Creative Interpetations
Speaking of the Raelians, I see that they call the extraterrestrials who created the human race "Elohim," which is one of the biblical names for God. The term is plural, literally meaning "gods," a fact that tends to sow confusion among Hebrew school students absorbing the teachings of an emphatically monotheistic tradition. The Raelian understanding fits the word's form but does not comport so well with the rest of the biblical story, e.g., the part where Elohim create(s) the heaven and earth.
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post comments
I always knew that UFO-ology have become the new religion. Angels have been replaced with little gray men with an odd interest in proctology, Roswell becomes a Mecca--in a very literal sense--for every paranoid on Earth, instead of the rapture we have abductions, and Satan now wears the uniform of whatever branch of the US Military was responsible for the big cover-up.
Does that make David Duchovny a post-modern prophet?