The greatest obstacle to discovering
the shape of the Earth, the continents, and the oceans
was not ignorance
but
the illusion of
knowledge.
Daniel J. Boorstin
There are times in human history when new information and new
revelations can transform the world. Ideas that had been held as
timeless truths can shatter overnight.
In our world, Disclosure will
be that trigger. It will usher in a time comparable to the era of
Copernicus and Galileo, when humankind first realized that the
universe did not revolve around the Earth.
The word paradigm was coined by the philosopher of science,
Thomas
Kuhn, in his 1962 study, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. He
used it to describe a coherent theory of reality. When scientists
obtain data that fails to conform to the dominant paradigm, the data
are considered anomalies and normally discarded.
Kuhn agreed that
sometimes this is reasonable to do, but when too many anomalies
litter a paradigm, something is wrong.
Every now and then, a great
thinker comes along who sees the world differently. This new vision
makes sense of the anomalies and incorporates them into a larger,
more complete, more accurate paradigm. Newton was such a thinker,
said Kuhn. So was Einstein.
In this chapter, we discuss how the
impact of Disclosure will affect
the dominant paradigms in scientific thinking, as well as that other
great interpreter of reality,
religion.
Five centuries ago, it was the religious institutions that resisted
the paradigm shift. The issue was whether the universe was
Earth-centered or Sun-centered.
The Polish astronomer, Nicolas
Copernicus, was so fearful of Church reprisals to his great work on
this subject, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, that it was
published only after he died in 1543. It was an important
theological issue, because the Catholic Church had taken a stand on
the matter.
The Church maintained that, as God had made humankind
the centerpiece of his Creation, mankind's world was at the center
of the universe. Science, however, made it clear that this was not
so.
Incidentally, the issue of
extraterrestrial life was raised at
around the same time, and received even greater resistance.
The
Italian scientist and free-thinker,
Giordano Bruno, had the audacity
to believe that the stars were in fact like Earth's own Sun (he was
the first known person to argue this).
He believed in the existence
of other worlds and of other beings created by God.
In other words,
Bruno said that there were extraterrestrials in our universe and
that they, too, were God's children. His reward was to be imprisoned
for seven years, then burned alive for heresy in the year 1600.
During most of the ensuing centuries, Christianity in general has
been silent on the matter of extraterrestrial life. Since the modern
UFO era began, however, we have seen interesting developments on the
matter. Christianity is a large umbrella, encompassing an impressive
number of branches and sects, and its adherents have expressed every
position on ET life and UFOs one can imagine.
Today, the greatest blind-spot regarding Disclosure belongs to the
scientific community.
Despite the evidence, it has steadfastly
ignored
the UFO mystery. Indeed, establishment science has hampered
the search for truth by joining the chorus of naysayers who have
made the experiencers of extraordinary events feel shunned,
ridiculed, and possibly insane.
The situation regarding religion is different, if for no other
reason than there is such a variety of them around the world.
People's spiritual beliefs may have certain things in common, such
as the existence of a reality beyond the physical one of our five
senses, but beyond that, almost anything goes.
Yet we should distinguish the science and religion from their
institutions. Science, despite its institutional shortsightedness
and conformity, is ultimately based on empirical observation and
testing.
That is why so many
scientific conclusions, no matter how firmly believed, are
called "theories" (Einstein's Theory of
Relativity and
Darwin's Theory of Evolution).
As the philosopher of
science Bertrand Russell pointed out, scientific conclusions are
always provisional. They are subject to change when new evidence is
presented. This may be an emotional drawback for those who demand
certainty in their lives, but Russell argued that it is an advantage
over the long term.1
Religious truth, on the other hand, at least when it is based on
revealed statements from Holy Books, is not so easily subject to
modification. As a result, we may expect certain of those religions
to push back when confronted with a reality as shattering as
Disclosure. Many of their adherents will undoubtedly see this
unbending quality as a strength, a firm shelter within the raging
storm around them.
Even so, there is reason to believe that many of
the world religions will show the ability to adapt.
The End of Religion?
Many analysts have concluded that the announcement of intelligent
life in the universe would destroy traditional religious faith.
They
point out that many of Earth's religions continue to be heavily
anthropomorphic, seeing humanity as the center of God's plan. The
announcement (or arrival) of sentient beings, therefore, would be
too much for them to bear.
