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Miracles of the Gods: A Hard Look at the Supernatural
Book by Daniken, Erich von
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1974
About the author
Erich von Däniken
329 books902 followersGreek: Έριχ φον Νταίνικεν
Erich Anton Paul von Däniken (1935–2026) was a Swiss author of several pseudoscientific books which made claims about extraterrestrial influences on early human culture, including the best-selling Chariots of the Gods?, published in 1968. Däniken was one of the main figures responsible for popularizing the "paleo-contact" and ancient astronauts hypotheses.
The ideas put forth in his books are rejected by virtually all scientists and academics, who categorize his work as pseudohistory, pseudoarchaeology, and pseudoscience. Early in his career, he was convicted and served time for several counts of fraud or embezzlement, and wrote one of his books in prison.
Erich Anton Paul von Däniken (1935–2026) was a Swiss author of several pseudoscientific books which made claims about extraterrestrial influences on early human culture, including the best-selling Chariots of the Gods?, published in 1968. Däniken was one of the main figures responsible for popularizing the "paleo-contact" and ancient astronauts hypotheses.
The ideas put forth in his books are rejected by virtually all scientists and academics, who categorize his work as pseudohistory, pseudoarchaeology, and pseudoscience. Early in his career, he was convicted and served time for several counts of fraud or embezzlement, and wrote one of his books in prison.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 29, 2012
The best thing about this book is its analysis of the Christian myth. That is, of Christianity as a mythical movement.
April 18, 2011
I like it. In this book Daniken compiled stories about miracles that happen through the centuries. Most of them are about appearances of Virgin Mary. Interesting.
April 21, 2020
این کتاب از چهار فصل تشکیل شده که عبارتند از:
۱: آیا الهامات وجود دارند؟
۲: واقعا کتاب مقدس از زبان کیست؟
۳: وقتی معجزهها رخ میدهند.
۴: الهامات وجود دارند، نظر من
فون دنیکن خیلی قشنگ کلیسا و مذهب و به چالش میکشه با نظریات علمیاش و همین باعث شده جزو نویسندههای محبوب من باشه.
به قول مترلینگ که گفته: بزرگی خدای هر کس به اندازه قدرت تفکر اوست...
۱: آیا الهامات وجود دارند؟
۲: واقعا کتاب مقدس از زبان کیست؟
۳: وقتی معجزهها رخ میدهند.
۴: الهامات وجود دارند، نظر من
فون دنیکن خیلی قشنگ کلیسا و مذهب و به چالش میکشه با نظریات علمیاش و همین باعث شده جزو نویسندههای محبوب من باشه.
به قول مترلینگ که گفته: بزرگی خدای هر کس به اندازه قدرت تفکر اوست...
December 21, 2022
Laughable.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 21, 2023
VON DÄNIKEN’S FIFTH BOOK, ATTACKING TRADITIONAL RELIGIONS
Erich von Däniken wrote in the introductory section of this 1974 book, “To establish my hypothesis of the visit of extraterrestrial beings to our globe I drew a great deal of information from mythology. This store of knowledge, from the old chroniclers is fascinating because it preserved for mankind FACTS with implications whose meaning and significance the writer could not recognize in his time. So far contacts between terrestrial and extraterrestrial beings are concerned, mythology is a treasure trove of more than a little importance.”
He adds in the Foreword, “This is a book I had to write. It is from the heart…. While I was following the trail of my astronaut gods through the five continents, I made a point of visiting every visionary shrine I could. How alike they all were! It became increasingly clear to me that the phenomenon of visions is something that concerns us all, so I decided that it was time to take a closer look at them, and to consider whether or not the astronaut gods have had a part to play in visions and miracles. What are the people who seem to be predisposed to having visions really like? Are they psychologically unbalanced religious fanatics? Are their ‘miracles’ simply an attempt to ingratiate themselves with the Christian churches (especially the Roman Catholic Church) that accept their wonders as genuine? Did the dogmas of the Catholic Church… originate buy divine inspiration?... Are the multifarious miracles which undoubtedly happen at places of pilgrimage delusions or self-delusions? Is there a broad basis of medical and scientific fact behind these miracles which makes them credible and explicable?... I think I can say safely that this is the first time a compendium such as this has been put together… I hope that in the future competent scholars, and ecclesiastical courts, too, will accept my research into the cause and effect of the vast and complicated field of miracles and visions to rectify frankly and honestly the false conceptions that are still popular.”
