BOOK SAMPLE REVIEW: BIRTHRIGHT
Scholarly, open-minded approach to the biblical narrative that allows for UFOs and aliens.
Birthright is the manifesto book of it’s author, Timothy Alberino. Mr. Alberino describes himself as an author, researcher, and explorer. He does maintain a kind of “Indiana Jones” persona, which I understand, but it made me wonder whether his platforms and public expressions were essentially theatrical. After following him for a while, watching his videos, seeing his interviews, and reading his writings, I’ve decided he is for real.
I believe Mr. Alberino could add “Bible scholar” to his list of attributives, because such knowledge is reflected in Birthright. An erudite writing style is also there, which I found refreshing. He writes at a college level, where most published writing these days is eighth grade at best. Or so it seems to me.
I have called Birthright Mr. Alberino’s manifesto because he refers to it in almost every interview he does. He doesn’t come across in that as self-serving, but informational, referring people to a complete expression of his vision and beliefs. He considers himself a “Bible believing” Christian and his book supports that. In fact, that put me off from reading his book for a while because, as he himself puts it, I have…
...been subjected throughout your life to a continual reinforcement of vacuous religious concepts regarding the nature of the cosmos and the beings that inhabit it—concepts which neither clarify nor satisfy the questions that percolate in the inquisitive mind.
In a nutshell, Mr. Alberino takes a learned, intelligent approach to understanding the Bible, while maintaining faith in the Christian beliefs derived from it. And so, in Birthright, he presents an expanded view of the biblical narrative that encompasses the vastness of the universe and the life it contains.
He places much emphasis on angels, describing them “the elder race” (relative to humanity) who are of greater perception and ability, but are incarnate, possessing civilization and using technology. Because the word, angel, means “messenger” and is frequently used that way in the Bible, Mr. Alberino refers to angelic beings as morning stars (as the Bible also refers to them). Hence, Satan (the Dragon) is a rebelled morning star, and humans are a degenerate race of morning stars.
Mr. Alberino also applies the term, extraterrestrial, to these beings. This is, I suppose, technically correct. But he also means to incorporate the idea of very many other created beings that we would see as aliens. For you see, Mr. Alberino also considers himself a UFO researcher and his knowledge and work bears that out. So his descriptions of UFO events and theories include biblical perspectives and ideas.
This leads to an expanded, or tolerant, definition of “supernatural.” Mr. Alberino expounds on this in several passages of his book. It is an idea I have also long maintained. As he says in Birthright:
The biblical paradigm does not portray two distinct creations, one for the natural world and one for the supernatural, but a singular universe in which all things abide and are bound together by synergistic forces.
In other words, the supernatural is that part of the natural we don’t understand as yet. And it includes religious concepts.
Another idea integral to Mr. Alberino’s view expressed in Birthright is that of cataclysm. This is the idea that human history and development as seen from our current perspective, came out of a time of great destruction followed by reconstitution. This is the “Atlantis” scenario, and it is gaining adherents among independent scientists and scholars. In the Bible, the flood story may be an echo of it. Scientists and thinkers such as Robert Schoch and Graham Handcock hold to the idea of a very long human history punctuated by cataclysm. Mr. Alberino sees it reflected in the Genesis versions of the creation story:
The story of mankind begins in the beginning, but not in the very beginning. The beginning of our story marks the appearance of a new sentient species in the universe, one specifically designed to inhabit the earth. It does not mark the beginning of all other species inhabiting other worlds, nor the beginning of the earth itself.
The Birthright Amazon sample includes the author’s introductory note, the first two chapters, and part of the third. These parts introduce Mr. Alberino’s themes of an old earth and universe, God as top of the extraterrestrial hierarchy, angels as the elder race, humans as a degenerate race, cataclysm, and on-going heavenly war.
My main issue with Birthright is that, after presenting such intelligent slants on the biblical narrative, Mr. Alberino’s conclusions are still dogmatically doctrinal. That is, after an open-minded view of God and the universe, he doesn’t veer far from the traditional view of what God and man are. Readers who recognize this will either see it as a positive or negative, with strong feelings one way or the other.
While I do not agree with all of Mr. Alberino’s ideas and conclusions, I do like his intelligent and scholarly approach to it all. I like that he brings an extensive experience living in the wild places of the real world, and a moral code, to his studies, commentary, and writing. And he is a fine writer.
I think Birthright has the potential to be off-putting to people who are dogmatic in their Christian faith, or in their views of human history and/or the UFO phenomenon. Open-minded people in either camp, however, can find a stimulating and inclusive slant in this book.
Title: Birthright: The Coming Posthuman Apocalypse and the Usurpation of Adam's Dominion on Planet Earth
Author: Timothy Alberino
Publisher: Alberino Publishing
Publication date: May 2, 2021
Pages (print): 379
ASIN: B093ZGN1J7
ISBN-13 (paperback): 979-8556521193
Type: nonfiction, Christian, Eschatology
Amazon book page for Birthright
Ray's rating (1-5 scale, based on sample): 4
RAY’S EVALUATION BASED ON THE SAMPLE: I much enjoyed Mr. Alberino’s scholarly approach to the Bible, the paranormal, and alternate history. I recommend you read the Amazon sample, and if you are OK with a Christian faith approach to the paranormal and vise-versa, then buy the book.