NEW YORK, N.Y., May 31…The Biblical story of little David’s victory over giant Goliath has been a metaphor for the struggle of worker against the boss, slave against the master, oppressed against tyrant. It tells how a shepherd boy vanquished the Philistine mercenary with only a slingshot and a bag of smooth stones.
But Biblio-skeptics say the encounter never took place; the story was concocted by King David’s spin doctors to enhance his legend. A slingshot, while effective against birds and small animals, could never fell a giant in full battle armor, helmet and visor.
Physicist Ken Gehagen-Verren, of the Intelligent Design Institute of Military Science counters that David did slay Goliath. But he used a secret weapon–an atlatl.
An atlatl is a device attached to a stone-tipped spear to enhance the power of the thrower. First developed in prehistoric times, it is a stick that is placed under the spear to act as an extension of the thrower’s arm. According to Gehagen-Verren, the atlatl creates a “hyperbolic tangent,” which exponentially amplifies the speed of the thrown spear and the distance it travels. A well hurled atlatl can go up to 100 mph and can greatly magnify the killing distance, he says.
Atlatls were was used to hunt large game and to defend against human enemies. “They were the great equalizers,” Gehagen-Verren says.”They made females and children as effective warriors as men and aided in the defense of the tribe against marauders.”
Atlatls were replaced by bows and arrows in Epi-Paleoithic era and would have been unknown in Biblical times. But Gehagen-Verren claims that “with God’s help” David “reinvented” the atlatl.
“As a shepherd boy David had to protect the flock,” he says, “but he was denied the use of the warrior weapons, the bow and the sword. While cutting branches for his shepherd’s crook he fashioned a spear. After a few throws God sent the revelation of the atlatl into his mind. He tried it. It worked. He had never slung a stone that far or fast.Then, he sharpened his stones into spear heads. Being an ambitious and calculating boy he kept his new weapon a secret. When Goliath challenged the israelites he stepped forward, knowing that he had an advantage.”
According to Gehagen-Verren the Israelites watched in awe as David faced Goliath. “One swift, true throw of the atlatl penetrated Goliath’s armor,” he says.
The Israelites, having never seen a atlatl believed that Yahweh had imparted special powers to David and his slingshot. “With one throw David was transformed from an obscure shepherd boy to God’s warrior, conqueror of Jerusalem, direct forebear of Jesus Christ.,” Gehagen-Verren says. “And it never would have happened if not for the atlatl.”
It’s difficult to know where to start to comment on this article. It would seem that some people are so interested in finding fault with the Bible that they just let normal reasoning go by the way. Slings are VERY deadly! Anyone that denies that denies history. In many cultures they were considered more deadly than the bow, and were widely used in ancient warfare! That’s just plain HISTORY! I use both a sling and atlatl. I am well versed on what each is capable of, and have a fair understanding of the history of them both. I would suggest that the author, look at the account in 1 Sam. 17, and read the story for himself.(Something that it appears he didn’t do before enlightening the world ) While there is no doubt that the Giant was felled with the sling, the wording in some translations leaves doubt as to whether it was the sling or having his head removed with his own sword that was the actual cause of death. There is as much proof that Goliath was killed with a rocket propelled grenade as there is that an atlatl had anything to do with his death. As a physicist, you should know that there is every bit as much physics involved with a slings power as with the power of the atlatl.