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The Bible and Flying Saucers
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.
- GenresReligion
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 3, 1974
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66 people want to read
About the author
Barry Downing
7 books3 followersPresbyterian minister. He is most well known for his book The Bible and Flying Saucers in 1968, which claims UFO phenomena are responsible for many of the events in the Bible.
Downing is also an ancient astronaut proponent and has appeared on "Ancient Aliens"
Downing is also an ancient astronaut proponent and has appeared on "Ancient Aliens"
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 3, 2022
wake up sheeple
February 16, 2014
An American friend of mine recommended this book to me when I was researching for a comedy show on the subject of UFOs. The author was her family minister in the small town where she was a child in upstate NY.
It is very well researched in terms of the content of the Bible. However, anything placed over and above that surely has to be speculation. As with all texts which use the Bible as a factual source, it's relying on faith that the Bible is accurate. It really can't be accurate to the extent that Downing relies on its accuracy. When he discusses, as he does often, the finer meanings of the words used in passages, he misses a key fact. That fact is that there is often no accurate translation of one word to another. Furthermore, you're looking at up to 3,000 years of translation, retranslation and changes in the meaning of language. No language is static.
Downing's a man of blind faith and belief. Any amateur philosopher will tell you what's wrong with this argument: God is perfect, perfection exists, therefore God exists. The problem is that God's existence is state in the first three words. I feel that the whole UFO thing is presupposed to exist from the start.
Having said all that, it's a fun read. And as an idea of parody it would be a really fun idea to think it was all a wheeze by aliens.
It is very well researched in terms of the content of the Bible. However, anything placed over and above that surely has to be speculation. As with all texts which use the Bible as a factual source, it's relying on faith that the Bible is accurate. It really can't be accurate to the extent that Downing relies on its accuracy. When he discusses, as he does often, the finer meanings of the words used in passages, he misses a key fact. That fact is that there is often no accurate translation of one word to another. Furthermore, you're looking at up to 3,000 years of translation, retranslation and changes in the meaning of language. No language is static.
Downing's a man of blind faith and belief. Any amateur philosopher will tell you what's wrong with this argument: God is perfect, perfection exists, therefore God exists. The problem is that God's existence is state in the first three words. I feel that the whole UFO thing is presupposed to exist from the start.
Having said all that, it's a fun read. And as an idea of parody it would be a really fun idea to think it was all a wheeze by aliens.
May 3, 2013
An interesting book which puts forward some compelling ideas and theories regarding the connection between biblical events and the flying saucer mystery. It's worth reading, though the content seems a little dated.
December 15, 2014
I appreciate Downing's willingness to be humble in his certainty and bold in his speculation. A good read for someone interested in the relation between biblical theology and cosmology--be prepared for the UFO/angelic bridge between the two.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews