Oh dear...

Clinton brought this thread to my attention, and although i never intended to have a word to say about it .. but ...

1) Medieval theologians were very clear about how Mary was impregnated. It was a divine miracle. Moreover, she was not surprised by the event, having been forewarned by an angelic visitor. It is of course tempting to find "explanations" for all of the divine events that happen in the Bible... but i think that says more about our present mindset than it does about the content of the scriptures.

2) As was noted in a previous post, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. However, when one is suggesting a radical hypothesis such as ancient alien visitation, i think it is clear that the burden of proof lies with those in favor of the theory, especially since more mundane explanations exist. To date, i am unaware of a single shred of credible evidence of alien visitation to ancient cultures that has not been adequately dealt with by scholars in the field (e.g., not Erich von Daniken)

3) i am with Clinton on the Travis Walton thing... there are a few (very few!) UFO sighting reports which are... interesting. The Exeter Incident is another. Isolated reports, however, do not equal a massive government conspiracy/coverup, for which (again) there is not a shred of credible evidence - even according to most ufologists.

and off i go, muttering into the darkness...