by William Skink
What we as humans claim to know about history is not nearly as important as what we still don’t know. Even more important, some theories aren’t given due consideration because doing so could upend scholarly consensus.
Last month it was reported that a new research group is forming to give researches better networking and support in the field of ancient history. From the link:
Is the orthodox view of the rise of civilisation wrong? For many years, a number of ‘alternative’ historians have put forward the view that there is enough evidence to suggest that an advanced civilisation existed in prehistory, but through some cataclysm disappeared in the mists of time. And, in recent years, archaeological discoveries such as the truly ancient megalithic site of Göbekli Tepe have continued to add substance to that view.
Geologist Robert Schoch – famous for his ‘redating’ of the Great Sphinx of Egypt, based on evidence of water eroision – is now, with a number of colleagues, aiming to take research into this idea to the next level. He has just announced the formation of ‘ORACUL’ (‘Organization for the Research of Ancient Cultures’), a non-profit 501c devoted to investigation and discussion of these ‘forbidden history’ ideas.
As new technology leads to potential new discoveries with the pyramids in Egypt, I think the mysteries of ancient history are more important now than ever. Why? Because if scholars aren’t bringing their rigorous scientific objectiveness to this subject, then others will interpret ancient history in a manner that fits their own subjective notions of race and religious exclusivity, and that is potentially dangerous.
I’m not going to get too deep into this today because it’s the subject of the book I’m working on, but I would like to throw a few ideas out there on this beautiful spring day.
The possible existence of a highly advanced pre-flood civilization is not a new idea. I suspect that most readers here have heard of the myth of Atlantis. Other alternative history ideas continue to seep into the mainstream, through television series like Ancient Aliens on the History channel.
These ancient mysteries can be dangerously seductive in the sense that they fuel ideologies that, historically, have been used to justify atrocities like the holocaust. Esoteric Nazism is a thing and it didn’t just go away with the defeat of Nazi Germany. There is also a fascinating connection between the occult knowledge Hitler’s minions were pursuing and the post-war origins of the New Age Movement.
The most pervasive forms of anti-semitisim find their origins in skewed historical interpretations of biblical times and pre-flood theories of an Aryan master race. It doesn’t help that there have been long-standing efforts to suppress certain types of heretical knowledge, going back to the persecution of the early Christian Gnostics.
Many scholars will be hesitant to engage with this topic because there is little funding and career advancement for doing so. Instead, there is the risk of becoming professionally ostracized. As someone who has been labeled and ridiculed as a conspiracy theorist, I get why people would be hesitant.
But failing to grapple with these big questions cedes this historical terrain to those who do claim to have the answers, answers that just so happen to include racial superiority and theories that put forward the inherent evil of adherents to the Judaic faith.
I think it’s pretty clear how dangerous it would be to let those interpretations dominate the discourse. I’ll leave it there, for now.