‘Belief in aliens could be America’s next religion’
A 1950 FBI document relating a story about “flying saucers” in New Mexico
Apparently various ones in Silicon Valley and other parts of the USA are moving towards an alien-oriented religion:
Belief in aliens could be America’s next religion
Belief in the little green men (or tall, suspiciously Nordic, hyper-enlightened space brethren, depending on whose accounts you believe) has long been a one-way ticket to social disrepute. …
But that seems to be changing. A new book by D.W. Pasulka — professor and chair of the department of philosophy and religion at the University of North Carolina Wilmington — American Cosmic: UFOs Religion, and Technology, focuses not on grassroots investigative societies or marginal cults, but on UFO believers in the halls of power.
Her narrative begins on a drive through the hills with pioneering computer scientist, venture capitalist, and ufologist Jacques Vallee. “Silicon Valley is full of secrets,” he tells her. …
Pasulka documents the end of a long cultural shift regarding UFOs, as it moves from a marginal fringe to a major belief system. Part of this shift is what Jacques Vallee calls the “Invisible College,” the network of credentialed, well-placed researchers seriously investigating the phenomenon. “The phenomenon” is Vallee’s carefully neutral term for the collection of commonly attested events and effects that make up “UFO” sightings. …
Polling shows that 35 percent of Americans believe that extraterrestrials came to earth in the past, and 26 percent believe that aliens have visited in modern times. This in itself does not necessarily make a new religion. Americans also believe, to varying degrees, in ghosts, Atlantis, and telekinesis. But according to Pasulka, UFO beliefs display other classic indicators of religion: sacred sites, sacred revelations, and testimony by credible witnesses to miraculous events. …
The researchers do in fact find an artifact … “The material looked like crumpled tinfoil that was also a type of fabric. It was clumped with dirt and debris.” … Eventually though, a team of scientists determines that the object is highly anomalous, unlike any known material on earth.
“In religious studies, this would be a miracle, either a miraculous object or a miraculous event, such as a healing. Of course, this is not how Tyler and James would speak about the site, but it is my assessment. The sites in New Mexico function as the sacred sites of a new religion… They are the places of a hierophany, where non-human beings descended to earth and left us a ‘donation’ as James, chuckling, once called it.” …
To the degree that alien religion is parasitic on established scriptures and traditions, it resembles what sociologist Daniel O’Keefe calls a magical protest sect. These sects arise when dominant organized religion feels too restrictive or lifeless. They expropriate aspects of the religions they protest, and repurpose them in ways that allow participants to directly manipulate the sacred.
Thus, there’s no need to submit to restrictive ethical codes or interact with desiccated or corrupt ecclesial bureaucracies. 03/18/19 https://theoutline.com/post/7215/american-cosmic-review-aliens-are-extremely-real?zd=1&zi=qu7ntxg6
So, the type of religion being described has no ethical codes and essentially no bureaucracy, so apparently it allows people to believe and act any way that they want.
Its ‘sacred sites’ would seem to be places like Roswell, New Mexico and Area 51 in Nevada.
Area 51
Before going further, Wikipedia had the following on its List of UFO religions when I checked it today:
It would seem that some of those would be more organized than what Dr. Pasulka was referring to.
Of course, the idea of UFOs, etc. is not new. Here are two items that the old Worldwide Church of God published related to them back in the 1970s:
ENCOUNTERS OF THE WEIRD KIND: THE ELUSIVE UFO
Are we earthlings being visited by extra-terrestrial beings in mysterious UFOs? Millions of Americans apparently believe so. In fact, according to a Gallup poll, the majority of Americans believe that UFOs — unidentified flying objects — are real and “not the figment of people’s imagination.” Moreover, some 15 million Americans claim to have actually seen a UFO.
In a recent survey of members of the American Astronomical Society, an impressive 53 percent said UFOs “certainly” or “probably” should be investigated further and another 27 percent said “possibly” there should be further investigations.
Few subjects generate more fascination than the hotly debated contention that UFOs represent some form of alien intelligence.
Actually, strange and mysterious objects have been seen in the skies for thousands of years. Even the prophet Ezekiel reported seeing an awesome “wheel within a wheel” that has served as an oft quoted precedent for unusual sightings in the heavens.
“The appearance of the wheels and their work was… as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel. When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went. As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four. And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them : and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up” (Ezek. 1:16-19).
Ezekiel’s description has often been interpreted as a vision of a “portable throne” of God, complete with representatives of the angelic host.
Whiff of Paranoia
Yet the modern UFO era did not really dawn until just after World War II when Kenneth Arnold, an Idaho businessman and pilot, described a formation of disklike objects skimming through the sky “like a saucer would if you skipped it across water.” From that early account came the term “flying saucer.”
