph. 4:31; Col. 3:8; Heb. 11:27; etc.), and “passion” (Rev. 14:8; 18:3). This word means the “intense expression of the inner self; a state of intense displeasure” (BDAG 461). Louw-Nida says, “an intense, passionate desire of an overwhelming and possibly destructive character” (290). Kittel explains that the verb from which this noun comes originally conveyed “violent movement” and “to boil up” and “smoke” and the noun came to mean what is moved–desire, impulse, disposition, thought, and anger (TDNTA 339). Picture a person’s temperament as a potentially seething volcano. Rather than controlling it, the person allows what’s inside to freely boil over. That is rage!

With intensifying rhetoric from those in the world who threaten harm in expressing their rage, what does God call you and me to do? First, at the basic level, we are not to sin in our anger (Eph. 4:26). Second, never take your own revenge (Rom. 12:19). Third, replace quarrelsomeness with kindness, patience (even when wronged), and gentleness (2 Tim. 2:24-25). Fourth, malign no one, but be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men (Titus 3:2).

Warning: This is not how the world thinks nor what the world will do, in many cases. But in the age of rage, we have a higher law. Simply put, it is, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21). It’s not a matter of what that may or may not do for our personal causes, but what will it do to advance the cause of Christ. It’s why He has us in this age, to help the world see His way. Those who follow it will experience eternal joy, the antithesis and antidote to this age of rage!

CHECK THOSE LOTTERY NUMBERS CLOSELY!

Neal Pollard

Today, we are finding out that three winning lottery tickets were sold in the record-setting Powerball jackpot, one in California, one in Florida, and one in Tennessee. Each ticket is worth $528.8 million dollars. That’s an attention-getting number.  Here are a few more.  $70.1 billion dollars, the amount Americans spend on lottery tickets every year (more than Americans spend on sports tickets, books, video games, movies, and music combined). $755. That’s the average per-capita spend on lottery tickets in South Dakota. $800. That’s the per-capita spend in Rhode Island, who holds the ignominious distinction of leading the nation in this category. $230. That’s the per-capita average spend of every man, woman, and child in the 43 states where the lottery is played. One-third and one-half.  The poorest third of households buy half of all lottery tickets (statistics via theatlantic.com, Derek Thompson, “Lotteries: America’s $70 Billion Shame”).

Newscasters often report on these jackpots and encourage viewers to “check the numbers.” Lottery commercials often vie with beer commercials as some of the more humorous, clever ones to be seen. In the media and public venues, lottery ticket purchasing is usually portrayed as a harmless, even exciting, diversion. Perhaps many have failed to look more closely at what these other numbers mean for a person’s ethics and morality.

John A. Hobson, in the January 1905 edition of International Journal of Ethics, examined “The Ethics Of Gambling.” In an examination of gambling, including lottery contests, Hobson observes:

Gambling involves the denial of all system in the appointment
of property: it plunges the mind in a world of anarchy where
things come upon one, and pass from one miraculously. It does
not so manifestly sin against the canons of justice as do other
bad modes of transfer, theft, fraud, sweating (sic.), for every one
is said to have an equal chance; but it inflicts a graver damage
on the intellect. Based as it is on an organised rejection of all
reason as a factor, it removes its devotees into a positive atmosphere
of miracles, and generates an emotional excitement that inhibits
those checks which reason more or less contrives to place upon
emotional extravagances. The essence of gambling consists in
an abandonment of reason, an inhibition of the factors of human
control (Vol. 15, No. 2, 138).

Hobson was looking at the underlying psyche of those so eager to gain as much as possible while exerting as little effort as possible. But he decries more than laziness. He puts his finger on the most dangerous aspect of things like playing the lottery—the Bible calls it “covetousness.” It is an irrational, often compulsive, attempt to obtain wealth.

The BDAG lexicon defines the covetous person as “one who desires to have more than is due, a greedy person, whose ways are judged to be extremely sinful by Christians and many others. In Hellenic society this was a violation of the basic principle of proportion and contrary to the idea of beneficent concern for the citizenry” (Arndt, William, Frederick W. Danker, and Walter Bauer. A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature 2000 : n. pag. Print.). Greed is not confined to practices like playing the lottery, but it is legitimate for one to ask what motivates their play?

What is clear is what Scripture says about covetousness: it prevents one’s inheriting the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:10), it is idolatry which again prevents inheriting this kingdom (Eph. 5:5), it is a failure to love one’s neighbor (Rom. 13:9), and it is a defilement of the heart (Mark 7:22). Let’s make sure that greed and covetousness do not “have our number.”

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