It is difficult to take the booklet, Amazing Mysteries of the Bible, seriously when it says in the “Introduction” that it hopes these stories might “increase your faith in God, not your skepticism” (3) when: 1) there are so many allusions in the booklet to flying saucers; 2) miracles almost always need to have a natural explanation; and 3) the “scholars” referenced (but not named) are all modernists.
The Bible and Flying Saucers
Already introduced was the subject of UFOs, which the writer, Ed Manzi, seems to have on his brain. Not only did the second “amazing” Bible story have them; so do a few others of the 25 he reviews. The sixth title in the booklet is: “Mystery of the 12th Planet,” and it begins with the absurd question: “Are We The Sons And Daughters Of Space Beings?” (15). Once again, some Bible “scholar” had written a book based on “the original Hebrew version of the Old Testament” and some translations of the Sumerian.
This statement itself brings to mind some interesting questions. Are all of the English versions (KJV, etc.) based on poor copies? How did this “scholar” get the original version? Were no other scholars interested in the original? Hmm. How accurate is the Sumerian translation? When was it done? What is the earliest copy we have of it? In fact, how many Sumerian manuscripts are there?
All that aside, however, we are faced with “the sons of the deities” (no one translates this phrase this way) described in Genesis who were “cast down” to earth at some point before the Flood. Manzi does not say what Scripture this is, but he must be referring to Genesis 6:2, where we read “the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful….” Nothing is said about anyone being cast down from another planet or from heaven.
Yet the “scholar” who produced this book theorizes that these beings, Nefilim, came to earth in search of minerals, particularly gold (15, 17). They set up bases at major rivers, and through the evolutionary process somehow created mankind. Anyone who thinks this “scholar” has been smoking something strange has not heard half of his bizarre theory yet. The Hebrew word, Nephilim (nobody spells it with an f) is found twice in the Bible (Gen. 6:4; Num. 13:33). Some linguists think it means “fallen,” but Gesenius says of the Hebrew word [5303]: “I prefer with the Hebrew interpreters…falling on, attacking…” (556). He also mentions that those who thought the angels intermarried with human beings (the usual false teaching of this text) considered these men fallen (not from a 12th planet) but in the sense of rebels or apostates.
In the first place, what kind of theory is it that discounts Genesis 1-2? The text clearly says that God created Adam from the dust and Eve from one of his ribs. No theory of evolution fits these facts—whether it involves apes or aliens. Man did not evolve, period. The “sons of God” (not deities) refers to the godly seed line that developed through Seth; the “daughters of men” are those who descended from Cain and the other offspring of Eve, “the mother of all living.” Their intermarriages led to the contamination of all mankind, so that God determined to destroy it. Mighty men resulted from the mixing of the gene pools, which also occurred after the Flood (Num. 13:33)—unless the Nephilim came back for more gold (just kidding).
It would take too long to go into all the other fantasies about the number 12 and the alleged 12th planet, but one misstatement needs to be corrected. Manzi alleges that “120 years is referred to as the lifespan granted mankind” (16). What an odd deduction, considering that men were living into the 900s. Man’s days being 120 years (Gen. 6:3) indicates the time from this pronouncement until the Flood comes upon the earth.
One reads seven more sections, in hopes that the flying saucer theology has come to an end, but it has only been delayed until “Ezekiel and Strange Beings.” This time it’s a NASA rocket engineer who has written a book. Actually, the description in Ezekiel does lend itself to UFO-type thinking, but one cannot observe one or two verses without considering the entire context.
Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself, and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire. Also from within it came the likeness of four living creatures (Ezek. 1:4-5a).
One can almost hear those famous five notes in the background; however, not one verse mentions Ezekiel sculpting mashed potatoes (Close Encounters of the Third Kind). Manzi mentions that the four living creatures had “four wings and a pair of human hands” (36), but for some reason he omitted that each creature had four faces. What follows in the way of an explanation is very fanciful, but why would someone in a flying saucer be interested in having the nation of Israel repent? Despite the vivid descriptions provided in Ezekiel 1, the book is written to God’s people with messages relevant to their time and circumstance.