He wrote in the first chapter, “I went on pursuing my astronaut gods, but I could not forget the deep impression Lourdes had made on me. I collected ‘official’ publications about visions, the sort that are offered for sale at the pilgrimage shrines which always spring up wherever have been seen. In EVERY case and in EVERY place, individual visionaries or small groups of visionaries have inspired an unending sequence of visits from believers, whether the Church has already recognized the miracle, forbidden it, or merely tolerated it in silence… The human longing to believe in miracles is always stronger than any prohibition,” (Pg. 2)
He clarifies, “Belonging as I do to the Christian West, brought up in the Roman Catholic doctrine of deliverance and salvation, knowing that this book will be read mainly by readers from the Western world, I am primarily concerned with Christian visions. But it is also true… that similar data giving rise to similar questions could be reported from Asiatic, African, Indian, and South American regions.” (Pg. 12)
He states, “The Book of Morrmon, which originated from these visions, contains such a wealth of historical events, with facts, names, and geographical data, that it could not have formed part of the knowledge of a seventeen-year-old boy. As with all visions, there was ‘something’ in Joseph Smith’s. This ‘something’ needs investigating. It was definitely not a demonstration by the powers of hell, because the results were positive.” (Pg. 41)
He states, “The layman has a right to be liberated from erroneous Chirstian dogmas that have long since been reinterpreted; he can, since it happens in the name of the Lord, demand that he be told the truth in an intelligible way in clear, straightforward language.” (Pg. 51)
He asserts, “Jesus came into the world as the illegitimate child of the virgin Mary in an unknown place. Mary was poor, but wanted the boy to have a good education… Mary took her child to the monastery school on the Dead Sea. To the Essenes … the fraternization of the Temple Jews with the occupiers [Romans was] a disgrace… Jesus was a teachable pupil in the desert; he learned the methods of mass psychology from the preacher John. At the age of thirty Jesus left the Essene community and started going around the country as a preacher.” (Pg. 79) Later, he adds, “Jesus was a sensitive, learned man, who was skilled in medicine and a talented orator, besides having parapsychological abilities…" (Pg. 83)
Later, he adds, “The most important events in Jesus’ life … were undoubtedly the resurrection and the ascent into heaven… If Jesus had ascended into heaven in full view of everybody, or at least in the circle of his disciples, the news would have spread through the streets of Jerusalem like a forest fire on the very same day, for the people had a lively interest in the trial and crucifixion. But not a single Roman or Jewish historian noted down a single word about these earthshaking events! The evangelists show only … [that] they were not eyewitnesses.” (Pg. 98)
He observes, “The miracle business is flourishing; it has been for 125 years. In the countless shops there are crucifixes of every conceivable kind, and the state of the Madonna is mass-produced in all sizes, for the office and the front garden. Nor are the rosaries the same for all classes: There are expensive models for the rich and cheaper ones for the less well-off. Which are likely to be more effective is beyond me.” (Pg. 116)
He states, “Apparently Padre Pio possessed all the faculties that science now sums up under the heading of ‘parapsychological phenomena.’ He was a visionary and prophet, telekinetist and telepathist, wonderworker and long-distance healer all in one.” (Pg. 132)
He argues, “From his first vague thoughts, the Christian’s presumptuous ‘faith’ forces him to believe that … special mercies are reserved for him, because the heaven of the blessed is assured him in return for behavior pleasing to God… on top of all this, there is an infallible judge of good and bad, namely the Pope, governing his earthly (Catholic) existence. This doctrinaire upbringing goes hand in glove with the suggestive visual infiltration of religious doctrines…” (Pg. 142)
He explains, “When I am urged to show more respect for religions, I can assure people with conviction and from the heart that I respect EVERY religion which ALSO respects its followers But where the ignorance of church members is despised and shamelessly exploited, where hocus pocus goes on with miracles that are not miracles, where jingling coins are struck from manipulated faith, where religions coerce adherents in this world by threats of punishment in the world to come, in all such cases I cannot respect religions whatever their nature.” (Pg. 168)
He outlines, “Visions are real, they do exist. Visions arise in intelligent brains. Every intelligent brain has the prerequisites for creating visions. The impulse for producing visions is of extraterrestrial origin. RELIGIOUS visions originate through an idea that the visionary has within him and is suggested by his religious environment. Do these statements of mine conceal a mass of contradictions? It might appear so at first sight. But in order to provide proof for my thesis, I must build my theory.” (Pg. 169)
He concludes, “Genuine visions have been vitally concerned in opening up the consciousness of mankind… But thank heaven founders of religions and adepts were not the only recipients of visions. There are also the great brains who got their ideas from contacts with extraterrestrial beings…. They are the chosen few, those ripe for contact, who are able to convert extraterrestrial impulses into thought molecules…. Religions, especially their founders, use visions like ‘crumbs which fall from the master’s table.’ The visions that are useless from the religious point of view, the visions and illuminations which great men get from the extraterrestrials, are the ones which bring progress. They are the ones I believe in.” (Pg. 238)
This book gives a clear exposition of von Däniken’s ideas about religion.
