Reviews from Religious Perspectives and Publications

3.4.1. Peter Line (1995) Review of The Hidden History of the Human Race. Creation Research Society Quarterly, June, p. 46. Reprinted by permission of the Creation Research Society, P.O. Box 8263, St. Joseph, MO 65408-8263.

The Creation Research Society Quarterly is the main journal of youngearth Christian creationists.

This book is must reading for anyone interested in human origins. I was surprised to come across the book in a major U.S. book chain store, given that its contents strongly contradict the standard view of human origins. Although the authors do not explicitly state how they believe the human race came into being, they make it clear that their theoretical outlook is derived from the Vedic literature in India, which supports the idea that the human race is of great antiquity.

Phillip E. Johnson writes a favorable foreword to the book, which is a condensed version of a much larger unabridged volume, but makes it plain that he does not share the authors’

religion or motivation, as neither do I. The authors present evidence for the existing of man in the Pliocene, Miocene, and even earlier periods, if one assumes that the evolutionary time scale and dating methods are valid. A lot of the evidence is based on stone tools, but there is also anomalous human skeletal remains mentioned as well.

The authors have made accessible to others valuable information that is not readily available due to the existence in the scientific community of “a knowledge filter that screens out unwelcome evidence.” ( p. xvii). Particularly informative is the authors’ discussion involving “morphological dating,” where the morphology of a fossil often determines the date assigned to it. Also informative are the examples showing the ease at which contradictory evidence is dismissed or discredited by members of the scientific establishment, whereas evidence in support of the orthodox evolutionary view is accepted all too readily.

This book presents ample evidence, most of which is open to dispute no more than “orthodox” evidence for evolution is, that humans have always existed alongside their supposedly ape-men ancestors. I found the most controversial part of the book the chapter on living ape-men, which incorporates many “wildmen” stories, some of the stories being too far-fetched.

As a recent earth creationist, I would not accept the evolutionary time scale that the authors appear to accept. However, the authors have shown that even if you accept the evolutionary view of a vast age for the earth, the theory of human evolution cannot be supported.

3.4.2. Dick Sleeper (1995) Notice of The Hidden History of the Human Race. Dick Sleeper Distribution, Inc. Catalog, Winter/Spring, p.1 Reprinted by permission of Dick Sleeper.

Dick Sleeper is a wholesaler of books to Christian bookstores.

While not written from a Christian perspective, this book will provide comfort to those creationists who have been frustrated by the prejudices of Additional Reviews, Notices, and Related Correspondence the scientific community. The authors clearly demonstrate that massive evidence attacking the widely held views of evolutionists has been suppressed, ignored, or forgotten. Deploying a great number of convincing facts, deeply illuminated with critical analysis, the authors challenge us to rethink our understanding of human origins, identity and destiny.

“A stunning description of some of the evidence that was once known to science, but which has disappeared from view due to the ‘knowledge filter’ that protects the ruling paradigm.”

Philip E. Johnson, Author of Darwin on Trial

3.4.3. Salim-ur-rahman (1994). “Spanner in the works.” The Friday Times, April 21, 1994. Reprinted by permission of Salim-ur-rahman.

The Friday Times is an English-language newspaper in Pakistan. I was grateful for this review from an Islamic author.

How old is man, factually speaking. Not very, if we subscribe to current scientific theories about his origin. At present it is believed that anatomically modern humans evolved fairly

recently, about 100,000 years ago in Africa and perhaps elsewhere.

From a scientific point of view the scenario is straightforward and evolutionary correct. At first there were ape-like creatures. Then, about a million years ago, up the evolutionary ladder, came Homo erectus. He was succeeded by Homo habilis or Homo Sapiens. As simple as that. A cut and dried case. The discovery of Java man, now classified as Homo erectus, served as a clincher. The stratum in which the skull of the Java man was found was considered to be 800,000 years old, that is, belonging to the Middle Pleistocene. According to the scientific circles, the main argument was as good as settled and only a few loose ends remained to be tied up.

