What follows is a paper I wrote more than 15 years ago. Today, we have congressional hearings on aliens and UFOs, now called UAPs (unidentified anomalous phenomenon). There have been serious new documentaries released (The Age of Disclosure) and a new movie is coming out from Steven Spielberg called Disclosure Day. This issue is getting bigger, and Christians have questions about it. Here is my attempt to provide an answer. I recently did a podcast for Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary that reflects the information contained in this paper. Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJLVJam4SJo

An Evidential and Theological Reflection on the UFO Phenomenon

Part 1: The Need for Serious Consideration

Why should anyone take the idea of UFOs and extraterrestrials seriously? Because it is having a noticeable impact on our culture. You may have noticed that a growing number of science fiction movies and television shows include UFOs and aliens.¹ But, you may not have noticed that more and more people consider UFOs and aliens to be science fact. There are a number of reasons to believe this is the case. 

Cable network news stations report UFO sightings as “breaking news” and run special programs about them. In 2007, 2008, and 2009, CNN’s Larry King produced a number of shows in which he and his guests considered the existence of UFOs and aliens. The fact that the topic continues to find a place on serious news networks shows that people are willing to give the phenomenon real consideration. The History, Discovery, and Science channels routinely broadcast one or two hour scientific documentaries about UFOs and aliens. Many of these lead the viewer to believe that the planet is probably being visited by aliens. Only a handful present the views of skeptics. No other option is explored. Not only do people take this seriously, but more and more people seem to believe.

The History Channel had a regularly running UFO television series, titled “UFO Hunters,” though it was eventually cancelled. The premise of the show was that strange UFO phenomena have been reported and that the reports are sufficiently credible to be seriously investigated. The show sent out a team of UFO researchers who investigated eyewitness testimonies of UFO sightings and the alleged remaining evidences of the UFO vehicles themselves. The evidence, however, was never enough to reach a definitive conclusion, and the careful observer would note that the methods employed were not often truly “scientific.” Nevertheless, the show certainly attempted to lead the viewer to believe that UFO sightings and experiences are real phenomena, which should be taken seriously. 

In spite of all of the cultural popularization, I was not personally concerned about the level of attention given to UFOs and aliens until I watched Ben Stein’s movie “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed” (2008). The movie is a docudrama about how Western intellectual elites will blacklist any scientist or professor who speaks out or publishes in favor of “intelligent design.”² The most fascinating part of Stein’s movie comes at the end when he interviewed Richard Dawkins, one of the most prominent proponents of the “new atheism.”³ In that interview, Stein asked Dawkins whether the current science rules out all forms of “intelligent design.” Shockingly, Dawkins replied that aliens (who themselves would have had to have evolved) may have seeded life on earth, which gave the evolutionary process on this planet a jump start. I honestly couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Richard Dawkins, a leading atheist, and respected popularizer of evolution and scientific theory, was willing to grant the notion that life on earth may have been designed by aliens. I suspect that in the coming years more and more people will be willing to consider the alien origins hypothesis, especially as the macro-evolutionary theory continues to collapse as a total explanation for life on earth. 

After watching that film, I began to consider how I would personally respond to the “alien” phenomena. I soon realized that as a Christian and a pastor, I had absolutely no adequate or reasoned response to the claim that aliens exist and are visiting our planet. That really bothered me. How would I respond to a member of my church or someone in the community who has serious questions about these things? I had no studied knowledge of this growing body of cultural mythology, and therefore was completely unprepared to formulate any kind of substantive answer. Catholic theologians had considered the alien question and provided their conclusion. In the summer of 2008, the Vatican declared that it is “okay” for Roman Catholics to believe in aliens.⁴ But is that adequate? Is it really “okay” to believe in extraterrestrials? What are the grounds of that conclusion. How do we know? Are there Scriptural parameters to this discussion? I simply had no firm governing principles by which to formulate any definite answer at all. 

In spite of the fact that many people view the topics of UFOs and aliens as culturally taboo or awkward, questions about the ultimate nature of reality, the nature and existence of personal beings, and the appropriate content of “belief” itself, are ultimately theological questions, the answers to which must be governed and directed by the Bible, which is the only ultimate truth. Theologians and pastors, therefore, are responsible to investigate any claims about aliens with reasoned inquiry and then they must come to conclusions based on God’s revealed Word. The Bible warns, “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ” (Col 2:8). Satan and his angels would have us believe lies, but our minds are to be controlled by the Word of Christ. I did some research and concentrated my studies on the writings of those I believe to be the most serious UFO researchers working in the field, whether they are Christians or not. I then reflected on the teaching of the Bible. The following pages summarize my findings and conclusions. 

Part 2: There are Only Two Possibilities

There are only two possible ways to explain the phenomena people are reporting. Either the reports of UFOs and aliens are (1) of real craft and/or intelligent beings or (2) they are misidentifications. 

Misidentifications

We know for sure that many of the reports are simply a case of mistaken identity. Sometimes, natural phenomena are wrongly thought to be UFOs. Natural occurrences that people have mistakenly reported as UFO sightings include swamp gas (which can glow), the planet Venus, meteorites burning through our atmosphere, the aurora borealis (the northern lights), the moon, noctilucent clouds (they glow at night), lenticular clouds (appear saucer shaped), lightning, flocks of birds, reflections of the sun, and insect swarms (particularly moths).⁵ Some sightings are nothing more than natural phenomena.

In some cases, people have mistaken manmade structures for UFOs. Both commercial and military aircraft are commonly reported to be UFOs. Apparently very unusual looking and/or strangely performing experimental military aircraft are occasionally thought to be UFOs. People have also misidentified water towers and radio towers as UFOs. Weather balloons, hot air balloons, kites, and parachutes have all been reported as UFOs. Rocket launches and orbiting satellites have also been misidentified. 

Researchers also claim that there is evidence for human deception behind some of the UFO sightings and abduction experiences.⁶ It is not disputed that some UFO and alien sightings are hoaxes, perpetrated by human beings. Occasionally, such hoaxes have been quite expensive and elaborate. Other UFO hoaxes have apparently been unintentional, such as the radio broadcast of War of the Worlds in 1938, which caused widespread panic because it simulated a real alien invasion in the style of a news broadcast. Some researchers also think that the U.S. military or intelligence agencies have made use of the UFO mythological phenomenon, propagating the belief in UFOs to cover up military secrets, and/or to test various methods by which the beliefs and practices of large populations can be manipulated and/or exploited.⁷

Finally, there are some UFO sightings and abduction “experiencers” who have been deceived by their own minds. Occasionally individuals who see UFOs or who experience abductions are mentally unstable and mistake a psychotic event for a real sighting. Other experiences of aliens and abductions are hallucinations, which can be the result of various medical factors. Sleep conditions account for a large number of these reports. For example, sleep paralysis is a normal sleep condition by which the brain’s commands are blocked from reaching the body. The condition allows us to dream without physically acting out what we’re dreaming. However, sometimes, this natural paralysis carries over into a semi-wakeful, semi-dream state: hypnogogic sleep paralysis, which is also accompanied by hallucinations. People who experience this sleep condition sometimes see vague human forms, various creatures, or balls of light (orbs). They are often unable to move and occasionally have the feeling of something or someone sitting on their chests. This experience can be very brief, or it can last for an extended period of time. It occurs during the time of transition from sleep to wakefulness or from wakefulness to sleep. Some who have experienced hypnogogic sleep paralysis believe that they have been paralyzed and tormented by aliens. The condition is especially common among those with narcolepsy. 

