I have been steadfastly ignoring the news reports promoting the Rev. Barry Downing’s new book about UFOs in the Bible, but the number of them is getting ridiculous. The capper came when Mysterious Universe’s Paul Seaburn promoted the book as though it were a fresh and exciting take on the ancient alien claim. This is silly for a number of reasons, not just because Downing appeared on Ancient Aliens years ago to deliver the same message, but because his current book is a virtual rewrite of his first book on the subject, published in 1968! The claims are mostly the same, and they weren’t original then either. “My argument is that the Exodus UFO, the pillar of cloud and fire, which appeared cloud-like during the day and glowed in the dark, used its propulsion system to split the waters of the Red Sea and save Israel from the Egyptians,” Downing writes in Biblical UFO Revelations. "I believe the best explanation for the parting of the Red Sea is that the pillar of cloud and fire was some type of spaceship, and those in charge of the spaceship planned the parting of the sea well in advance, to save Israel from the Egyptians and to keep Israel from going back to Egypt, once the Jews discovered that the whole Exodus process was not a walk in the park."
His claims are remarkably similar to religious crank John Miller’s arguments for divine flying saucers in the “Whirling Wheels” pamphlet of 1956. “These angels or space men pilot some sort of vehicle. […] Light ‘like the sun’ came from this space-ship, and its legs, no doubt landing gear, were like ‘pillars of fire.’ The whole earth was lit up by the power of the light given off by this space-ship (Rev. 18:1).” His other major claim, that Jesus was a space alien, already appeared in the cult ravings of George Van Tassel by 1960. “He said that JESUS was born of MARY, who was a space person sent here already pregnant in order to show the earth people the proper way to live,” the FBI wrote of Van Tassel in 1960. It’s amazing, to an extent, that the same material keeps coming back again and again. “When I published The Bible and Flying Saucers in 1968,” Downing wrote, “I had one major concern about connecting UFOs to biblical angels. The biblical view of angels was they were eternal beings, they had eternal life. My understanding of the scientific worldview at that time was that we live in a ‘running down universe,’ meaning that at some time in the future the universe will run out of energy and die. If this were true, then no one living in this universe could be eternal.” That was his major concern? I’m not quite sure why anyone would take Downing seriously, much less why his recycling or recycled claims continues to be re-marketed as new and exciting 50 years after the fact, and 60 years after the claims were already popular, if silly, parts of pop culture.
89 Comments
Wim Van der Straeten
11/3/2017 10:57:00 am
I suppose the book also contains the claim that the vision of Ezechiel of the chariot of God was a UFO sighting.
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Shane Sullivan
11/3/2017 11:19:57 am
"My argument is that the Exodus UFO, the pillar of cloud and fire, which appeared cloud-like during the day..."
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Jim
11/3/2017 11:56:51 am
Cloaking technology wasn't nearly so advanced back then, it's not until the year 2268 that the Klingons acquired it from the Romulans.
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Riley V
11/3/2017 01:32:08 pm
So if this is the deal, what was manna? Was it radioactive? Why did the angels stop banging Earth women to make Nephalim? Are the women on some other planet better looking? If so, why isn't SETI looking for that planet in particular?
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Clint Knapp
11/3/2017 07:01:58 pm
Check out The Manna Machine by George Sassoon sometime. Though the crux of Sassoon's argument relies on interpreting Jewish Kabbalah texts as describing a nuclear-reactor powered machine (psst. the Ark is the reactor) that produced free algae to eat, if Ancient Aliens has taught us anything it's that all technology derives from aliens, ergo the Manna Machine was also given to Moses by the aliens who made all his "miracles" possible.
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Bob Jase
11/3/2017 01:37:30 pm
Well if you can get people to believe in invisible magic giants living in the sky can it be any harder to get them to believe in little green men?
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Only Me
11/3/2017 03:38:17 pm
How does one reconcile the belief in extraterrestrial life with faith?
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Alex Van Warren
11/4/2017 02:47:03 pm
When I first started talking to Alan several years ago, we discussed how the
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Henry
11/3/2017 04:03:24 pm
All this trivial blog does is recycle old claims made by the earliest reviews. Not a single original comment made. At least cite the people you are plagiarizing.
Reply
Only Me
11/3/2017 04:44:15 pm
You contradicted yourself. I'll leave it to you to figure out why.
