The Bible and Flying Saucers: Second Edition [Paperback]

Downing (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1569247455 | ISBN-13: 978-1569247457 | Publication Date: October 23, 1997 | Edition: 2

A UFO enthusiast, who is also a minister, draws a connection between biblical mythology and visits from alien beings, in this thought-provoking book from the publishers of "Beyond Roswell, Top-Secret Majic" and "Crash at Corona". Color illustrations.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; 2 edition (October 23, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569247455
• ISBN-13: 978-1569247457
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #445,198 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars "...the hypotheses in this book [are] quite tentative.", July 18, 2008

By 

Joaquin Morro - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bible and Flying Saucers: Second Edition (Paperback)

Written before we landed on the moon, Downing's book argues that the basic stimulus behind the genesis of biblical religion and lore was external, i.e., generated intentionally by a group of beings from another world as opposed to internally within the psyche of man.

Two major problems plague this work.

(1) If Downing is correct, why should we worship beings merely because they eclipse us in technology? The implications of this tawdry point are virtually unaddressed by Downing. The fundamental underpinning of biblical religion relies on the profound primacy of a God that transcends technology, not on one that depends on it.

(2) Downing's argument for UFOs in the old testament is a decent yarn, but for equally plausible natural explanations see "Worlds in Collision" by Velikovsky. Also, it is possible that many old testament tales (such as the flood) simply recycle earlier Summerian and Assyrian legends. If you want to argue for flying saucers in antiquity the books of Zecharia Sitchin go back to the original cuneiform and make a more original (if equally implausible) argument.

The new testament references to UFOs are not convincing largely because Downing's book pre-dates the release of the Nag Hammadi literature (though his new forward, which does, does not address these newly un-earthed gospels). It has been argued that many of the new testament writings that were included in the bible were written by highly educated Greeks many years after Christ died for the express purpose of flouting enemies of the church and other heretics, such as the "Thomas" Christians whose writings appeared at Nag Hammadi. If so, then the New Testament gospels are more akin to polemics than literal eyewitness reports. This possibility is not addressed by Downing who takes the Bible and its purported eyewitness accounts quite unquestioningly at face value. This detracts from his argument.

Nevertheless, I applaud Downing's courage to write about such a taboo subject. It is one that deserves to be explored in more depth.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still revolutionary after 40 years!, July 30, 2011

By 

Telerush - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Bible and Flying Saucers: Second Edition (Paperback)

I have not read a better book equating angels to UFOs from a biblical perspective. Fans of X-Files may be disappointed, but this work by Dr. Downing is thoroughly grounded in Scripture. It's shocking to me that his view is not more mainstream and that 40 years after its publication there still is a scarcity of books on this subject.

Dr. Downing takes the position not of proving that angels and UFOs exist, but rather that if they do exist, then these 2 phenomenon are identical. From the pillar of cloud/fire in Exodus, to the wheel of Ezekiel, to the fiery chariot which took Elijah into heaven, we are presented with an explanation from a space age perspective which could lift the Bible out of its mythological status into being validated as the realistic record of events which prophets described to the best of their abilities with words such as "chariot".

I appreciate Dr. Downing's honesty in providing limitations and alternate explanations for his views. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is exploring the connection between angels and UFOs.

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Book, April 11, 2011

By 

Roger H. Kreil "Truth Seeker 5462" (Red Deer, AB, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Bible and Flying Saucers: Second Edition (Paperback)

Some people believe that all of the miracles in the Bible and other holy books are too unbelievable to have actually happened. But Barry Downing believes that flying saucers and angels/extraterrestrials played a big part in the biblical religion. It was an interesting book to read.