Satellite
Imaginary One treasured childhood memory is the story of
Noah's Ark with the image of "the animals going
in two by two". As one grows
up the impossibility of the whole
enterprise becomes more and more obvious - to most people at any rate. Others
are not prepared to accept that this is a wonderful old allegorical tale with
its roots in ancient Mesopotamian myth and also seem unsurprised that the
supreme being in his wisdom drowned
every living thing in the world. 80 has looked at the ark story before (Past
View -
Dinosaur Hell Ark)
but this time your attention is drawn to those searching
for the legendary vessel's remains and also those who would like to rebuild
it, both rather strange aspirations perhaps with the latter being somewhat
more attainable. There is a particular geological formation in the Ararat
Mountains of Turkey that has attracted the most attention from Ark hunters.
Vaguely boat-shaped, the dimensions of this formation can be massaged to
approximate the biblical craft, particularly if you make the right choice of
cubit. In a strange combination of
high tech and low intelligence
satellite surveillance
has been enrolled in the project. So far the view from orbit seems to have
shed little new light and many of the ark hunter's web pages feature the
same old grainy photographs
and, as in this case, some rather wishful
"reconstruction" images.
This same site offers a comparison between the
ark and the Titanic although
quite what the reason for doing so evaded 80 completely, and also a
"spaceframe"
model - the site's owners helpfully
point out - "This model shows the construction technique
called "spaceframe," though usually considered modern, this concept would not
have been outside the grasp of Yahweh as he designed the ship for Noah.
" It is comforting to know that such a construction technique is
within the deity's grasp - but then isn't everything? As a fascinating aside
the sites owner's also have a page on the
Ohio Decalog ,
a supposed "ancient Hebrew
artifact" found in 1860 in Ohio (generally
dismissed as a fake
by modern archaeology ) which they relate to a stone found in Turkey near to
the claimed ark site. So far though the clinching evidence for the survival
of the Ark seems evasive - and as likely of proof as say,
Bifrost Bridge from Scandinavian mythology or the palaces
of the gods on Mount Olympus.
Do It
Yourself If you can't find the original ark or at least its
fossilized remains the next best thing seems
to be to build one of your own. A
couple of groups are taking this route although
for a fully "authentic" rebuild it would be helpful if agreement could be
reached as to the main construction material - stated in the bible to be
"gopher wood". Here is
one
take on the subject One big problem is that the bible mentions gopher wood
but once, in the ark story, and no one knows if it is supposed to be a kind
of timber (cypress?) or a treatment of timber (coated with bitumen?) One
approach is to rely upon a vision like one Pastor
Richard Greene, who has plumped for decidedly unbiblical concrete for
his
ark (and also a large amount of
metal girders).
In the building since 1976 this ark is envisioned more as a commemorative
building, which is fortunate as 80 feels buoyancy
issues may be a problem if one tried to float the thing. One
advantage of visions and divine backing is that as construction materials
are needed so they appear -
"From the start God has
been faithful in providing all the needed manpower and materials to complete
the foundational structure. 76 cement pillars, 34 sway-brace pillars, and a
4-foot high 9-inch wide foundational wall which goes around the outside of the
cement pillars. Steel reinforcement rod was needed and God spoke to a man to
donate it. Anchor bolts were needed and they were donated. Cement forms were
needed and a man visited the site who “happened” to be a cement form salesman."
The surprise
is, even with such miraculous help,
the thing is not yet finished and no date is projected for completion.
Another
ark is to be built, not to save souls
but to generate tourist income in the
former communist state of Bulgaria. The tenuous connection with the
traditional ark story is down to studies of ancient flooding in the
Black Sea region
approximately 7600 years before the present (this could be awkward for some
ark folk as that would date the flood before the biblical creation which as
everyone knows happened in
4004 BCE) Nikolai
Kanchev, the historian overseeing
the project explains the reasoning (?) behind
it "Troy has its Trojan Horse, Romania has Dracula - we
will have our Noah's Ark". I think Pastor Greene's flock would be less
than pleased to have the ark rated alongside a pagan legend and a vampire
legend but, at least to 80,
the word legend would
be the common factor here with all
three.
"Over the past
half-century many authors have claimed extraterrestrial intervention in
humanity's past. Others claim that an Atlantis-like civilization came and went
before recorded history. In these pages we will take a look at theories and
ideas surrounding this phenomenon with an eye to skepticism and a mind for
truth. We hope to show that the ancient past was a lively place, but one that
no one has been able to prove originated with aliens."
and the writer makes good on this. Note
writer in the singular, for despite
the "we" in the mission statement above everything on the site appears to be
the work of Jason Colavito - and pretty good work it is with a wide range
although fairly large areas are devoted to an examination of the claims of
Graham Hancock, cult archaeology journalist, whom
80 has looked at before. (See Past View -
Don't Mention Atlantis).
The wide span of articles can be
demonstrated by a glance at some of the page titles on this site,
Atlantis, Mu and the Maya,
Lovecraft's Mythos,
Ancient Atom Bombs?
and
Jesus' Alien Ancestors?
are just a few. Interesting, well written and presented this site is a welcome
answer to the masses of pages devoted to the farrago of wish fulfillment that
kindlier folk than 80 call alternative history. Recommended. ( An
acknowledgement is due here - Lost Civilizations Uncovered is one of many
links at Doug's Archaeology Site which is where 80 found it - thanks Doug.)