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BigNick
11/3/2017 05:27:32 pm
Could you point me to these earliest reviews. I would like to read them for myself. Also perhaps you should read another blog.
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Americanegro
11/3/2017 07:50:03 pm
Let's look at the Hebrews's story as presented in their scriptures.
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Joe Scales
11/3/2017 09:37:16 pm
The sequel ain't an easy read either. You know, with God banging some married chick whose lovechild ultimately gets tortured by Romans. Then once those guys show up on the horses, all bets are off...
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Americanegro
11/3/2017 09:53:16 pm
I used to hang with Methos so I'm good when the horses run free.
Riley V.
11/4/2017 11:23:01 pm
Check out the Third installment some time. Ancient Hebrews running all over America. Golden tablets from Angels. Murdered prophets.
Americanegro
11/5/2017 01:06:05 am
In the same way that all new technology is immediately used for porn I theorize that all religions are at their beginning about a scheme to have sex with 13 year old girls. This is not an enormous leap of logic.
Al in Cranbrook
11/4/2017 01:37:34 am
Just discovered this site, caught my interest because it delves into subjects I've been reading about for some 45 years.
Reply
Americanegro
11/4/2017 01:54:40 am
"Chuck Yeager wrote that half the scientists in the world considered the sound barrier impenetrable, any attempt would result in disintegration...until he did it."
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Only Me
11/4/2017 02:07:19 am
You can't accept the explanations offered by science because science evolves with the introduction of new evidence, which allows our understanding of history to follow suit.
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BETTY
11/4/2017 08:22:22 am
“Alternate history is the recycling of old ideas while pretending they're new. If there were any truth to them, they would not fall under the fringe, pseudoscience or alternative history labels.“
Only Me
11/4/2017 09:06:25 am
Then you'll have to provide a list of suspects, Betty. Vague statements about "powerful vested interests" aren't going to invalidate my point.
BETTY
11/4/2017 09:16:40 am
The most powerful vested interests are the governments and also people hiding behind governments. So called power behind the throne. People who benefit from the world power structure as it is now.
Only Me
11/4/2017 09:28:34 am
Okay, let's assume you're right. Two questions:
BigNick
11/4/2017 09:35:15 am
Why did they announce a possible undiscovered chamber in the Pyramid if they are hiding things. And how exactly does one benefit by hiding historical facts? If the Smithsonian receives a new artifact, they can advertise it and attract more visitors and receive more funding. new discoveries allow universities to attract more donors.
BETTY
11/4/2017 09:37:44 am
1) For example if it would become public that government has known for a long time about aliens and has even cooperated with them and has withheld this information from the public, it could make at least some people rather unhappy.
Only Me
11/4/2017 09:56:22 am
"if it would become public that government has known for a long time about aliens and has even cooperated with them and has withheld this information from the public"
BigNick
11/4/2017 10:01:20 am
Betty-
BETTY @ BIGNICK
11/4/2017 10:03:31 am
I have read more than one story about the most controversial artifacts delivered to institutions like Smithsonian never to be seen again.
BETTY
11/4/2017 10:32:02 am
"Since this information hasn't been made public, how can you speak with confidence this assertion is true?"
Only Me
11/4/2017 11:37:06 am
Without evidence, I'm not predisposed to accept the claim of an alleged eyewitness or source, even a former president.
Bob Jase
11/4/2017 11:42:54 am
Okay, every government in the world is secretly working for aliens.
BETTY
11/4/2017 12:03:31 pm
"Without evidence, I'm not predisposed to accept the claim of an alleged eyewitness or source, even a former president."
Bob Jase
11/4/2017 12:36:04 pm
"The modern UFO phenomena started with bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, because this indicated to aliens that we could destroy Earth. "
BETTY
11/4/2017 12:43:57 pm
“So the 'mystery airships' of the 1890's weren't ufos? Neither were any other earlier ufos actually aliens?“
Americanegro
11/4/2017 12:59:38 pm
"Unless there are powerful vested interests that benefit from humans having a limited world view."
Only Me
11/4/2017 01:04:01 pm
"It always seems to come down to this. Please provide the evidence and if evidence is provided then it is not strong enough. So could you please specify what evidence would be evidence to you. A dead alien body? A living alien?"
BETTY
11/4/2017 01:11:00 pm
Has science proved beyond doubt that big bang occurred? Any explanation what existed before? Science sounds like a religion to me.
