."". "NO STONE UNTURNED" ." ". R A R A T REPORT ~~ ~~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- BILL CROUSE, EDITOR FEB/MARCH 87 (c) 1987 NUMBER 2 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
POST WWII SIGHTINGS
The cold war began shortly after WWII. Turkey became one of the stages where this drama of confrontation between superpowers was played. Along with Jupiter missiles, the Americans set up elaborate listening devices in Turkey to monitor Soviet activity. Cat and mouse games to gauge Soviet readiness were played out almost on a daily basis. The Americans sent fighter planes to the proximity of the Soviet border while the men on the ground checked the responses of the Soviet defenses. Captain Gregor Schwinghammer, now a Pan Am instructor and pilot, was one of the players in this game. Since Ararat is near the Soviet border, there were many fly-bys around the mountain. During one such excursion, a Turkish pilot participating in the maneuvers volunteered to show some of the American pilots Noah's Ark. Schwinghammer took all this in a light vein but went along.
The editor of AR discussed this incident with Schwinghammer about two years ago. The only thing really clear in his memory was that it definitely looked like a structure of some kind. He likened it to the long rectangular chicken houses he had seen in the midwest. It didn't really hit him that this could be Noah's Ark until he saw the movie In Search of Noah's Ark on TV. Schwinghammer still is not sure what it was but he maintains it definitely was a structure.
An interesting thing to note here about Schwinghammer is that he later flew many bombing missions in Vietnam with the particular responsibility of spotting the targets on the ground. We mention this to point out that the man was trained to spot objects from a plane. To read more on the Schwinghammer experience, see Berlitz' first book Doomsday 1999 A.D. and the update in his latest book mentioned in this issue. Schwinghammer now claims that the object he saw looked like the Hagopian description as drawn by Elfred Lee.
Schwinghammer had a recollection of the U-2 pilots also seeing something in photos. They flew out of the same base in Adana. As you will recall from the Gary Powers' incident the Americans were flying reconnoissance missions deep into the heart of the Soviet Union. On many occasions this took them right over Ararat.
In the spring of 1985, one Sunday morning, we received a phone call at 7:00 a.m. with the caller excitedly telling us that he knew someone who had seen photographs of the Ark while in the Air Force. After garnering some of the facts, we made an appointment to see this man to check out his story. After his basic training, this man spent most of his four years in the Air Force in top security work at a large base in the midwest. His job was to process film as it was brought into the lab from around the world. Apparently, our U-2's were surreptitiously filming the whole world, even friendly countries, in order to pin-point possible bomb targets when and if this action ever became necessary. Our man remembers film coming in from eastern Turkey. After he and others processed the film it was turned over to another crew who were responsible for the analysis. What he remembers is the perplexity these men had over a certain object high in the snows of Ararat.
It seems they could not figure out what the Turks could have built of that size at that extreme altitude. What could it be? Finally, he recalled hearing one of them jokingly exclaim: "It must be Noah's Ark!" Being a Christian at the time, our friend pricked up his ears and went over for a closer look. Basically, what he remembers is a barge-like object sticking out of the ice with most of it still buried. Since he was in top security he told no one of the incident. Being a distant event he apparently felt it was O.K. to now share the experience with the hope that it might yield some clue to the Ark's whereabouts.
Upon discharge from the Air Force this gentleman enrolled in a Baptist college near this Air Force base to prepare for the ministry. While at this college, he recalls another incident while strolling around the student lounge one day. To his surprise he noticed on the bulletin board a photo cut out of a newspaper with the caption "Could this be Noah's Ark?" He did a double take when he realized it was from the roll he had processed only a few years previously in the lab. He wondered who dared disclose the photograph because he remembered how his superiors drilled into them the subject of secrecy and the penalty involved.
To this day he does not know if it was Noah's Ark but he wonders what else it could have been. This man (who wishes to remain anonymous) was once a pastor of a large Baptist church in Kansas City. Today he is a marriage and family counselor in a large clinic in Dallas. We know this man personally and can attest that his reputation is impeccable. To add further authenticity to this story, in the summer of '85, Col. Jim Irwin met an American two-star General in Turkey who also claimed to have seen a file labeled Noah's Ark and a slide purporting to be the Ark while stationed at an Air Force base in the midwest (not the same base). We are not privy to all the details of the General's testimony, but as far as we know, nothing new has turned up despite the General's promise to try and locate the photographs.