Since that time, UFObia, UFOria, and UFOlogists have proliferated at an amazing rate. Not even veteran pilots are immune. In fact, at one point baffling and ominous reports of “flying saucers” observed over air bases grew so worrisome that the U.S. Air Force launched a full-scale investigation. …
To many fundamentalists, UFOs are far more likely to be angels or demons than life forms from other planetary systems.
“It would seem to me that if there are any flying saucers or UFOs penetrating earth’s airspace, they must be satanic in origin and must be carrying out the program of Satan for these last days,” concludes Dr. Hart Armstrong, president of the Defenders of the Christian Faith.
Yet, perhaps surprisingly, people who are classified as “religious” in the broad sense are actually the most likely to believe in extraterrestrial life and look forward to contact with such creatures, according to a recent study by research psychologist Dr. Paul J. Lavrakas. (Gongsley R. ENCOUNTERS OF THE WEIRD KIND: THE ELUSIVE UFO. Plain Truth, September 1978)
Widespread occult interest has been both hailed as a breakthrough in knowledge and as a modern retreat into superstition. Some laud the occult as the only real hope in an age of technology and materialism; others lambast the occult as the most evil sign of the end of the age. …
There is one area of reality we have not heretofore discussed at any great length. This has to do with the existence of spirit beings called demons. In Christ’s day there were those who were possessed by demons (Matt. 8:16, etc.), or by evil spirits. Today there exist certain spiritist sects which are involved in a conscious effort to contact “higher beings,” or “aliens,” and who are constantly looking for ever greater signs and wonders. This kind of spiritism is often little more than an open invitation to demon-possession. (Armstrong HW. The Occult Explosion, booklet, 1974).
And we have seen alien religion(s) and more studies about them in the 21st century.
Interestingly, the following report from Forbes yesterday, told of a meeting in Europe about UFOs:
What are scientists doing in Paris?
Today, leading researchers from the fields of astrophysics, biology, sociology, psychology, and history are meeting at the Cité. “Every two years, METI International (METI stands for messaging extraterrestrial intelligence) organizes a one-day workshop in Paris as part of a series of workshops entitled What is Life? An Extraterrestrial Perspective,” said Florence Raulin Cerceau, co-chair of the workshop and a member of METI’s Board of Directors. The scientists are discussing some pretty insane-sounding questions:
- Are extraterrestrials staying silent out of concern for how contact would impact humanity?
- Do we live in a “galactic zoo?”
- Should we send intentional radio messages to nearby stars to signal humanity’s interest in joining the “galactic club?”
- Will extraterrestrial intelligence be similar to human intelligence?
- Did life get to earth from elsewhere in the galaxy (interstellar migration)?
“This puzzle of why we haven’t detected extraterrestrial life has been discussed often, but in this workshop’s unique focus, many of the talks tackled a controversial explanation first suggested in the 1970s called the ‘zoo hypothesis,’” said Raulin Cerceau. Ah yes, the idea that we’re being watched by aliens and … perhaps even being protected by them.
What is the “zoo hypothesis”?
This is a mind-warping idea that there are alien civilizations out there (no, not on Oumuamua) that know all about us, but purposefully hide from us. … “Perhaps extraterrestrials are watching humans on Earth, much like we watch animals in a zoo,” explains Douglas Vakoch, president of METI. “How can we get the galactic zookeepers to reveal themselves?” https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2019/03/18/are-we-in-a-galactic-zoo-protected-by-aliens-scientists-meet-to-investigate-the-great-silence/#3c2cf9461ce7
Well, since God could be considered an alien being, He most certainly watches over those on the earth as the following scriptures confirm:
13 The Lord looks from heaven;
He sees all the sons of men.
14 From the place of His dwelling He looks
On all the inhabitants of the earth;
15 He fashions their hearts individually;
He considers all their works. (Psalm 33:13-15)
While God does watch over the earth, it is not like aliens looking at a zoo. God has a plan for all of us (see also Why Did God Create Anything?).
Furthermore, those that tend towards the ‘zoo hypothesis’ and other aspects of an ‘alien religion’ do not look to the God of the Bible as the alien force they think exists.
As far as ‘aliens from outer space’ go, some of the beliefs about them can be tied to demonic or angelic visits (see also Are There Really “Aliens” from Outer Space? What are people really seeing?).
But the Bible is clear, one is not to make a religion about them (e.g. Colossians 2:18; Revelation 19:10, 22:8-9).
Here are some links to items of possibly related interest:
Is God’s Existence Logical? Is it really logical to believe in God? Yes! Would you like Christian answers to give atheists? This is a free online booklet that deal with improper theories and musings called science related to the origin of the origin of the universe, the origin of life, and evolution. Two animated videos of related interest are also available: Big Bang: Nothing or Creator? and A Lifegiver or Spontaneous Evolution?