David Jacobs provides a list of other ways some have claimed that an experiencer might be deceived by his own mind.⁸ Some may block out past physical abuse and replace that memory with an alien abduction story. Others may experience “hysterical contagion,” also known as “mass hysteria,” which occurs when a large number of people vicariously experience the same thing that a smaller number claim to experience. Jacobs also says that certain people may simply “want to believe,” that their minds fabricate the abduction experience, perhaps as a result of the prevalence of the theme in pop culture. Some may think they have been abducted because they have “fantasy prone personalities.” Others may undergo hypnosis for issues unrelated to alien abduction, but during the procedure, the hypnotist may intentionally or unintentionally create a belief in alien abduction, which was not previously present. The person hypnotized may be led to believe that he is recovering hidden memories. Jacobs also claims that psychiatric explanations include “multiple personality disorder,” “psychogenic fugue state,” and “temporal lobe dysfunction.”⁹

Real Craft and/or Intelligent Beings

As the preceding section shows, some of the reports of UFOs and extraterrestrial beings are cases of mistaken identity. It is also logically possible, however, that some of the reports accurately describe real/genuine craft and/or intelligent beings. If even one report accurately describes real craft and/or intelligent beings, then we must decide between two different possible kinds of intelligences: extraterrestrial and terrestrial (or both). That is, the beings may come from another planet, and/or they may be indigenous to our own planet. Much of the UFO research fails to consider this second possibility that UFOs may not be from another world, but may in fact be from earth. The purpose of the remainder of this section is not to decide between these possibilities. That will come later. Rather, for now, I will present the argument aliens are not arriving at our planet in “nuts and bolts” physical craft, which is what many researchers assume. I will then consider the possibility that the beings are using inter-dimensional travel or actually come from another dimension themselves. 

The Classic Extraterrestrial Hypothesis

Let’s now consider the plausibility of the “classic” ETH (Extraterrestrial Hypothesis). The “classic” ETH claims that aliens are visiting our planet in “nuts and bolts” (material) spacecraft that get to Earth by means of interstellar travel. There are a number of serious problems with such a theory. 

First, all of science tells us that it is impossible to travel beyond the speed of light. The speed of light is the “speed limit” for anything travelling through space. To traverse the Milky Way galaxy at the speed of light would take 100,000 years. To reach our nearest neighboring galaxy at the speed of light would take 2.3 million years. There are countless billions of galaxies in the universe. This problem of speed, time, and distance makes it highly unlikely that alien craft are actually traversing the stars. 

Second, the energy that would be required to accelerate a craft to the speed of light in space is immense. To achieve 90 percent of the speed of light requires the energy output of “73 million atomic bombs, or 351 years of the combined power output of all U.S. energy facilities. Of course, once the spaceship reaches its intended destination . . . it would require the same amount of energy [to slow down that] it took to get it moving.”¹⁰

Third, space is full of debris. A pea-sized object impacting a craft travelling at half the speed of light would hit the craft with the force of 2.2 atomic bombs. If a craft traveling at the speed of light wanted to detect particles before a collision, then some method of sending signals faster than the speed of light would be required. No known signals travel faster than the speed of light. Furthermore, changing directions to dodge space debris at the speed of light would exert millions of g’s on the craft’s occupants. A mere 9 g’s will kill any human being within seconds. 

Fourth, cosmic rays are emitted throughout space. Prolonged exposure to cosmic rays will cause death in any human being, or any other known kind of biological being, and no one knows whether traveling at the speed of light would increase the exposure. However, it is a fact that the normally harmless low-frequency radiation in space would become deadly to humans who were travelling at the speed of light. 

Fifth, any biological planetary being would be acclimated to a gravity environment equal to the gravity of its own planet. In human beings, prolonged exposure to zero-gravity creates serious health problems, including loss of bone density.¹¹ Many, if not all, of these problems appear to be impossible to resolve based on our current understanding of the universe. This has led many proponents of the ETH to abandon the “classic” model and to propose an alternative theory. 

The Interdimensional Hypothesis

More and more UFO researchers and believers have come to embrace what has come to be called the Interdimensional Hypothesis (IDH). That is, rather than traversing the stars through space, alien beings may be arriving at our planet by means of travelling through another dimension, which closes the distance between our worlds. Advocates of the interdimensional theory point out that eyewitnesses often report UFOs to appear out of nowhere and then to disappear into nothing. Though there have been many UFOs spotted on radar and by satellites, no UFO has ever been observed entering earth’s atmosphere from outer space (the way our space shuttle does) and much of the radar data shows UFOs appearing and disappearing. The movements of UFOs does not fit with what we know about the behavior of any material craft (right angle turns, 180 degree switchbacks, extreme acceleration, immediate stops, etc.).

The Extradimensional Hypothesis

It may be that the UFOs are travelling from other planets to our planet through another dimension. But, the IDH implies yet another possibility: the EDH (Extradimensional Hypothesis). If aliens can travel through another dimension, then perhaps, the beings visiting us actually live in another dimension. Perhaps the aliens are not simply travelling from their planet to our planet by means of another dimension. Perhaps they actually live extra-dimensionally. The concept of other dimensions is consistent with some ideas in contemporary theoretical physics.

The Extradimensional-Terrestrial Hypothesis 

The EDH opens the door to yet another possibility. Perhaps the beings who are visiting us are not from another planet at all. Maybe they live among us right here on earth, though they live on earth in another dimension. This is a subset of the EDH (Extradimensional Hypothesis), the EDTH (Extradimensional-Terrestrial Hypothesis). If the intelligent beings live on earth in another dimension, it is also possible that they have been with humanity throughout our entire history. What some people have identified as extraterrestrials may actually be very intelligent terrestrial beings of a higher order, who occasionally make their existence visible and known to us. On this theory, it is possible that the beings are composed of some form of energy, or that they manifest themselves through energy. If this is true, then the UFOs would not be “nuts and bolts” space craft at all, but physical energy manifested to our senses as a powerful light, which can and do take numerous shapes (orbs, discs, triangular, cigar). The UFOs might even be the beings themselves, and not just the vehicles that house the beings. The notion that the UFOs and the alien beings are one and the same is consistent with the idea that the beings are composed of energy.

Conclusion of Part Two

Part two of this paper has only sought to sketch the different possible explanations of the reports, and not to decide among them. There has been no argument made either for the IDH (interdimensional hypothesis) or the EDH (extradimensional hypothesis), though I have sought to refute the classical ETH (extraterrestrial hypothesis). I have pointed out that every sighting report (claim) is either a case of misidentification, or it is a sighting of a real craft and/or of an intelligent being. Those are mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive options. 

All serious researchers grant that at least 95 percent of the extant reports are some form of misidentification. What follows is a consideration of the remaining 5 percent (or less), which are very difficult to explain. It is possible that if all the information were available, these cases too could be explained as instances of misidentification. However, it is also theoretically possible, that non-human intelligent beings are behind at least some of the UFO/alien phenomenon. 

Part 3: Reasons Many Think that at Least Some UFO Encounters Involve Intelligent Non-Human Phenomena

I’m about to present the evidence in favor of “intelligent non-human phenomena.” I do not argue that the following evidence is conclusive. Certainly counter-evidence may exist. I only wish to present the information and leave it to the reader to decide whether or not it supports the “intelligent non-human phenomena” theory.

