MARS AND OUR CULTURE – WHY ANCIENT ALIENS IS SO BIG ON TV THESE DAYS

Two years ago I wrote perhaps my bestselling book, LYING WONDERS OF THE RED PLANET.  A lot of folks have read it.  And a lot probably have it sitting on a table or in a book shelf left unread and undisturbed.

Why is that?  Because Lying Wonders was (and still is) a promotional book for Prophecy in the News — a “giveaway” when they sold a yearly subscription to their magazine.  Nevertheless, that doesn’t really speak to its value. In reality, the book is probably the most entertaining book I’ve written.  It is a study in American culture (mostly), but certainly an explanation for why there is so much fascination with EXTRATERRESTRIALS.  The popular TV show, Ancient Aliens, is really the legacy of our culture’s enormous interest in the Red Planet, and the possibility that humanoids exist there – or at least did at one time.  Some scientists, like Richard Hoagland who has written extensively on the planet Mars, believes that before we were earthlings, we were Martians!  There are actually a whole lot of reasons why he thinks that.  It turns out not to be as crazy an idea as it seems at first.  That doesn’t mean it is true… but it is worthy of careful study.  And that is what LYING WONDERS OF THE RED PLANET is all about.  (It’s also an ode to the origination of science fiction for those interested in literature!)

A new friend, Mike Perkins, just wrote a wonderful review of the book.  I want to share it with you here.  I sent the book to Mike because he had been so kind as to write a great review for my latest book (co-authored with Anthony Patch, Josh Peck, and Gonzo Shimura), REVISING REALITY:  A BIBLICAL LOOK INTO THE COSMOS, VOLUME 1.  If the truth be known, I enjoy writing as much about the intersection of science and spirituality as I do the intersection of history and the Bible.  Both of these books are testimony to that effect. (By the way, if you want a free signed copy of Lying Wonders, write a review for me of REVISING REALITY: A BIBLICAL LOOK INTO THE COSMOS or THE NEXT GREAT WAR IN THE MIDDLE EAST and I’ll be glad to sign and send you a copy too!)

Anyway, both books are available at Amazon in paperback or in eBook format.  Likewise, they are available at iBooks and Nook.

If you have a copy but haven’t opened up to read, I hope you might dust it off and give it a read.  I think you will really enjoy it.  You won’t quite think of the issue of ET and Ancient Aliens quite the same way again after you do.

BOOK REVIEW BY MIKE PERKINS, PASTOR, CALVARY CHAPEL IN NEW YORK

Suddenly, I do not feel so all alone.

As a young boy, I have always been fascinated by the stars.  By our solar system and it’s planets, our galaxy. The other un-named galaxies and the ever expanding universe.

As a young man, I gravitated towards the science fiction of the day:  Buck Rodgers, Battle-star Galactica, Space 1999, Star Trek, Star Wars all capturing my imagination and interest.

I followed NASA, as much as any novice might feel inclined, cheering on the moon shots; applauding the space shuttle missions;  celebrating the International Space Station.  Hubble Telescope’s snap shots of the cosmos would always thrill and I would pay attention to news reports of any satellite being launched on a vast array of missions.  And, like most of my contemporaries, I would imagine what other secret mischief our government might be doing “up there”.

But as I got older, my interest would wax cold to nothing more than a willingness to believe that “anything goes” when it comes to what may or may not be out there.  Eventually, life happens and that became my focus of attention, and other than my continuing appreciation for movies like Star Trek or Star Wars, my fascination all but vanished for the lure of the “unknown”.

But that all changed on the day that I became a Christian.

Suddenly, being consumed by a quest for knowledge and wisdom, I’ve spent years studying the Bible and I devoured books of all genres, on a plethora of topics, by a host of authors.  But with each author and every book, I could not help but feel a “dis-connect” as that I would hold everything accountable to the Scripture and could not find symmetry.  Not to say that all these books were bad and that the authors were wrong because, each being judged by it’s own merit, all have valid opinion and conjecture.  However they all left me feeling pandered to; unappreciated or, cognitively unchallenged or theologically at odds. Only once in a while could I find a book that would fire on all cylinders but, most would just play on words and promote their own agenda without addressing the underlying Truth which confronts humanity as a whole: “Is there more to life than this?”

For far too long I have felt alone in my understanding of Scripture and how it pertains to history, geology, theology and, eschatology.  How it addresses

the “grand scheme of things”.  For the fact that I no longer choose to watch TV and excuse myself from the “preconditioning” that it inserts to the public psyche, I have a certain sensitivity not enjoyed by those being still plugged into “the world’s system”.  But also, for the fact that I separate myself (as much as is reasonable) from the public media machine, I miss out on some brilliant and astute minds still in the public fray.

So, I am late in joining the conversation that men like Chuck Missler, L.A. Marzulli, Douglas Woodward and others, still bring to the table.

In his book: “Lying Wonders of the Red Planet: Exposing the lie of Ancient Aliens”, Douglas Woodward has not only brought me up to speed on some of what I have missed but, laid bare the foundation upon which a fabrication is built.

In “investigative reporter” style, this book is chocked full of facts and figures and is a treasure trove of verifiable information but, still reads like a novel of suspense and intrigue with me (the reader) being the hero in the story.  “Red Planet” is a quick moving read and one could easily read it through in two or three hours.  However, if you are like me, you may find yourself repeating one paragraph or page again and again to fully drink in what is being said and, to ponder upon the ramification thereof.

“Lying Wonders” exposes a hidden agenda; confronts a grand deception; contends with pseudo-science.  To me, this book is vindication.  I have long felt alone in my understanding of 2 Thessalonians 2:7-12 and the “strong delusion” warned of therein:

“And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,”   2 Thessalonians 2:11 NKJ

*What is the mystery of lawlessness?

*Who is the lawless one?

*What is the strong delusion?

These are questions we all would do well to ask.

“Lying Wonders of the Red Planet” is an exhaustive study into today’s pop-culture phenomenon; the TV show “Ancient Aliens”.  Douglas Woodward seamlessly separates fact from fiction and uncovers the conspiracy which hopes to mislead the millions who give ear to the theories being presented as facts.  I cannot recommend this book highly enough to everyone who, like me, feel like there is more to the story than what we are being told.  For people like me, who believe the universe holds wonder; who hope for something more; who need to understand.

“Lying Wonders of the Red Planet” is Biblical, pitting sound doctrine against the esoteric in a way which lets the reader decide to which we would adhere. Occultist overtone permeates most all main stream media and, Mr. Woodward provides us a divining rod with this tome so that we may see, more clearly, that the lie has been perpetrated since the beginning.

Now that we know, we have a choice:

“And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.  But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”    Joshua 24:15

Michael Perkins

Pastor, Calvary Chapel