Dune mentioned in "Ancient Aliens" on History Channel

[Freakzilla]

I watched this show over the weekend, ... I was listening to it while leading the Army of Norther Virginia to victory in Sid Meier's "Antietam!"... and I heard it mention Frank Herbert's Dune (along with Battlestar Galactica (TOS)) in the context of being part of the media that prepared people to take a more serious look at the book Chariots of the Gods?.

http://www.history.com/shows.do?action= ... eId=428086

[Apjak]

I saw that, and I'm always happy to hear a Dune reference, but I think amost of those theories underestimate our ancient (if a couple thousand years is that ancient) ancestors.

[Freakzilla]

I saw that, and I'm always happy to hear a Dune reference, but I think amost of those theories underestimate our ancient (if a couple thousand years is that ancient) ancestors.

If you consider that we could be desendants of those ancient aliens, our ancient ancestors crossed the void to get here. Considering that, building a pyramid isn't all that impressive.

[Rakis]

I saw that, and I'm always happy to hear a Dune reference, but I think amost of those theories underestimate our ancient (if a couple thousand years is that ancient) ancestors.

If you consider that we could be desendants of those ancient aliens, our ancient ancestors crossed the void to get here. Considering that, building a pyramid isn't all that impressive.

Yeah, when will they find Adama's Raptor?

[Redstar]

I'm sure if you look in the Scrolls you'll find out what really happened, Apjack.

Always nice to hear a reference, even if it's not the best.

[SandChigger]

A bit off-topic, but has anyone else noticed an increase in non-critical programs dealing with the supernatural, paranormal and religion on the History Channel, Discovery, and National Geographic? Or is it just a problem with the Japanese versions thereof which I get?

The ones I find especially objectionable are those presenting Biblical content as completely factual...

[Omphalos]

A bit off-topic, but has anyone else noticed an increase in non-critical programs dealing with the supernatural, paranormal and religion on the History Channel, Discovery, and National Geographic? Or is it just a problem with the Japanese versions thereof which I get?

The ones I find especially objectionable are those presenting Biblical content as completely factual...

Dude, its been like that for years over here. Catch up, man!

[Freakzilla]

A bit off-topic, but has anyone else noticed an increase in non-critical programs dealing with the supernatural, paranormal and religion on the History Channel, Discovery, and National Geographic? Or is it just a problem with the Japanese versions thereof which I get?

The ones I find especially objectionable are those presenting Biblical content as completely factual...

I wouldn't say they're presenting biblical stories as fact but attempting to give biblical events some credibility based on scientific evidence.

[Rakis]

A bit off-topic, but has anyone else noticed an increase in non-critical programs dealing with the supernatural, paranormal and religion on the History Channel, Discovery, and National Geographic? Or is it just a problem with the Japanese versions thereof which I get?

The ones I find especially objectionable are those presenting Biblical content as completely factual...

Dude, its been like that for years over here. Catch up, man!

I agree...when you have reality shows involving ghost hunters, you know it's mainstream now...

[Omphalos]

A bit off-topic, but has anyone else noticed an increase in non-critical programs dealing with the supernatural, paranormal and religion on the History Channel, Discovery, and National Geographic? Or is it just a problem with the Japanese versions thereof which I get?

The ones I find especially objectionable are those presenting Biblical content as completely factual...

I wouldn't say they're presenting biblical stories as fact but attempting to give biblical events some credibility based on scientific evidence.

Oh, sure they are. They may analyze things, but then they open the show by saying something like "Moses fled Pharoah, and saved his people," instead of "The Bible says..." Its subtle, and its probably lazy, but its there.

[Freakzilla]

A bit off-topic, but has anyone else noticed an increase in non-critical programs dealing with the supernatural, paranormal and religion on the History Channel, Discovery, and National Geographic? Or is it just a problem with the Japanese versions thereof which I get?

The ones I find especially objectionable are those presenting Biblical content as completely factual...

I wouldn't say they're presenting biblical stories as fact but attempting to give biblical events some credibility based on scientific evidence.

Oh, sure they are. They may analyze things, but then they open the show by saying something like "Moses fled Pharoah, and saved his people," instead of "The Bible says..." Its subtle, and its probably lazy, but its there.

