The cases examined have a lot of diversity. Most of the experiencers are named, but some aren't. The healings are attributed to a wide variety of sources: grays, insectoids, Nordics, orbs, etc. The last case involves an unusual mixture of Catholic beliefs, prayer, attribution of the healing to an angel, and some elements that seem to be of a UFO nature. The alleged aliens range from apparently benevolent to seemingly ambiguous to apparently malevolent in their behavior. Some of the UFO activity is affiliated with some kind of message (e.g., a need to take better care of our environment) and some isn't, and the nature of the messages varies.
Most of the ten cases consist of only the testimony of one person, the alleged experiencer. The other cases involve corroboration by one or more other sources. The authors' research into one case seems to have included an interview with the experiencer's wife (approximate Kindle location 8898), for example, who's reported to have witnessed some of the paranormal aspects of the experience. The last case, involving one of the editors of the book, names his wife as a participant in the events under consideration, the healing of a dog, and names a veterinarian who's supposed to have examined the dog before and after the healing. I didn't notice any indication that there was documentation from the veterinarian, a discussion with him on the part of Burkes or Dennett, or anything like that. But the owner of the dog who was interviewed, Rey Hernandez, is referred to as living in the Miami area, and there is a veterinarian by the name he mentioned working in that area (Phil Cruz here), and he seems to have been working as a veterinarian at the time Hernandez refers to. It looks like medical documentation was provided in two of the cases. One involved documentation that the woman in question had Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (9111), but I don't think any of the documentation provided demonstrates any kind of paranormal change in her condition. The other case with medical documentation will be discussed below.
There are some significant problems with the medical claims made and the lack of documentation in some of the cases. One of the experiencers, James Forsythe, referred to at least a few doctors who allegedly had medical evidence for multiple healings. He claimed, "They told me they have my case listed as miraculous and unexplainable." (8618) But he didn't provide any kind of documentation, as far as I can tell. I'll quote a portion of Joseph Burkes' analysis of Forsythe's claims:
This case demonstrates some of the challenges in evaluating claims of UAP [unidentified aerial phenomena] healings when there are no medical records available for review....
The same limitations for a medical discussion without records apply even more so to Jim’s complex clinical history relating to the surgical excision of a brain tumor. First of all, there is no medical term “hypopituitary brain tumor.” [a condition Forsythe apparently claimed he had]...Jim Forsythe’s statement that, “Usually when you cut the corpus collosum, it’s instant death…” [a claim Forsythe said he was told by multiple doctors] is generally not true. In other clinical settings, such as a treatment for severe uncontrolled epilepsy, the cutting of the corpus collosum has been an accepted medical procedure and doesn’t result in “instant death.”...
It should be pointed out that what is called “high strangeness” is not a topic that the medical establishment is prepared to address in any form whatsoever. Thus, when the medical staff express their astonishment and confusion to patients about the amazing outcomes associated with these cases, in my judgment, they would not dare to put such observations into a patient’s chart notes [contrary to Forsythe's claim that his healing was mentioned in such a way in the doctors' records].
(8633)
So, even a sympathetic doctor and UFO researcher analyzing Forsythe's case sees a series of substantial problems with it. And there are some aspects of Forsythe's testimony outside the medical context that are problematic. For example:
"Forsythe later learned that much of the knowledge he was being taught by the mantis beings corresponded with sacred Essene rituals, Masonic ceremonies, and the ancient Aramaic language. Like many contactees, Forsythe has worked hard behind the scenes to help a large number of people. However, he has also suffered bitterly at the hands of his family, who do not believe in the validity of his encounters, and actually attempted (and failed) to have him committed to a psychiatric institution." (8577)
Similar comments are made about the experiencer in another case:
"She called out her boyfriend, and he viewed the craft as it moved overhead and off into the distance. Amazed, Ek Mau [a pseudonym] told everyone about the craft, even calling the police to report it. To her shock, the police didn’t believe her and accused her of being crazy. Events quickly escalated, and Ek Mau found herself being carted off to a psychiatric hospital, where she was forcefully given anti-psychotic medication. Thankfully, she was released, but her reputation was damaged, and her troubles with authorities became an ongoing battle in her life." (8714)
As with Forsythe's case, the doctor analyzing these cases found problems with this experiencer's medical claims:
"It is unlikely in my opinion that the specialist, presumably an orthopedic surgeon, would initially recommend ballet as was reported by this contact experiencer. This is because ballet puts considerable stress on the hip joint and without definitive treatment, such intense exercise could be expected to make her hip dislocation worse." (8786)
Many of the claims made by the experiencers suggest that a large amount of corroboration should have been available (doctors and others who had evidence of the healings, X-rays, other people who allegedly saw a UFO the experiencer saw, etc.). So, the lack of evidence in most of the cases isn't due to circumstances that wouldn't allow the provision of evidence. Rather, evidence is frequently not offered where a lot should have been available. And some of the alleged evidence supposedly was lost. "She meant to save the object [something supposedly paranormal associated with an alleged UFO encounter], but for some reason, dropped it in the ashtray, never to be seen again." (8705)
The case that probably would stand out the most to readers from an evidential standpoint is the ninth one. The experiencer, Jim Schaefer, claims to have audio and video recordings of the encounters with the alleged alien(s), and he provided documentation. Burkes writes:
I received a two-page report dated 2-23-15 from CancerCare Manitoba written by a surgical resident “Dr. T” and co-signed by attending physician “Dr. A” in the Department of Surgical Oncology. The record indicated that there was a month-long history of a left-sided neck mass that was increasing in size. The CT scan of the neck showed “a few small nodes.” There is no indication when the CT scan was done. A short time later, despite this unimpressive X-ray report, on physical examination Mr. Schaefer had a 3-4 cm (2 inch) mass in his left neck that was only “slightly tender.” This supports the patient’s history that the mass was rapidly growing. From just “a few small nodes,” it had enlarged to a golf ball size mass. In Dr. T’s note, there is no mention of how hard the mass was, but the patient described it to Preston Dennett as being “bone-hard.” (It is significant to note that swollen lymph nodes that are caused by infections are usually softer and more tender than those caused by malignancy. This goes along with the strong clinical suspicion that Mr. Schaefer had cancer rather than merely some inflamed lymph nodes from an infection.)