Unfortunately, as Cremo and Thompson’s book amply and ably demonstrates, nothing should ever be taken for granted. It is unscientific to be cocksure. The element of hubris which has crept into scientific thinking is as inconvenient as it is dangerous.

But back to the book in question. The authors claim, and go to great lengths to show, that the story of man’s evolution or of his presence on earth is too involved and the evidence too controversial. Nothing can be settled to a nicety. Their book makes it plain that suppression of enigmatic data is not only common but also has a long history. If the facts do not agree with a favoured theory, then the scientists and researchers simply discard such facts, even an imposing array of them. In other words, the motto among research circles is a pragmatic one:

save the theory you believe in at all costs and to hell with facts which don’t fit in.

For instance, after Darwin introduced his theory, numerous scientists discovered incised and broken bones and shells suggesting that tool-using humans or human precursors existed in the Pliocene (2.5 million years ago), the Miocene (5-25 million years ago) and even earlier. To accept this evidence would have left the neat evolutionary theory in shambles.

Therefore all such data was either suppressed or ignored or, worse still, ridiculed.

Forbidden Archeology is more than a well-documented catalogue of unusual facts. It is also a sociological, philosophical and historical critique of the scientific method, as applied to the question of human origins and antiquity. From the evidence gathered by them the authors conclude that the now dominant assumptions about human origins are in need of drastic revision.

They have identified two main bodies of evidence. The first is a body of controversial evidence (A) which shows the existence of anatomically modern humans in the extremely distant past. The second is a body of evidence (B) which can be interpreted as supporting the currently dominant views that anatomically modern humans evolved fairly recently, about 100,000 years ago.

They also identify standards employed in the evaluation of palaeo anthropological evidence. After detailed study they found that if these standards are applied equally to A and B, then we must either accept both A and B or reject both. They have also recounted in detail how the controversial evidence has been systematically suppressed, ignored or forgotten, even though it is qualitatively (and quantitatively) equivalent to evidence favouring currently acceptable views on human origins.

There is a very strong reason why so much uncertainty prevails in this particular field and why it would continue to plague research work even in future. All attempts to show the evolution of species (the human species in particular) must rely on the interpretation of fossils and other remains found in the earth’s strata.

I had the impression that the geological record was, barring a few exceptions here and there, generally intact. After going through this book I stand disabused of my belief. The drastic incompleteness of the fossil record remains a critical factor in palaeontology. Geological record is exceedingly incomplete. An observation in the USA showed that in a particular instance, out of the 6 million years record, as many, as 5.9 million years of strata were missing. It is assumed that about 4.1 million fossillisable marine species have existed since the Cambrian period some 600 million years ago. Yet only 93,000 fossil species have been catalogued. Conservatively, the ratio is one out of every 44 species. But there is reason to believe that the ratio is one out of every 100. When we turn from marine organisms to the totality of living organisms the situation only gets worse. It is estimated that 982 million species have existed during the earth’s history, compared with the 130,000 known fossil species. This is only .013 of one per cent.

Forbidden Archeology is a serious and thought-provoking book, reminding us that the history of the human race may be far more older than we are led to imagine, that anatomically modern man may have co-existed with more ape-like creatures millions of years ago. Perhaps these ape-like creatures still exist. There is a whole chapter about them. Also one about strange artefacts which are occasionally found in strata unimaginably ancient.

In a way all this ties up with the remarks attributed to the Holy Prophet (PBUH) Hadhrat Ali and Imam Jafar Sadiq in which they said that the Adam we are descended from was preceded by numerous Adams and their progeny.

3.4.4. Mikael Rothstein (1994) “Forbidden Archeology: Religious Researchers Shake the Theory of Evolution.” Politiken, January 1, Section 3, page 1. Reprinted by permission of Politiken and Mikael Rothstein.

Mikael Rothstein is assistant professor of religious history at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. This article appeared in the science section of Politiken, Denmark’s largest newspaper.

