Scott Wolter appeared on the Jimmy Church radio show Fade to Black for three rambling hours on Monday night to talk about how his fans are happy that he’s been proved right about Vikings in America due to the discovery of a new potentially Viking site in Newfoundland. “So many of these know-it-all academic types,” he said, “get it handed to them” when a site like that is found, challenging their dogmatic belief that the Vikings weren’t in America. Wolter believes that the Vikings likely visited Cape Cod and thinks the evidence will be found soon. Church, for example, concurs that the skeptics and academics don’t want to admit a Viking presence in America. I’m not sure who these skeptics are since, as I have documented, Viking incursions in America have been widely accepted as true since the 1830s. Church complains that fringe author and geologist Robert Schoch isn’t accepted as a member of the academic elite because of his controversial beliefs that a lost civilization of white globe-trekkers were responsible for Easter Island and other ancient sites like the Sphinx. Wolter responds with some hypocrisy that he fails to understand. He first argues that anyone can be an expert in history, and that no special training is required to understand facts and evidence. “I know enough to be dangerous,” Wolter said. He then claims that historians and archaeologist have no right to question Schoch or him, geologists both, because they lack the special training and expertise to understand the subject. “You’re going to talk to me about geology?” he said. Wolter, who holds only a bachelor’s degree in earth science, justifies the contradiction by arguing that history is a matter of “reading some hieroglyphs” while geology is a science with specialized knowledge. As you can see, he has a very low opinion of social science, and lower still of the humanities. I am unclear why Wolter insists that his critics hold credentials that he does not himself possess in order to challenge his conclusions.
Wolter says that he believes that the Sphinx is older than the rest of Egypt and that the head of the Sphinx has been re-carved from that of a lion. Wolter feels that the Sphinx was carved in 10,000 BCE because it is a lion and therefore symbolizes the constellation of Leo, which “ruled” the year under Babylonian astrological rules in that time period, despite the zodiac not having been invented until 500 BCE, give or take. “That’s how you prove your case,” Wolter said after failing to demonstrate the existence of the Babylonian zodiac in Egypt in 10,000 BCE. After this, Wolter goes on to give his usual nut-job conspiracy theory about how the Venus Families, the goddess-worshipping dualists of his fever dreams, performed a coup d’état in order to bring down the Catholic Church by infiltrating them from within via the Cistercians and Templars. Given that the Church controlled only part of a poor and backward peninsula (Western Europe), globally speaking, one does wonder at the point of it all. Shouldn’t they have been trying to bring down the Orthodox Church, then much larger and powerful, or Hinduism or Islam, if they were truly a world-bestriding goddess strike force? After a break Wolter recaps the story of Pirate Treasure of the Knights Templar, and he again falsely claims that the lead ballast discovered during filming is “silver.” Wolter blasts UNESCO for doubting his and Clifford’s claims, but he then backtracks and admits that he never saw the piece of metal in question. “It looks silver,” he said, basing his claims on a photograph, before adding that in “pirate culture” lead and silver were equally valuable, so it doesn’t matter. Wolter claims that silver was often used as ballast because it was so worthless, but I can’t find a single reference to that anywhere. This leads to a discussion of the history of the Knights Templar and their suppression in 1307, and Wolter states that this occurred on the thirteenth of October because that is the number of Mary Magdalene and the Goddess. “It was no coincidence that it was the thirteenth.” Wolter adds that he gained his knowledge of the Templar suppression from “Masonic lodges,” because he believes that “Freemasons are the ideological descendants of the Knights Templar.” “Duh,” he adds. He says that “academics” don’t know “everything” about the Templars, but he fails to explain how he became privy to the truth about the Templars without being able to cite a single document of artifact to support his imaginary history of the Middle Ages. He presents, for example, the allegation that the Templars fled by ship from New Rochelle, but says he knows the story only from notes that a “friend” made on