Gaylene Goodroad and Herescope Cannot Be Taken Seriously

Gaylene GoodroadInternet hatchet-woman Gaylene Goodroad is at it again… criticizing books she hasn’t read that is.  With only an undergraduate degree in communications she lacks basic theological/academic training and it shows in her “research.”  But it’s worse than that.  In a word, it is dishonest and a seminary or University would discipline or expel a student for such shoddy work. Rather than offer a meaningful critique from the primary sources, she liberally quotes the reviews of other pseudo-discernment writers like herself and affirms them without vetting any of their (often false) accusations. Furthermore, when she attempts to interact she misunderstands and/or misrepresents the material so badly it’s hard to believe she read it.  I don’t think she did.

Case in point, Goodroad cites my book Exo-vaticana, “Whatever the case may be, readers will come to understand the book cover for Exo-Vaticana is not simply the product of someone’s fanciful imagination.”[1]  But  then she completely misrepresents it by writing, “No, the book cover for Exo-Vaticana was not the ‘simply the product of someone’s fanciful imagination,’ but was admittedly inspired by an ancient occult scroll!”[2] The scroll in question is not occult and it has nothing to do with the book cover.

Anyone who has actually read the book (or bothered to take five minutes to read the context) would know better. The discussion of the apocalypse scroll (discussed by Michael Heiser in The Façade and DSS scholar Stephen Pfann) depicts flying objects over Jerusalem not Vatican City! Thus, Goodroad cannot have read the material she claims to critique. That is not scholarship but borders on libel.  Even more revealing of Goodroad’s sloppy misrepresentation is the actual context of the quote-mine. Here is the sentence in context:

Whatever the case may be, readers will come to understand the book cover for Exo-Vaticana is not simply the product of someone’s fanciful imagination. According to reliable witnesses and photographic evidence, something like what we have pictured has occurred more than once.[3]

As evidence I provided several photographs and this clipping from the New York Times News Service that describes an event very much like the book cover.

1973 UFOs Light Up Italy's Skies

Click to enlarge

Obviously Goodroad did not bother to actually read the book she critiqued, but simply quote mined other websites who did not accurately represent the material either. It’s text-gossip. It is completely dishonest to critique a book you have not read. In seminary or University it would result in charges of academic dishonesty. She lacks the basic integrity required to fairly review books and media. Accordingly, a point by point response to the rest of her fallacious diatribe is unnecessary because an intellectually honest reader can see that she is discredited.  As to her label, “Postmodern Prophecy Paradigm”(PPP), it reveals similar ineptitude. While she probably impressed herself by coming up with an alliteration using big words,  no one who believes in biblical prophecy is postmodern because postmodernism’s central claim is there is no overarching universal meta-narrative, which is exactly what biblical prophecy entails. Goodroad operates from unfair assumptions, fails to read what she “reviews,” and blindly trusts similar so-called “discernment” websites as her primary sources. It is quite clear from her latest hit-piece, that Herescope has become nothing more than a cheesy internet gossip tabloid and cannot be taken seriously.

 



[1] Cris Putnam and Thomas R. Horn, Exovaticana: Petrus Romanus, Project L.u.c.i.f.e.r. and the Vatican’s Astonishing Plan for the Arrival of an Alien Savior (Crane, MO: Defender, 2013), xi

[2]Gaylene Goodroad, “Is Francis the Last Pope? http://herescope.blogspot.com/2014/06/is-francis-last-pope.html (accessed 6/6/14).

[3]Putnam, Exovaticana, xi.

 

 

About Cris Putnam
Logos Apologia is the ministry of Cris D. Putnam. The mission of Logos Apologia is to show that logic, science, history and faith are complementary, not contradictory and to bring that life-changing truth to everybody who wants to know.