Erich von Däniken wrote in the introductory section of this 1974 book, “To establish my hypothesis of the visit of extraterrestrial beings to our globe I drew a great deal of information from mythology. This store of knowledge, from the old chroniclers is fascinating because it preserved for mankind FACTS with implications whose meaning and significance the writer could not recognize in his time. So far contacts between terrestrial and extraterrestrial beings are concerned, mythology is a treasure trove of more than a little importance.”
He adds in the Foreword, “This is a book I had to write. It is from the heart…. While I was following the trail of my astronaut gods through the five continents, I made a point of visiting every visionary shrine I could. How alike they all were! It became increasingly clear to me that the phenomenon of visions is something that concerns us all, so I decided that it was time to take a closer look at them, and to consider whether or not the astronaut gods have had a part to play in visions and miracles. What are the people who seem to be predisposed to having visions really like? Are they psychologically unbalanced religious fanatics? Are their ‘miracles’ simply an attempt to ingratiate themselves with the Christian churches (especially the Roman Catholic Church) that accept their wonders as genuine? Did the dogmas of the Catholic Church… originate buy divine inspiration?... Are the multifarious miracles which undoubtedly happen at places of pilgrimage delusions or self-delusions? Is there a broad basis of medical and scientific fact behind these miracles which makes them credible and explicable?... I think I can say safely that this is the first time a compendium such as this has been put together… I hope that in the future competent scholars, and ecclesiastical courts, too, will accept my research into the cause and effect of the vast and complicated field of miracles and visions to rectify frankly and honestly the false conceptions that are still popular.”
He wrote in the first chapter, “I went on pursuing my astronaut gods, but I could not forget the deep impression Lourdes had made on me. I collected ‘official’ publications about visions, the sort that are offered for sale at the pilgrimage shrines which always spring up wherever have been seen. In EVERY case and in EVERY place, individual visionaries or small groups of visionaries have inspired an unending sequence of visits from believers, whether the Church has already recognized the miracle, forbidden it, or merely tolerated it in silence… The human longing to believe in miracles is always stronger than any prohibition,” (Pg. 2)
He clarifies, “Belonging as I do to the Christian West, brought up in the Roman Catholic doctrine of deliverance and salvation, knowing that this book will be read mainly by readers from the Western world, I am primarily concerned with Christian visions. But it is also true… that similar data giving rise to similar questions could be reported from Asiatic, African, Indian, and South American regions.” (Pg. 12)
He states, “The Book of Morrmon, which originated from these visions, contains such a wealth of historical events, with facts, names, and geographical data, that it could not have formed part of the knowledge of a seventeen-year-old boy. As with all visions, there was ‘something’ in Joseph Smith’s. This ‘something’ needs investigating. It was definitely not a demonstration by the powers of hell, because the results were positive.” (Pg. 41)
He states, “The layman has a right to be liberated from erroneous Chirstian dogmas that have long since been reinterpreted; he can, since it happens in the name of the Lord, demand that he be told the truth in an intelligible way in clear, straightforward language.” (Pg. 51)
He asserts, “Jesus came into the world as the illegitimate child of the virgin Mary in an unknown place. Mary was poor, but wanted the boy to have a good education… Mary took her child to the monastery school on the Dead Sea. To the Essenes … the fraternization of the Temple Jews with the occupiers [Romans was] a disgrace… Jesus was a teachable pupil in the desert; he learned the methods of mass psychology from the preacher John. At the age of thirty Jesus left the Essene community and started going around the country as a preacher.” (Pg. 79) Later, he adds, “Jesus was a sensitive, learned man, who was skilled in medicine and a talented orator, besides having parapsychological abilities…" (Pg. 83)
Later, he adds, “The most important events in Jesus’ life … were undoubtedly the resurrection and the ascent into heaven… If Jesus had ascended into heaven in full view of everybody, or at least in the circle of his disciples, the news would have spread through the streets of Jerusalem like a forest fire on the very same day, for the people had a lively interest in the trial and crucifixion. But not a single Roman or Jewish historian noted down a single word about these earthshaking events! The evangelists show only … [that] they were not eyewitnesses.” (Pg. 98)
He observes, “The miracle business is flourishing; it has been for 125 years. In the countless shops there are crucifixes of every conceivable kind, and the state of the Madonna is mass-produced in all sizes, for the office and the front garden. Nor are the rosaries the same for all classes: There are expensive models for the rich and cheaper ones for the less well-off. Which are likely to be more effective is beyond me.” (Pg. 116)