a French-language book he cannot read. He believes that the Templars understood ley lines and Earth magnetism to a scientific level that even modern scientists can’t comprehend. “Exactly how they did it, I don’t know,” Wolter said. He did a segment on the Kensington Rune Stone and then admits that he is now a Freemason. “When I was doing America Unearthed, I wanted to remain neutral,” he said. But his encounters with Freemasons helped convince him that he was ready to follow his father into Masonry. Wolter added that as a Mason he is now privy to secret Masonic knowledge that he is not allowed to share with the public. “There are certain things I took an obligation not to talk about,” he said. Wolter said that the Kensington Rune Stone reflects the rituals of the York Rite of Masonry, but instead of seeing this as a suggestion that the stone is a modern fake, perhaps directly referencing Masonry, he concludes that Masonry dates back at least to the 1300s! Q.E.D. Wolter also says that no one else understands Masonry to the “depth” he does in order to connect it to the Kensington Rune Stone. Anyway, this is the “number” code he talked about before, whereby the numbers used on the Rune Stone are allegedly connected to York Rite rituals. Wolter discusses his belief that Henry I Sinclair, Earl of Orkney colonized America, though he can’t cite a single document or piece of evidence to that effect. Wolter discusses Jesuit conspiracies and his belief that the Vatican has secret documents about colonizing America that will never be known. He says that much of his information about conspiracies comes from “mouth to ear,” which is to say, from other conspiracy theorists telling him things that he then believes without documentation. Nearing the end of the show, Church asks Wolter if the Hooked X® appears in other cultures beyond Europe, and Wolter says no, but that all cultures worship “the same deity” and universally believe in “living in balance.” He claims that the Hooked X® can bring the world together under a universalist spirituality that transcends religion. Wolter concluded the show by saying that the History Channel loves him but has not committed to a new show, while another network has expressed interest in a new program to star him. He says that the odds are good that he’ll be on TV again with a new series soon. This is only to be expected; once on television, it becomes a virtual certainty that one will get another show thanks to the sunk cost fallacy. The show just moves further up the dial into the digital tier, as smaller channels try to grab part of the audience from the older shows on bigger channels.
59 Comments
Joe Scales
4/6/2016 10:36:24 am
I was just thinking the other day about what an assault on the senses that Pirate/Templar show was. That so much error and falsehoods could be parlayed into a television show from a network purporting to be educational. From the lead bar to the idiotic pronouncement from Wolter himself that St. Anthony was the patron saint of thieves... though unintentionally comical, was an overdose of poison into the well of knowledge.
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DaveR
4/6/2016 11:27:10 am
Most of his comments are comedic gold, however I particularly enjoyed his comment about silver being so worthless they used it for ship ballast.
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Joe Scales
4/6/2016 12:12:12 pm
The man has absolutely no shame and will stick with a falsehood no matter how glaring or easily disposed. If the History Channel is done with him (and his off the cuff comments in regard to them wanting younger starts has me believing so), perhaps I could write a television pilot for him; about an absolute moron in the mold of Inspector Clouseau, but as vain as William Shatner, bungling his way through the contrived world of televised history, willingly soaked up by moronic conspiracy freaks who couldn't read a book without pictures. We can call it "An Idiots Guide to History, with Scott Wolter".
Kathleen
4/6/2016 12:21:09 pm
Don't forget your backpack...I mean towel
DaveR
4/6/2016 01:39:43 pm
Subtitle "Don't Panic."
Ken
4/6/2016 04:50:04 pm
I think it more probable that silver was used as ballast instead of lead because there was no room on board for all the loot. Pirate ships were usually small and fast and space was at a premium. Load the ship up with gold and if there is still more loot, lose the lead and fill the keel with silver.
Weatherwax
4/7/2016 12:23:36 am
Ken, you're on the right track, except lead would also be too expensive for general ballast, when good old rocks will do. And if you have a good haul, then hell yes, rocks overboard.