True...

Speaking of, they did a show on the Exodus. There is some archeaological evidence in the form of hyroglyphics (sp?).

One thing they did make clear in the "Ancient Aliens" show though, was how old gods tend to become the demons in new religions and that the way all cultures share the same creation/flood/etc. myths suggests that there was some basis in fact for those events. These things were so important to the oral history that they were some of the first things to ever be written down.

I highly recommend Isaac Asimov's Guide to the Bible:

http://www.amazon.com/Asimovs-Guide-Bib ... 0517209772

***** The writings explained from a historical perspective, September 13, 2001
By Charles Ashbacher "(cashbacher@yahoo.com)" (Marion, Iowa United States(cashbacher@yahoo.com))(TOP 50 REVIEWER)

The Christian bible is a fascinating document, and the contents are open to a vast array of interpretations. In this book, Isaac Asimov examines it from a historical perspective. Despite the enormous attention that it has received from scholars of all types, the authorship of many of the sections has not been established, and Asimov makes that very clear. What is the most fascinating aspect is the interpretation of some of the passages based on the social and political conditions of the time. Whatever you may think about the early leaders of the Christian church, one fact remains very clear. They managed to take a small movement and turn it into an international one that survived fierce persecution by the Roman Empire, the greatest and most long-lived political power the world has ever seen. This is most impressive, and those who accept the Christian religion will find Asimov's descriptions supportive of their beliefs, even though he was a secular humanist.
A book that describes the beginnings and growth of a powerful institution that outlived and outgrew all others that tried to destroy it, as a popular record of the history of the movement it has no equal.

[SandChigger]

I wouldn't say they're presenting biblical stories as fact but attempting to give biblical events some credibility based on scientific evidence.

I don't mind them presenting scientific/archeological evidence supporting the historical nature of certain elements in the Bible, etc. But I do have a problem with something like "We have established that this is the city of Jericho mentioned in the Old Testament. This is where Joshua blew the walls down."

Sure, Jericho was real. That doesn't mean the trumpet story is true. Likewise with the Flood. So there was a massive flood in Mesopotamia that affected so many people over such a large area that they remembered it for generations. People try to find meaning for the terrible things that happen; why not divine retribution. But there was no flood that covered all the lands of the Earth. And looking for an ark in the mountains is a silly waste of time and money.

Back in January or February one of the three channels (I think it was Discovery) was showing a series on malevolent hauntings and demonic possession. (I can't remember the program title.) All of the episodes ended with some resolution of the problem, either through an exorcism performed by a Roman Catholic priest or Wiccan banishing or whatever, but there was ZERO scientific analysis or explanation of what had been reported (like mass hysteria, etc).

I guess I've just been noticing all this more lately and been disappointed by it....

[Freakzilla]

Believe it or not, there was a show on the Garden of Eden that same night.

First of all, they said that the story was a metaphor for man's transition from hunter/gatherer to farmer. Once you learn agriculture you can't go back to the garden. They also point out that these flood myths coincide with the sea levels rising from the melting glaciers from the recent end of the last ice age. They also point out that a similar geological feature between the Medeteranian and Black Sea.
So there would have been at least two, huge floods in fairly close proximity.

There is a show called Battleplan, recently they did Moses and Joshua.
I don't remember them saying anything about Jericho, the trumpets cause the walls to fall is a bit tough to swallow. I suppose there could have been an earthquake.

But you're right, there are shows where they assume the story is true, then try to prove it.

[SandChigger]

How cool would it be if the Flood stories were actually about the flooding of the Mediterranean basin instead of just a big rain on the Tigris and Euphrates?

[Freakzilla]

How cool would it be if the Flood stories were actually about the flooding of the Mediterranean basin instead of just a big rain on the Tigris and Euphrates?

I've seen mention of the Gibralter Isthmus breaking and flooding the Med basin, for some reason scientists seemed to dismiss that one but I can't remember why. I would think that would be much more memorable than the Persian Gulf or Black Sea flood.

Hell, maybe they all happened around the same time?

"The Great Deluge" is part of the storyline in Julian May's Saga of Pliociene Exile. I can't tell more, it'd spoil it.

