Must-read books about history

[rtaylor]

Worlds in Collision.
A good book that describes the birth of the Pagan beliefs in Ancient Greece, Rome and also the real roots of Judaism. Written by an academic Jew named ' Immanuel Velikovsky'.
'Worlds in Collision'. ISBN 978-906833-11-4 . Published by Paradigma Ltd.

Velikovsky draws together information from many ancient documents worldwide, including the Americas, China, Eygpt, and what is now the Middle East. He compares the bible, as the history of the Jews, with what is known of the ancient civilisations through-out the known history of the world. There is much to be learned from this man.
This book for me was un-put-downable.

[merkavah12]

Okay. Can you go into detail what his thesis was?

[rtaylor]

Velikovsky's theory is that Venus was at one time a comet that passed close by the earth during the time of the Exodus. Causing much disruption and many deaths. Also tilting the earth slighty on its axis, shifting the poles. He says that the things spoken of in exodus where real events, the plagues, parting of the Red Sea and the destruction of the Eygptian army. Comparing other ancient beliefs and mythology around the word which seem to be saying very similar things. This is why all of the religeons worldwide in ancient times where interested in astrology. They wanted to keep an eye on the planets because they knew that the planets had caused so much trouble to the earth. The ancient Hindu's had an astronomic observatory carved out of rock. It is not lined up with any of the planets in the positions that they are today because of the movement of Venus before taking up its present orbit. The Hindu's where not the only people to have these ideas in those days.
Velikovsky qoutes extensively from the bible and many other ancient sources. He describes the formation of our solar system.
I consider this book to be one of the most important books I have ever read.
425 pages.

[unkleE]

Aug 19, 2010 17:47:44 GMT merkavah12 said:

Okay. Can you go into detail what his thesis was?

I can remember reading some of Velikovsky when I was a teenager - Worlds in Collision and Ages of/in Chaos if I remember. It was a long, long time ago, but I recall something about the moon or Venus being a wandering meteorite that was captured by the gravity of the earth/sun, and in the process caused great upheaval on earth. It is all very vague, and I could look it up to check, but I don't think it is worthwhile, except as a curiosity.

[bjorn]

Aug 19, 2010 18:20:21 GMT rtaylor said:

I consider this book to be one of the most important books I have ever read.
425 pages.

Ok then, doubting Jesus existed while praising Velikovsky confirms that serious studies are not... quite your cup of tea.

Or to put it in other words: While it would take a most peculiar or strongly ideologically motivated historian, astronomer or archaeologist to support Velikovsky (I don't really know any who does), it is the exact opposite way with the historical Jesus.

In that field it is the most peculiar/ideological ones only who doubt his existence. And there are not many more than two of those.

In short, falling for crank theories in one field obviously makes it easier to fall for it in others.

[himself]

Velikovsky was a psychiatrist, not a physicist. The whole Venus-was-a-comet thing is utter bull hockey from the viewpoint of orbital dynamics.

[ignorantianescia]

Indeed it is crazy. It is so crazy that I first assumed he was talking about the goddess Venus, leaving me very confused when I finished the description. Velikovsky displays some type of ignorance I was very reluctant to directly attribute to him when reading the summary.

[blessedkarl]

Hey everyone! My favorite books are:
Scholastic Humanism and the Unification of Europe Volumes I and II by R.W. Southern
The World of Medieval Learning by Anders Piltz
The Twelfth Century Rennaissance by Charles Homer Haskins

[deef]

Jul 12, 2010 23:46:56 GMT merkavah12 said:

Um...have you read "Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy" by Eric Metaxas?

I just finished it... excellent book!

[rtaylor]

Velikovsky demonstrates the origin of the Goddess Venus. It is quite striking to me to realise that all the ancients had an interest in Astronomy. They seem to have all kept a close watch on the skies. Perhaps for good reason. In all probability, there is more truth in what Velikovsky says in his book than there is in the bible.

[rtaylor]

Crank Theories. Meaning believing in things that have no basis in reality.
No facts to back them up. Such as that Jesus was born of a virgin. That he walked on water.
That he changed water into wine. That he raised the dead back to life. That he fed 5000 people with a couple of loaves and some fish.
There probably are other stories out there of other 'divine' people doing similar things in other belief systems. All complete nonsense of course. I say that without meaning to be disrespectful to any particular faith.
I know how sensetive some people can be.

[rtaylor]

The Spanish Inquisition. By Jean Plaidy. 1978 edition.
This absorbing historical study is concerned with the Rise the Growth and the end of the Spanish Inquisition and endeavours to show how and why it came into existence.
It analyses the personalities who where responsible, and those who moulded it and kept it alive. It also studies those other important actors in the drama: the victims. From these people only can we discover why a nation could allow the Inquistition to exist as part of its daily life for four centuries.

[ratbag]

The Spanish Inquisition. By Jean Plaidy. 1978 edition.

Why this particular one of the three Plaidy Spanish Inquisition books?

[jonkon]

Among other gross errors, Velikovsky, in support of his thesis in Worlds in Collision, claimed that scientists have overlooked the effect of planetary magnetic fields in calculating their orbits. This is just plain wrong. Gilbert experimented with spherical magnets because of his belief that planetary motions were governed by the attraction of their magnetic fields. Newton rejected this thesis, but used Gilbert's work as an inspiration for his own inverse square law of gravitational attraction.

Ages in Chaos is of interest in providing a broad framework of a possible defense, against the attacks of conventional Egyptian chronology, for the historicity of the Bible (eg. Velikovsky asserted that conventional Egyptian chronology is 200 years too old, so that the Exodus was actually contemporary to the collapse of the Middle Kingdom, not during the peak of Egypt's power during the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom). Unfortunately he is not a reliable source since he continually refers to supporting arguments in a non-existent Vol. 2 of Ages in Chaos.

[rtaylor]

Another good book.
Maleious Malificarem. By Spenger and Kramer, a couple of Franciscus Christian monks, who scoured the bible to find out what God says should be done with heretics , witches, and various other non-believers. These where all the victims of the Holy Inquisition.
Their book became essential equiptment on the desk of all magistrates and inqiusitors during one of Christianities darkest periods.
I borrowed a copy from my local library.
Long live the free Library!