Bible and Flying Saucers (2e, Tr) (Paperback)

by Barry Downing (Author) "Before you become either extremely angry or even more extremely amused because someone is attempting to link together the Bible and flying saucers, consider the..." (more)
Key Phrases: resurrection universe, beings from another world, resurrection world, Red Sea, New Testament, Air Force (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
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: Westview Press; 2 edition (October 2, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569247455
• ISBN-13: 978-1569247457
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #362,014 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 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

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.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Will make everybody think over their religious beliefs, August 21, 2000

By	David Tieu (Bronx, NY United States) - See all my reviews

In this well thought out and researched book, Barry Downing provides evidence that extraterrestrials might have been behind the "miracles" of "God". Surprisingly, this book is written by a theologian, though most theologians oppose the Ancient Astronaunt theory. You should pick up this book even if you criticize UFOs.

8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Began ufos in the Bible. "Yahweh Encounters " proved it., May 15, 1998

By A Customer

When a religious figure writes of UFO's in the Bible people read. While the idea started a movement, little scientific evidence is presented, such as can be found in Sitchen's books or in "Yahweh Encounters: Bible Astronauts, Ark Radiations and Temple Electroics" by Ann Madden Jones. However I recommend any Bible-UFO book by either a religious figure or one using detailed secular research to augment the Biblical evidence.