Before we consider the evidence, here is a brief biography of one of the first leading researchers in the field of Ufology. J. Allen Hynek was probably the first serious UFO researcher carefully to apply the scientific method to his studies. He worked on the Air Force’s “Project Blue Book” as a UFO skeptic. His skeptical conclusions were recorded in that study, explaining away all UFO sightings as mere natural phenomena. But, soon after Blue Book, Hynek became convinced that some UFO events could not be explained by natural or human phenomena, as he had claimed in the report, and therefore were worthy of more serious study. In 1973, he founded CUFOS (The Center for UFO Studies) in order to investigate the harder kinds of cases. He also wrote The UFO Experience: A Scientific Enquiry (Chicago: Henry Regenery, 1972), 1-276, which presented carefully collected and documented information from which he argued that there is sufficient evidence to establish the UFO phenomenon as a legitimate subject for further scientific study.

Physical Evidence

Hynek concentrated his UFO studies on measurable physical evidence, rather than eyewitness testimonies. He reasoned that while in the court of law, “eyewitness” testimony is strong evidence, in the court of science, it is the weakest kind of evidence. The strongest kind of scientific evidence is measurable physical evidence. Some of the most interesting and difficult to refute physical evidences include scorch marks in the soil, depressions in the ground, measurable residual traces of radiation, and burned or damaged plants that take much longer than usual to recover. There have also been documented cases of widespread power outages and other electromagnetic disturbances during or immediately after UFO sightings. In one instance a power outage occurred right after a UFO was reported to have exploded.¹²

In addition to the trace evidences on the ground, there have been documented cases of physical effects of UFO encounters on the human body. Some of these reports are strange and disturbing. When people see UFOs, they often report significant physical discomfort after the experience. Dizziness, pain, headaches, and nausea are among the most commonly reported bodily effects following a UFO sighting. 

There are also documented cases of severe ocular conjunctivitis for those who claim to have looked into the blinding light of a UFO.¹³ UFO researcher John A. Keel writes, “Witnesses who were unlucky enough to have a close encounter with an unidentified flying object, usually a dazzlingly brilliant aerial light, are exposed to actinic rays . . . ultraviolet rays . . . which can cause ‘eyeburn,’ medically known as klieg conjunctivitis.”¹⁴ UFO sightings can and do damage the eyes of those who see them. 

Jacques Vallee, a student and protégé of J. Allen Hynek, exerted enormous effort and spent a large amount of his own money investigating cases of bodily injury and death resulting from UFO encounters in his book Confrontations: A Scientist’s Search for Alien Contact. He recorded skin discoloration from burns, including red skin or blackened skin, punctures, other wounds on the skin, radiological effects on the body, including diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, and the separation of flesh from the body. Many of these cases were found in remote areas of Brazil, where the phenomena appeared to be especially concentrated. According to Vallee, the UFOs may have chosen these remote places precisely because of their remoteness. In the book’s conclusion, Vallee wrote:

Throughout this book the careful documentation of physiological effects and injuries has been my primary objective. I have tried to clarify the extent and the types of these injuries. . . . Here are human beings who obviously need assistance; they present consistent symptoms that could not be self-inflicted or simulated. 

In earlier, innocent days UFO injuries could be called accidental. Dr. J. Allen Hynek compared the effects suffered by Floyd and Michalak to what happens when a child puts two fingers in an electrical socket: one should not infer from the result, alarming as it is, that the utility company is hostile. These days of innocence and rationalization are gone; the witnesses of Parnarama and Colares were deliberately zapped by a superb, advanced technology that did not care whether its effects were lethal or not.¹⁵

Vallee concentrated his research on 100 victims of physical injury or death, which occurred in those who claimed to have had a UFO encounter. His conclusion was that the UFOs caused the injuries and that the injuries were intentionally inflicted. 

In addition to the bodily effects caused by the UFOs, there have been bodily effects reported as a result of the abduction experience. Abductees have presented with bodily cuts and unusual markings after their encounters. Karla Turner (Ph.D.), an abductee and UFO researcher, wrote of the bodily effects of abduction on one of her case studies. She said, “[Fred] so often found puncture marks, subcutaneous red or purple streaks, bruises, and cuts, frequently forming triangles on his body.”¹⁶ Turner herself reported numerous “anomalous scratches, bruises, cuts, and punctures” as a result of her own abductions.¹⁷ Women who have been abducted have occasionally manifested with severe gynecological damage, resulting in lasting gynecological problems.¹⁸

Highly Credible Eyewitness Testimonies

In addition to all of the physical evidence, there are numerous credible eyewitnesses of what appear to be intelligently controlled UFOs, which cannot be explained. Credible eyewitness testimonies are some of the most important evidences of the UFO phenomenon. Trained pilots, radar operators, military personnel, and community leaders have all witnessed UFOs, which they do not believe to be manmade. While eyewitness evidence is weak scientific evidence, many argue that it would be difficult simply to dismiss such a large number of credible testimonies.

Radar Detection

The documented cases of radar detection are also very important. UFOs have appeared seemingly out of nowhere on radar scopes, changed shapes, moved at speeds and in directions that no known physical craft is able to move. UFOs have been reported to perform right angle turns at extreme velocities, to shoot up to high altitudes at extremely high speeds, to merge with or divide from other UFOs, to change colors, and to reverse directions instantaneously without changing speed. These objects have not only appeared “out of nowhere” on radar scopes, but they have also disappeared from radar scopes in the same manner. 

An International Phenomenon

One final reason some say we should believe that this is more than mere human psychosis or misidentification is that it spans the globe. That is, the phenomena are not limited to a single geographical region or nationality. This is not a cultural event, tied to an individual society’s expectations or fears, but the experiences are very similar the world over. There are UFO sightings on every continent and over every ocean on the planet.¹⁹ It is a global, international event. This fact is cited by some researchers as evidence that the UFO and abduction phenomenon is real, rather than imagined or fabricated.

Part 4: Reasons to Reject the Alien Visitation Hypothesis 

Part two has shown that the phenomenon is not likely the result of interstellar travel, but either of inter-dimensional travel (aliens traveling through another dimension) or extra-dimensional visitation (aliens who are themselves from another dimension). Those are the only two likely options. Part three was provided a summary of the kinds of evidence that convinces some people the UFO phenomenon is “real.” If it is real, then we must decide whether the beings are from another planet by inter-dimensional travel or whether they normally dwell in another dimension and occasionally visit our own. What follows are arguments that the UFO phenomenon and the intelligent beings associated with it are not likely from another planet.

In an article submitted to the Journal of Scientific Exploration in 1990, Jacques Vallee submitted a list of five reasons to reject the traditional extraterrestrial hypothesis (ETH).²⁰

First, unexplained close encounters are far more numerous than required for any physical survey of the earth or its inhabitants (the original ETH claimed that the aliens were surveying the earth to learn its precise structure and composition because they are from another planet). 

Second, the humanoid body structure of the alleged “aliens” makes their extraterrestrial origin suspect (surely their body structure would be uniquely suited for their alien environment). 

Third, the reported behavior of the aliens in thousands of abduction reports contradicts the hypothesis of genetic or scientific experimentation on humans by an advanced extraterrestrial race because much more goes on in a typical abduction than a mere medical experiment. The beings reportedly use crude medical technologies that are unnecessarily painful for an advanced race. An important goal of the examinations seems to be “pain” itself. 

Fourth, the apparent extension of the UFO phenomenon throughout recorded human history demonstrates that UFOs are not a contemporary phenomenon. The typical ETH argues that ETs started visiting the earth at the dawn of the nuclear age, but Vallee provided evidence that UFOs and experiences comparable to those seen and experienced today have been seen and experienced throughout history. If the UFOs have always been here, it may be that they are actually from here.