Human beings like us have lived on the Earth for millions of years. In order to substantiate the theory of evolution scientists who study the origin of man have deliberately suppressed or even destroyed evidence, claim two researchers in a remarkable book.

When Charles Darwin published his pioneering work The Origin of Species in 1859, he suspected his theory of evolution would cause a stir. According to his theory of evolution, man was reduced to a creature on par with all other living beings.

The theory of evolution also disputed the religious thesis of the simultaneous creation of the species, appearing at the time of Darwin as they had done since the time of creation.

The theory of evolution challenged the unique qualities of man and the divine nature of the creation; Darwin himself became a victim of the vicious teasing and humiliation of his times.

He was pictured as a monkey in the newspapers and his relation to worms and maggots was made clear because he said the species evolved from each.

However, the theory of evolution was not that easy to subdue, and with persistent support the new view survived and became within the next decades a real alternative to the theory of creation of the church.

Later on, especially when paleontology and paleoanthropology (the study of the evolution of man) set sail, great parts of theology yielded and formulated an adjusted creation theory. Now it was said that the species probably had evolved somehow or other, but God was behind.

The Roles Are Changed

So now today it is 1994, and the scientific worldview has cemented its influence in all ways. While previously science had to justify itself through religion, religion today has to prove that its dogmas and conceptions are scientifically valid, if it wants to be taken seriously. The roles have been changed. Therefore, the provocations of today come from religion.

By the way, regarding the discussion of the origin of man, there is a new book, Forbidden Archeology, which was published last year, which is exciting reading material. The book, which takes up more than 900 compact pages, is a tour de force through innumerable archeological and paleoanthropological facts. The authors aim to prove that it is not possible to maintain the theory of evolution when the facts are examined in their totality.

The two authors, Richard Thompson and Michael Cremo, have spent around eight years researching the book before sitting down at the typewriter. The result is in principle just as provoking as The Origin of Species.

Hard to Turn Down

The conclusion is hard as stone: the authors claim that the established group of scientists, who deal with the descent of man, has, in order to make the theory of evolution fit, consciously suppressed or even destroyed evidence.

Now, dishonesty in that field is not an unknown phenomena. In the dawn of archeology and paleoanthropology, there were quite a few examples of fraud. On the other hand, it is not unusual that those who are up against the dominating views see conspiracies everywhere.

Objectively speaking, however, it is difficult to turn down great parts of the evidence that the authors present: Why has a long list of problematic findings not been treated scientifically?

Why are there purges in the scien tific collections? Why do they ignore imbalances between chronological and geological assumptions?

Thompson and Cremo take the reader through several hundred years of research, mention hundreds of cases, end up in all continents, and on the basis of an impressive file, unearth documents which were forgotten, but which conclusively affect the present position of science.

Among other things, they claim that men like us have been on the Earth for millions of years—generally man (Homo sapiens) is considered to be around 200,000 years old.

Forbidden Finds

The proof for the significantly older age should be—among other things—the so-called out-of-place-artifacts, that is, objects made by men, which appear at places where they should not

—e.g. a shoeheel from the Triassic (i.e. 200 million years old), a nicely-made gold thread in sediments more than 320 million years old, a metallic jar more than 600 million years old in rocks from the Precambrian.

Most solid is, however, the analysis of the fossil finds and the archeological procured objects, which are analyzed by the same method that paleoanthropology and archeology normally employ.

What is new, Thompson and Cremo say, is not the method, but the material that is under study. If the established group of scientists delved into the suppressed material with an open mind, they would, it is claimed, reach the same results.

Since the arguments rest on a long list of examples, the authors expect that the serious critic will systematically refute them all; because that is what Thompson and Cremo have done, to systematically question the timehonored conceptions bit by bit.

Read Critically

On the one hand, the authors have written an interesting history of science. On the other hand, a genuine thriller.

Part of the story is, however, that both the authors belong to the Bhaktivedanta Institute in San Diego, which is the academic center for ISKCON (The International Society for Krishna Consciousness), a part of the Vaisnava religion from India (a branch of Hinduism).