DaveR
4/7/2016 07:55:25 am
Weatherwax,
Weatherwax
4/7/2016 10:33:19 am
DaveR, our idea was that the silver would be used as temporary ballast if they made a big score and didn't have room for it all. Once they reached port, then it would unloaded and spent.
DaveR
4/7/2016 10:37:33 am
I got that, but you would need a lot of silver to make enough ballast for a ship. Some of the Spanish ships were filled with gold and silver so it's certainly plausible that a pirate ship would replace some stone ballast with booty.
Jonathan Feinstein
4/6/2016 03:36:22 pm
"From the lead bar to the idiotic pronouncement from Wolter himself that St. Anthony was the patron saint of thieves..."
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Kathleen
4/6/2016 04:58:50 pm
"Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, children, brewers, pawnbrokers and students in various cities and countries around Europe."
Time Machine
4/6/2016 06:21:23 pm
Kathleen,
Kathleen
4/6/2016 06:49:24 pm
Well, bless my soul!!!
Joe Scales
4/7/2016 11:13:11 am
And it's not like unrepentant thieves such as pirates are going to get a patron saint in the first place, but that was the "history" Wolter tried to stick with when called out on his Templar/Pirate St. Anthony gaff on his blog when the DOA show first aired.
Time Machine
4/7/2016 05:03:06 pm
Kathleen,
Kathleen
4/7/2016 07:14:07 pm
Joe Scales, I also so the St. Anthony episode and it was one of the times that I caught myself talking to the television. Even the youngest alter boy would know that he was wrong. And when in his blog he had to dig in his heels and defend his position by blaming someone else, I could imagine him telling his Mom why he jumped in the lake. It also reminded me of the episode from AU when the archaeologist from Roanoke Island disagreed with his assertions and then he called his wife (!) to tell her that the guy "pissed him off". I think that his reactions to contradiction are what I would call "youthful".
Joe Scales
4/8/2016 12:23:19 pm
Kathleen, I used to think that Wolter was a clever fabricator of fringe, knowing deep down he was poisoning the well for pure profit from gullible idiots who'd rather get their history from television or easy to read pulp. More and more however, he has swayed me into actually believing that he is nothing more than an imbecilic poseur, perhaps believing in his own countless non sequiturs as a result of his sheer vanity. Dumb as a rock, so to speak, and probably manipulated by others for the camera.
Kathlee
4/8/2016 01:12:10 pm
Joe, Funny but I was thinking the opposite thing about SW and his approach to his subject matter. It seemed to me that in the start that he was an earnest investigator hoping to use his education and professional experience to assess the KRS and slowly slipped down the slippery slope of fringe propelled by his resistance to be told that he is wrong. I also wonder about the influence of his wife Janet and her associate Butler. Could it be he was given a bite of the fringe apple? I very well could be wrong but I think he has learned to enjoy and pursue the alternative spotlight now. I do agree that he is most likely as dumb as a box of rocks.
DaveR
4/6/2016 11:08:56 am
“I know enough to be dangerous,”
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Uncle Ron
4/6/2016 11:23:13 am
Now we see why Wolter really became a Mason. Now, whenever he wants to spout nonsense and gets asked for proof he can claim that he is privy to secret information that he can't divulge to the public.
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DaveR
4/6/2016 11:29:11 am
I picked up on that too, he can claim his secret knowledge of the Freemasons proves he's right, but cannot provide evidence because of his vow to the brotherhood. Pretty convenient for him.
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Joe Scales
4/6/2016 12:19:40 pm
And he'll also claim that he gave his "peer reviews" to the Masonic library, thus making them further unavailable to the untrained.
DaveR
4/7/2016 08:35:23 am
Also as a recent initiate, if he has actually joined, it will be years before anything other than handshakes is shared with him. Also they have to know who he is and what he's all about, so I imagine they're not going to share anything with him because they know he'll start blabbing about all of the Freemason secrets.
justanotherskeptic
4/6/2016 11:34:54 am
This Scott Wolter sure is a good fictional story teller.