Other analysts, such as astrobiologist
Paul Davies, theorize that
visiting aliens might have discarded theology and religious practice
"as primitive superstition," and would persuade humanity to do
likewise.
Or,
"if they retained
a spiritual aspect to their existence, we would have to
concede that it was likely to have developed to a degree far
ahead of our own." 2
These assumptions seem to have become a mantra in the
Search for
Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) community and elsewhere,
repeated so often that it feels as though they were established
fact.
No Fear
In 1994, researcher Victoria Alexander conducted a survey of clergy
from Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish congregations that asked,
"Would you agree
that ‘official confirmation' of the discovery of an
advanced, technologically superior extraterrestrial
civilization would have severe negative effects on the
country's moral, social, and religious foundations?"
She concluded that ministers did not
feel this would threaten their faith or that of their congregations.
Religions would not collapse.3
Eight years later, in 2002, a
Roper Poll similarly asked,
"Would an
announcement of extraterrestrial Intelligence precipitate a
religious crisis?"
Not only was the answer overwhelmingly
"no," it
actually rose with age. Ninety-three percent of respondents over age
65 said it would not be a big deal.
Roper concluded that
"very few"
Americans thought that an official government announcement on
extraterrestrials would cause them to question their religious
beliefs.4
In early 2010, another survey examined the issue, this time with
respondents from around the world. The results put another nail in
the coffin of the SETI claims of religious berserkers running amok
over Disclosure.
The survey was designed by Ted Peters, a professor at the Pacific
Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, California, and was
called The Peters ETI Religious Crisis Survey.
With his colleague Julie Froehlig, Peters interviewed 1,300 respondents, including
believers from,
Atheists and agnostics were
also included.
The survey tested this hypothesis:
"Upon
confirmation of contact between Earth and an
extraterrestrial civilization of intelligent beings, the
long established religious traditions of Earth would
confront a crisis of belief and perhaps even collapse." 5
Here are some of the responses they received.
"Finding ETI, I
believe, would be a profound and wonderful event."
"Extraterrestrial religious beliefs and traditions will differ,
perhaps greatly in some ways. However, they live in the same
universe with the same God, and a similar array of religious
responses and developments would likely have developed on
their world."
"Nothing would make me lose my faith.
God can reach them if they exist."
"I believe that Christ became incarnate (human) in order to redeem
humanity and atone for the original sin of Adam and Eve. Could there
be a world of extraterrestrials? Maybe. It doesn't change what
Christ did."
The authors concluded:
"Religious
persons, for the most part, do not fear contact."
A small minority did not believe in extraterrestrials.
These
respondents, in what can be described as the "rare Earth" camp,
believe life on Earth to be so rare that a second creation of life
is unlikely to have occurred elsewhere. Even this belief, however,
does not necessarily make people fragile.
One evangelical Protestant
remarked,
"I don't think
they are out there. But if they are, that's cool."
The only respondents who predicted the collapse of religious belief
systems were self-described atheists and agnostics.
Believers
expected to carry on with their lives. Many even expected some form
of Disclosure within their lifetimes. The acknowledgment of Others demands that we look at our universe as
larger, more crowded, and less Earth-centered than we have in the
past.
That, by itself, is not a fatal blow to any institution.
The Vatican Moves Toward Disclosure
The world's largest church seems to be positioning itself to be at
the forefront
of Disclosure.
The Vatican has long maintained several
major astronomical observatories and a collection of radio
telescopes. In recent years, its hierarchy has stated, in one form
or another, that we have company. Perhaps they know something is
afoot, or suspect its inevitability.
Until his death in 2008, Monsignor
Corrado Balducci, long-time
friend of Pope John Paul II, and the Vatican's leading exorcist, had
stated his personal opinion many times about the reality of
extraterrestrial life.
"There must be something between us and the
angels," he told an interviewer.
"If there are other beings, they
are surely more evolved than we are.... It is illogical and a bit
arrogant to believe that we are the only intelligent beings in
God's
creation."
Balducci believed that Jesus died for these beings, just
as he did for humanity.
"He is called King of the universe,"
emphasized the Monsignor. "Never underestimate the great mercy or
compassion of God."
Balducci was not speaking in purely theoretical
terms.