The authors—who are trained not only as scientists and mathematicians, but as monks—thus also have a missionary and theological project. Their otherwise thorough academic

argumentation can thus find support in the Vaisnava mythology, which actually describes the history of man and the geological development of the Earth in a way that is compatible with the conclusions Thompson and Cremo provide.

One therefore has to read critically, but that one has to do always, anyway.

A number of reviewers abroad have praised the book to the skies. Others have condemned it as nonsense. It seems, however, difficult to refute the concrete documentation as wrong quotations, manipulation with facts, etc. More difficult is it—for me, also—to accept that the evolutionistic faith of our childhood is not so safe and sure anyway, even though it can be proved.

Some, however, delight in the provocation. Also, in Denmark there are religious scientists, who argue creationistic views (Christian thought). More people would have a hard time to change horses midstream and ride along the creationistic path.

By reading Thompson and Cremo’s book one can thus get a glimpse of the feeling the people of the church experienced when Darwin’s theory was presented. The discussion is not only about facts. It is about our selfperception as human beings and about our ideas of the world we live in.

Related Correspondence

3.4.4.1. Letter to Richard Thompson and Michael Cremo from Mikael Rothstein, November 11, 1993.

The other book referred to in this letter is Richard Thompson’s Alien Identities, which examines the modern UFO phenomenon from the standpoint of the ancient Sanskrit writings of India.

You were so kind as to send me your most recent books for review some months ago. I have read both, although your vast account on the Forbidden Archeology is somewhat difficult to read from cover to cover! I find both books most interesting, well written and—each in its own way—important. A review article on the Forbidden Arch e o l o g y-book will appear in Denmark’s largest and most important newspaper (Politiken) within a month or so. It has been accepted for the weekly “science-page”…. My review (among other things) states (translated from the Danish): “The book is a detective novel as much as a scholarly tour de force. But the murderer is not the butler. Neither is the victim a rich old man with many heirs.

The victim is Man himself, and the role of the assassin is played by numerous scientists. The book takes the case to court, and asks the reader to judge for himself. What can we do?

How do we avoid questioning otherwise infallible truths after reading this minute and well-documented account? It takes more courage to recognize one’s [own] misjudgment than to challenge other’s. The burden lies with the reader. I personally must admit that the argumentation provoked me thoroughly. I certainly don’t feel comfortable. After all, I always thought that Man was about

100,000 years old, but now sincere people, with good intellectual and academic arguments, tell me that I am wrong. The book presents many disturbing facts, but, of course, these facts only become really meaningful if you are willing to accept that current scientific notions about Man basically are wrong. I shall look forward to the reply from more traditional scientists in this field.…”

This kind of religious argumentation, I believe, reveals important element[s] in the relation between religion and secular society in general, and in this case Vaisnava-bhakti and the surrounding intellectual milieu in particular. As a historian of religions this obviously interests me.

3.4.4.2. Letter to Mikael Rothstein, December 30, 1993.

I am very pleased to learn that you have written a review of my book Forbidden Archeology, coauthored with Richard Thompson.

When the review comes out in Politiken, please send us a copy for our files. I sent review copies of Forbidden Archeology to some of the academic journals in religious studies.

Hopefully some reviews will be forthcoming. If you have any knowledge of a journal that might be likely to review the book, please let me know and I will send them a review copy, if I have not already done so. I think you are correct that our book “reveals an important element in the relation between religion and secular society in general, and, in this case, Vaisnava-bhakti and the surrounding intellectual milieu in particular.” Anything that you can do to bring this point to the attention of scholars in your field would be quite valuable, in my humble opinion. If

Hopefully some reviews will be forthcoming. If you have any knowledge of a journal that might be likely to review the book, please let me know and I will send them a review copy, if I have not already done so. I think you are correct that our book “reveals an important element in the relation between religion and secular society in general, and, in this case, Vaisnava-bhakti and the surrounding intellectual milieu in particular.” Anything that you can do to bring this point to the attention of scholars in your field would be quite valuable, in my humble opinion. If