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Clete
4/6/2016 11:43:57 am
I guess that if someone needed lead for ballast, the easiest source would be Scott Wolters head.
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Shane Sullivan
4/6/2016 01:06:59 pm
This almost makes him pitiable. He's starting to become a pathetic modern-day Don Quixote, minus the charm and novelty.
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Joe Scales
4/6/2016 01:21:47 pm
He already is tilting at windmills. You've heard of the Newport Tower, right?
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Shane Sullivan
4/6/2016 01:45:45 pm
Oh yeah, good point. And we know he's not above searching for giants in Minnesota...
tm
4/8/2016 09:18:19 am
Does that mean Steve St. Clair is Sancho?
Only Me
4/6/2016 02:18:21 pm
Silver was worthless? So, I guess pirates and privateers wanted the Spanish treasure fleet for its precious lead, then.
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Phillip
4/6/2016 02:33:44 pm
The idea that academics won't accept the "Vikings in America Theory" is absolute stupidity. I was taught, in Middle School, in the 80s that Vikings reached our shores. My 7th grade daughter was taught the same thing THIS YEAR!
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Jonathan Feinstein
4/6/2016 03:27:32 pm
To double down on the silly idea that Academics will not accept the idea of Vikings in America. I was taught that in the early 1960s in grade school. Our first history book (a very local history pamphlet of New Bedford, MA) mentioned the possibility that the area may have been visited by Vikings even though the physical evidence was lacking.
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Kal
4/6/2016 03:14:33 pm
May SW wishes to start his own cult. He can get his followers to drink the kool aid around the KRS while spouting off about Vikings.
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Time Machine
4/6/2016 04:22:41 pm
>>>The KRS though is a fake.
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DaveR
4/7/2016 07:58:39 am
Looking upon the KRS, He said unto the land, "Yea, and now I shall choose a profit to share my KRS with the world."
crainey
4/6/2016 05:52:38 pm
NOVA tonight, on PBS of course, has a 2 hour special about the potential Viking sight at Point Rosee.
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Kathleen
4/7/2016 12:12:13 am
It was an interesting show. Thanks for the heads up.
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Ysne58
4/6/2016 09:26:54 pm
http://www.mn-masons.org/masonic-history/what-is-freemasonry
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4/6/2016 09:40:05 pm
At one point he clarified that most of the secrets were handshakes and passwords, so that part squares. It wasn't clear to me if the rest of it meant that he can't share it because it hasn't been fully vetted by his "peers" yet and they get first crack at evaluating his ideas.
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Ysne58
4/7/2016 09:50:41 am
There is nothing requiring him to get stuff vetted by his peers. Most of them, if they knew of his ideas, would be extremely embarrassed.
JJR
4/8/2016 02:56:22 pm
Hi, Jason. "Long time listener, first time caller," here.
Not Sancho
4/11/2016 08:44:22 pm
I am Minnesota Freemason, as well as a member of all three York Rite bodies in Minnesota (Chapter (Royal Arch), Council (Cryptic Masonry), and Commandery (Knights Templar). I have firsthand knowledge of Wolter joining all three bodies in three separate "one day" events earlier this year. He is also a member of the Scottish Rite (So Jurisdiction) Minneapolis Valley.
Joe Scales
4/12/2016 09:00:08 am
I would make certain his "fanboys" are given notice of how critics such as Jason have taken his speculative historical profiteering apart:
JJR
4/13/2016 01:52:15 pm
Not Sancho - if you'll pardon the schadenfreude, I have to say that I'm glad to hear that there is some conflict, at least, over Mr. Wolter and his ideas amongst the Minnesota Craftsmen. Small comfort, I'm sure.
