Regarding the true identity of UFO and ET sightings, one question I have, which I haven't bothered to research, is the extent, if any, that their resemblance coincides with the advent of Hollywood movies from the 1950s about alien invaders.
I'm not suggested that reports of ETs and UFOs date from that period. For all I know, they may go back centuries or millennia. Rather, the specific question is whether the appearance of ETs and their spacecraft have evolved in ways that that correspond to Hollywood movies. If that's the case, then it seems unlikely that these are genuine ETs. We shouldn't expect their physical appearance or their technology to mimic Hollywood movies. At least, that wouldn't be realistic. I suppose you could salvage that explanation by claiming that they are playing to human expectations. But it certainly invites the explanation that whatever else they are, these aren't really intelligent biological organisms from another galaxy.
However, I admit that I haven't studied the issue. I have a limited interest in ufology because it doesn't threaten my theology. Moreover, ufology is a vast trackless swamp, so you can easily lose your bearings as you get drawn deeper into the many layers of ufology.
I've looked at this stuff off and on as a dilettante for years, and have yet to come to some sort of position where I can have some conviction. Demonic? Maybe. Standard old life forms from somewhere else? Maybe. Some other explanation? Maybe. Some extra-governmental conspiracy? Maybe. Perhaps a mix of all the above.
ReplyDeleteScripture seems to make judgement and the renewal of the universe contingent on human beings here on this planet, so if there is or was or will be morally accountable life out there somewhere, it would take some thinking to square what I understand mainstream orthodox eschatology to be with this.
If there is life out there, I don't think the case for Christianity is affected, unless one thinks that Christianity dogmatically asserts that man is all there is in terms of morally accountable creatures. I don't have a problem with Christ having (say) a Martian nature in addition to his human and divine natures if there were (say) Martians who had their own sort of fall. The hypostatic union is already a mystery, so, being a bit cheeky here, what is one more nature added to the mix? But then again, what would Christ look like in that case?
Well, that was a meandering comment...
ReplyDeleteThere are also theories out there that attempt to deal with the apparent physics defying observed behavior (at least 21st century man's understanding of physical laws) which posit the vehicles and/or intelligeces behind them are extra or other dimesional in origin. Again there's nothing in modern science nor revealed Christianity that militates against this hypothesis. And clearly *whatever* the origin of this phenomena it's clearly of intelligent origin. Whether human hoaxsters, gub'mint agents, extraterrestrial or extradimensional biological life forms, or demonic entities, it's an intelligence of some type, not swamp gas.
ReplyDeleteThat's the more interesting question to me.
"it's an intelligence of some type, not swamp gas."
DeleteSwamp Thing is sad about this dichotomy. ;)
Obviously kidding. But the UFOs are quite serious. Another possibility may be related to human time travel from a future period. Maybe this is getting far fetched though.
DeleteYeah, again it's strange to me personally that this stuff gets so little coverage or attention generally. I realize there's a UFO subculture, but that's what it is, a subculture. And as steve referenced it's a wasteland filled with kooks and conspiracy theorists, so the subject generally has a bad reputation on the one hand.
DeleteHowever on the other hand if NASA finds something that even remotely resembles what *might be* considered as possible evidence of fossilized microbial excretions on Mars (bacteria poop), it's all over the news, yet when the DoD and highly credible people from various backgrounds provide evidence in the form of high-tech military video and multiple attested eyewitness testimonials of some type of highly advanced, unidentified, physics defying, intelligently controlled vehicles right here on earth people are like, "Meh".
That's just weird to me. It reminds me of the responses of the adults in Derry when the Pennywise cycles would begin and multiple murders and disappearances of children began to occur like clockwork, but all the adult townspeople were like, "Meh".
Where's the curiosity?
Jacques Valleé did some Interesting work on it and the overlap with the paranormal. Whatever it is, it isn’t totally physical and is most likely tied to other weird topics moderns would rather choose to ignore. 🙂
ReplyDelete