Only Me
11/4/2017 01:24:45 pm
Betty, provide an explanation that will substitute for the Big Bang Theory that is not based on a religion or creation myth. If you can't do that, or default to "I don't know", then your equating of science to religion is wrong. I suspect you already know this.
Americanegro
11/4/2017 02:10:30 pm
All science actually tells us is that the universe LOOKS AS IF the Big Bang occurred. Don't try to put words into the mouth of science, Betty.
BETTY
11/4/2017 02:47:43 pm
“Again, why are you complaining about requests for evidence and asking for specifics concerning that evidence when you admit no evidence will be forthcoming? “
Only Me
11/4/2017 03:24:22 pm
"I did not say that no evidence will be forthcoming."
Americanegro
11/4/2017 04:45:18 pm
"All I am saying is that life looks as if aliens exist." What does that even mean?
An Over-Educated Grunt
11/4/2017 06:44:45 pm
Betty, what exactly makes you think that aliens think even remotely like us?
BETTY
11/5/2017 02:40:19 am
“If aliens are a natural phenomena, then there should be, after all this time, some verifiable or testable evidence mainstream science can accept.”
Only Me
11/5/2017 03:43:27 am
"Obviously aliens are a natural phenomena..."
BETTY
11/5/2017 04:36:16 am
A good to you as well.
BETTY
11/5/2017 05:45:29 am
A good day that is.
Jim
11/5/2017 12:20:32 pm
Betty,
Americanegro
11/5/2017 12:38:38 pm
A hobo murdered John Mack because he wanted his wife all to himself. Rigged the car and everything. So nothing to do with the powers that be or the government.
Henry
11/4/2017 08:46:47 am
Cranbrook you have come to the wrong place for any sort of reasonable discussion. You will be ridiculed and abused. This site is about hate and spreading hate by people who believe that they are the only ones who know truth.
Reply
Almahad
11/10/2017 08:57:04 am
Are you one of the Undereducated that Trump loves by chance?
An Over-Educated Grunt
11/4/2017 09:33:50 am
Galileo was put under house not for heretical ideas, but for being an ass to the pope, who had, right up into Galileo put his words in the mouth of a strawman whose name translated to "Simpleton," been supportive of his research. The entire reason Galileo had those words to put in his mouth was that Urban VIII had asked him "hey, what do you think about this?" and rather than debate politely, he put it in writing. His research didn't get Galileo arrested, his biting the hand did.
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Almahad
11/10/2017 08:58:57 am
Even if he was, that doesn't change the observation that too many men who were not taken serious were indeed wrong. See Christopher Columbus.
Joe Scales
11/4/2017 10:55:02 am
"Plate tectonics was considered laughable...until it wasn't. "
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DPBROKAW
11/6/2017 12:28:05 am
You've already made up your mind as to what you "want" the truth to be, so please, just go back to Ancient Origins and it's followers of "the truth". I doubt you would be open enough to accept any evidence or facts from Jason or any of the regulars at this site. Your obviously more comfortable watching Ancient Aliens and wondering about what kind of hair gel Giorgio Tsoukalos uses. If you wish to read and post here however, expect to be contradicted when your wrong. We don't ban anyone here for speaking their minds, and that goes both ways. But the purpose of this site is to bring dubious claims out in the open for people to see and comment on. If it's bullshit then it's bullshit. No amount of pseudo double speak changes the truth, and we are most definitely about getting to the truth.
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David Evans
11/9/2017 06:08:20 am
I was working in IT when Y2K was an issue. Let me tell you, if that was a fiasco it was because thousands of professionals worked hard on rewriting and reinstalling the software that otherwise would, definitely, have crashed on that day.
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Almahad
11/10/2017 08:54:27 am
>I, too, am a "skeptic"...primarily of conventional history with respect to civilization, and of what has increasingly taken on religious tones - science.
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Americanegro
11/4/2017 01:14:18 pm
"I have read more than one story about the most controversial artifacts delivered to institutions like Smithsonian never to be seen again."
Reply
Al in 'Cranbrook
11/5/2017 12:35:13 pm
Interesting comments, albeit basically went after the low hanging stuff, while avoiding the tough questions.
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Only Me
11/5/2017 02:36:42 pm
Al, you already have the answer to that nagging question; you even provided the reason in the latest comment.
