33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gateway of the Gods: gives me tingles! An awesome Introduction to complex field of thought., May 9, 2007
This review is from: Gateway of the Gods: An Investigation of Fallen Angels, the Nephilim, Alchemy, Climate Change, and the Secret Destiny of the Human Race (Paperback)
Genius! Craig Hines has done a masterful job of presenting a clear, compelling, interesting, and at times, humorous, analysis of a huge field of contemporary interest. With cunning and intriguing twists of thought, he builds the narrative with thought provoking questions, intelligent debunking of popular myths, and solid evidence to address the archeological evidence for understanding the nature of ancient beings refered to in the Bible as well as many other ancient religious texts, and how this information is of critical importance for us today, trying to survive in a polluted, overpopulated world. His organization of vast stores of knowledge verges into genius, which I do not say lightly. Chapter summaries and stand alone chapter presentation make the book a breeze to review: in order or according to topic of interest. Calling on experts in ancient languages, his text analysis of ancient writings is superb. I loved that he included the actual heiroglyphs, Hebrew and other ancient texts as well. While convincing, he does not lead the reader on a yellow brick road of gullability: he relies on the strength of his solid and well foot-noted research to persuade.
Usually, I tear through a book in a day or two, and while this is a "can't put it down" volumn with riveting content, I found I often had to take a break to re-read and think over his densely well organized material. I am not passing forward my own copy, which is what I usually do when I find a real diamond of a thought provoking book. Many of my friends are interested in science and employed in tech fields, and they are itching to see Gateway of the Gods, since there are plenty of twilight zone style experiments you can 'do yourself' to demonstrate some of the premises in the book. This time, they will have to get their own copy!
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85 of 101 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Last Exit For The Lost?, January 12, 2007
This review is from: Gateway of the Gods: An Investigation of Fallen Angels, the Nephilim, Alchemy, Climate Change, and the Secret Destiny of the Human Race (Paperback)
Fallen angels. The paranormal. Global warming. Quantum physics. Such subjects immediately inspire a definitive, if not visceral, reaction in readers. There is often no middle ground. One has faith, or one does not. One believes in the supernatural, or one dismisses such claims to be the products of naïve superstition or over-indulgent imaginations. Currently, the controversy concerning global warming rages throughout the media. Yet as organizations and individuals ardently defend their polarized points of view on the topic, the clock continues to race toward what could be the most devastating environmental disaster our civilization has ever known.
It is not very often that an author successfully tackles even one of these topics in a manner that appears unbiased and agenda free. What would be even more extraordinary, however, is if an author dared to tackle all of these subjects in a single volume and somehow managed to produce a work that is genuinely objective, thought-provoking, as well as inspirational. This is precisely what Craig Hines has accomplished with his debut book, Gateway of the Gods: An Investigation of Fallen Angels, the Nephilim, Alchemy, Climate Change, and the Secret Destiny of the Human Race.
The genre of "New Age" nonfiction is a realm overpopulated by paranoid conspiracy theories, unfounded fears of demonic or extraterrestrial infestation, and sketchy claims of alien abductions. It is an area of research that speaks directly to a restless public that awaits a more convincing declaration of "the Truth." But more often than naught, such works further obfuscate the boundaries between nonfiction and science fiction. The field continues to thrive on account of the growing sense of social unrest that has overtaken Western culture throughout the recent tumultuous years. But yet most of those strange books sitting on an isolated shelf in the furthest corner of your local bookstore are predominantly viewed by the general public as part of a genre that produces quite a few misses and only the occasional hit. Hines' book is a truly remarkable example of the latter, for it becomes clear from the surprisingly autobiographical tone taken for the introductory chapter that this is a work quite unlike the other books crowding this particular market.
When first evaluated, Hines' proposals and theories might appear a little far-fetched and admittedly, "out there" (cue The X-Files theme). But his seemingly radical ideas are supported by meticulously detailed evidence drawn from a number of diverse and authoritative sources. Much of Hines' credibility stems from how carefully he presents his research, and instead of arguing with irrefutable tones of condescension or inflated erudition, Hines opts for an admirably conversational approach. His occasionally lofty and ambitious demands upon the reader's suspension of disbelief are unfailingly tempered by his pleasantly humble and remarkably candid narrative voice. It is for these reasons that Hines can weave through the theoretical landmines of theology, paranormal investigation techniques, advanced physics, global warming and even medieval alchemy, and emerge unscathed. When individually treating these topics, Hines does so with a winning combination of skepticism and enthusiasm, always mindful of the details and privileging information that can be proven as fact, or ideas that his reliable instincts are convinced are facts-soon-to-be. Yet ultimately, it is when Hines coherently bridges one of these controversial topics to another, illustrating the hitherto unacknowledged parallels between them that the reader can't help but marvel as the fantastic becomes plausible right before their eyes.
But what exactly is Hines doing with these topics, and what is it that he ultimately tries to prove?
"Thousands of years ago, intelligent beings from another realm developed inter-dimensional "gateways" to transfer themselves to our world. While here, they were able to physically interact with our ancient ancestors and many specific accounts concerning "the gods" and "angels" have been passed down in legends and myths. Sometime later, these beings returned (or were forced to return) to their place of origin and the gateways were deactivated. However, they left behind clues and symbols that would withstand the trials of time so that a future civilization might decipher their message and understand how to reactivate the gateways. They also recognized that eventually the earth's climate and ability to support a large population would fail, accelerating the possibility of extinction for many species (including humans). Therefore, the human race is expected to rediscover the gateway technology so that we can reunite the realms as well as transform ourselves into advanced inter-dimensional beings."