Fifth, the apparent ability of UFOs to manipulate space and time suggests radically different and richer alternatives to extraterrestrial visitation. None of the evidence necessarily points to the idea that alien beings from another planet are visiting earth.

Much of the following information will be a reiteration of Vallee’s argument in Revelations: 

The “aliens” are said to breathe Earth’s atmosphere. That would be highly improbable if they really originated from another planet. Their bodies are said to be well suited to Earth’s gravitational forces, solar radiation, and atmospheric density. Those things too fail to fit with the theory that the beings originate from another planet. 

There are a number of reported alien races, including the “greys,” “reptilians,” “insectoids,” and “nordics,” all of which, without exception, have a humanoid form.²¹ One might expect more pronounced bodily difference in a truly alien race, but instead one finds precisely those forms that are most likely to communicate and identify with human beings. That is, the “alien” humanoid form seems designed specifically to interact with human beings. Many abductees say that aliens express recognizable human emotions, such as puzzlement, amusement, or interest. Additionally, the “insectoid” and “reptilian” races appear to be a blend of humanoid traits with traits possessed by animals found on Earth. Such earthlike human-animal combinations have much in common with ancient earth folklore, as well as religious descriptions of the “gods” and “angelic beings,” but this is not what one might expect from a space faring alien race from another planet. Thus, the reports of the “alien” bodily structure appear inconsistent with the notion that they come from another planet.

The “alien” activities on earth don’t seem to fit with the idea that they come from another planet. Why would the extraterrestrials travel so far to teach new age philosophy, deny Christianity, and support the occult?²² A significant number of alien abductions include teaching/indoctrination sessions in which the alien beings attempt to reeducate the abductee’s religious philosophy. It seems strange that extraterrestrials to have this as one of their goals.

One wouldn’t expect secrecy to be an issue for any advanced aliens visiting Earth from another planet. Since the aliens are technologically superior, billions of years ahead of us by modest accounts, there would be no need for secrecy, though the reported encounters with them say that they are concerned with secrecy. Human beings do not have the knowledge or power to stop the aliens from completing their agenda, even if we knew what it was. The aliens could be discovered and their plans fully known, while still avoiding capture and conducting clandestine operations to achieve their ends. Additionally, if the aliens really are concerned with secrecy, they’re going about it wrong, since the issue is increasingly in the public eye with 1000’s of alleged sightings and abductions. It would seem more likely that they want us to know about them and to think about them.

Further, extraterrestrial flying saucers wouldn’t crash. There have reportedly been 50 crashes in the US alone. That is some very unreliable equipment for a civilization billions of years ahead of ours. One would expect interstellar/interplanetary spacecraft to be better designed, given that they were made to travel vast distances and to operate in total secrecy. It would be strange for so many to arrive safely only to crash on earth. 

There is also a question of goal. Why would so very many aliens travel so frequently to earth in so many spacecraft (as the reports indicate)? That level of visitation would represent a massive undertaking on the part of aliens from another planet. But, earth is a tiny planet in the universe. What possible motive could they have for such an enormous program? The current prevailing hypothesis among adherents of the ETH is “hybridization.” The alleged purpose of the alien hybridization program is either to conquer our planet or eventually to live among us as helpful “brothers.” But, the idea that the known abductions have taken place for the purpose of hybridization is absurd. First of all, it contradicts the fact that their bodies are already so well suited to our environment. Why would they need to hybridize if they can already live well in our environment? Second, if hybridization is necessary for some reason, then human genetic material could feasibly be obtained through far less risky means than flying around in highly populated areas (given that secrecy is allegedly such a big issue for the aliens). Third, the procedures for collecting human genetic material would not need to be painful and invasive as all alien “examinations” are. Vallee wrote, “Today the average American doctor can draw blood, collect sperm and ova or remove tissue samples from his or her patients without leaving permanent scars or inducing trauma.”²³ Human medicine is far more advanced than alien medicine. Fourth, if the aliens can develop hybrid babies in test tubes, as hypnotic regression ufologists claim, those babies don’t need to be re-implanted into women, as advocates of the hybridization theory claim. The whole procedure could take place by means of a test tube after the collection of genetic material.

In light of the preceding evidence, it does not seem likely that aliens from another world are visiting earth. Something else has to account for the phenomena.

Part 5: The Link between Non-Human Intelligences and Demons

The Historic and International Nature of the UFO/alien Event 

The purpose of this section is to show that the UFO and alien phenomenon is not new, that it has been with us on earth for a very long time, and that it has been linked historically to Satan and his demons along with various kinds of folklore, which is also linked to demonic activity. Ancient texts and art pieces depict encounters with lights in the sky and with strange beings, many of which coincide with what has been claimed about experiences with demons. Reports of encounters with demons, descriptions of interactions with the Islamic Jinn,²⁴ and Medieval folklore involving faeries, elves, and elementals are all remarkably similar to modern accounts of encounters with aliens and UFOs.²⁵ In the Medieval period, spiritual beings were commonly believed to behave much like modern day aliens are reported to behave. These beings were said to try to explain their existence by “carrying off men from every locality and showing them their beautiful women.”²⁶ In another report, “Three men and a woman were seen descending from these aerial ships. . . . country-folk . . . had been carried away a short time since by miraculous men who had shown them unheard-of marvels, and had desired to give them an account of what they had seen.”²⁷ In the late 1691, a Scottish scholar wrote The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Faeries in which he came to some conclusions: They have a nature that is intermediate between men and angels. Physically, they have very light and fluid bodies. Intellectually, they are curious and intelligent. They have the power to carry away anything they like. They can appear at will before us through the use of magic.²⁸

In the Mesopotamian region, including Babylon, Egypt, and Greece, historical evidences exist that Vallee claims overlap with what is reported today about UFOs and aliens. For example, five religious amulets from Babylon and Assyria, dated from 400 to 300 BC, are seals that “depict a winged disk, often with appendages. Figures that are referred to in the literature as ‘divine beings’ are seen emerging from these disks in four cases.”²⁹ After surveying additional evidence, Vallee concludes, “I am also tempted to accept as a working hypothesis that in times remote, contact occurred between human consciousness and other consciousnesses, variously described as demonic, angelic, or simply alien.”³⁰

Such similarities between mythological beings and alien beings are not limited to Middle Eastern and European traditions. Vallee describes Japanese statues dating back earlier than 3000 BC that have “large chests, arc-shaped legs, very short arms and large heads apparently covered with complete helmets.”³¹ Various paintings and carvings around the world, some researchers believe, bear remarkable similarities to the UFOs and their alleged occupants. Apparently, the UFO experience is not limited to Western cultures.

John Keel has also linked winged creatures, sometimes described historically as angels, demons, Jinn, and faeries, to the UFO phenomenon. He writes that historically, “Winged beings are an essential part of the folklore of every culture.” He further claims that objects “flying through the air with moving wings have frequently been sighted during UFO waves.”³² He says, that when people in the Middle Ages claimed “demons overran the planet during the Dark Ages they were also recorded as monstrous entities with bats’ wings.”³³ Keel also says, “I probed deeper and studied the [UFO] witnesses themselves. Many, I found, suffered certain medical symptoms such as temporary amnesia, severe headaches, muscular spasms, excessive thirst and other effects, all of which have been observed throughout history in religious miracles (the appearance of religious apparitions), demonology, occult phenomena, and contacts with fairies.”³⁴ The point of rehearsing this information is that these mystical and demonological experiences of people throughout history are similar to what many have experienced as UFO sightings and “alien encounters.” There is a similar pattern running through history. 

