Paul Wallis - Escaping From Eden: Does Genesis Teach That the Human Race Was Created by God or Engineered by Ets?

Escaping from Eden takes us on a journey that we will never forget. The incredible possibilities of our own existence. Thought provoking

George Noory, Host of the national radio show Coast to Coast AM

Paul is doing a courageous service...to give us a new perspective on the creation and engineering of man.

Sean Stone, Filmmaker and Media Host

Escaping from Eden

Does Genesis teach that the human race was created by God or engineered by ETs?

Does Genesis teach that the human race was created by God or engineered by ETs?

Paul Wallis

Winchester, UK

Washington, USA

First published by Axis Mundi Books, 2020

Axis Mundi Books is an imprint of John Hunt Publishing Ltd., 3 East Street, Alresford, Hampshire

SO24 9EE, UK

www.johnhuntpublishing.com

www.zero-books.net

For distributor details and how to order please visit the Ordering section on our website.

Paul Wallis 2019

Note

All Bible quotations are a free translation except where otherwise stated.

ISBN: 978 1 78904 387 7

978 1 78904 388 4 (ebook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019937316

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publishers.

The rights of Paul Wallis as author have been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs

and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Design: Stuart Davies

UK: Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY

US: Printed and bound by Thomson-Shore, 7300 West Joy Road, Dexter, MI 48130

We operate a distinctive and ethical publishing philosophy in all areas of our business, from our global network of authors to production and worldwide distribution.

I dedicate this book with love to my beautiful family, Ruth, Evie, Ben and Caleb and to all seekers of truth and consciousness.

This book would not be in your hands without the help and encouragement of an army of people. My thanks especially to my family for their great patience in supporting the writing of this book and to my literary colleagues Michael Mann, Andrew James Wells, Krystina Kellingley, Dominic C James, Brian Mountford, Mary Flatt, Stuart Davies, Beccy Conway, Nick Welch, Maria Barry, and John Hunt also to George Noory, Regina Meredith, Sean Stone and Erich Von Daniken whose work and encouragement helped midwife this book into being. Thank you!

Another flash.

Nick Hallatt of the BBC. Can you comment on Pope Francis response to your book and were you surprised?

I willed my glasses not to fog up in the face of flashing cameras and rapid-fire questions. I did not want to see my face in some newspaper column the next morning looking like a startled rabbit.

Thank you, Nick. Well, I know that since Pope Benedict, and now with Pope Francis the Vatican has been widening its theological doors on this topic. So I really welcome that. I think thats a real encouragement for all people to explore the kind of topics my book touches on. But I have to say, at this point I havent yet had the opportunity to really reflect on the papal statement. It was only released half an hour ago just as I was on my way to you!

Flash.

Michelle Block NPR Mr Wallis, youre making huge claims about Bible translation, archaeology, DNA research. According to my research you dont have qualifications in any of these fields, so why would a reader need to take the claims of your book seriously.

Thank you, Michelle. Thats a great question! I guess a core part of what people look for from their pastors and preachers is for us to try and make sense of the Scriptures that we preach from. A big part of that is carrying peoples questions, wrestling with them and doing that openly. Ive been doing that for more than thirty years. And thats really what Im doing in this book.

Now there are plenty of times when I have to stand on others shoulders. Thats why in my book I go to some world-class academics and researchers, people who have given their lives to their fields. So, a lot of my questions have taken me to those people.

You can think of my book as a kind of documentary, sharing the preachers journey with the reader. My hope is that this little book will be a way in to some of these amazing areas of study especially for people of faith.

Another flash. Just as I was looking down at my notes.

Ted Avery, Fox News Paul, you say its for people of faith but in what way can you call yourself a Christian when in fact your book pulls the rug out from under 2000 years of Biblical interpretation? The two theologians you hold up were both condemned as heretics. Doesnt that mean your position is built on heresy? Can you name a single Christian leader today who is willing to raise their hand and support any one of your books ridiculous conclusions other than Pope Francis?

I have to say, this line of questioning was not a complete surprise to me. Faith and new ideas do not always make easy company. I thought of my friend, Vince. He was a senior theologian for many years for a heterodox Christian sect. He found himself out on his ear when his careful study of the Bible led him to conclude that their particular sect had not got all its Biblical translation right. Better translation meant that their sect could not claim to have exclusive access to the kingdom of God.

When Vince sounded out his senior colleagues, they all told him the same thing:

We know! We realized that years ago. Just dont mention what youre thinking to headquarters. Without that brick in the wall they feel the whole house will come falling down. Dont do it Vince or theyll kick you out. Youll be shunned. We couldnt do it. All our friends and family are in this movement. Its our life.

Mainstream denominations arent so different either. A hundred years ago a Baptist minister, having served more than a decade as a professor of Semitic languages, suddenly found himself disendorsed and out of a job. That was for publishing papers that only went half as far as my new book.

I dont say that in any way to be judgey about church and faith communities, because at the end of the day we are all creatures of habit. Its not easy to change our minds. Not one of us is ever really prepared to wake up in a universe thats different to the one we fell asleep in. I knew that my book would ruffle feathers and maybe even lose me a friend or two. My editor had run theological gauntlets like this himself before. So I was pleased to have him at my side as the questions continued.

Flash.

Erm. Hugh Grant from Horse and Hound magazine...

It was all too imaginable given the topic of my new book. Perhaps I should have written another gentle devotional book like my previous offerings on Celtic spirituality and Eastern Orthodox mysticism. They were nice books and they didnt cost me any friends! On the other hand, I just couldnt not-publish this book, even if it meant running a gauntlet like the one I had just imagined. I had to publish it because, firstly, thats what addictive writers do. They share the journey. And secondly, because Ive learned, just as Neo does in The Matrix, that once youve taken the red pill theres no going back.