Comments

  1. Julie Latham says:

    Hi Cris, I read the article by Gaylene Goodraod and pray that the Lord will open her eyes. I know that You, Tom Horn,Steven Quayle and LA Marzulli are here for such a time as this. I believe the Lord is using you all to unfold the Revelation of Daniel’s book which was Sealed for the End Times (Chapter 12:4), I believe the Lord has shown Daniel so much more than he could comprehend for his time and that you have been given this revelation knowledge for the Body of Christ. Many in the Church are unaware of the Genesis 6, sons of God or even about the days of Noe and how it was back then, and how it is going to be played out in our times. As a Pentecostal I had been taught by my Pastor, the Old Testament was History and not to worry about it, ours is the New Testament (now I know better) and I’m sure many others have been taught the same. Jude 6 never even rated a mention, therefore the Church is ignorant of the things which are coming speedily upon the earth. But as in the days of Noe, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be and God has said, ‘My people perish for a lack of knowledge’. The Church is so naive, I believe that you have been raised up to reveal the knowledge about what the days of Noe were like, with the Giants etc, to prepare the Church to face and to discern all of these matters. those things which are happening now and will be in the future, however long we have. I pray that your Revealing the Truth behind the Roman Papacy and Our Church History will open the eyes of many who have been swallowed up in Apostasy, by the flatteries of the Roman. I pray that God protects you all, for you are all frontline warriors for the Body of Christ and may you continue in Prophecy, Dreams and Visions until the Church is taken up.

    • cyberpriest says:

      Jesus said “as it was in the days of Noah” The Genesis account explicitly says; “the earth was filled with Violence and was corrupt in the sight of God, for all Flesh had corrupted their way”. Gen6:11,12

      The word says that “All Flesh had corrupted their way”.. It does not say that all flesh became corrupt by DNA manipulation of fallen angels… It was their way (their conduct) that had become corrupt..
      I am of the opinion that ‘corruption of the flesh’ equates to the wickedness of men.
      “God saw that the wickedness of Men was great upon the earth” This is what God said previously. Gen6:5
      This wickedness was contained in the thoughts and imagination of men were continually Evil and men had become violent.

      TheApostle Peter applies this concept of wickedness in the days of Noah and refers to it as “the world of the ungodly” 2Pet2:5. This is in reference to the various races of men who had perverted the ‘way’ of righteousness.. That is indicative by the fact that only Noah and his household were found to be righteous..
      This is the contrast to be apprehended (The righteousness of Noah & wickedness of Men)

      Jesus referred to the days of Noah as a time when people were “eating, drinking and marrying and not a world ruled by the Nephilims.
      The scriptures I have provided are in prompt context and without speculation and indicative of the various races of men who had perverted the way of righteousness and that this was the purpose of God for sending the Flood.

      I maintain that the Neplilim were a race of men and their lineage can be traced in the book of Joshua14:15, 15:13, Judg1:10
      See; Arba, he was the father of Anak who was part of the Nephilim. the lineage of Anak was Flesh and not angels

  2. jaz says:

    Mr Putman It does not necessarily take academic prowess to refute that which is error.
    Dallas theological seminary is not the be it all! far from it.

    It is ‘the discernment of spirits’ which is God’s way of giving one knowledge of truth enabling falsity to be identified for what it is.
    I agree with most of Herescope’s refutation of the nephilim Myths.

    • Cris Putnam says:

      This has nothing to do with the nephilim. I would only expect believers to grapple with scripture like Genesis 6. Unbelievers like yourself, jaz, will likely never accept biblical supernaturalism. But you missed the point. One cannot refute a book they have not read. Goodroad burned a strawman. That is dishonest. My point is that anyone with proper training in academic research would know better.

  3. jaz says:

    Mr Putman, I am not an unbeliever, I just do not believe in the modern theory of fallen angel/alien Genetic manipulation and all that is associated with that particular teaching concerning the so called Great deception.
    That is basically what Goodman criticises. It is with that that I agree.

    I have not read Exovaticana nor have I read Goodmans criticism of it.

    My point was that one does not need any scholarship qualification in order to identify that which is false and a lot of what people like Marzulli, Missler ect are teaching i classify as speculation and very often use the Written word out of their context in order to give strength to their theory.