Various Interpretations of the Phenomena 

The way in which a person interprets the above information depends on his worldview. Those with a materialistic/naturalistic worldview will tend to one of two explanations. First, they may be skeptical and tend to dismiss all the evidence as cases of misidentification. Second, they may conclude that the phenomenon actually involves alien beings from another world. Most secular ufologists take the second view. The alien beings, they think, have been visiting us for a very long time from other planets or dimensions, or they think the beings have been with us from the very beginning, shaping our evolutionary and social development, even creating our religions. The aliens’ ultimate objectives on this secular viewpoint are unclear. Some think the aliens may have a altruistic purposes to help us “grow,” while others say the purposes of their activities is more sinister, perhaps even a prelude to invasion. 

Jacques Vallee takes a viewpoint substantially different from many other secular ufologists. He is open to the idea that the beings are immaterial higher levels of consciousness, but he does not believe the beings are demons as understood by the Christian worldview. Vallee thinks the consciousnesses commonly believed to be UFOs function as some sort of social control system, manipulating our beliefs to their own ends. 

In contrast, the Christian thinker views all of life through the lens of Scripture and on the basis of the worldview that it alone reveals. Calvin spoke of the Scriptures as a pair of spectacles through which the Christian is to view all of life: “For just as eyes, when dimmed with age or weakness or by some other defect, unless aided by spectacles, discern nothing distinctly; so, such is our feebleness, unless Scripture guides us in seeking God, we are immediately confused.”³⁵God’s world can only be correctly understood/perceived when it is seen through the lens of Scripture. The Christian already has a biblical category for the evil spiritual entities, which have been present in folklore throughout history. They are Satan and his demons.

Interestingly, UFO/alien experiences are remarkably similar to those of Satanism and witchcraft. The sightings of orbs of light, poltergeist-type experiences of objects moving/floating through the air, experiences of psychic events, such as telepathy and channeling are all Satanic experiences. After the abduction event, some experiencers claim to have developed psychic abilities that last for a period of time after the event. Such abilities are closely associated with the occult.

Regarding the abduction experience itself, it is often horrifying and painful, but also often involves deception and indoctrination, which is exactly the kind of experience one would expect demons to produce. After interviewing eight abductees, Karla Turner writes:

In a nutshell, this is an accurate general definition of the phenomenon as reported by numerous abductees. But as the eight representative accounts here demonstrate, the details of that scenario are highly bizarre, variable to an absurd degree from case to case, invariably intrusive, sometimes physically painful, spiritually ambiguous, ingeniously deceptive, and at every level, deeply disturbing.³⁶

Here is a version of Thomas Bullard’s “abduction narrative” or “Classic Abduction Syndrome:”³⁷

1. Capture. The abductee is taken from a car, or home, usually at night. Often the abductee describes a feeling of paralysis during the capture while he is taken into an alien craft by a beam of light, sometimes through solid objects, such as walls or windows, but most often through windows. This account is similar to those who engage in the occult practice of astral travel or have out of body experiences.
2. Examination. After being taken on board the craft, experiencers are invasively and painfully examined. They are often brought to sexual arousal. The beings proceed to probe every orifice of the human body. They often remove egg or sperm.³⁸ Tissue samples are taken; the abductee is given injections. Objects are implanted and extracted. David Jacobs, an abduction researcher, believes that the whole examination procedure is designed to make us think that the purposes of the beings are medical, though he denies that they are. I would suggest that these examinations are merely preparatory for the deceptive indoctrination that comes afterwards. Physical pain and sexual abuse have long been methods of dehumanizing people in preparation to manipulate their beliefs and behaviors. If Satan intended to manipulate people through these experiences, the examination phase of the abduction is a powerful tool to that end.
3. Conference. Here the beings “educate” their captors. At this stage, abductees are indoctrinated with the alien narrative. They are provided with explanations as to why they were chosen to experience the event and are given a special identity and role to play in the coming crisis. World religions, and especially Christianity, are spurned and derided as false or created by the aliens themselves. The abductees are warned of impending global catastrophes and the end of the world. The UFO occupants also often quote and twist the Bible. This is highly deceptive and is exactly what one might expect demons to do.
4. Tour. Abductees are sometimes given a tour of the alien craft. If the tour occurs, they are normally shown the “incubatorium.” This is a special room filled with the fetuses of alien-human hybrids in tubes filled with liquid. They are often forced to hold hybrid babies and are told that they are their own children.
5. Otherworldly Journey. This is not an extremely common part of the experience, but some report being taken to another environment or another planet. When taken to another planet, it is usually desolate and dystopic, showing signs of a cataclysmic event, which earth should itself avoid.
6. Theophany. Some abductees claim to have had a religious experience during the abduction. They say they have heard the voice of God, or have seen Jesus, the pope, well-known celebrities, dead spouses, or others. This theophanic experience is often used by the beings to gain the cooperation of the abductee.
7. Return. The victim is then returned to his car, bed, or wherever, and is made to forget his experiences. They do forget about them until later.
8. Aftermath. This final stage is one of the most fascinating aspects of the abduction experience. According to Bates, after the abduction, “Physical effects include nausea and pain or lesions in various parts of the body, particularly the region of the genitalia.” He then says, “The most telling effects occur on the experiencer’s personality and outlook on life or world view. It has been noticed by the majority of researchers that the person undergoes a types of religious transformation. They have also suggested that instigating a belief change in the abductee could be the reason for the whole enterprise.”³⁹ A 1993 study showed that “the overwhelming majority of abductees have shown an interest in paranormal activities, Eastern religions, and [the] New Age world-view.”⁴⁰ Bates explains that after the abduction, some abuductees report new abilities, such as the power of astral travel, psychic powers, including ESP and other forms of precognition, but he says that the most common effect of abduction is that the “abductees start to witness a range of paranormal experiences, including poltergeists.”⁴¹

The experimentation phase of the abduction seems to be a façade and a mere prelude to the indoctrination sessions. The religious conversion and worldview shift that takes place after the abduction appears to be the real goal of the abduction itself. That fact ought to lead us to consider the possibility that aliens are demons in disguise. 

The UFO and alien abduction experience sometimes so dramatically alters a person’s worldview that a number of UFO cults have been produced by those claiming a UFO experience. Swedenborgianism emerged in the mid 1700’s and taught that through astral travel, human beings may contact multidimensional alien beings on Mars, Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter. Theosophy, another religion, teaches that human beings can channel alien beings. The Urantia Foundation publishes The Urantia Book,⁴² which articulates an entire religious system claimed to be written by aliens. The FIGU⁴³society claimed to establish contacts with aliens through the occult practice of telepathy. The International Raelian Movement believes that earth’s creatures were formed with alien DNA, which they transplanted here a very long time ago, and they received this revelation through occult telepathy. The Unarius Academy of Science teaches a form of psychotherapy revealed to them by aliens through telepathy and psychic communications. The Aetherius Society teaches occult channeling and encourages its followers to develop the occult power of clairvoyance. Marshall Applewhite founded the Heaven’s Gate cult, which taught that its members must purify themselves from sin in order to live eternally with the aliens. Applewhite led his followers to commit suicide on March 28, 1997.⁴⁴

According to Scripture, demons have a program of indoctrinating human beings with their deceitful philosophies. In 1 Timothy 4:1 Paul says, “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons” (see also 2 Cor 10:3-5; 1 Jn 4:1-3; Jn 8:44). Of course, demons have many tools of indoctrination, including the deceitful promise of sin (lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life), the lure of false prophets, the company of the wicked, the power of temptation, etc., but the alien abduction experience may well be one of the ways they promote their deception.

