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Ask Rev. Dr. Barry Downing...


Gene Steinberg

Forum Super Hero
Staff member
We present one of the early presenters of ancient astronaut lore.

The Rev. Dr. Barry Downing is pastor emeritus of Northminster Presbyterian Church, Endwell, NY.
He earned a degree in physics from Hartwick College, a divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. Degree from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, where he specialized in the relation between science and religion.

He has published two books, "The Bible and Flying Saucers," (1968) and "Biblical UFO Revelations," (2017). He has been a consultant in theology for the Mutual UFO Network since 1972, and has published many articles in the MUFON Journal, as well as other UFO publications. He is listed in "Who's Who In Theology and Science," and has appeared in several of the History Channel Ancient Aliens series.

Our guest cohost this week is Don Ecker.

This show will be recorded Thursday, today, from 3 PM until 5 PM Pacific.
 
Actually, Don and Barry engaged in a fascinating back and forth. Rev. Downing is far more informed about Biblical matters than Von Daniken.
 
I know its too late for an interview question, however, an interesting insight might be how Dr Downing rectifies the growth of consciousness in a global "now" vs. the impediment of technology on the consciousness of biblical man? Specifically what is the relationship between consciousness and technology on belief?.......if there is enough time in a week to explore this!!!!
 
there is a lot I wished to discuss in this episode; probably more content than what could be digested by casual listeners. I will be blunt and come out with what I think instead of playing socratic game

(1) There are many events recorded by humans in both the "modern" (industrial age, information age...) and in "ancient" times that are still analysed by believers in major religious sects
(2) Human imagination cannot possibly be the sole source of these events...proof?

Example: Cargo Cult religions in the South Pacific...

The artifacts they created were not completely fictional...they were based on real instruments of techologies that they encountered when the "John From" imperialists arrived

(a) Cariacatures of the communication equipment (bamboo and straw models of the radios used)\
(b) Cariacatures of the airstrips used by planes in WWII
(b) Cariacatures of the infrastructure that would support whatever was required by the industrial socieities that used these islands for bases

non-functional and inconceivable (to them) cariacatures...

cargo-cult-4.jpg



What does this imply about the other non-sequiturs recorded by human beings -- in religious texts ( what was the "temple" and what was the real intention behind the "most holy"--the temple of Solomon...David, etc) can we really consider all of these artifacts as simply the inexplicable imagination of the ancients.

Most anomalous phenomena (aerial or otherwise) might be sourced in human imagination...but we see examples of human imagination driven by external sources that have real technical/logical/physical existence...existence that can only be answered by looking into the same general "principles" and "laws" that govern our shared universe of existence. We can throw a great deal of cases into the psychosocial and mythological bin (i.e. purely human fabrication)...but we have an actual CASE where such explanations do not hold for ALL phenomena...and that is the sacred artifact above...which for those who built it is as incomprehensible as the Ark of the Covenant was for the Hebrews.

Thus you find examples which may fall into the reality of physical existence and yet remain incomprehensible to those who continue to study the artifact (traces...stories...cases)...

I will now step off my soap box and leave you with one final "truth"

Human's feelings about the utility of hypotheses do not ultimately determine a fully developed theory. Those who understand the end result will filter out the noise...those who don't will ask "but look at ALL the cases...surely they cannot be explained by this ONE theory."

Well...a light beam that scatters off a million mirrors is still one light beam....so you must find the reflectors and triangulate the source (of the phenomenon)...multiple causes lead to multiple events lead to multiple hypotheses...you cannot lump all of the paranormal into one BUCKET....as if you could make a turducken out of all of the species of life on this planet and present it to another (sentient beings on another planet)...

Stellar nucleosynthesis guarantees the same elements over vast spaces in our own galaxy and billions beyond-- Carbon-Nitrogen-Oxygen (plus the source Hydrogen, Helium...) ...these very processes which repeat themselves ad nauseam give us a clue to the uniformity of replicators (DNA) that may exist on many other worlds...to say that our "projection" of such mechanisms to other worlds (bilateral symmetry....DNA based replicators) is unique to our world only is tantamount to the geocentrism of old...a pretentious belief that such mechanisms must be solely unique to our own solar system and biosphere...to dismiss such extensions is to fall into contradiction.
 
I've gotta remember to check back earlier in the week for who your guest(s) will be. I would have liked to have asked this guy three or four questions.
As always, will be listening to the podcast on iTunes on Sunday.
 
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