In 1953 an American employed by an American oil company not only claimed to have seen the Ark while flying by in a helicopter, he also took a number of photographs. Upon returning to the states this man, George J. Greene, was unsuccessful in trying to raise support for a ground expedition. Some time later he died, or was murdered in South America. Many people however, saw his photographs, too many in fact for this to have been a fictitious story. A more complete account of Greene's discovery can be found in Noah's Ark: Fact or Fable by Violet Cummings (213ff).
For two very good reasons we are now 99% convinced that what George Greene saw was a large rock formation that is known to most Ark researchers. The particular formation we refer to came to light in the mid-seventies as a result of an expedition led by Tom Crotser of the Holy Ground Mission. The movie, In Search of Noah's Ark, which we refer to elsewhere in this issue, zooms in on the Crotser photograph and shows an object with planking clearly visible. Ark researchers have looked this photo over carefully and have questioned its authenticity. It appeared to have been retouched. We now know for a fact that it was indeed retouched, but not with any fraudulent intent, so says Mr. David Fry, of Cleburne, TX a former acquaintance of Crotser's.
Fry met Crotser in a photo print shop in Dallas where he noticed Crotser's scenic mountain photos. When he was informed that the mountain scenery was Ararat, the two learned they had a mutual interest in Biblical history. Fry agreed to assist Crotser in the analysis of the photo containing an interesting ship-shaped object. Since they had shots of the object from different angles Fry studied it stereo-scopically. While doing so, he noticed lines that seemed to run parallel length-wise on the object when viewed through a magnifying lense. Fry simply enhanced these lines and presented the photo to Crotser who then proceded to publicly proclaim the lines as planking on a structure. He also began announcing to the press that the structure was Noah's Ark.
The object in question is positively located on the eastern rim of the Ahora Gorge at approximately 12000 feet. It was photographed by Bob Stuplich from the air in 1983 and by expeditions on the ground.
There are two reasons to link the Greene and Crotser sightings. Our first reason for concluding that Greene's and Crotser's objects are one and the same is their similarity to the sketch made by Fred Drake who claimed to have viewed Greene's photographs.
Mr. Fry was kind enough to lend us a photograph of the object which he said was made from one of the Crotser's slides. The object was shot at eye level from the western rim of the gorge much the same as Greene would have done from the helicopter, only from further away.
To us the similarity is striking! The object lies almost due north and south exactly as Greene described it. The object is on a kind of rock shelf over-looking a shear drop-off. When viewing Stuplich's aerial photos it appears that a side shot would also look just as Drake sketched it. Cummings also reports that Greene was flying over the northeastern side of the mountain (p.219).
The fact that the object is at about 12000 feet also supports our contention. This is about the ceiling for a helicopter in the early '50s. We did some checking on this awhile back and found that there was a high performance French helicopter that could have flown to the summit of the mountain, but it is doubtful that Greene would have had one of these at his disposal.
This of course does not seal the case in concrete. We will never know for certain until we actually see Greene's photos. However, we said that there were two reasons why we are convinced that Greene saw the same rock formation that Crotser photographed in 1974.
Rod Younquist, engineer and veteran of several trips to Ararat, related to AR that he once met members of Crotser's expedition who informed him that they had shown their photographs to people who had also viewed Greene's missing photographs. Upon viewing the Holy Ground Mission photographs their response was: "Oh, where did you get George Greene's photographs?" Hence our second reason is the fact that Greene's friends mistakenly identified the Crotser photographs as Greene's.
When Fry saw some of our slides of this object from different vantage points he too became doubtful. However, he said it really looks convincing when viewed stereo-scopically. He would like to see more photographs to have added confirmation. We agree. Perhaps one of our readers may have a close up of this formation.
(In subsequent issues we will continue our investigation of post WWII sightings.)