The “aliens” are not only deceitful, but their deceit is specifically aimed at controlling their victims. Karla Turner provides a number of observations about how the “alien” beings control their victims through deception. The beings can reportedly change our perceptions, controlling what we see, making us think our surroundings are one thing, while in reality, they are another, which is what one would expect of a spiritual entity like a demon. They reportedly plant “screen memories” in abductees so that the abductees will remember the eyes of an owl or an experience at the doctor’s office, rather than their actual experience. They are said to cover their tracks, so that very often little or no physical or trace evidence remains of the encounter or UFO. The level of technological advancement inside the UFO varies according to what the experiencer would think is technologically advanced (abductees in the 1950’s reportedly saw magnetic tape drives). The alien beings themselves may appear in various forms and manifestations, taking the form of a dead relative, a religious figure, a friend, or simply another human being who is often quite attractive. They are said to be able to make themselves completely invisible or only partially invisible. Their ability to appear in various forms, to change shapes, and to become invisible strongly suggests that the aliens are spiritual entities, like demons, rather than biological material entities. Scripture describes demons as spiritual beings: “spirit of an unclean demon” and “unclean spirit,” (Lk 4:33; 8:29; 9:42, etc.). The demons of the Bible not only deceive their victims (1 Jn 4:1-3), but they also exercise powerful control over them (Matt 17:15-18). 

The aliens are not only deceptive, but they are also cruel to their human victims, which is consistent with the demonic activity reported in the Bible (Matt 8:16, 28; 9:32; 12:22; etc.). The Canaanite woman said, “my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed” (Matt 15:22). Karla Turner rightly comments:

Before we allow ourselves to believe in the benevolence of the alien interaction, we should ask, do enlightened beings need to use the cover of night to perform good deeds? Do they need to paralyze us and render us helpless to resist? Do angels need to steal our fetuses? Do they need to manipulate our children’s genitals and probe our rectums? Are fear, pain, and deception consistent with high spiritual motives?⁴⁵

If these reports are accurate, it is impossible to believe that a force so deceptive and cruel, a force that apparently has a spiritual/religious agenda, could possibly be anything other than Satanic.

To summarize, this section has argued that there are five points of similarity between the reported UFO/alien phenomena and the behavior of demonic forces. First, history shows a connection between folklore, paranormal/demonic activity, and the UFO/alien accounts. This is consistent with the thesis that alleged aliens are demonic beings. Second, there is a documented connection between the UFO/alien experiences and occultic practices (and Eastern mysticism). Third, the beings promote “spiritual” conversion and indoctrinate their victims, and in fact many UFO abductees have formed a number of new cults based on their experiences. Fourth, the aliens are highly deceptive and controlling/manipulative of their victims. Fifth, the UFO craft and the alien beings allegedly have a bodiless/energetic nature that is capable of shape shifting, appearing and disappearing, moving through walls, communicating telepathically/spiritually, and generally acting much as one would expect a spirit to act. None of this indisputably proves that aliens are demons or that the reported aliens exist at all; however, the correlation between the reported UFO/alien event and what we know about demons from Scripture is manifestly evident and noteworthy. To someone with a biblical/Christian worldview, the demonic explanation of UFOs/aliens is a simpler explanation than the more fantastical and less sensible explanation that we are being visited by beings from another world (from another planet or from another dimension).⁴⁶

Part 6: The Scriptural Account of Satan and Demons

According to the Bible, angelic beings, including, demons were created by God through Christ. Scripture declares, “by Him [Christ] all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through Him and for Him” (Col 1:6; 1 Pet 3:22). Ps 148: 2, 5 says, “Praise Him all His angels . . . For He commanded and they were created.” God not only created the angelic beings, He also rules them providentially. They cannot act apart from His sovereign determination. Satan attacked Job’s property, children and body, but Job appropriately understood the events caused by Satan to be from God’s own hand (Job 1:6-12, 21; 2:10). God works all things, including the activities of angelic beings, according to the counsel of His will (Eph 1:10-11).

Scripture says that angelic beings are not “flesh and blood” (Eph 6:12), yet they can manifest themselves physically (Gen 18:8; 19:3). They can engage in “swift flight” (Dan 9:21). They are able to appear with a glorious and/or frightening appearance (Dan 10:5-6; Judges 13: 6, 10-11). Satan is said to be the “prince of the power of the air” (Eph 6:11, 12; 2:2). These descriptions correspond to those of UFOs and alien beings.

According to Scripture, Satan deceived Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:1-15; Rev 12:9), and through him unbelief and sin entered the world in the children of Adam. Immediately after Adam’s fall in the garden, God promised, “I will put enmity between you [the serpent] and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heal” (Gen 3:15). Ever since that time, Satan has struggled against God and His purposes. Michael the archangel (Jude 9) is said to be at war against “the dragon and his angels” (Rev 12:7). Satan wages a cosmic war against God, and his chief purpose is to deceive people and cause them harm, in order to lead them away from the knowledge of God in Christ. 

Satan’s character is that of a liar. Scripture says he is “the deceiver of the whole world (Rev 12:9) and that “there is no truth in him” (Jn 8:44). Satan is said to have “schemes” (Eph 6:11) and “designs” (2 Cor 2:11) to promote his lies. His chief purpose is to indoctrinate human beings with false beliefs and false practices that are carefully designed to lead them away from the gospel of Christ. That is why Paul said, “though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor 10:3-5). The believer fights against deception, and he fights for the true knowledge of God. Paul warns against being led astray by “deceitful spirits and teachings of demons” (1 Tim 4:1).

Satan’s main goal is to keep people from the knowledge of Christ. The Bible says, “the god of this world [the devil] has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Cor 4:4), and he “takes away the word from their hearts so that they may not believe and be saved” (Lk 8:12). Throughout the New Testament evil spirits, demons, are said to indwell/possess people (Matt 4:24; Lk 8:36), to torment them (Matt 12:43-45; 17:15; Mar 9:17-22), and to give them superhuman powers (Mar 5:1-4). Satan and his demons evidently find fulfillment in tormenting people to lead them away from Christ and into sin and temptation. Scripture explicitly teaches that demons will perform false miracles in order to deceive: “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work . . . in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness” (2 Thess 2:7-10); “And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs” (Rev 16:13-14). All of this is consistent with the spiritual behavior and anti-Christian teachings of the “aliens.”

Part 7 – The Possible Objective of Demons in the UFO Phenomenon 

What follows is somewhat speculative because it aims to uncover the motives of demons if they are masquerading as aliens and UFOs. Their exact purposes cannot be discovered because their operations are intentionally clandestine, and they are highly intelligent creatures. However, generally, the motives of demons are not unknown. As the previous section shows, Scripture exposes Satan’s agenda. It is to deceive the world, to keep people away from Christ, and to cause them pain and misery out of sheer spite and hatred for God. The specific ways in which Satan tries to accomplish his goal might vary from time to time. This variation of methodology may partly be manifest in the history of folklore. 