    A perfect example of using scripture out of the prompt context is their use of Dan2:43 which they say is genetic manipulation in the end-Times. How does that scripture imply fallen angels/alien abductions? seeing that the context is empires/civilisation from the head of Gold (babylon to the feet partly of Iron and Clay ( modern Europe)

  4. John Michael says:

    Goodroad is like so many of those that sleep in that she wont open her eyes to see the truth. There are so many who will live and die by the Sethite view of Genesis 6 while Ignoring the history that goes back to Josephus and the books of antiquity that tell the story of the Nephilim and those that spawned them. The evidence that’s been found and then hidden by those that think the way she does. The reveal is coming and it will take the people of the world by surprise.

  5. Vic says:

    Wow, she does have a point with if one is staunchly Anti-Catholic, why give a CATHOLIC, St. Malachy, any kind of validity with his so called Prophecy of Popes??
    Makes no sense…And IF Malachy is right, that must mean, without question, that God himself has absolutely no problem giving Catholics a gift of Prophecy, because if Catholicism is an apostate Religion, God will most certainly have not Blessed Malachy with the gift of Prophecy whatsoever and turn his face completely away from him, yes?

    As far as reading a book before critiquing it, as an example If I saw a book in the bookstore about Islam and their end time views, I wouldn’t have to read that book either because I would know my pre-existing beliefs automatically are in opposing views with the subject at hand based on what Christianity teaches….no need to read that book, for HOW can it convince otherwise??

    • Cris Putnam says:

      Vic — wow… just wow!

      She only seems like she has a point to you because you are similarly uninformed. In the 12th century, before the reformation, all Christians were within the Catholic church, there was no other options. There were no Bibles available except in the local church, no printing press, no books, and no opportunities for education except through the church. Martin Luther was a Roman Catholic who originally wanted to reform the church but was forced out by the corruption he encountered. There were real Christians within all along.

      “As far as reading a book before critiquing it, as an example If I saw a book in the bookstore about Islam and their end time views, I wouldn’t have to read that book either because I would know my pre-existing beliefs automatically are in opposing views with the subject at hand based on what Christianity teaches….no need to read that book, for HOW can it convince otherwise??”

      But you would still be a dishonest dunderhead to write a review of it.

  6. Vic says:

    Agreed on your last point only if one wants solidify their established end time views with specifics
    I suppose…No need for specifics though, the info on BOTH sides of this Catholic/Protestant ping pong match BTW is much too overwhelming and takes more than a lifetime to begin to understand anyway…too much to consume, too much to read, I’ve perused many of them on both sides and almost like reading a foreign language one doesn’t understand…There are no contemporary witnesses for Jesus’ existence, the writings came decades later YET I still pray and have faith…why IDK, maybe because I was ”raised” with it…I’m ‘holding on’ if you will.

    So, ”dishonest”…what does that word mean anyway? One interpretation of dishonesty is If someone writes a book like ”Zenith 2016”, the author doesn’t currently disclose the fact on his website or on Amazon that it’s basically the SAME book updated formally known as “Apollyon Rising 2012”. With the date aspect titles of those 2 books it’s tantamount to pushing the ”date” back a few more years not unlike other authors in the past excusing why the World didn’t end or rapture didn’t occur within 40 years after Israel became a state, excusing it because they changed their tune later saying: “Oh the Biblical generational “countdown” actually began after the 6 day war in 1967…Come on Man, I mean many of us who TRUSTED people like you, essentially, the more erudite mouthpieces of God to interpret to US, have been doing this kind of thing for a very long time and we’ve just about had enough….It’s true, one never goes broke writing about the end times….Can you blame many who are losing faith now as a result of this ‘end time’ inconsistency?? It’s not the only reason, I GET that, but can you really blame them otherwise? I can’t, and that’s where they will find grace with the Lord because he knew they were lied to by ”theologians” and fear mongers…This is not personal, although It may seem to lean that way, it’s not.