Mighty
Miscellany This month there is a larger than usual miscellany
selection. There are a lot of good, bad, abysmal and superb web sites out
there and 80's trawlings find a lot in these categories and others that
don't make it into the newsletter and get pushed to one side. It seems a
shame not to share a few of them. First up is
A Brief History of the Apocalypse -
obviously a labor of love for Chris Nelson,
the creator. Covering from 2800 BCE to the far future you will find just
about every end of the world prediction recorded - many
will be familiar but Nelson has done a lot of work on this and there are
certainly a good number that were
new to 80. A fine site just to
trawl through or perhaps to settle an argument or two over who predicted
what doom and when - great stuff.
You may not have noticed this but the Solar
System has grown a lot bigger of late. To be honest it is that we can see a
whole lot more of it than we ever could before. Until comparatively recently
we were aware of nine planets and their attendant moons. Starting in the
1960's robotic space exploration
showed how little we really knew about even the familiar inner rocky planets
and then in the 70's and 80's the Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft revealed the
vistas of the gas giants and their myriad moons. At this point many, perhaps
most people, think that's it, little
realizing that work over the last 10 years or so has revealed the vast Kuiper
Belt, home to perhaps as many as a 100,000 miniature worlds and billions of
comets out in the darkness beyond Neptune. As this
page from
SpaceDaily states "the
Kuiper Belt contains more water and more organic material than is present in
the entire inner solar system-yes, in the Earth, Venus, Mercury, and Mars,
combined." Lovely - just when we think we know it all the universe
shows us different - and puts us in our place. No amount of terrestrial gods
and bible thumping can come close to the near heart-stopping awe of
the cosmos - bigger than humans and any deities they can imagine. Not for
nothing is the SpaceDaily article called "Something
Wonderful".
Here is an interesting and at times
surprising site -
The Celebrity Atheist List. There
are three banks of names, celebrities all, (although 80 admits to ignorance of
more than a few) labeled The Atheist and Materialist, The Agnostic and
The Ambiguous. All the names listed are clickable and the link leads to a
quotation or some other evidence to justify the categorization. Click say,
Marlon Brando to find he refused to take a religious oath in court as he was
an atheist. Or James Lovelock, " I don't know if there
is a God or not. Religion requires certainty." Or Phyllis Diller, "
Religion is such a medieval idea. Don't get me started.
I have thought about every facet of religion and I can't buy any of it."
Or Arthur C Clarke, " Religion is a byproduct of fear,'
he says. ' For
much of human history, it may have been a necessary evil, but why was it more
evil than necessary? Isn't killing people in the name of God a pretty good
definition of insanity?" The
FAQ page explains the thinking behind
the site and also gives a link to the
Famous Dead Non-Theists
page - which is equally interesting and at times just as surprising and a fine
piece of work. (See the Quotes below)
This next site is a very odd beast indeed - called
The
Evolutionary Tales, the writer, Ronald
L. Ecker, explains his intentions thus-
What more engaging way, it struck me, to present the
squabble over evolutionary theory and creationism than through a
recasting--complete with rhymed iambic pentatmeter verse--of Chaucer's
classic? ( The Canterbury Tales) Start the "General Prologue" not with sweet
April showers and the rites of spring but with a description of natural
selection. Then introduce a company of travelers, not on a pilgrimage to a
shrine in Canterbury but on a field trip to a creationist seminar in Dayton,
Tennessee (home of the Scopes "Monkey" Trial). Make our travelers mostly
scientists, and let each traveler tell a "tale," a lively verse essay in his
or her field of specialization on evidence for evolution and the fallacies of
"creation science." Then have a Bible scholar tell the last tale, in which he
points out that evolution and creation--shorn of fundamentalist biblical
literalism--are not incompatible concepts.
In 80's opinion whilst not entirely
successful this work is definitely worth examining as is Ecker's other site
which showcases the electronic text of his book
And Adam Knew Eve - A Dictionary
of Sex in the Bible which at the very least will save you having to thumb
through all the boring bits. But if you need to have those racier pages to
hand all the time here is the answer - a
combination
bible and PDA with an MP3 player for listening to sermons. And yes, ye of
little faith, it is a real product.
Quotes
The quotes this month are culled in the main
from the Famous Dead
Non-Theists ( for which 80 thanks Mark Gilbert)
"Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but
certainty is absurd." Voltaire
"The Christian religion not only was at first
attended with miracles, but even at this day cannot be believed by any
reasonable person without one." David Hume
"Persecution is not an original feature in
any religion; but it is always the strongly marked feature of all religions
established by law." Thomas Paine
"Religion is excellent stuff for keeping
common people quiet." Napoleon Bonaparte
"Man is a marvelous curiosity . . . he thinks
he is the Creator's pet . . . he even believes the Creator loves him; has a
passion for him; sits up nights to admire him; yes and watch over him and keep
him out of trouble. He prays to him and thinks He listens. Isn't it a quaint
idea." Mark Twain
Letters from the Earth
OCEAN: A body of water occupying about two
thirds of a world made for man- who has no gills. Ambrose Beirce
The Devil's
Dictionary
"I have never seen the slightest scientific
proof of the religious ideas of heaven and hell, of future life for
individuals, or of a personal God." Thomas Edison
"History does not record anywhere or at any
time a religion that has any rational basis. Religion is a crutch for people
not strong enough to stand up to the unknown without help. But, like dandruff,
most people do have a religion and spend time and money on it and seem to
derive considerable pleasure from fiddling with it." Robert A Heinlein (Lazarus
Long)
"We must question the story logic of having
an all-knowing all-powerful God, who creates faulty Humans, and then blames
them for his own mistakes." Gene Roddenberry
©Copyright 2002
Eighty Ross W Sargent All rights reserved