The reality is that UFOs appeal to our culture. There is a growing discontent with the meaninglessness of philosophical naturalism. The culture is increasingly oriented against a “purely reasonable” view of the world, which eliminates all feelings of transcendence and mystery and instead suggests that we already understand the most important things about our universe. UFOs and aliens provide a feeling of transcendence and mystery in our scientific culture without offending our scientific sensibilities. The UFO and alien phenomenon have given many people a reason to believe that there is “something out there” greater than us, and yet that “greater something” also conforms to our culture’s beliefs about the material nature of the universe. This is religion without God. In fact, it is religion very similar to the polytheism of previous periods of history. Our culture doesn’t buy into faeries, elves, demons, goblins, elementals, and the Greek gods. So, what sort of doctrine could Satan create that would lead men into a false belief system without their knowing that it is a religion? What sort of belief system could Satan create that would entrap people in his lies and yet be generally consistent with the worldview they already possess? UFOs and aliens fit the bill. The existence of faeries was just as plausible to people in the middle ages as the existence of UFOs is to people today. UFOs are as believable today as the Roman gods were in the first century.

Therefore, I propose that Satan’s chief purpose in sustaining the UFO/alien deception may be to create religion. This is already happening! It could be that only small UFO cults continue to crop up and that no new major religion is ever formed. But, all major religions began as small cults/sects, and it is possible that there will be a new major world religion based on the alien/UFO phenomenon. Satan may be trying to start a new major religion that is more culturally acceptable than any of the established religions. A major UFO religion would have a very dangerous power of influence and unification. That is because it could explain all other world religions as alien-fabricated social control systems or as the deluded product of our own under-evolved minds. This could cause apostasy from other major world religions. Aliens could be hailed as the creators of mankind who have shaped our evolution and made us who we are. Belief in the existence of aliens could unite human beings under a single banner (of their alien creators) if they are also taught that other hostile alien forces exist or that some other impending planetary disaster looms over the earth. The UFO phenomenon is world-wide, and the number of believers is growing. This belief could yet prove to be very powerful, yielding great influence over the masses, especially if God permits Satan to manifest his power persuasively to delude many.

Of course, all of that is highly speculative. I do, however, offer the following thoughts for your consideration. Satan and his demons have always been in the business of creating religions. They have been quite successful. Islam began when Muhammad received visions of a new religion. Initially, Muhammad doubted these revelations and believed them to be of demonic origin. He only continued listening to them after his wife encouraged him to do so.⁴⁷ Buddha received a heavenly vision while sitting under a tree. The Mormons believe that Joseph Smith received special revelations from angels, culminating in a visit from the angel Moroni who gave him “golden plates” that were inscribed in a foreign tongue, which he then translated into the Book of Mormon.⁴⁸ The history of nearly all religions and cults includes special visitations from the heavens or special visions and dreams to establish and confirm religious doctrine, experience, and practice. Since Satan has been about the business of establishing religions throughout history, surely we would expect him to continue the practice. Perhaps the next major world religion will be a UFO religion. Time will tell. 

Satan’s role as creator of false religion is simply a continuation of his work from the beginning of time. He bruises the heel of Christ and wins conscripts for own dark army. There have always been but two seeds: the seed of Christ and the seed of Satan. There have always been but two religions in this world: the religion of Christ and the religion of Satan. Christ told the self-righteous religious Jews “I speak of what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have heard from your father . . . If God were your Father, you would love Me . . . You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do his desires” (Jn 8:38-44). Satan’s role has not changed. His purpose is to deceive as many as possible, to draw them into hardened unbelief, and to keep them there. The good news is that the Lord Jesus Christ dealt Satan the death blow on the cross, conquering the curse and death for all who belong to Him. Christ has won the victory and Satan will lose the war. The devil’s days are numbered, and it is only a matter of time until he is finally subdued and cast with his demons into hell where he will suffer eternal torment under the righteous judgment of God.

Bibliography

Ankerberg, John and John Weldon. The Facts on UFO’s and Other Supernatural Phenomena. 

Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1992.

Bates, Gary. Alien Intrusion: UFOs and the Evolution Connection. Reprint, Green Forrest, AR: 

Master Books, 2005.

Behe, Michael. Darwin’s Black Box. Reprint, New York: Free Press, 2006.

Calvin, John. Institutes of Christian Religion. Ed. by John McNeil. Trans. by Ford Battles. 

Philadelphia, Westiminster,1960.

Dawkins, Richard. The God Delusion.  Reprint, New York: Mariner Books, 2008.

Dembski, William A. Intelligent Design: The Bridge Between Science and Theology. Downers 

Grove: IVP, 1999.

Double, Richard. Beginning Philosophy. New York: Oxford, 1999.

Jacobs, David. Secret Life: Firsthand Documented Accounts of UFO Abductions. New York: 

Fireside, 1992.

________. The Threat: Revealing the Secret Alien Agenda. New York: Fireside, 1998.

Keel, John A. The Mothman Prophecies. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 1975.

Martin, Walter and Hank Hanegraaff, The Kingdom of the Cults. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 

1997.

________, Jill Martin Rische, and Kurt Van Gorden, The Kingdom of the Occult. Nashville: 

Thomas Nelson, 2008.

McDowell, Josh and Don Stewart. Handbook of Today’s Religions. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 

1983.

Missler, Chuck and Mark Eastman. Alien Encounters: The Secret Behind the UFO Phenomenon.

Coeur d’Alene, ID: Koinonia House, 1997.

Story, Ronald D. The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Extraterrestrial Encounters. London: 

Constable & Robinson, 2002.

Turner, Karla. “Aliens: Friends or Foes?”

________. Into the Fringe: A True Story of Alien Abduction. New York: Berkely, 1992.

________. Masquerade of Angels. Roland, AR: Kelt Works, 1994.

________. Taken: Inside the Alien-Human Agenda. Tallahassee, FL: Rose Printing, 1994.

Vallee, Jacques. Confrontations: A Scientist’s Search for Alien Contact. New York: Anomalist 

Books, 1990.

________. Dimensions: A Casebook of Alien Contact. New York: Anomalist Books, 1988.

________. “Five Arguments Against the Extraterrestrial Origin of Unidentified Flying Objects.” 

Journal of Scientific Exploration 4:1 (1990): 105- 117.

________. Messengers of Deception: UFO Contacts and Cults. Brisbane, Australia: Daily Grail, 

1979.

________. Revelations: Alien Contact and Human Deception. New York: Anomalist Books, 

2008.

The Urantia Book. Chicago: Urantia Foundation, 1955.

1 Just some of the movies include Avatar, Indiana Jones, Men in Black (2 movies), Independence Day, E.T., Aliens (5 movies), Cocoon (2 movies), Dune, Star Wars (6 movies), Star Trek (11 movies), The Time Machine, the Fifth Element, Dark Skies, The X Files, Knowing, and countless other low-budget SciFi channel movies. Popular television shows include Star Trek (the original series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise), Battlestar Galactica (a very popular SciFi channel series), X Files, Babylon 5, Roswell, Taken (a TV miniseries), Firefly, Stargate (the original series), Stargate Atlantis, Farscape, Andromeda, etc.

2 See William A. Dembski, Intelligent Design: The Bridge Between Science and Theology (Downers Grove: IVP, 1999), 1-312. See also Michael Behe, Darwin’s Black Box, (reprint, New York: Free Press, 2006), 1-352.

3 “New Atheism” is distinguished from “old atheism” in that “new atheists” (or “the brights” as they sometimes call themselves) are militantly opposed to all religion, but especially to Christianity. Some of the highest profile “new atheists” include Christopher Hitchens, Daniel Dennett, and Richard Dawkins. Dawkins’ most popular anti-Christian work, which became a New York Times best seller, is The God Delusion(reprint, New York: Mariner Books, 2008), 1-463.

4 Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, director of the Vatican Observatory, said, “As there is a multiplicity of creatures on earth, so there may be other beings, intelligent, created by God. This does not conflict with our faith, because we cannot put limits on the creative freedom of God.” He further said that such intelligent life would be our “extraterrestrial brother.” See the original article “Vatican: It’s Okay for Catholics to Believe in Aliens” (foxnews.com, Tuesday, May 13, 2008).