    • Paul says:

      Come on Man, I mean many of us who TRUSTED people like you, essentially, the more erudite mouthpieces of God to interpret to US

      That’s not a wise thing to do. It’s what the Jews did (and still do) with their Rabbis, what the Catholics did (and still do) with their priests and their Pope, and what the dead and false Protestant churches do with their wretched apostate clergy. Don’t trust men. Trust the Scriptures. Cris would be the first to tell you that, I’m sure.

      we’ve just about had enough….It’s true, one never goes broke writing about the end times….Can you blame many who are losing faith now as a result of this ‘end time’ inconsistency??

      If they really had saving faith then they’d not be so reliant on the latest End Times blockbuster, they’d be feeding themselves on the Word of God and ruminating upon it. Certainly any teacher who leads people up the garden path will face the consequences in the hereafter, but also people themselves are responsible for fact-checking and being good Bereans. Thinking one is prepared because one has forked out $29.99 for the newest End Times tome is dangerous.

      But, with that said…

      I understand your frustration with “prophecy experts” (although I don’t think Tom Horn is a very egregious example). The problem is that when one writes a book laying out a particular thesis, one is bound to defend that thesis if one wishes to maintain credibility (and to ensure that sales don’t plummet, since one’s livelihood depends upon it). When time passes by and world events deviate from the script, the author has a problem: different writers opt for different ways of dealing with this (e.g. denying the direction in which things are moving and trying to play up minor news stories which might support their position, or massaging their thesis post hoc to embrace the new direction).

      So I feel some sympathy for any (genuine) believer who is trying to make a living from writing about such things, since they have a difficult (and often underappreciated) task — even if it is on times frustrating (as you say) when things don’t pan out as you’d been led to expect.

      I always think that were I to write a book on the End Times or some aspect of Scripture (fat chance — I’m too disorganised), I’d preface it with a comprehensive disclaimer like, “This work merely represents my thoughts and views at the moment. I reserve the right to abandon this position completely and even attack it in the light of new insight, and urge all readers to test it against the Scriptures — which cannot be broken”. Whether anyone would buy such a book is another matter… 😉

    • Cyberpriest says:

      Vic; I believe that you make a good point about those who utilise the stretching of physical time to justify their end-Time scenario when it does not materialise. The imagination in that case usurps the scriptures.
      As far as dishonesty goes, Money talks.
      All theology is accountable to those who formulate them and those who formulate them shall be accountable to god for every word spoken or written and in the fashion which it influences the body of Christ.

  7. Vic says:

    “Don’t trust men. Trust the Scriptures”

    Which must mean don’t read any of their books…but wait! Scripture is not for one’s private interpretation either.
    It’s like you can’t win, or a blockage for understanding…I’ve never thought this before, but I would not be
    the least bit surprised if there were other legit Scriptures no one has ever seen, that have been kept
    from us, how’s THAT for a theory?….Something’s really wrong with this picture, just “off”, just…not complete.

    I’m not Catholic and IDK much, but one thing is hardcore certain is that the ”Reformation” was anything but,
    as there are more than 20,000 denominations of Christianity in the World today and IDK of anyone else to blame
    for that other than Luther…sorry, but I don’t think that was the long term plan, he started it, sure there were abuses in the Church prior, I GET that, but the Faith went from the frying pan into the fire with that one long term,
    with so many tentacles to the faith like the most freakish Octopus you can imagine…not good.
    It’s confusing, and who’s the author of confusion? At this point I’m goin’ for the grace rather than trying to live like some monk and read everything that’s out there, like I said before, too much stuff out there to read and absorb…too much…too overwhelming.

    Cris was on a podcast and I heard even him say there are ”blind spots” to the Historic Christian faith Atheists
    and Agnostics use AGAINST us with the subject of other recent books discrediting, seriously questioning Christ’s existence, deity, and/or the faith itself…But that’s not what bothers me, what bothers me is that when Cris said there were ”blind spots”, he didn’t say what those ”blind spots” were!! So why on Earth didn’t Cris explain what those SPECIFIC ‘blind spots’ were, this way we could at least answer to those trying to discredit Christianity??