Hines himself acknowledges that his theory is "incredible" and that it "therefore depends upon a considerable amount of speculation." And while the notion that certain obscure Biblical accounts (hitherto assumed to be nothing more than didactic metaphors) may actually have taken place and that in order to prevent the supposedly nascent apocalypse, the modern race of human beings (those folks concerned foremost with cell phones, iPods, and American Idol) must somehow reconnect with extraterrestrial beings to aid in their salvation is, to speak modestly... a bit of a stretch. Yet somehow, throughout the course of this fascinating and enthralling book, Hines makes sense of this and actually succeeds in supporting his outlandish claims with crucial and compelling evidence. It is not long before the reader entirely surrenders and willingly opens themselves to Hines' theories.
How does the author manage this? Quite simply, by giving the reader the impression that he is just as incredulous, if not more so, than the most ardent skeptic within his audience. However, you can almost hear the author say with a modest and reserved sense of wonder--"But this is what I found."
Hines' ability to distill very complex and ostensibly impossible subjects into an accessible and above all convincing prose is an invaluable asset, for the book obviously requires a great deal of patience and trust on behalf of the reader in order to fully comprehend the implications of the material presented. These stylistic qualities also ensure that the full impact of the book's conclusion is not lost in the veritable labyrinth of information that the author stacks up along the way. The book is constantly introducing new information, broaching a new topic with each chapter. At times, the reader might become frustrated and not quite understand where it is that Hines is leading them. For example, the reader might not initially understand what ghosts and other reports of paranormal phenomena, such as Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP), have to do with fallen angels and "gateways." However, immediately following this chapter devoted to the paranormal, Hines presents an overview of modern theoretical physics, and introduces the reader to such concepts as Supersting theory and M-theory, and it becomes clear that many of these so-called "supernatural" occurrences documented by EVP could in actuality be audible "bleed-throughs" from parallel dimensions! The book is filled with many similar "Eureka!" moments--and while Hines might threaten to lose readers as he unpacks and lays the groundwork for his seemingly intimidating exploration, he genuinely thrills readers once they start to intuit how the pieces of this elaborate puzzle will fit together. While one might wonder if there was another perhaps more linear way that Hines could have structured and arranged his exploration, the book very well might have collapsed under its own weight if certain topics became integrated with one another too soon. Though unorthodox, it appears that this was the only way that the author could prevent overwhelming himself and the reader with the amount of information that needed to be presented. The book reads at first like several loosely related essays collected under a single cover, only to suddenly bullet toward a theoretical climax, yielding a reading experience more akin to finishing a great mystery novel as opposed to a heavily researched non-fiction study.
Throughout the book, Hines clearly recognizes that some of his theories will appear quite new to readers. He also demonstrates a conscientious awareness that his ideas will challenge what many hold to be indissoluble fact. With many of Hines' theories, firmly established and traditional religious teachings are called into question. For instance, most people think that they know the story of the first fallen angel, commonly identified as Satan or Lucifer, who rebels against God only to be cast down to Hell along with his demonic brethren. However, Hines reveals that this take on the story is found nowhere within Biblical texts. With this revelation, readers are directed to the predominantly obscure Book of Enoch, an ancient text that chronicles the story of the original fallen angels, or "Watchers," as they are more specifically referred to, and their interactions and integration with the human race. According to the Book of Enoch, these angels came to Earth through "gateways" and consorted with human women, producing monstrous hybrid offspring, known as the Nephilim. Hines points out that the reason more people are not familiar with this account is because the Book of Enoch was deemed heretical by the Church, because the clergy objected to the notions that angels could manifest in physical forms and above all, that angels could engage in sexual acts with human beings.
Hines is not the first author to deal directly with the Book of Enoch and its account of the Nephilim. However, he is the first to raise a number of bold and provocative questions concerning the...
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25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gateway To The Pondering Mind, July 16, 2007
This review is from: Gateway of the Gods: An Investigation of Fallen Angels, the Nephilim, Alchemy, Climate Change, and the Secret Destiny of the Human Race (Paperback)
If this book is about 'gateways', one of the passages has to be into the realm of thought. Thinking is definitely challenged in this multi-faceted work, and the author is to be admired for what had to be arduous dedication, to his task. It's most assuredly not a book for one who is satisfied having their beliefs and understanding resting comfortably in a box.
The author is honest to the point of almost being apolgetic for suggesting theory over proven fact. For offering possibilities rather than absolutes. I would have been a bit happier had he allowed himself exit from this redundant humility. I'd say extrapolate with gusto, Mr. Hines. Your devotion to this project gives you that right. Your careful attention to detail and fairness in presenting various sides to these unanswerable questions, lends credence to your theory in and of itself.
Whether every Spiritual premise you suggest rings true to everyone who ponders them or not, you are to be commended for 'ringing' the bell. As for the verbal wake up call on the Coming Storm, I'd say you nailed that one way beyond theory.
Gateways of the Gods is a book for anyone who wants to explore outside of 'forced' dogma and the doctrinal limits regarding the questions that Man first asked with etchings on cave walls.
Susan Haley, Author
RAINY DAY PEOPLE
FIBERS IN THE WEB
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