Bigfoot Is Gnarly

What is it about Bigfoot that is so fascinating? Why do we like the big, hairy phantom? The same reason we're interested in UFOs, ghosts, the Loch Ness Monster, and other "paranormal" stuff. Because it's cool.
But Bigfoot is different because he's believable. He leaves prints, gets his picture taken, and smells bad. Oh, and he screams too. A giant hairy ape-thing is not out of the realm of possibility. There are already some strange creatures on the earth, such as the platypus, tube worms, goblin shark, etc.
Of course, those guys have been caught.

Bigfoot, though, is elusive. He seems to exist only in anecdotes and bad photos. And of course, in footprints.

Thems big feet. Imagine the Nikes he'd have to wear! But really, what are some explanations for our North American soul brother? What the heck is he?
1) An ape of some type.
2) An alien. What, you haven't heard this one?
3) A hoax. This has been done.
4) Wild inbred freaks.
5) Hairy Nephilim.
6) Hallucinations.
7) Apparitions conjured up by our minds.

Hoaxes are the prominent explanation. People have faked hair samples, footprints, and even corpses to fool us. They sometimes laugh to the bank, but sometimes not. This does not mean that Bigfoot isn't real, but it doesn't help his reputation.
Alien? Doubt it.
Hairy Nephilim is something I just made up. Hey, why not? Natives near Mt. St. Helens used to speak of the skoocooms, a race of cannibals who lived in the mountain. Nephilim were reported to have been cannibalistic, too, and both have ties to the supernatural, so. . .

. . .that makes him a . . .what? Listen to this. Nick Redfern wrote a book called 'Three Men Seeking Monsters'. He in fact makes mention of hairy inbred wildmen living in caves in England. Inbred humans, that is. Interesting story. But what's more interesting is what a witch told him about the paranormal in general. She said that ghosts and aliens and Bigfoot and all the rest are phantoms or spirits that materialize for the sole purpose of feeding off our fear. When they get their fill, the leave for a while. He also talks about creating a being with our imaginations that can actually come to life. I'm not kidding, go read it. Makes you think more about the theory of our universe being a hologram.
Not exactly Christian stuff, but we believe in angels, demons, and miracles. Who knows how weird our universe really is?
But then, maybe Bigfoot is indeed a real creature, one who simply wants to stay hidden.
Wouldn't you?

Lovecraft's Flaw

I am a writer, so words fascinate me. Their meanings, their sound, the way they are strung together. At times in history, there have been writers who transcend mediocrity and bring us their brilliance. Writers such as: Paul, Job, Jastrow, Shelley, King, Tolkien, Lewis. But there was another, a literary phenom in his own right, a man who dwelled in poverty but whose black light shone brightly.
H.P. Lovecraft.
Madness fell from his mind and onto the page. He saw things no one else saw. What his dialogue lacked in substance, his prose made up for in sheer power. But one thing the great H.P. Lovecraft could not do was:
Spell.
I mean, good God man, what was wrong with him? I think he took Scrabble pieces, threw them into the air, and let them fall. Whatever words they formed on the ground, those became the names of his characters. Let's take a look.

Nyarlathotep. Was he trying to say Im-Ho-Tep and got lost? C'mon, man. Next.

Yog-Sothoth. Huh? Yogi's socks are off?

Cthulu. Bless you. Sounds like a tongue-less man saying 'Cool Hand Luke'.

And lastly, be careful with this one, Shub-Niggurath. If you put the accent on 'gur', you will be okay.
This phenomenon of tossing letters into the air did not end with Lovecraft. His friend Clark Ashton Smith did the same. Tsathoggua, for example. What the hell is a Tsathoggua anyway? And this one is from the left over cubes of Boggle: Baoht Z'uqqa-Mogg.
Yikes.
Lovecraft was a genius, but he had a flaw. No one is perfect, but this was reprehensible. No one knows what I'm talking about when I say Ghatanothoa! Blast you, Lovecraft, and your Wgah'nagl!

Is God A Bloodthirsty Monster?

Is the God of the Old Testament a bloodthirsty monster? A vindictive tyrant? This is a question some people have. How can a loving, benevolent God order the extermination of a race of people? Well, if He is indeed loving, perhaps there was a reason he destroyed that society. . .
The society I speak of were known as the Canaanites, which were several tribes living in the area of Canaan. These were the people living in the Holy Land before the Jews invaded. God had promised this land to Abraham's descendants, and after they left Egypt, it was time for them to move in. The 400 years that they were in Egypt was time enough for the Canaanites to repent, but they did not.

So as judgment, God ordered His people to overthrow the people of the land one city at a time. Most of the time, they were to leave no survivors. Not even livestock. The city and all its inhabitants were to be annihilated, along with, at times, the possessions. But why? Isn't God nice?
Who said God was nice?
Kind, patient, merciful, but I wouldn't say nice. He does come to a point where He must pour out his wrath. He is no pushover, folks.