Joe Scales
4/13/2016 04:02:58 pm
In my view, Wolter joined the Masons simply to be able to make inferences to his audience that he is privy to secret knowledge that furthers his fringe theories and his ability to profit from same as if he was right all along. Should he ever be dismissed, that will work for him as well... and he'll claim he got too close to the imagined conspiracy.
Not Sancho
4/15/2016 12:29:35 pm
He is certainly making quite an impression on some brothers. He treats dissenters in Lodge just as he does elsewhere: "they just can't handle the truth, the facts are obvious, they are not paying attention" etc. His attitude is more of a learned teacher than a student. His discussions before and after lodge and YR meetings are essentially him holding court. He can't be taught anything - he already has preconceived notions about what we do and why, and our history, and he is making little or no attempt to open is own eyes to the wide and deep world of Masonic teachings. Lots of guys are sick of him already (many already were), but there's not much to be done. To each his own, and he believes what he believes. There is nothing "un-Masonic" about his actions and words. I suppose that on the plus side, it is nice to have someone in lodge who can actually think for himself. The issue is that he thinks those how disagree lack the same capabilities.
Mike Jones
4/6/2016 10:38:24 pm
Scott Wolter would make a fine Secretary of Education in a Trump administration.
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DaveR
4/7/2016 08:36:31 am
We must not leave a single child behind!
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Clete
4/7/2016 10:12:57 am
However, if he was appointed, he would probably hire Alan Butler as an under secretary. Then the phrase would be "Leave on Single Sheep's behind!"
Bob Jase
4/7/2016 10:57:59 am
No, he'll be too busy running Trump's Ahnenerbe
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Titus Pullo
4/7/2016 12:18:01 pm
I don't agree with Mr. Wolter that a degree in a physical science field makes one an expert in social science (and I use that term loosely as I think social science isn't the same as physical science given the lack of repetitive controlled testing of theories) or the humanities.
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V
4/7/2016 12:46:05 pm
Social sciences do in fact have plenty of repeatable, controlled testing available to them. They're not as finely controllable as chemistry--you can't "titrate" the human mind--and results are taken in terms of statistics rather than hard equations. That doesn't make them less scientific. It just means the results have a greater margin of error.
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titus pullo
4/7/2016 02:38:48 pm
Good points. Human actions are well...irrational at times..poor field of macro economics is a good example. 4/7/2016 01:19:07 pm
Wolter's "hard science" posturing fails on a logical level before it even gets to the nature of its science. He fails there as well however, comparing above ground mica weathering of biotite on a Maine tombstone to the below ground mica weathering of muscovite on the KRS. Furthermore, he doesn't account for various unknown natural, as well as human induced factors such as cleaning, storing, scraping and staining of the stone; most of which occurred long before he even laid eyes on it. You also have his perfect storm of events to explain how the partial KRS carvings in calcite could withstand centuries of near surface weathering (as it would have dissolved exposed to the open air in short order... and more than likely wouldn't fare too well below CO2 and acid emitting tree roots either). To do so, he picks and chooses from Winchell's earlier examination; rejecting of course what doesn't fit his own narrative. Like all Wolter's schemes, he works backwards from his chosen conclusion looking for only what he interprets as fitting; which is not scientific at all.
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DaveR
4/7/2016 03:16:09 pm
Wolter will not use, and will reject, any science based evidence contradicting his claim the KRS is authentic. He's not a scientist, he's building a career around this stone, so he's an entrepreneur.
Annie Cloutier
5/20/2016 08:01:10 am
I recall that there was not any documentation that Scott Wolter ever completed his undergraduate work in geology. A lab assistant working for a company does not make one an expert. Has he gone back to college ?
El Cid
4/8/2016 02:03:40 pm
I read about the new Viking settlement discovery and watched the related BBC documentary.
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Will
4/17/2016 06:26:00 am
When Wolter's fringe-fodder runs dry, press the racism accusations full throttle. I guess the critical thinking gets a vacation too, it's only fair.
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