    I would have wanted to know, would you??
    Cris apparently knows their very best arguments for discrediting Christianity but he never disclosed them
    in the podcast! I forget which recent podcast btw…one of the lesser known ones out there
    IDK why he didn’t give specifics…maybe they’re too strong of an argument that they may shut us down
    and WIN that argument??
    What are they? We need to ANSWER others in one way or another if one confronts us with them…What are they?…What ARE they?? What are those blind spots?
    What is their very best ‘ammo’ they have against us for questioning Christianity, not their second best arguments, their VERY best…their very best, so we may have at least SOME ‘ammo’, if you will, to answer them.

  8. Syl Ludlow says:

    There are articles written by Phd’s that vary and sometimes in contradiction to one an other, further, we Judges who vary in judgments and are referred to other higher Courts, so, do we have an argument of intelligence vs “:Smarts”.. The question of her comments of Martial Arts, are they considered to be true or false. Just a point of observation.

  9. Francesco says:

    Your last sentence says it all: “Herescope has become nothing more than a cheesy internet gossip tabloid and cannot be taken seriously.” I had been lured in recently by some excellently written articles, and like you, Cris, I wish to be a Berean. But this PERESCOPE blog goes beyond exposing heresy within the modern-day Church in America. It results in endless, needless articles that are nitpicky and tear apart the work of good men of God. I think when it comes to “error” (versus heresy) and personal differences about style and peripheral doctrinal matters, one should go to the person and show him/her is fault, not air it in a public forum i.e. a blogsite.

    I am saddened, however, to see that one great man of God whom I regard highly who happens to be a contributor to PERESCOPE. That is Pastor Anton Bosch. Hard to understand why such a discerning, balanced Christian man with a Continuist vantage point would want to be a part of a website that evidences so much bad fruit in the Body of Christ. I think I need to ask him why.

    • Francesco says:

      Cris: your last sentence says it all: “HERESCOPE has become nothing more than a cheesy internet gossip tabloid and cannot be taken seriously.” I had been lured in recently by some excellently written articles, and like you, Cris, I wish to be a Berean. But this HERESCOPE blog goes beyond exposing heresy within the modern-day Church in America. It results in endless, needless articles that are nitpicky and tear apart the work of good men of God. I think when it comes to initiating discussion regarding perceived “error” (versus heresy) and personal differences about style and peripheral doctrinal matters, one should go to the person and show him/her is fault, not air it in a public forum i.e. a blogsite.

      I am saddened, however, to see that one great man of God, whom I regard highly, happens to be a contributor to HERESCOPE. That is Pastor Anton Bosch. Hard to understand why such a discerning, balanced Christian man with a Continuist vantage point would want to be a part of a website that evidences so much bad fruit in the Body of Christ. I think I need to ask him why.

  10. Francesco says:

    Cris: your last sentence says it all—–“HERESCOPE has become nothing more than a cheesy internet gossip tabloid and cannot be taken seriously.” I had been lured in recently by some excellently written articles, and like you, Cris, I wish to be a Berean. But this HERESCOPE blog goes beyond exposing heresy within the modern-day Church in America. It results in endless, needless articles that are nitpicky and tear apart the work of good men of God. I think when it comes to initiating discussion regarding perceived “error” (versus heresy) and personal differences about style and peripheral doctrinal matters, one should go to the person and show him/her is fault, not air it in a public forum i.e. a blogsite.

    I am saddened, however, to see that one great man of God, whom I regard highly, happens to be a contributor to HERESCOPE. That is Pastor Anton Bosch. Hard to understand why such a discerning, balanced Christian man with a Continuist vantage point would want to be a part of a website that evidences so much bad fruit in the Body of Christ. I think I need to ask him why.