He stated more than once his belief that contact between
humans and extraterrestrials was real.6
The Vatican's astronomers have also expressed their belief in
extraterrestrial life. In 2005, Vatican astronomer Guy Consolmagno
concluded that chances are better than ever that humankind is facing
a future discovery of extraterrestrial intelligence.7
In 2008,
Vatican chief astronomer Father Jose Gabriel Funes granted an
interview to the L'Osservatore Romano newspaper that made headlines
around the world. Father Funes stated his opinion that intelligent
life may exist elsewhere in the universe, and that such a notion
"doesn't contradict our faith." 8
The same year, the Reverend
Christopher Corbally, the vice director of the Vatican Observatory,
said,
"How wonderful it would be to have other life beyond our own
world because it would show how God's creation just flows out
without abandon." 9
It is doubtful that all of these Vatican authorities would speak so
openly if they felt they were in conflict with official doctrine.
Quietly, a policy appears to have been decided upon.
Christians and Aliens
Some Evangelical Christians have placed the Bible squarely into the
middle of the UFO issue. They have no problem believing UFOs are
real, and some even welcome the idea of extraterrestrial visitors.
One respondent of the Peters Religious Crisis survey wrote,
"From an
evangelical Christian perspective, the word of God was written for
us on Earth to reveal the Creator. Why should we repudiate the idea
that God may have created other civilizations to bring him
glory in the same way?"
Yet this viewpoint is a minority among Biblically-based Christians.
The Bible makes no reference to other worlds. Such Christians who do
believe in UFOs usually interpret them as demonic, not as
extraterrestrial.
One respondent of the Peters survey spoke for many
Christians when he stated,
"I personally believe that Satan, the
enemy of Jesus, will attempt to deceive the world into
believing he is an ET and many will fall for it."
Charles (Chuck) Missler is one of the world's leading Christian
ufologists.
He is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and
Air Force flight training, and holds a Master's Degree in
Engineering from UCLA. He also knows as much about UFOs as most
non-Christian ufologists. He is well-informed about their history,
the cover-up, and specific cases.
He knows about the testimony from
astronauts, radar controllers, and jet pilots. He simply explains
UFOs and aliens through the lens of Biblical interpretation as
inter-dimensional beings that have a physical reality.
In his book,
Alien Encounters (coauthored with Mark Eastman), Missler argued that what we call UFOs are not aliens from another
planet, but demonic entities described in the Bible.
Read the Book
of Genesis and you will find this passage:
"And it came to pass,
when men began to multiply on the face of the Earth, and daughters
were born unto them, that the Sons of God saw the
daughters of men, that they were fair, and they took them
wives of all that they chose."10
The offspring of these encounters were known as
the "Nephilim" or "Fallen Ones."
Some ufologists interpret this passage as
interbreeding between humans and extraterrestrials posing as "the
Sons of God." Missler replies that the truth is the other way
around: what people think to be aliens are actually "the Fallen
Ones." They are not from another planet, but have been here all
along. They oppose the will of God and seek to undermine God's
creation, humankind.
That UFOs often appear to be physical and are even tracked by the
world's militaries does not alter this.
Such entities, according to
Christian ufologists, can be completely physical, and there is
nothing stopping them from appearing to use technology. During
abduction experiences, they also manifest in physical form, yet this
remains a form of spiritual attack.
Christian ufologist Dr. Michael Heiser describes these as most likely,
"an
inter-dimensional (that is, spiritual) reality … one that
can manifest in truly physical form, and not beings from
another planet."11
There is also a Christian school of thought in ufology that claims
abductions can be fought with prayer, specifically by invoking the
name of Jesus Christ.12
Not surprisingly, this has been rebuked by
non-Christian abduction researchers, and is questionable by a review
of abduction literature.
One of the most famous of all abductees,
Betty Andreasson Luca, was a devout Christian who experienced
multiple abductions spanning most of her life. She also certainly
did not interpret her experiences as demonic.
In the post-Disclosure world, many Christians will see the Others as
demonic beings. To them, the Bible is not a matter of interpretation
or conjecture, but the unerring word of God for all time. Christian
author and former television producer Coleman Luck recalled that the
New Testament speaks of a "great deception" to take place during the
"End Times."
At that time,
the Anti-Christ will be appear and will
deceive most Christians away from their faith.