In the Book of Leviticus there are a list of laws and prohibitions, such as:
1) Don't boil a baby goat in it's mother's milk
2) Don't lay with an animal like you would a person
3) Don't worship idols
4) Don't have relations with a close relative
5) Do not sacrifice your children
This is a short list, but you get the point. Why on earth would God put this in the Bible? Wouldn't the Jews have common sense about this? Who would boil a goat in it's own mother's milk or lay with their mother or sister or sacrifice their own child on the white-hot arms of a stone idol?
The Canaanites, that's who.
These nations had given themselves over to their wickedness. If a nation condones child sacrifice, they're toast. Their time is up. They were sexually perverse to the utmost, and it was offensive to Heaven. God told Israel not to be like the Canaanites, and He spelled it out for them in Leviticus. Why? He knew they would be tempted to do what they did! (Which did happen later.) So He made it idiot-proof for them. Some of those laws seem stupid to us, but He really did not want his people to be anything like the Canaanites. They were that bad.

Thus, they were destroyed. Men, women, children, and animals had become so corrupt that God wiped them out. He does get angry, you see. So no, He is not bloodthirsty. He would rather save than destroy.
But he doesn't have to.

Giant Dead People in Our Backyards

Giants are a fascinating subject. Who isn't all agog when a seven-footer steps foot on screen and delivers a thunderous blow to his opponent? Or makes a shot? Or tosses someone around? Who isn't astounded when they bump into a real seven-plus foot man at the store? I think we all are. But what about an 8-foot man? Or nine? Or twelve?
Who cares? you say. They don't exist. Ah, but they did. And not just in the pages of the Bible or mythology. In ancient America, it seems, were races of giant-folk. Before the Indians arrived were a race of giants, who may have been the builders of the huge mounds found in North and South America.
Never heard of that? People tend to believe that America was found discovered in 1492 and that no one else was here before that. Except for those Natives, but they were dirty savages so forget about them.
That was sarcasm, people.
Skeletons of some serious size have been unearthed here in America, and often buried with weapons and other paraphernalia, sometimes with hieroglyph-type writing on them. They worked in copper, which is something the Indians did not do. Something curious was going on way back then. . .
Typically, this falls into the realm of paranormal. Or worse, biblical weird-ism. But an eight-foot skeleton is an eight-foot skeleton! Hold on, I feel an image coming on:

Bam! Check out that feller. He's not an isolated case either. They are all over the place. Stories from all over the globe speak about giants. Indeed, why do almost all the cultures of the world have flood stories and giant stories? Did they all read the same book? Maybe they did. Or they took the same story from the same place and when they dispersed, the story went with them.
However, these big dead people are not fossils from a flood. They are skeletons from not too long ago, relatively. As in, people have had encounters with them. Now maybe it's all fake, just some silly stories told by bored, fantasy prone introverts. That does happen. Or maybe angels left their own abode, mated with human women, produced giant freaks, and polluted the gene pool. Go read the Book of Enoch for fun. It's wild.

Here is a great Gustave Dore woodcut of David's victory over Goliath. What a great artist he was. Now if you are up to it, read this blog about giants. There is a ton of info there. Then try this one too and read about giants with double sets of teeth and six fingers. It would seem The Smithsonian doesn't want us to know about this stuff. Or, perhaps, it is all phony and some of us are simply strange.
Here is one last thought. Why are there giant counterparts to today's animals? Giant crocodiles, giant snakes, sharks, rhinos, elephants, and also humans. What was going on back then? A greenhouse effect? Genetic manipulation by an advanced race? Pym particles?
Sorry, old comic book reference.
I leave you with an old picture for no other reason than it looks cool. These guys are kind of scary, aren't they?

What Are UFO's?

UFO's are real. But what are they? Here is a list of some common beliefs:

1) Man-made secret craft
2) Extraterrestrial craft
3) Clouds
4) Spy planes
5) Fallen angels or demons
6) Time travelers
7) Hallucinations

To start with, clouds and spy planes can be mistaken for otherworldly craft:

This SR-71 Blackbird can reflect light from miles up and give the impression of something unknown. Clouds can also look like flying saucers at times, like this:

That's a little weird, but perfectly explainable. A trick of the imagination can also be a cause of a UFO sighting. At times, normal objects just seem strange. Ever thought a spot on your glasses was an angel or ghost or something odd, for example? Turns out it was dirt in your vision.
Then there is the extraterrestrial viewpoint. So much has been made of this. Too much. Let me dispel this myth with one argument: Crashes. Aliens who can traverse light years of space can't steer their craft? Come on! How many 'crashes' have there been after Roswell? Many, or so I've read. And then they always act in secret. Way too fishy for me. I think people just like conspiracies.