The theory behind the NASA engineer’s book is that extra-terrestrials “were studying humans” and trying to exercise an “intellectual influence on the development of human civilization” (37). If so, they failed. Ezekiel’s generation saw the city of Jerusalem destroyed (586) and then spent 50 additional years in captivity. The only lesson they learned was that disobedience to God merits punishment. Since that time, however, that lesson has never been passed down to succeeding generations in such a way that mankind ever profits from it. Even though it has been clearly recorded, mankind has never generated enough intelligence to profit from it.
Although the next Bible “mystery” concerns Elijah’s ascension into heaven, apparently Manzi had not read any “scholar’s” book concerning that event involving a spacecraft. But the succeeding story more than makes up for it: “The Manna-Machine.” It begins: “The Bible tells us that for 40 years, 600 families, guided by Moses, roamed the wilderness” (40). 600? We read in Exodus 12:37 that there were “six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children.” One wonders what version Manzi uses.
But guess what. This time he has found a book written by two scholars, who must have tripped out together. They concluded that “manna could have been a form of algae, cultured in a machine and given to the Jews by spacemen” (40). That the Keebler elves did it would make more sense. The details of the operation are grotesque. Somehow, as in a dream (or nightmare), this machine becomes the ark of the covenant, from which the Philistines received radiation poisoning (42). “Hello, earth calling.”
Just when one is confident that nothing could possibly get any more bizarre, the next title is: “The Lost Tribes From Outer Space: Fact or Fiction?” Can we guess before reading these three pages? This theory came from a French scholar, who believes that “the Jews have been persecuted throughout history because, as God’s chosen people they are not from this planet…” (43). Jesus said that His apostles were not of this world; who knows when we might expect a book from a scholar that discusses the various planets the apostles came from?
According to this theory Adam was just the first Jew that God created; more brutish beings already lived on the planet. With yet another interpretation of Genesis 6:3, this “scholar” said that God’s complaint was that his people bred with the more “primitive stock,” which lowered their lifespans. The Flood was an effort to purge their genes.
The theory continues that Jesus wanted to end the segregation between Jew and Gentile, which was against God’s wishes. What? Yes, and He wanted to rebuild the Tower of Babel so that the Gentiles could ascend “into the kingdom of Heaven when God returned one day in spaceships to take the Jews safely to another land” (45). However, He failed.
Besides just being “far out,” this French guy has some specific lessons that go with his theory. First is that it is wrong to be anti-Semitic—not just because prejudice is wrong and condemned in the Scriptures—but because it will precipitate the end of the world. Second, persisting in the space program will have the same result because God fears that the human race is a potential competitor for “conquering the universe” (45). These types of theories are starting to make Alice’s adventures seem normal. One could see how all of the manna machines, spacecraft, and aliens that are allegedly referenced in the Bible would increase a person’s faith. Undoubtedly, everyone is already feeling much stronger.
Do Miracles Need Natural Explanations?
Not every “amazing story” is about UFOs; it just seems like it. Some just mention something mysterious and then comment that we have no solutions, which is true, such as the section on the Queen of Sheba (10-11). For certain topics, however, the author feels a need to explain miracles in natural terms. This is obvious from just the title of: “The Parting of the Red Sea: What Caused It?”
The Biblical description of what occurred there is presented, and that should answer the question: The Lord parted it (Ex. 14:21). Apparently, this explanation is insufficient for Manzi, who asks: “What caused the Red Sea to part?” A judge would rule, “Already asked and answered,” but the author suggests a storm did it or a volcanic eruption or (wait for it) a UFO. He does acknowledge that God was responsible—but that we do not know how He did it.
Why does God need a way to do it? God is all-powerful. The psalmist describes the creation of the universe rather succinctly: “For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast” (Ps. 33:9). He could have said, “Part!” and the waters would have parted. He could have said, “Waters, stand up!” and they would have. As it happens, He did use a way to accomplish this particular miracle—the east wind, which blew back the waters all night long and made the land dry. So why do we need another mechanism (such as a volcanic eruption or a UFO) to further assist the mechanism already described? How does this attitude build up someone’s faith?