He added that,
"an essential
part of that deception will have to do with what appears to
be alien contact."
Beings claiming to be extraterrestrials will
seem to prove that Jesus was not the savior of mankind.
"Ultimately," Luck concluded,
"that lie will be overthrown."13
It is a clear that most evangelicals will interpret the
"Others"
according to strongly held Biblical-based beliefs.
In this context,
some of the most relevant passages in the Bible will be:
"For our
wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the
principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers
of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness
in the heavenly places."14
This is from Ephesians, a letter from the Apostle Paul,
and one of the earliest Christian documents. What Paul appears to be
saying here is that humanity's great struggle is against spirits
that are literally "in the heavens."
In the same letter, he refers
to Satan as,
"the prince of the Power of the Air" and
"the prince of the aerial host."15
Another passage from Paul, this one from Thessalonians, will
resonate with Christians in the post-Disclosure world, as it speaks
of the arrival of,
"Satan with all
power and signs and lying wonders."16
Might the shock and awe of a more technologically
advanced civilization be interpreted in this way?
Another passage, this one from Matthew, will surely be read in
Churches around the world:
"For there shall
arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show
great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible,
they shall deceive the very elect."17
Ultimately, many Christians will interpret a Disclosure announcement
in light of the Book of Revelation, which discusses the Second
Coming of Christ being preceded by natural disasters, famines, the
arrival of the Anti-Christ, and a war in the heavens.18
During the
Cold War, it was easy for Christians to interpret this last as a
nuclear exchange between the United States and Soviet Union.
However, the announcement of extraterrestrials could provide just as
much fodder for interpretation. What this means is that Christians
will be wary, at the very least, of a major Disclosure statement.
They may well take on a more serious opposition as matters develop,
expecting that the battle of Armageddon is at hand.
People do not change overnight. For better as well as for worse,
during times of stress, during periods of great uncertainty and even
fear, believers will hold more closely than ever to their faith. One
key article of faith among Christians is that God will not allow his
creation, humankind, to be possessed by dark, Luciferian forces.
Instead, it remains within the power of all souls to accept God and
reject Satan.
If the Christians are right about how they interpret the UFO
phenomenon, it is hoped that the rest of humanity will thank them
for their stand against a demonic presence masking as
extraterrestrials.
If they are wrong, or even incomplete, in their
analysis, they will be seen as obstructionist or even dangerous,
refusing to see the truth that stares them in the face.
Disclosure may not resolve this matter. The dispute may continue for
a long time.
Other Faiths, Easier Transitions
Some faiths appear positioned to accept the reality of
"Others"
arriving or living on Planet Earth. Belief in extraterrestrial life is integral to members of the
Church
of Latter Day Saints.
In Chapter One of the Mormon Book of Moses, we
find this explicit statement:
"And worlds without number have I
created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the
Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten.
And the first man
of all men have I called Adam, which is many. But only an
account of this Earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I
unto you."19
God tells Moses that there are other worlds and other peoples.
These
other worlds are God's business, and need not concern Moses or
people on Earth. Yet Mormons do believe that they will have
interaction with extraterrestrials after their death. Similar to
other Christians, and like people of other faiths, Mormons see
themselves as children of God.
Unlike other versions of
Christianity, however, they believe they will become God - who,
according to their belief, was once a man. Members of the Latter Day
Saints believe they are Gods in training, so to speak, who will rule
a world with its own population in their next incarnation.
How this
might affect their attitude toward extraterrestrial or interdimensional entities that are here on Earth would certainly be
interesting.20
Islam, with 1.5 billion adherents, is the world's second
most-practiced religion (after combining all the various Christian
faiths). It does not have a strong position on the existence of
extraterrestrial life; belief one way or the other is not related to
the fundamentals of its creed. But neither does the religion provide
any roadblocks toward accepting an extraterrestrial or interdimensional reality.
One respondent of the Peters survey
stated,
"Islamically, we do believe that
God created other planets similar to Earth."
Another wrote,
"Only arrogance
and pride would make one think that Allah made this vast
universe only for us to observe."
The texts of the Koran give support to these positions.
"All praise
belongs to God," states Islam's holy book, "Lord of all the
worlds."
