Family Tree-Fi-Fo-Fum

by Nick Norlen

Lecture

We're all proud of our ancestry, but maybe not proud enough. According to John Adolfi, "We've been gypped of knowing our heritage." And considering he believes that humans were created as giants who were "incredibly good-looking, sophisticated, much stronger, vastly taller and had superior intelligence," he sees this omission from our family trees as more than an oversight. "But," he says, "we've devolved since then." Touché.

Adolfi (pictured), president of Bibleland Studios, says that its mission is to "present the first 10 chapters of Genesis in an entertaining way." (Pray Jerry Bruckheimer isn't reading this.)

According to the Web site, part of their promotion of creationism includes rewards offered for "specific artifacts that will help us in our mission." Adolfi mainly hopes to score some "giant bones or pictures of Noah's Ark" but admits he hasn't received anything more tangible than a few phone calls. However, when he presents his lecture, "The Evidence of Giants," this Saturday, he won't be empty-handed. Along with a slide show, he plans to display several "replica artifacts," including giant bone and skull replicas and a 2-foot-long sneaker, meant to illustrate how big giants' shoes are to fill. All of this might sound a little outrageous, but Adolfi says he can back it up. He says the proof for the existence of giants is found in references in a "multiplicity of excerpts of writers throughout antiquity," drawing from "various sources including Genesis and Homer." Apart from reading from these authoritative texts, he'll discuss the significance of hoaxes such as the famous Cardiff Giant, a stone sculpture paraded as a petrified 10-foot man. "It was a hoax, but it shows how gullible people can be."

"The Evidence of Giants," presented by John Adolfi, Sat., April 2, 7 p.m., free, Chestnut Hill Seventh-day Adventist Church, 8700 Germantown Ave., 215-247-7022.