The author then says: “The rest [these alternate explanations, GWS) is left to the mystery of faith” (50). Faith is neither mystical nor mysterious. Faith, in the Bible, is based upon evidence. God is to be believed because of the proof He provides. God gave Pharaoh ten good reasons to believe what He said, and if he had not allowed his logic to be overridden by emotion, he would have had the good sense not to send his troops into the midst of the sea after the Israelites.
The last of the 25 “amazing mysteries” is titled, “The Enduring Enigma of the Gospels.” Manzi’s disposition toward the Scriptures is reflected in this sentence: “Few scholars now believe that all four books came directly from Jesus’ followers” (64). He theorizes that the stories of Jesus “were edited orally and rewritten as they were passed from believer to believer” (64). Why, how clever “the scholars” are to have arrived at such a “Let’s leave God out of the process” conclusion. In order to reach this conclusion, a person need only ignore all of the passages that claim inspiration. How shrewd is that?
Jesus promised Matthew and John (along with the other apostles) that the Holy Spirit would bring to their memories all that Jesus had taught them (John 14:25-26). Others could also speak and write by inspiration. John Mark accompanied Paul and Barnabas for a time; Luke also traveled with Paul later on. Both could have received a spiritual gift from Paul that included accurately writing of the events of Jesus’ life. None of these men spoke or wrote information that was changed by others. The “scholars” that Manzi refers to are modernists who do not believe in inspiration in the first place; therefore, they always seek other explanations to undermine the Truth.
This posture is further seen in the suggestion that Matthew may have copied Luke or vice versa. He then wonders if Matthew, Mark, and Luke could have copied from another document (or list of sayings) that has now been lost. Modernists refer to it as Q. “A majority of scholars now believe there must have been a list, but many uncertainties exist, and the debate is complex” (64). These are the final words of the booklet; can anyone see how this booklet would build up anyone’s faith (despite its lame claim to this goal)? The debate is not complex at all. Either the New Testament is inspired, or it is not. It says that it is—end of discussion!
More on “The Scholars”
Throughout the pages of this error-ridden booklet, the author refers to the scholars. The only men he ever names are those who have written books on UFOs. Otherwise, he does not list a single individual that he considers a scholar. How convenient! If some of them were named, we might know how far out and flakey they are on other matters. The reader may conclude that everyone is in agreement with these views, but few major commentaries would agree with any of the wild interpretations that are touted as “scholarly.”
After doing a credible job at summarizing the book of Esther, Manzi says, “the scholars stress that it is highly unlikely, looking at the tradition of the times, that a Persian king would even consider a marriage to a woman of unknown lineage” (14). Really? The word unlikely suggests the “scholars” cannot disprove what the Bible teaches. Do they have some other notion of the origin of the Feast of Purim? How interesting if the Jews began observing a feast of deliverance but had not been delivered! And Jesus did not bother to inform the Jews of this error? How pathetic the “scholars” can often be!
After summarizing the life of Samson, Manzi writes: “The incredible human feats of strength…should not be taken literally” (30). What? On what basis should his strength not be taken literally? This is as groundless a statement as those that try to turn the rich man and Lazarus into a parable. Neither is told as a parable, and neither can be representative of anything else. This is just another wild, reckless assertion.
In “The Perplexing Death of Abel,” Manzi writes: “Many scholars believe that the story of Cain and Abel reveals tension between the way of life of farmers and semi-nomadic shepherds” (33-34). Apparently, scholars will believe anything. Manzi and “the scholars” (maybe the top ones or some lower down) miss the point entirely in this story of two individuals. They do not see how it relates to blood (foreshadowing Christ) and that it was offered by faith (Rom. 10:17; Heb 11:4; 12:24).
The reader also faces this malevolent assessment: “Top Bible scholars now know that Elijah stories were written down in the form in which we read them 200 years after his lifetime…” (38). Now this statement by itself is not the problem. After all, Moses wrote of Adam and Eve 2,500 years after the creation. But since he was told by God what to write, it matters little when it was actually recorded. The problem is the next sentence which avers that the “stories were shaped, the scholars believe, by generations of retelling in Israel and Judah” (38-39). Apparently, the top scholars have never read 2 Timothy 3:16-17, which answers their frivolous quibbles:
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.