EVOLUTION CONTRA CHRISTIANITY
Why are evolutionists so opposed to the subject of special creation? Is it due to the overwhelming superiority of the evidence? We think not. The real reason these two positions are so at loggerheads is much deeper than evidence. The conflict begins back at the presuppositional level. Presuppositions are those beliefs that are foundational; they are taken in faith and they dictate how one interprets the data of experience. All world views rest on these presuppositions or assumptions. What we have between Evolution and Christianity is a collision of world views. We thought it would be helpful to our readers to pinpoint what some of these conflicting assumptions are. First, we will list these side by side:
Christian Evolutionary
1. Man fell from a 1. Living things higher estate. are evolving (devolution) to higher forms. 2. There is a qual-2. Only a quantitative difference between man and the animals.
3. God's providence 3. Chance. in nature.
4. True moral values. 4. Only mores. 5. Open universe. 5. Closed universe. 6. Man needs re-6. Man needs more demption. time.
7. There is purpose 7. No purpose. in the universe.
In future issues it is our plan to expound on these assumptions point by point so our readers will know from whence the Creation-Evolution controversy arises.
ARK MOVIES
We've had several responses to our inquiry in the January issue concerning the Bart LaRue movie, The Ark of Noah. We now have our own copy and have viewed it several times with great interest. Our tape library now contains quite a few hours of various Ark films and we thought it might be a service to our readers to review what we've learned about other Ark films and where our readers might have access to them.
What intrigues us is that more than four films about the search for Noah's Ark appeared in one year, 1976! Incidentally, we know of at least eight or nine books on the subject of the Ark and the Flood that appeared between '72 and '76. Certainly this must have inspired film-makers to take advantage of the interest generated by the books.
We don't know who qualifies as being first, but two of the films produced that year are feature-length and were shown in theaters. A videotape of the aforementioned Bart LaRue film can still be ordered from: United Entertainment, Inc., 6535 E. Skelley Dr., Tulsa, OK 74145. The cost is $39.95. Their phone number is 918-622-6460.
This movie is of interest to Ark researchers because of its historic footage from Navarra, Search Foundation, and the Archaeological Research Foundation. The movie itself plods along, contains many historical inaccuracies, and is anti-Turkish in tone. LaRue himself is persona non-grata in Turkey due to his illegal climb of the mountain while filming for the movie. Viewers will also have difficulty discerning the real thing from what is re-enactment.
Another major feature length movie, In Search of Noah's Ark, was made in 1976 by Sunn Classic Pictures. A major book of the same title was released the same year. The authors of the book are Dave Balsiger and Charles E. Sellier, Jr. Balsiger was the ghost-writer for the English version of Navarra's book: Noah's Ark: I Touched It. Sellier is also the producer of the family-oriented TV show "The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams." In Search of Noah's Ark has been seen by millions and is frequently shown on late night TV. A video of this movie can probably be ordered from your local video store. This is a better film, but it leaves you with the impression that the Ark has been found and that the evidence is more credible than we would allow.
Ken Anderson Films of Winona Lake, IN produced the film Noah's Ark and the Genesis Flood. Jack Dabner, now with Seven Star Productions, in Long Beach, CA headed up the research effort and narrated this film. It appeared first in 1976. It is approximately an hour in length and rents for $52. Unfortunately, it is not available on videotape. The film can be rented through local rental agencies who handle Ken Anderson films.
Films for Christ, distributes a film mainly dealing with the Genesis Flood. It has been translated into many languages and is still used frequently in churches and by missionaries. The emphasis is apologetic and evangelistic. Its title is The World that Perished. It contains an excellent presentation of the many flood stories found in cultures on all the continents of the world. On the whole, it is a very instructional film. It is about 35 minutues in length. A video of this film can be rented for $27 from Films for Christ, 2628 W. Birchwood Cir., Mesa, AZ 85202. We were told that this film is based on a book of the same name authored by Dr. John Whitcomb of Grace Theological Seminary. We are acquainted with this book, and can attest that it is a work of high quality. We highly recommend it to our readers.
Last summer, a Dutch film crew joined the Irwin team for the purpose of making a documentary for Dutch television. A video (VHS) of this is available from High Flight Foundation, Box 1387, Colorado Springs, CO 80901. Purchase price is $20, or $10 to rent. The title of this video is: Waar is De Ark Van Noach? Some of the dialogue is in Dutch but the majority is English. It contains footage from a rare flight over the mountain, has a sense of drama, and contains clear gospel testimonies by Col. Irwin and his team members.
We are also aware of another film released in '86 produced by Montana Film, a German Company. This film is 43 minutes in length and has been shown on German television. This company films mountain-climbing events all over the world and the fact that they included footage about the search for the Ark was incidental to their purpose. Dr. John Baumgardner and Ron Wyatt are interviewed on the film. It also apparently contains some spectacular footage shot on the summit of Ararat and the Parrot glacier area. It leaves you with the impression that the ship-shaped formation southeast of Ararat is likely the Ark of Noah. An English-version video cassette is available, but we are not aware of any U.S. distributors at this time. Inquiries can be sent to their German address: Montana Film, Am Fort Elisabeth 15, D-6500 Mainz, W. Germany.
We have knowledge that a Canadian film crew was present at Ararat in '85 with the intent of making a documentary for Canadian Broadcasting, however, we have no details at this time as to whether or not one was made or shown in Canada.
To our knowledge, these are all the "Ark Movies" formally "published." If any of our readers are aware of others please let us know as we would like to share that information.
GOPHER WOOD---A PROCESS?
submitted by Dr. Don Shockey Albuquerque, NM
When asked what the Ark of Noah was constructed from we all immediately know the answer. We can respond without hesitation by replying--"gopher wood." That is correct, and is exactly what the KJV of the Bible states. Genesis 6:14: "make thee an ark of gopher wood." The New International Version says it a little differently: "So make yourself an ark of cypress wood." The footnote tells the reader that cypress would be more likely the wood of choice since the Hebrew meaning of go'phir is uncertain. Still no problem since we know without reservation that whatever God told Noah would be the absolute best to sustain the craft during the deluge to follow. One of the primary objectives of the re-discovery of the Ark will be to scientifically examine the wood and attempt to resolve once and for all what type of wood was used in its construction. All seem to agree that it would be some type of hard wood. Guesses have included white oak, cypress, etc. even a type of tree no longer on earth has been suggested.
The following is offered to our AR readers and Ark researchers as a possible interpretation of the term "gopher wood."
Recently, during a professional seminar in Texas a doctor approached me, and a conversation began when I learned he was born in Israel and has a mother who is 94 still living in Jerusalem. I asked him what gopher wood, as stated in Genesis, really meant? The following is his reply:
"From a certain kind of resinous tree, when one makes an incision into the bark and collects the resin or sap, he can use it as glue by applying it at the joint between two pieces of wood. After letting it dry over-night, he will not be able to break the joint. The wood will break before the joined seam. This has been used in our area of the world for centuries, although it is not used very often in modern times since this sap will discolor any wood it happens to come into contact with. This is what Noah used to construct the Ark. 'Gopher wood' or 'gophering' is a process not a particular tree." (Emphasis mine).
He further suggested that Noah used the "gophering process" to fashion the large timbers from many different pieces of hardwood that could have been some type of hard oak tree. What, specifically, we can only guess. This information turned on a light within my thinking. What he described would be like our process of making plywood. If this is a valid assumption, then Noah could have constructed large timbers needed of any size, thickness, or length, without being dependent upon single, mammoth trees to accomplish God's command. The original meaning should be traced back to determine if a gopher wood process has any validity. As of this writing, a minister from Albuquerque is to visit the Holy Land and will attempt to secure information about this resin which we will test. I will update AR on this project.
BOOKS
In the November issue we noted that Charles Berlitz, author of the Bermuda Triangle would be authoring a book on Noah's Ark and the Flood. We are pleased to announce that this book is now available in major bookstore chains. The book is titled The Lost Ship of Noah. It is published by G.P. Putnam's Sons, and sells for $17.95 (hardback), 187 pp.
Berlitz is an author of the Erich von Daniken mold. He is particularly interested in the myths and symbols of ancient cultures. It is his thesis that behind them are actual historical events from which they arose.
This new book by Berlitz is an elaboration of a former book--Doomsday 1999 A.D. published in 1981. He believes there was not only a great world-wide catastrophe in the past, i.e. a world-wide flood, but that there will likely be another. He bases this prediction on two things: the course of modern events whereby man seems to be destroying his environment, and the numerous prophecies from a variety of cultures and religions. He sees the majority of these prophecies as being authentic revelations that are this very moment moving toward fulfillment.
In The Lost Ship of Noah Berlitz seeks to bring his readers up-to-date on the search for Noah's Ark on Mt. Ararat, and sets forth the cases for a previous world-wide deluge, and the probability of future global destruction. Since most of the previous books on the Ark were written in the 70s Berlitz does those who are interested in the search a service. He is not writing from a scholarly perspective. However, he is a reporter who digs into his subject and writes well. In addition we must point out that Berlitz is not necessarily writing from a Christian perspective. He believes that there were probably many arks that saved representatives of their respective cultures from the catastrophic flood-waters. In fact, he cites evidence of other ships being found in mountains and anticipates that more will undoubtedly be uncovered (see p. 166ff).
All Ark enthusiasts will appreciate the many photos by Ahmet Arslan and Jay Bitzer, who was this editor's photographer in a 1985 expedition. While most Christians will not accept his multiple ark theory we commend him for making a clear case for a universal flood. SUMMER OF '87
About this time of the year, the Ark Grapevine is humming with news about expedition plans, new objects spotted in old photos, and new theories about location, etc.
Permits are generally applied for in January. Plans are being made to raise funds. Intense research is being carried out. Regular calls are made to the Turkish embassy, and there is an "air" of secrecy.
AR is not a "tell all" sheet. If someone informs us about their plans or research in confidence, we don't print it. Right now we are aware of some pretty exciting research going on and some interesting developments that we hope to report to you at the right time.
Currently we are aware of about 7 or 8 groups that are applying for research permits for Mt. Ararat. Foreign groups are also getting involved. We are aware of French, Norwegian and Japanese groups who are interested in the search for the Ark. There is the possibility that a helicopter will be used this summer for the first time. They will need adequate financing and much prayer to pull this off.
It is also our hope that the ship-shaped formation southeast of Ararat will be properly excavated this summer. We will also endeavor to keep you up-to-date on this strange shape which the Turkish government is claiming to be the Ark of Noah.
POLITICAL AND WEATHER WATCH
We are still getting unconfirmed reports of a horrendous winter in Eastern Turkey. We have news reports stating that areas in Turkey and Greece have received snow where it has never snowed before!
On the political side we are happy to report that the U.S. has signed a new five year treaty with Turkey. Our government will be paying $1 billion for the privilege of maintaining our military bases.
The following article appeared in Insight, Mar. 30, 1987:
"A report from Ankara's Security Department has accused Libya and Syria of supplying arms and logistic support to Kurdish separatist terrorists in Turkey and Iraq. The allegation was made during the trial of five persons accused of smuggling arms into Turkey from Syria for the Kurds. Most of the insurgents are members of the Kurdish Labor Party, a Marxist-Leninist organization with headquarters in Syria.
The groups said to be receiving the supplies are the Kurdish Democratic Party, Kurdish Workers Party and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.
According to Western analysts, following the Turkish bombing of Kurdish camps in Iraq last August, the flow of arms (some believed to be a gift of Libya's Col. Muammar Quaddafi) across the Syrian border is beginning to increase in numbers and sophistication."
This one appeared in the Rocky Mountain News, 3/9/87:
"Assailants believed to be Kurdish guerrillas raided a Turkish village near the Syrian border, killing six children and two adults, the Anatolia news agency said yesterday.
The assailants fired automatic weapons and hurled hand grenades at two homes in the village of Acikyol on Saturday night, the news agency said.
Most of the guerrillas operating in the region are linked to the Kurdish Labor Party, which wants to set up an independent Kurdish state in eastern and southeastern Turkey."
A note of interest with regard to the previous news article: The incident referred to took place very close to one of the traditional resting places of Noah's Ark--Nisibis. We will be doing a major article on the other traditional resting places of Noah's Ark in a future issue.
BITS AND PIECES
In the November issue, we mentioned another forthcoming book by Rene Noorbergen which would defend the thesis that the ship-shaped object south of Ararat is the Ark. We have been informed that this book will not be out until June.
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