Does it Make Physical Sense to believe in God? Some say it is not logical to believe in God. Is that true? Here is a link to a YouTube sermon titled Is it logical to believe in God?
Why Did God Create Anything? Why did God make you?
Close Encounters of a ‘Spirit’ Kind discusses some experiences I believe were (demon) ‘spirit’ related. A video is also available titled: Poltergeists and Lying Wonders.
Satan’s Plan Does Satan have a plan? What is it? Has it already been successful? Will it be successful in the future? Here are links to a two-part sermon series: What are Some of the Parts of Satan’s Plan? and Satan’s Plan is More Dramatic than Many Realize.
What is Restrained and Who is Restraining in 2 Thessalonians 2:7? Are sorceries being restrained until the future? What is the mystery of lawlessness? Here is a related article in Spanish: ¿Qué es lo que se restringe y quién lo está restringiendo en 2 Tesalonicenses 2:7?
The Falling Away: The Bible and WCG Teachings Who is 2 Thessalonians 2:3 referring to? Are there multiple falling aways? Here is a related link in Spanish/español: La Apostasía: Enseñanzas de la Biblia y de la WCG. There are also two YouTube videos on the subject that you can watch The Falling Away Part 1: From the Bible and Church History and The Falling Away Part 2: Positions Presented by Others.
Who is the Man of Sin of 2 Thessalonians 2? Is this the King of the North, the ten-horned beast of Revelation 13:1-11, or the two-horned Beast of Revelation 13:12-16? Some rely on traditions, but what does the Bible teach? Here is a related link in Spanish/español: ¿Quién es el Hombre de Pecado de 2 Tesalonicenses 2? Here is a version in Mandarin: N;ÿ Œf/’Y’jNº’ÿ Here is a link to a related English sermon video titled: The Man of Sin will deceive most ‘Christians’. Here is a link to a short YouTube video, in English, titled Who is the Man of Sin?
How To Determine If Someone is a True Prophet of God There are many false prophets. How can Christians determine who is a true prophet? There is also a sermon-length video titled How to determine if someone is a true prophet of God. Here is a related link in Spanish/español: ¿Cómo determinar si alguien es un verdadero profeta de Dios?
Proof Jesus is the Messiah This free book has over 200 Hebrew prophecies were fulfilled by Jesus. Plus, His arrival was consistent with specific prophecies and even Jewish interpretations of prophecy. Here are links to seven related sermons: Proof Jesus is the Messiah, Prophecies of Jesus’ birth, timing, and death, Jesus’ prophesied divinity, 200+ OT prophecies Jesus filled; Plus prophecies He made, Why Don’t Jews Accept Jesus?, Daniel 9, Jews, and Jesus, and Facts and Atheists’ Delusions About Jesus. Plus the links to two sermonettes: Luke’s census: Any historical evidence? and Muslims believe Jesus is the Messiah, but … These videos cover nearly all of the book, plus have some information not in the book.
Jesus: The Son of God and Saviour Who was Jesus? Why did He come to earth? What message did He bring? Is there evidence outside the Bible that He existed? Here is a YouTube sermon titled Jesus: Son of God and Saviour.
The Laodicean Church Era has been predominant circa 1986 A.D. to present. The Laodiceans are non-Philadelphians who mainly descended from the old WCG or its offshoots. They do not properly understand the work or biblical prophecies and will face the Great Tribulation if they do not repent. One video of related interest is 17 Laodicean Errors in Prophecy.
Did God Create a Devil? If not, what happened? Herbert W. Armstrong wrote this as a booklet.
The Bible and Astrology Should Christians avoid participating in astrology or did God inspire it? Does the Bible encourage astrology? What does the Bible actually teach? What is astrology? How does astrology differ from astronomy? Should Christians Be Involved In Astrology?
OMENS? DIVINATION? HOROSCOPES? THE ORIGIN OF ASTROLOGY Where did astrology come from? Should you read your horoscope?
Does Astrology Work? Many believe and follow astrology–but does it work? Here is a link to the article in Mandarin Chinese: 占星术准确吗？ .
Angels, Cherubim, and Seraphim This is information about various types of angelic beings.
COGwriter Position on Other Churches and Religions What is the fate of those who do not know Christ? What about those who profess Christ outside the Church of God?
Where is the True Christian Church Today? This free online pdf booklet answers that question and includes 18 proofs, clues, and signs to identify the true vs. false Christian church. Plus 7 proofs, clues, and signs to help identify Laodicean churches. A related sermon is also available: Where is the True Christian Church? Here is a link to the booklet in the Spanish language: ¿Dónde está la verdadera Iglesia cristiana de hoy? Here is a link in the German language: WO IST DIE WAHRE CHRISTLICHE KIRCHE HEUTE? Here is a link in the French language: Où est la vraie Église Chrétienne aujourd’hui? Here is a link to a short animation: Which Church would Jesus Choose?
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