h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I fully agree with you, Hypatia, that it doesn't matter a lot of any given story is literally true or not - although in terms of some NT events, yes it does - but when it comes to parables, not.

The OT story of the sun standing still should put the idea of every word being literally true to rest. I think the interpretation of Ezekiel's wheel as being a spaceship is interesting, though. And the Ark of the Covenant is supposed to be a transmitter of some kind. Makes more sense than some other explanations.

I think many OT stories are meant poetically...

Recently (but beyond the ability of my short term memory to retain details ) I read/heard/saw some theory that the earth's axis might well have shifted slightly that day the sun appeared to stand still.

Geological evidence of a shift in the angle of incidence of sunlight and a couple of other factors were cited as 'proof' the world had slowly bobbled and tilted a few degrees at about that time.

It is now generally acknowledged that the globe has shifted dramatically thru 90 degrees and even 180 a couple of times. This lead to invetigation of a possible lesser shift of a say 15 degrees over a one hour period.

In some places the event would have been relatively calm except for the apparent lack of motion in the sky but elsewhere earthquakes and floods were induced. These would have happened simultaneously in several parts of the globe. Water levels were redistributed causing some lands to be submerged and some lakes to be dried.

Ezekiel's wheel however is more likened to 'crop circle' phenomena, a product of unknown plasmic or other dimensional forces. Some rare intersection of our planet with molecules of dark matter or dark energy such as seen in the only recently acknowledged 'ball lightning' displays which have inspired tales of angels and ufos. This would also account for the 'burning bush' and other burn free miracles resembling flame and fire.


~jwf~

Darn! I was going to shave, but Velikovsky stole my razor again. Ockham, can I borrow yours?

"It is now generally acknowledged that the globe has shifted dramatically thru 90 degrees and even 180 a couple of times. This lead to invetigation of a possible lesser shift of a say 15 degrees over a one hour period."

Source, please. I know that the magnetic pole has shifterd quite a bit, and fliped 180 degrees quitte often; but I was under the impression that the axis of rotation stays quite stable, and has to, because of some tidl effects from the moon.

Please give me a source, be it website or book, so that I can read about this myself.

The only quasi-scholarly place I've seen this stuff (apart from Velikovsky) is in a pretty much completely unreadable (I've read it) book called "Hamlet's Mill" by Giorgio De Santillana and Hertha Von Dechend http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0879232153/002-0081643-5630409?vi=glance.

But that's just me.

I find it interesting that people go to such lengths to find logical explanations for myths. Why is it so hard to accept that some of these stories were made up? If the story involved a Greek army and Apollo stopped the sun so they could have a victory, then our Bible believers would say, "Nice story, but it's rubbish." But since it's our myth....whoa, there Nellie....has to have happened and just been misunderstood by those making the report.

I totally agree, when I was a kid I used to love Greek myths, and when talking about religion I say to people that if they believe in the Bible, why not Greek myths, or even Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. They always tell me not to be silly, but I think its a valid point!

>> ..not to be silly, but I think its a valid point! <<

You make several valid points.
Silliness is next to godliness!
The truth is often funny. But 'funny' has been taken out of the equation for organised religions. Denying this fundamental Truth of Life, the Uni et al, is their single greatest flaw.

Those with no sense of humour, who take themselves and life too seriously, don't like to complicate things with organic or intangible realities like laughter, coincidence and myth. It's all cut and dried and black and white with them.

Their minds, their world view has no texture, no shades of grey, no 'wiggle-room', just a fixed set of rules and standards requiring the foolish posture of defending an inflexible mindset.

They say it's nice to have something to believe in. I wouldn't know. And I wouldn't want to know if it meant giving up my laughter, my imagination and the infinity of possibilities.


~jwf~

I thought the duck-billed platapus(SP?) was supposed to be evidence of humour

Ah, but does *it* have a sense of humour?

I doubt very much there is any evidence the earth should have shifted on it's axis in one hour. Probably made up by the same people who claimed NASA had "found a missing day". The magnetic field has undergone some drastic changes, changing 180 degrees and such. And the earth's axis does wiggle, but it takes thousands of years even for small changes.

One theory I remember reading about was the idea that the crust of the earth shifts as a unit, a solid shell just floating on the fluid mantle below it. This would allow the crust to shift 180 degrees while the main mass of the earth continues to rotate as before. So, any single point on the earth shifts one half of the 40,000 km circumference of the earth in one hour, for example. This, of course, would mean that the point (and all others) would have to accelerate to a velocity in excess of 20,000 km per hour and then just as suddenly decelerat back to rest. The amount of energy required to perform this feat it quite inconceivable, not even taking into account conservation of angular momentum problems. If the crust were not ripped apart, it would certainly be liquified by the heat of friction with the mantle below. The energy problems become much larger if we are trying to flip the entire earth on it's axes of rotation in a brief time.

the earth is a big gyroscope: it wobbles but it doesn't flip. The magnetic poles are something very different. They are the product of the hot liquid within, and that hot liquid is always moving about.

Why am I spending all this time on this?

It was a miracle ye of little faith. This is like when people try and find an astronomical explanation for the star of betlehem.

I'm not trying to find an astronomical explanation for anything. I'm just suggesting that there's little chance of an astronomical or geophysical explanation for the Biblical sun-standing-still story. Seems to me that I'm arguing that the only explanation is miracle or myth. Sorry I wasn't clearer.

Oh, and . . .

yes, I am of little faith. As I understand it, faith is the belief in and acceptance of things for which there is not, and perhaps never can be, any evidence.

(did I just hear another worm can opening?)