5 See Gary Bates, Alien Intrusion: UFOs and the Evolution Connection (reprint, Green Forrest, AR: Master Books, 2005), 150. Bates writes as a Christian investigating UFO phenomena and its connection to evolution. 

6 For an impressive catalogue of this evidence, see Jacques Vallee, Revelations: Alien Contact and Human Deception (New York: Anomalist Books, 2008), 1-296. This is the last book of his famous trilogy, which includes the following titles: Dimensions, Confrontations, Revelations. 

7 Deceptive psychological experimentation by U.S. intelligence agencies is a historically documented fact. There is evidence that members of the intelligence community have infiltrated UFO cults to learn how to manipulate them and use them and their beliefs for their own ends. See Jacques Vallee, Messengers of Deception: UFO Contacts and Cults (Brisbane, Australia: Daily Grail, 1979), 157-178, 201-212. A program not related to UFOs was MK-ULTRA, which was a secret CIA psychological experiment on American college students using LSD. It was designed to find effective “mind control” techniques. 

8 David Jacobs, Secret Life: Firsthand Documented Accounts of UFO Abductions (New York: Fireside, 1992), 284-304.

9 I cannot personally vouch for or endorse any such “psychiatric” explanations.

10 Bates, Alien Intrusion, 68.

11 See Bates, Alien Intrusion, 64-72. Of course, science fiction has invented all manner of devices to overcome each of these problems. Star Trek, for instance, has invented “warp drive.” The “warp drive” can bend or warp space behind and in front of a craft causing the craft to slip along the folds of space. There is absolutely no real scientific basis for such a theory. Star Trek also invented “deflector shields,” which enable its spacecraft to deflect space particles while its ships travel at remarkable speeds. The Star Trek universe also has “subspace” scanners and transmissions which can travel faster than light. Star Trek also has “dilithium crystals,” which power its ships’ “anti-matter drives,” enabling them to achieve the high power output required. Star Trek also has gravity generators and inertial dampeners, which produce an environment inside the space craft which can sustain human life, ensuring that the on board experience is of exactly 1 g and that course changes do not kill everyone on board. All of these fictional inventions are highly speculative and run counter to what our science says is possible. 

12 For specific examples of such occurrences, see Ronald D. Story, The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Extraterrestrial Encounters (London: Constable & Robinson, 2002).

13 Ocular Conjunctivitis: Irritation and inflammation of the membranes lining the eyelids and covering the eyeball.

14 John A. Keel, The Mothman Prophecies (New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 1975), 16. 

15 Jacques Vallee, Confrontations: A Scientist’s Search for Alien Contact (New York: Anomalist Books, 1990), 228-229.

16 Karla Turner, Into the Fringe: A True Story of Alien Abduction (New York: Berkely, 1992), 160. Karla Turner’s story and research are well worth studying. In addition to Into the Fringe, she wrote Taken: Inside the Alien-Human Agenda (Tallahassee, FL: Rose Printing, 1994), 1-155, and Masquerade of Angels (Roland, AR: Kelt Works, 1994), 1-255.

17 Ibid., 187.

18 David M. Jacobs, The Threat: Revealing the Secret Alien Agenda (New York: Fireside, 1998), 64. Jacobs believes extraterrestrial beings are visiting earth from another planet. He is a hypnotic regression therapist who aims to help abductees remember their experiences. There are good reasons to believe that hypnotic regression is not a valid method of retrieving lost memory because it is highly prone to planting false memories accidentally, even when done correctly. However, Jacobs’ work is cited because he claims that some of his female patients developed measurable gynecological problems that directly resulted from their abduction experiences.

19 Some UFOs are also sighted underwater in the ocean. These are called USOs (unidentified submerged objects).

20 Jacques Vallee, “Five Arguments Against the Extraterrestrial Origin of Unidentified Flying Objects,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 4:1 (Pergamon Press, 1990), 105- 117.

21 There are a number of abductee reports which claim to see all of the “alien” species during a single abduction and on a single craft. These different classes of “aliens” frequently are often said to appear to be working together. 

22 John Ankerberg and John Weldon, The Facts on UFO’s and Other Supernatural Phenomena (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1992), 13.

23 Vallee, “Five Arguments,” 112.

24 The Arabic word “Jinn” (jnn), or “Genie” in English, means “hidden” or “concealed.” The Jinn were made from “smokeless fire” by Allah. They have free will and therefore may choose to be good or evil. The Jinn often harass or possess human beings for their own purposes.

25 See Jacques Vallee, Dimensions: A Casebook of Alien Contact (New York: Anomalist Books, 1988), 51-31-73.

26 Ibid., 18. Quoted from a Medieval text: Entrentiens sur les sciences secretes.

27 Ibid., 19. Quoted from a Medieval text: Entrentiens sur les sciences secretes.

28 Ibid., 88-89.

29 Ibid., 34.

30 Ibid., 37.

31 Ibid., 10. 

32 Keel, Mothman Prophecies, 27. Vallee too tells the story of an “Air Force colonel who was driving at night on a lonely Illinois road when he noticed a strange object was flying above his car. It looked, he said, like a bird, but it was the size of a small airplane. It flapped its wingsand flew away.” Vallee, Dimensions, 101. Italics are in the original. 

33 Keel, Mothman Prophecies, 28.

34 Ibid., 43.

35 John Calvin, Institutes of Christian Religion, ed. John McNeil, trans. Ford Battles (Philadelphia, Westiminster,1960), 1.14.1

36 Turner, Taken, 44.

37 Bates, Alien Intrusion, 235-240.

38 Sometimes abductees report being forced to have sex with aliens, either heterosexually or homosexually, or with so-called “hybrids” which are allegedly cross breeds between humans and aliens. Interestingly enough, this sexual aspect of the abduction experience fits very well with claimed demonic incubus and succubus experiences. The “incubus” is a male demon who has sex with a human, while the “succubus” is a female demon who has sex with a human. See Jacobs, Secret Life, 187-207; Jacobs, The Threat, 76-80.

39 Ibid., 239. 

40 Chuck Missler and Mark Eastman, Alien Encounters: The Secret Behind the UFO Phenomenon (Coeur d’Alene, ID: Koinonia House, 1997), 109. Not every aspect of this Christian book is recommended (or correct), but the findings of the 1993 study are accurately reported in it.

41 Bates, Alien Intrusion, 240. “Poltergeists (demons masquerading as humans) are usually imaginative in creating their manifestations: they slam doors, walk up steps, throw objects around a room, moan, cry, touch people, and materialize as dark clouds, red eyes, figures, or colorful orbs of light.” Martin, Kingdom of the Occult, 243.

42 The Urantia Book (Chicago: Urantia Foundation, 1955).

43 A German acronym for the words, “Free Community of Interests in the Boarder and Spiritual Sciences and UFOlogical Studies.”

44 See Walter Martin, Jill Martin Rische, and Kurt Van Gorden, The Kingdom of the Occult (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2008), 366-379.

45 Karla Turner, “Aliens: Friends or Foes?”

46 “Occam’s Razor says that we should not postulate entities needlessly.” Richard Double, Beginning Philosophy (New York: Oxford, 1999), 88.

47 Josh McDowell and Don Stewart, Handbook of Today’s Religions (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1983), 379-380.

48 Walter Martin and Hank Hanegraaff, The Kingdom of the Cults (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1997), 186.