After reviewing the CT scan with another physician, it was the surgical resident’s impression that the X-rays showed the presence of a cancer that had originated in another part of the body and had metastasized to lymph nodes in the patient’s neck. According to her note, the plan for Jim Schaefer was to do a fine needle aspiration of the tumor. She also scheduled endoscopy of both the upper and lower gastrointestinal tracts to look for a primary carcinoma that might had spread to the neck. According to the witness, five days later, a blue orb entered his abdomen, and eighteen hours after that the left neck mass disappeared. When surgery was done the following month, only necrotic (dead) tissue was found, with no cancer cells present. Although there was no tissue diagnosis of cancer, it is highly probable in my judgement that an underlying gastrointestinal malignancy had been present. Curiously, the orb entered the abdomen, the presumed site of a primary malignancy according to the medical plan outlined in the surgeon’s note.
(9210)
And Preston Dennett writes:
Schaefer’s case is perhaps the only UAP healing to be captured on film. The evidence in his case is persuasive. He is able to provide medical documentation of his condition, not to mention photographs, audio-recordings and an actual moving film showing the orb which healed him entering his body. Schaefer provided photographs of cuts and marks on his body that resulted following missing time incidents. Like the other people in this study, he reports a life-long history of strange encounters.
What’s unusual about Schaefer’s case (in addition to the quality of evidence) is that he has very little conscious contact, with a large number of missing time incidents and very few memories of what is being done to him. Schaefer’s experiences with ETs have been sometimes unpleasant, resulting in serious injuries following missing-time episodes. The healing he received was the unique outlier. Most of his reported physiological effects have not been beneficial. The cuts, bruises and other injuries are apparently the results of procedures and operations aboard UAPs whose purposes we can only guess at. Schaefer, unfortunately, has yet to receive communication from them regarding their interest in him. If these symptoms he suffers are for some benefit, I’m sure he’d like to know.
(9226)
The medical documentation seems evidentially significant at first glance, but should be scrutinized further. More information is needed about the video, since an orb in a video could so easily be faked or misinterpreted. It seems to be the video here, but perhaps not. I don't see any reason to think the light in that video is paranormal, and it looks like a normal light to me (such as from a laser pointer). Given how much the light in the video looks like it was faked (like somebody steadying a laser pointer on a wall, then moving it across the room), I think the video, if this is the one involved in Schaefer's case, provides reason to be suspicious of his claims rather than to trust him. Judging by the descriptions of his other video, photographic, and audio evidence in the Burkes/Dennett chapter, I think all of it could easily be faked or involve misinterpretations of normal phenomena.
Dennett has a YouTube channel. One of his videos is about what he considers the top twenty cases of UFO healings. The tenth case is Schaefer's. You can watch Dennett discuss it here. At 29:50, he shows a still shot of the blue orb video, and it seems to be taken from the video I linked above, the one that seems to be faked. Dennett doesn't play the video, but he goes on to say that he's seen it, that he has "no doubt" that the healing occurred, and that it's an "amazing" case.
On the other hand, the same video goes on to discuss some other cases that seem more credible, including some for which Denett says there was testimony about the change in the person's medical condition from medical professionals. See the discussion of the seventh case here, for example. I don't know much about the cases. Maybe they wouldn't hold up to scrutiny. My point is that there are other cases he and others have cited that allegedly involve confirmation of a healing from medical professionals and other forms of corroboration.
After discussing the ten cases in the book chapter I've been reviewing, Dennett cites some survey results about healing among people who think they've come into contact with some form of non-human intelligence:
"FREE SURVEY PHASE 2 Question 137: Do you believe that any of these ETs have performed a medical healing on either you or another member of your family? Answer: Out of 1534 respondents, 767 (50%) said yes." (9394)
That's a large percentage, but it's a large percentage of people from a particular group, people who think they've been contacted by non-human intelligence and are willing to participate in such a survey.