So then, are they man made? Could be. The Cash-Landrum case seems to point in that direction. Supposedly it's been debunked, but go look for yourself. Giant triangles flying around our skies could be man made as well. World War 2 brought about the start of some serious new technology, so who knows? Maybe we have craft with electromagnetic propulsion drives hidden somewhere.

But what about craft that make 90 degree turns and fly at thousands of mile per hour? Sounds otherworldly. I myself saw something unexplainable as a kid in rural Connecticut. It was around 1986, and my mom and I were returning from my taekwondo class about 9pm. From over a large hill came a light, flying in the air. it came fast, and then stopped half way in the sky. Then it split into five pieces, which flew away in different directions. Very, very fast, I might add. My mom didn't see it. I guess she was paying attention to the road. Funny enough though, she said that an older couple she knew saw something similar a few weeks earlier. What do you make of it?

The Rendlesham Forest incident is extraordinary. To me, it seems we are dealing with an extradimensional phenomenon. Which leads me to the demonic theory. Several UFO researchers are turning to this theory, because the things that are happening are too weird. Abductions are starting to resemble old demonic activity, and the aliens preoccupation with mating remind us of the nephilim from the Bible. Simply put, some of these craft do things that cannot be done in our physical universe. There appears to be a spiritual aspect to it. Whether or not it is in the observer's mind, or something foreign and malevolent is crossing over into our plane of reality is unknown. The occupants also tend to talk about Christianity in a negative light. Why all the fuss, space brothers? You don't like Christ either?

Having said all this, does any of it matter? I don't know. It's fun to talk about, and that's what I do here. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it, unless you are losing sleep over it because strange entities are invading your bedroom.( I hate it when that happens.) Then it would time to talk to God, I think.

Science: A Mandate From God

Here in the 21rst century, some worship in the temple of Science. Science has given us fusion, fission, space travel, heart surgery, hybrid cars, particle accelerators, and so on. Or rather, people have given us these things. 'Science' is not a god who provides, not at all. It is we who have done these things for ourselves. Is it us, then, who are gods?

No.
The use of this discipline was given to us by God. Look at Genesis chapter 1. What did He tell Adam to do? Make babies, name the animals, subdue the earth, and have dominion over the created order. Adam represents us, and we continue to do his work even today.

There are 7 billion of us now. I'd say we are multiplying quite fine. Adam named the animals that were in the Garden, and zoologists today are still naming the animal kingdom. Adam tended the Garden, and we tend farms today. Adam was lord over the animals, fish, creeping things, and so are we even now. The correlation cannot be missed.

What Adam began in Eden, we are doing today, and will probably continue forever in some fashion. He was given dominion over the planet, and today we are bending science to our needs. Some call it 'progress', and that is fine. As long as we don't pollute our own habitat or cross those shifting ethical lines, subduing the earth is a grand thing. Was man created to lay in the grass and eat grapes, or was he made to worship God and to work? Do not be afraid of new scientific developments; it is part of what we do as a race.

Lastly, keep in mind that we are stewards of our planet. No one else will take care of it for us. A bit of humility is required, to remind us that our collective lives depend on how we treat our world. The book of Revelation, in chapter 11 verse 18, makes mention of God judging those who 'destroy the earth'. Was he talking about violence, or pollution? How you interpret that is up to you.

All in all, our endeavors to make the world a better place are to be applauded. Science, medicine, and engineering are all part of ruling over this creation. God gave us this universe, so let's go see what it's all about. . .

Science: the god of the 21rst century?

I like science. I like learning about what scientists have discovered. I like the technology I'm using to write this. But I think that at this time in Western history, some folks see science with a capital 'S'. As in Science. Or even SCIENCE. The word has become a noun, a proper noun, even a celebrity. People look to Science to solve the world's ills. But science is a method, a discipline, not a savior.

I like science, what the discipline has discovered. Geology can tell me how old a rock is, astronomy can tell me about the stars, zoology tells me about my cat, and pharmacology heals my headache. But these are things that people discovered, using the abilities given to them. Atheists and others poke fun at the Christian's "blind faith", but they have deified and placed faith in their own work. They have turned "Science" into a god.

Science cannot save the soul. It is a tool, meant to be used properly. It was not intended to bludgeon people's beliefs. Can we have faith in something that changes constantly? Shouldn't our faith be placed in something immutable? Science isn't God; God is God.
Having said that, is science our enemy? Not at all. God gave us dominion over the creation. Even if one doesn't believe the book of Genesis, it is obvious we are the kings of the earth. No other animal is quite like us.

Next time, we will look at what Genesis says, what God told Adam to do, and what my thoughts are on it.