Michael S. Heiser's Blog, page 21
February 7, 2018
5 Spots Open for May Israel Tour
I had blogged a few days ago about the availability on the upcoming (May 6-16) Israel tour. We are down to 5 openings left.
If you are interested in going to Israel with me (and Derek and Sharon Gilbert), follow this link. Maybe it will help to note that Trey is going, too! There is a brief window of opportunity.
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PEERANORMAL Episode 14: The Piri Reis Map
Discovered in 1929, the Piri Reis map, dated to 1513, was virtually unknown except by those who may have seen it displayed in its current home, the Topkapi Palace Museum in Instanbul. That all changed when Erich von Däniken made it part of his ancient astronaut theory in the 1960s. Other ancient aliens theorists have followed suit, as well as alternative historians such as Graham Hancock who, following the work of Charles Hapgood (Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings, 1966), theorized the map provided evidence of a long-lost advanced civilization.
In this episode of PEERANORMAL our hosts discuss the scholarly study of the Piri Reis map, which is well known to experts in cartography and 16th century seafaring. Is it evidence of lost knowledge from a forgotten civilization? Ancient aliens?
The episode is now live.
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Ministry Update for Beth – Hesed Place
Many of you will recall our Naked Bible Podcast interviews with Fern and Audrey and, on two occasions, Beth. They minister to trauma survivors (what the psychology field calls survivors of trauma-based mind control and ritual abuse). Back in episode 186 of the Naked Bible Podcast we had an update with Fern and Audrey about the launch of their own non-profit ministry (Discovering MErcy). I’m happy to announce that Beth has launched the same sort of ministry: Hesed Place. There is also a Facebook Page for Hesed Place.
(NOTE: At the time of this writing, Hesed Place is still pending IRS approval as a tax-exempt entity. I’ll post an update when that occurs).
From the “About” page on the Hesed Place website:
Hesed Place exists because of a passion to come alongside survivors of severe trauma throughout all stages of the healing journey. It takes courage for a survivor to step out, take a chance, make changes, dare to trust, and believe things could possibly be different.
Hesed Place hopes to provide the necessary support and opportunities to make the survivor’s effort more successful. We strive to do what we can to decrease the likelihood of logistical barriers getting in the way.
Our goal is to provide referral-based, in-network services for all aspects of need. This approach provides for each survivor consistent trauma-informed support across disciplines. Whether one is just beginning the process of life-changing decisions or is farther along in the process, our hope is to be able to assist in the continuum of progression toward living a full, independent life.
Now that both of these ministries are formed, I will be closing the Fern and Audrey Go Fund Me at the end of this month. I’ll announce that here when it’s closed.
Please give directly to either ministry to help survivors! For what it is I’m talking about (and how it is not deliverance ministry), I recommend listening to Naked Bible Podcast episodes 68 and 149.
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February 3, 2018
Paracas Skull Groundhog Day
This past Friday, Feb 2, Lynn Marzulli’s second round on Paracas skull DNA was revealed to a pay-per-view audience. The Groundhog Day timing was appropriate. We’ve seen this before.
I’d love to say “good job; thanks for doing the hard work on this.” But I can’t. This isn’t doing the hard work. It’s pretending to have experts, doing sloppy work, and steering an audience toward a pre-determined conclusion. It’s a bad testimony to the unbelieving world. Someone has to say it.
For the record (again), these skulls have nothing to do with nephilim and are nothing but human. They are well known and have been thoroughly researched. But believers won’t care. The veracity of the Bible does not depend on such academic chicanery. And that’s the problem. For outsiders looking in, this will be another conformation in how Christians not only don’t think well, but just aren’t interested in thinking well. It’s another reinforcement of the myth that faith and reason are incompatible, and that pre-determined conclusions can be considered honest when it comes to the Bible. Sorry, but the ends don’t justify the means when it comes to presenting Scripture and representing Jesus.
If you think I’m being harsh, read Jason Colavito’s summary of the event. It will tell you how thinking people are processing this sort of sideshow. So far as I know, Jason is not a Christian. With enough exposure to stuff like this, I can’t blame him for never wanting to be one. And he won’t be alone in that by a long stretch. My apologies to Jason and other serious people who may have little interest in the gospel, and who will have even less interest now. I wish I could instead introduce them to some of the hundreds of scientists and scholars I personally know with sterling academic reputations and long histories publishing under peer review who are serious (not “name only”) Christians. Some of them leading experts in fields relevant to DNA research. In other words, they’re exactly the sort of people Marzulli doesn’t want involved and could never convince to endorse his “research.” (Look at Jason’s description of Marzulli’s team). All I can do is apologize and wish that, at some point, you’ll be exposed to serious people who have thought long and hard about the questions that represent obstacles to faith in the minds and hearts of so many, and who have embraced the gospel on the other side of that journey. I hope the same for Marzulli’s audience.
I’ve blogged before about the problems in Marzulli’s first round of DNA testing. Specific examples from someone who actually does that sort of thing can be found here. It’s a long post, but has a lot of detail. It details the sampling and testing problems that researchers like Colavito presume (with good reason) were not addressed by the second round of testing.
Second time around. Groundhog Day. Maybe it’s God’s way of injecting some humor into this. It’s not working, Lord.
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Naked Bible Podcast, Unseen Realm, Supernatural, Bible Unfiltered Around the World
If you haven’t listened to the 200th episode of the Naked Bible Podcast yet, you should. We talk to folks in three places (Middle East, Africa, Albania) about how Mike’s content has had an impact and is being used to help others learn more about Scripture. Have a listen!
Here’s a picture from a fourth location (someone not in the podcast). I usually reserve these for the newsletter (please subscribe – it’s free), but thought I’d post one.
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February 2, 2018
UFO Descriptions Evolve Over Time With Technological Change
That’s one good reason to conclude we aren’t dealing with alien visitors. Think about it. If aliens were really visiting the planet during the last 100 years, would their craft really evolve from propeller-powered dirigibles to anti-gravity? Wouldn’t they have had the latter already? You can read a short essay about how UFO reports follow the technological trends at Smithsonian.com:
How UFO Reports Change With the Technology of the Times
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February 1, 2018
Mike at Grace Church Bellingham: Thinking Like an Israelite: Week 1: Impurity and Sin
In the event that our livestream works for tonight’s talk, I thought I’d post my slides as a PDF file for any who want to watch the stream. Even if the stream doesn’t work, you still have the slides:
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January 31, 2018
Gods of the Biblical World
Welcome! This website was constructed to supply resources for an undergraduate class at Wofford College, called “Gods of the Biblical World: Polytheism, Magic, and Israelite Religion.” But you’re invited to look around even if you’re just interested in the topic!
The idea is to bring together materials, site names, and sources relating to the religion and archaeology of ancient Israel and Judah’s neighbors in the first millennium BCE: the Arameans, Phoenicians, Philistines, Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites.
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Free PDF Books on Ancient Sumerians, Akkadians, Etc.
Courtesy of the University of Chicago. Here are some titles (but follow that link):
Gelb, The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character
Gelb, A Study of Writing
Frankfort, Jacobsen, Wilson, The Intellectual Adventure of Ancient Man: An Essay on Speculative Thought in the Ancient Near East
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The State of the Surveillance State: 2018: UK Edition
Big Brother watch posted this link to the state of citizen surveillance in the UK: Annual Report for 2016/17. A nice look at the future everywhere in the West.
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