[SandChigger]

Might have something to do with the date when they think it happened? I don't remember any estimates right off hand....

[Freakzilla]

Supposedly the Persian Gulf and Black Sea floods where catastrophic. The valleys on the land side were protected by mountains until the rising sea found a pass, then once water started to trickle through it erroded the pass until it became a huge plume.

I think one figure I hear for the Black Sea was 50 cubic km per day of water flowing in.

[cmsahe]

I saw that, and I'm always happy to hear a Dune reference, but I think amost of those theories underestimate our ancient (if a couple thousand years is that ancient) ancestors.

Zahi Hawass (Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt) has repeated ad nauseum that the proponents of those theories(Graham Hancock, Erich Von Däniken, i.e.) are racists, they all are anglosaxon people who cannot conceive that short brown skinned people had built monolithic structures in Egypt, South America and the South Pacific.

P.S. My favorite Dune reference is the small "worm sign" in that episode of Spongebob squarepants when he and Sandy are hunting dowm an alaskan bull worm.

[cmsahe]

A bit off-topic, but has anyone else noticed an increase in non-critical programs dealing with the supernatural, paranormal and religion on the History Channel, Discovery, and National Geographic? Or is it just a problem with the Japanese versions thereof which I get?

The ones I find especially objectionable are those presenting Biblical content as completely factual...

Ditto for me here in Mexico!

[cmsahe]

A bit off-topic, but has anyone else noticed an increase in non-critical programs dealing with the supernatural, paranormal and religion on the History Channel, Discovery, and National Geographic? Or is it just a problem with the Japanese versions thereof which I get?

The ones I find especially objectionable are those presenting Biblical content as completely factual...

I wouldn't say they're presenting biblical stories as fact but attempting to give biblical events some credibility based on scientific evidence.

Oh, sure they are. They may analyze things, but then they open the show by saying something like "Moses fled Pharoah, and saved his people," instead of "The Bible says..." Its subtle, and its probably lazy, but its there.

For me any attempt to validate the stories of the Bible is like if archeologists went hunting for evidence on King Arthur or Robin Hood (things that they have done)

[SandChigger]

I watched another one last night with what's-his-name, Josh Bernstein? About the Flood really being tsunami resulting from the collapse of the cone of the volcano Mount Etna (in Sicily?). So he goes to Israel and they find some bones at an underwater site that would have been above water at the time in question. He interviews some expert (in Cyprus, IIRC) who told him that prehistoric people were capable of building ships that could carry animals. And suddenly we've got Noah's Ark. Ole Josh was flying a bit loose and furious with the logic on that one.

(sigh) It's a wonder we're not back living in caves already.

[Freakzilla]

I watched another one last night with what's-his-name, Josh Bernstein? About the Flood really being tsunami resulting from the collapse of the cone of the volcano Mount Etna (in Sicily?). So he goes to Israel and they find some bones at an underwater site that would have been above water at the time in question. He interviews some expert (in Cyprus, IIRC) who told him that prehistoric people were capable of building ships that could carry animals. And suddenly we've got Noah's Ark. Ole Josh was flying a bit loose and furious with the logic on that one.

(sigh) It's a wonder we're not back living in caves already.

Is it just me or does that guy seem dumber than the box the rocks came in?

[SandChigger]

I haven't watched much of him (why I wasn't really sure about the name, didn't bother checking), but if that show was any indication, yeah, he must be shtupping a producer or someone.

Give me BEAR EATING SNEKES!!

[Omphalos]

I haven't watched much of him (why I wasn't really sure about the name, didn't bother checking), but if that show was any indication, yeah, he must be shtupping a producer or someone.

Give me BEAR EATING SNEKES!!

I saw one of those wild-men eat an apple chunk out of a pile of bear shit the other day. Dont think Ill be tuning back in.

[Tleszer]

I haven't watched much of him (why I wasn't really sure about the name, didn't bother checking), but if that show was any indication, yeah, he must be shtupping a producer or someone.

Give me BEAR EATING SNEKES!!

I saw one of those wild-men eat an apple chunk out of a pile of bear shit the other day. Dont think Ill be tuning back in.

Prude.