He states, “Apparently Padre Pio possessed all the faculties that science now sums up under the heading of ‘parapsychological phenomena.’ He was a visionary and prophet, telekinetist and telepathist, wonderworker and long-distance healer all in one.” (Pg. 132)
He argues, “From his first vague thoughts, the Christian’s presumptuous ‘faith’ forces him to believe that … special mercies are reserved for him, because the heaven of the blessed is assured him in return for behavior pleasing to God… on top of all this, there is an infallible judge of good and bad, namely the Pope, governing his earthly (Catholic) existence. This doctrinaire upbringing goes hand in glove with the suggestive visual infiltration of religious doctrines…” (Pg. 142)
He explains, “When I am urged to show more respect for religions, I can assure people with conviction and from the heart that I respect EVERY religion which ALSO respects its followers But where the ignorance of church members is despised and shamelessly exploited, where hocus pocus goes on with miracles that are not miracles, where jingling coins are struck from manipulated faith, where religions coerce adherents in this world by threats of punishment in the world to come, in all such cases I cannot respect religions whatever their nature.” (Pg. 168)
He outlines, “Visions are real, they do exist. Visions arise in intelligent brains. Every intelligent brain has the prerequisites for creating visions. The impulse for producing visions is of extraterrestrial origin. RELIGIOUS visions originate through an idea that the visionary has within him and is suggested by his religious environment. Do these statements of mine conceal a mass of contradictions? It might appear so at first sight. But in order to provide proof for my thesis, I must build my theory.” (Pg. 169)
He concludes, “Genuine visions have been vitally concerned in opening up the consciousness of mankind… But thank heaven founders of religions and adepts were not the only recipients of visions. There are also the great brains who got their ideas from contacts with extraterrestrial beings…. They are the chosen few, those ripe for contact, who are able to convert extraterrestrial impulses into thought molecules…. Religions, especially their founders, use visions like ‘crumbs which fall from the master’s table.’ The visions that are useless from the religious point of view, the visions and illuminations which great men get from the extraterrestrials, are the ones which bring progress. They are the ones I believe in.” (Pg. 238)
This book gives a clear exposition of von Däniken’s ideas about religion.
March 28, 2024
This is a usual book for Van Daniken, it is not an archaeological effort, but an outtake on the religious and mystical phenomenon. He does elaborate on an extraterrestrial origin to some of them, and in other cases, he has a more down-to-earth opinion, that some of these events were attributed to man's capacity to see supernatural events in everything. He goes on to evaluate some of them, he goes to Lourdes in France, he does mention Joanne D'Arc's case, and a few others, and he takes into consideration that some cures may be caused by the placebo effect.
It is not a bad book, but there are better ones on the subject, but is well worth the read, though personally, I think it is a bit obsolete, but if you are a Van Daniken fan, then buy it.
It is not a bad book, but there are better ones on the subject, but is well worth the read, though personally, I think it is a bit obsolete, but if you are a Van Daniken fan, then buy it.
February 9, 2026
در مقایسه با سایر کتابهای اریک فون دانیکن (بخصوص ارابه خدایان)، کتاب معجزه خدایان بسیار کسالتبار بود. نام بردن از نمونه الهامات متعدد و ارائه توضیحات تکراری در قالب حدود ۴۵۰ صفحه بسیار خستهکننده بود. شاید میشد این کتاب را به حدود ۱۰۰ صفحه خلاصه کرد و در عین حال چیزی از دست نداد.
در کنار همه اینها، ترجمه و ویراستاری ضعیف نیز آزاردهنده بود.
جا دارد تا نشر چلچله به ویرایش مجدد آثار به چاپ رسیده از اریک فون دانیکن اقدام کند.
در کنار همه اینها، ترجمه و ویراستاری ضعیف نیز آزاردهنده بود.
جا دارد تا نشر چلچله به ویرایش مجدد آثار به چاپ رسیده از اریک فون دانیکن اقدام کند.
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November 27, 2021 Interesting book and read.
Stories nearly all of the Bible and about Christianity and Holly people which dominated book. I got a bit tired of repeating very like stories.
He could not convince me outside of this world energy connections. Lets say enough! I could not get his point. I still learned a lot. Thanks to him.
Stories nearly all of the Bible and about Christianity and Holly people which dominated book. I got a bit tired of repeating very like stories.
He could not convince me outside of this world energy connections. Lets say enough! I could not get his point. I still learned a lot. Thanks to him.
April 21, 2023
Some random bits of information were interesting enough but Däniken’s theories and conclusions about several phenomenon feel way off. There are also some stuff like about medium called ”Eva C” which Däniken presents as totally confirmed case of miraculous manifesting of ectoplasm but reading about her online instantly shows that she was a clear fraud.
February 10, 2026
it explains why you shouldn't blindly believe religion
March 23, 2026
Really enjoyed parts of this and the questions it provoked!
December 21, 2009
Read it ages back,
Although, am a tad too old for such theories, I did learn a great deal about all the supernatural aparitions in different parts of our our world
Although, am a tad too old for such theories, I did learn a great deal about all the supernatural aparitions in different parts of our our world
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews