The Gospels

Erich Von Daniken holds a place of sentiment for me. As a kid i loved the 1970's "Chariots of the Gods" documentary. After seeing it I was hooked on the questions posed by it. As time has passed I find myself on the opposite side of many Von Daniken ideas; but still remain a fan of Von Daniken for launching me into an interest that I love. Von Daniken is of course free to have his opinions, however there is one thing I wish he would stop doing; he claims that the Gospels are too long after Jesus' life to be legitimate. The article above is one example where he does this. He does it to support some of his Ancient Astronaut ideas and construct his own cosmology. I hate it when he does this; It reveals that he has not properly researched how Historians view historical documents. The Gospel of Mark is dated at only 40 years after Jesus. For documents concerning historic figures 40 years is like yesterday for scholars. Von Daniken would be harshly ridiculed in even the most liberal, even atheistic, group of religious scholars like Bart Ehrman for making such a claim. The best sources for Alexander the Great (Plutarch/ Erian) are 300-400 years after Alexander. Von Daniken would never be foolish enough to deny Alexander's exploits.