On a hill outside Atlanta stands an enduring mystery structure known as the Georgia Guidestones – a stone monument, somewhat similar in appearance to Stonehenge, but with a modern twist. The Georgia Guidestones were financed in cash and erected in 1979 by a man using the name R.C. Christian — a pseudonym. R.C. Christian insisted his name remain confidential and his real identity has never been revealed.
Further intrigue stems from the inscriptions on the Guidestones themselves. Ten principles are inscribed on the granite slabs, in each of the eight most commonly spoken languages on Earth — English, Spanish, Swahili, Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian. A modern Rosetta-stone. The principles, or guidelines, read as follows:
1. Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.
2. Guide reproduction wisely — improving fitness and diversity.
3. Unite humanity with a living new language.
4. Rule passion — faith — tradition — and all things with tempered reason.
5. Protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts.
6. Let all nations rule internally resolving external disputes in a world court.
7. Avoid petty laws and useless officials.
8. Balance personal rights with social duties.
9. Prize truth — beauty — love — seeking harmony with the infinite.
10. Be not a cancer on the earth — Leave room for nature — Leave room for nature.
The guidestones have been the subject of much controversy. Some religious leaders have condemned the monument as an occultic shrine. Others claim principle number one is a call to genocide on behalf of the Rosicrucians — a contention fueled by the initials of the monument’s benefactor, R.C. Christian.
The guidestones were erected at the height of the Cold War, when many believed we were on the brink of nuclear apocalypse, and some think the guidestones are a Rosetta stone for whomever would follow humans as the inhabitants of planet Earth, a way to ensure our languages will be decipherable in future millennia. Despite the multitude of theories, nobody knows for sure.
In the list of principles, mystery is mixed with naivete and insane optimism. Consider principle three. The creation of a universal invented language has been tried (Esperanto) and after one hundred years, there were between ten thousand and two million fluent speakers worldwide — probably a lot closer to ten thousand than two million. In today’s political climate, where anything international or European is seen as an assault on American freedom, the idea that people would willingly speak (or allow their children to be taught) an invented world language is laughable. Principles seven and eight are similarly fraught with political peril. And principle one… well there are billions of people on Earth now. You’d have to wipe out most of humanity to get down to 500-million.
During construction of the Guidestones, only two people met with the man using the name R.C. Christian, the owner of the granite company and a local banker — both of whom took an oath to take Christian’s real identity to the grave. However, Hudson Cone of the Elberton Granite Association was present during construction, and claims he also met the man known as R.C. Christian. He describes Christian as a man of about six feet four inches, bald on top with light gray hair on the sides, sharp features, and glasses. Cone, who has done a lot of traveling in the granite business, claims to be skilled at picking out accents. He claims the man known as R.C. Christian was from the upper midwest. On the TV Show “Brad Meltzer’s Decoded,” Cone went on record saying he believed Christian to be from the Dakotas, specifically.
I was intrigued by the story for several reasons. First, it’s a relatively modern mystery. In addition, considering the information available on R.C. Christian, it shouldn’t be that hard to get to the bottom of his identity. When I first heard the story, I wondered whether R.C. Christian might have been Roger Christian, the famous hockey player and founder of the Christian Brothers hockey stick company. He was not a Dakotan, but Minnesotan. Roger Christian was a wealthy man in his later years, and his physical description was similar to that of R.C. Christian is most respects except one — Roger was only five foot nine.
So let’s put the question to you — ever heard of the Georgia Guidestones? Any ideas on who could be R.C. Christian? What an intriguing story.
Tags: apocalypse, georgia, unexplained