What we make of the sort of information I've discussed in this post depends largely on how we view some background issues. I've argued for my positions on such issues in other posts, like my last one. I believe in, and have argued for, the existence of the paranormal, including healings, among both Christians and non-Christians (Judas, Revelation 13:3, etc.). I've also argued that UFOs are paranormal. And there's some overlap between UFO phenomena and other types of phenomena, as some of Dennett's cases illustrate (e.g., the involvement of prayer; the perception that certain beings involved are angels; the involvement of orbs, which are common in multiple paranormal contexts and are ambiguous enough to be interpreted in a variety of ways). That overlap increases the potential for healings in UFO or UFO-related contexts (e.g., a healing that occurs in response to prayer, but is attributed to a UFO experience that happens in close proximity to that prayer). UFO experiences aren't limited to non-Christians. They can happen to Christians as well. Healings are reported somewhat often in UFO contexts, some of the foremost researchers in the field take the healing reports seriously as a category (while not taking every report seriously), and some of the reports involve sources with significant evidence supporting their credibility and no evidence overturning their credibility that I'm aware of. Given factors like the ones I've just mentioned, I think it's likely that healings do occur in UFO contexts to some extent.
We need to be careful to not be overly critical of the weaknesses in some UFO healing cases. The large majority of people, in UFO contexts and elsewhere, don't have much concern for and don't know much about things like documenting or arguing for something like a UFO sighting or a healing. People should have more concern than they do about such matters, but people in general, not just UFO experiencers, don't. And some circumstances don't allow for something like documentation, even for those who are interested in it (e.g., a lack of access to medical records in some parts of the world; an event that happens in front of only one person, so that no other witnesses can be appealed to). Just as many UFO healings don't have much evidence supporting them, many Christian healings aren't supported by much evidence. But the field of researching and arguing for healings is more mature in Christian circles than it is in UFO circles. That's partly because the UFO field is so young in some ways. That's a mitigating factor, but advocates of a UFO worldview and others who hold a high view of UFO phenomena need to think through the implications of how young their movement is. I'll say more about that below.
When I refer to a UFO worldview, I'm not suggesting that everybody who believes in the existence of UFOs or UFO healings in particular, for example, has a worldview that can be described that way. Some people incorporate something paranormal into their worldview (such as apparitions or mediumship) without having a belief system in which that phenomenon is so prominent as to justify describing the person's worldview by that phenomenon. But for those who, for example, think aliens are the highest beings in existence or who give aliens a certain level of prominence as the beings God is using the most to influence us, teach us, and so forth, I think it's appropriate to describe their belief system as a UFO worldview. People who hold what I consider a UFO worldview are just a subcategory of those who believe in UFOs, UFO healings, etc.
I mentioned in my last post that the Christian network of healings is superior to the network of healings in the UFO context. Dennett makes a comment relevant to that subject in his video I linked earlier about the top twenty UFO healing cases. Near the end of the video, he comments, "The cases reach back a hundred years." Elsewhere, he referred to cases from the middle of the twentieth century as happening early. I don't know if he's alluding to the idea that human contact with UFOs originated close to a century ago. Even if he thinks that contact existed earlier to some extent, he would have to concede that there's far less evidence for it earlier, including far less evidence of UFO healings. Either way, whether an advocate of UFOs thinks our contact with them originated more recently or further back, there's nothing comparable to or greater than Christianity's (and Judaism's before it) long history of healings. And in the most recent decades, the Christian system of healings has been better than the UFO system, including in terms of the evidence we have for the healings.
An advocate of a UFO worldview could go beyond healings to appeal to the non-healing aspects of UFOs (the number of UFO sightings; the quality of the evidence for those sightings, such as videos and the large number of witnesses; etc.). But if we're going to go beyond healings, we have to do so on both sides, meaning that a Christian can do the same (see here regarding the evidence for the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy; here regarding prophecy more broadly; here regarding modern apparitions of Jesus; etc.).
I think the best explanation for the major increase in UFO reports (in the healing context and in general) in recent decades is that UFOs are produced by human psi. It's often suggested that the increase in UFO activity is due to something like a concern over nuclear weapons or concern about harm being done to the environment. But the airship reports of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which I and many others consider UFOs, predate nuclear weapons. And the vast majority of UFO cases don't involve any communication or anything else that's discernably done to resolve the situation with nuclear weapons or the situation with the environment. The interactions of UFOs with nuclear sites don't seem to accomplish much, and aliens (or interdimensional beings or whatever) didn't do anything to prevent the use of nuclear weapons in World War II, haven't prevented some highly irresponsible nations from getting nuclear weapons, etc. If healing people is a significant concern to aliens (or whatever you think they are), why would that concern start or increase so much in recent decades? The issue isn't whether coming up with an explanation in line with the alien hypothesis (or the interdimensional being hypothesis or whatever) is possible. The issue is what's the best explanation, not just a possible one. An explanation more aligned with human psychology, such as human psi, seems better than something like aliens or interdimensional beings.
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