Reply
Al in Cranbrook
11/5/2017 03:05:41 pm
Only Me...
Only Me
11/5/2017 03:48:20 pm
"They still don't know how the Great Pyramid was built."
Al in Cranbrook
11/5/2017 04:50:42 pm
Well, no they don't know. All we have is theories.
Only Me
11/5/2017 05:19:51 pm
Yes, they do know, as I explained above. I'm sorry, but you're just wrong.
Al in Cranbrook
11/5/2017 05:42:18 pm
Only Me...
Only Me
11/5/2017 06:01:06 pm
You're still wrong. Knowledge of pyramid construction isn't based on theory. Egypt has numerous pyramids built during different time periods and comparing the earliest to the latest shows a clear progression in the techniques used. No theory is necessary when the evidence is right in front of you.
Joe Scales
11/6/2017 10:09:17 am
"Using the heaviest equipment available today, it would still be one ghastly complex undertaking. "
Mr. Pyramid
11/6/2017 04:12:02 pm
"Ranking the previous Step Pyramid at Saqqara to Giza constructions is pretty much like comparing the Taj Mahal to a brick outhouse...in the sense that both have upright walls in common, but little else."
Al in Cranbrook
11/5/2017 02:50:05 pm
I should add...
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Almahad
11/10/2017 08:07:05 am
It's extraordinary if you have no grasp of how civilizations are constructed. Or a misanthrobe.
An Over-Educated Grunt
11/5/2017 03:05:05 pm
Let me get this straight.
Reply
Al in Cranbrook
11/5/2017 03:36:00 pm
Grunt...
An Over-Educated Grunt
11/5/2017 03:59:00 pm
So we have evidence of the existence of humans, and the existence of stone work, evolved separately on multiple continents at different times, but no evidence of the presence of aliens. These two are, to you, equally probable explanations. Everything else you said is filler.
Americanegro
11/5/2017 04:41:55 pm
Al (not your real name but who cares), are you posting from moregoddamnnonsense.com? Because you just seem to talk more and more shi... stuff.
Jim
11/5/2017 04:55:50 pm
So, it"s not possible that life on earth can evolve from a primordial pond, but we have alien life forms evolving all over the freaking universe,and sequentially popping over to the dead planet Earth, giving it life and the ability to shape rocks.
Al in Cranbrook
11/5/2017 05:05:43 pm
Actually, Al is my name. Never heard of that website, either.
Al in Cranbrook
11/5/2017 05:15:07 pm
Jim...
Jim
11/5/2017 10:38:26 pm
So, you are suggesting that life on earth is a 3.8 billion year experiment by aliens ?
Almahad
11/10/2017 08:09:50 am
>I'm inclined to think that this theory ranks right up there along side virgin birth mythology.
Almahad
11/10/2017 07:53:18 am
You obviously have a negative view of human beings.
Reply
who would win in a fight, a fully aroused al or mister belvedere?
11/5/2017 08:48:48 pm
"Now science is theorizing about 'panspermia'."
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Al in Cranbrook
11/5/2017 10:27:48 pm
Henry...
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Zontar
11/8/2017 12:50:45 pm
Have you read Downing's new book? I would be more inclined to consider your opinion if you have actually read it. Your blog reads as if you have already made up your mind based on Downings previous work. Being skeptical about the theories and ideas put across by authors is not a bad thing. However, I don't think that you can make any educated judgements unless you have actually, and carefully, read the books.
Reply
Almahad
11/10/2017 08:11:48 am
You're outing yourself as a crackpot.
Reply
Almahad
11/10/2017 09:14:56 am
I wonder how many of the conspiracy fools here aren't Americans. Who are known for shameless anti-intellectualism.
Reply
Americanegro
11/10/2017 03:43:11 pm
Clearly the medication isn't working. What's the disease of the day?
Reply
Almahad
11/11/2017 01:20:00 am
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-intellectualism_in_American_Life
Joe Scales
11/11/2017 09:55:05 am
And you believe anti-intellectualism is confined to one political party? Your vacuum is clogged, I'm afraid.
Americanegro
11/11/2017 01:20:53 pm
Wait, you're saying people thought Al Gore was smart? News to me. Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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AuthorI am an author and researcher focusing on pop culture, science, and history. Bylines: New Republic, Esquire, Slate, etc. There's more about me in the About Jason tab. Newsletters
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