One commentator on this verse continues:
"Worlds of Matter
and Force, worlds of Spirits and Angels, worlds of Beauty
and Goodness, worlds of Right and Law - worlds that we can
imagine or understand and worlds which we cannot comprehend
even in our imagination."21
The Islamic scholar Mirza Tahir Ahmad quotes another verse in the
Holy Koran discussing the creation of,
"the heavens and
the Earth, and of whatever living creatures He has spread
forth in both …."22
Islamic scholars have long commented on the extraterrestrial
implications of this verse.
During the 1930s, Abdullah Yusuf Ali
commented,
"It is reasonable
to suppose that Life in some form or another is scattered
through some of the millions of heavenly bodies scattered
through space."23
Passages such as these will certainly hearten Muslims in the face of
the acknowledged presence of Others on our world, whether they be
extraterrestrial, interdimensional, or anything else.
Allah rules
over all, and may introduce them to humanity at his discretion.
The post-Disclosure world will also prompt many Islamic scholars to
re-examine
the nature of the jinn, commonly translated into English
as genie. The jinn are frequently mentioned in the Koran as
creatures occupying a parallel world to that of humankind. Along
with humans and angels, they are one of the three sentient creations
of God.
Interestingly, only humans and jinn have free will.
The jinn
live in their own communities and, similar to humans, can be good or
evil. The Koran mentions that they are made of "smokeless flame." In
other words, a source of heat or light.
Unlike Christianity, where the devil is a fallen angel (Lucifer, or
"light bearer") who had rebelled against God, the Islamic devil is a
jinn named Iblis. He was granted the privilege to live among angels,
then rebelled against God, and ever since - like his Christian
counterpart - has continued to lead humans astray, which he will do
until the Day of Judgment.
We can easily see, then, how other beings that become known to
humans in the world AD, might be interpreted as fallen angels by
Christians, or as jinn by Muslims.
In the case of Muslim believers,
however, the attitude may well be less antagonistic than those of
Christians, because some jinn are said to be good. Furthermore,
according to Islamic belief, while the jinn Iblis may be a deceiver,
he has no power to mislead true believers in God.
Although Judaism has little to say about the idea of
extraterrestrial life, the religion, similar to Islam, should have
little difficulty in assimilating it. According to the Talmud, there
are at least 18,000 other worlds, although little else is said about
them, including whether or not they are physical or spiritual.
One kabbalistic book,
the "Sefer HaBrit," even mentions a planet called Meroz, where extraterrestrial creatures exist.
Buddhists, too, will have no problem assimilating the new reality.
Buddhism has always understood that there are beings throughout the
universe. This was taught by Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, more
than 2,500 years ago.
One Buddhist response to the
Peters survey was
that,
"ETs would be,
essentially, no different than other sentient beings, i.e.,
they would have Buddha Nature and would be subject to karmic
consequences of their actions."
Another wrote:
"As a Mahayana
Buddhist, with a worldview that includes in scriptures Buddhas and
bodhisattvas from many different world systems, such news
would not be shattering theologically, though of course
institutions and practices might reverberate."
The same reactions can be expected from adherents of Hinduism, which
also holds to the idea of multiple worlds and their relationships
with each other.
In addition to these material worlds, there is also
the unlimited spiritual world, where all purified living entities
live with a perfect conception about life and reality. Indeed,
spiritually evolved humans have received guidance and help from
these entities of the spiritual world.
New Religions
Given the sheer diversity in worldwide religions, there will be no
single religious response to Disclosure.
Some already agree with the
premise, others are moving in that direction, others have never
considered it, some embrace the Others as divine emissaries, and
some assail them as the work of the devil himself.
No matter what the disposition of the many religious institutions,
standing pat will not be viable. Change will be a bumpy ride, more
so for some faiths than others. In the end, most of the world's
faiths will expand their message.
God will be seen to rule over all
life in the universe, although undoubtedly some faiths will continue
to claim that humankind has a special place in God's plan.
Religion has never been a static human endeavor. We have seen
Christianity and Judaism compete for loyalty, and we have seen
Christianity fracture into its many permutations.
Other faiths,
too - such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam - have gone through their
own historical changes.
Undoubtedly, new religions will be formed in the post-Disclosure
world, influenced by who the Others are and what we learn of them.
They will also be influenced by some of the adept and facile minds
that spring to take advantage of the instability.
At least one of these religions will explode into the public
consciousness with the right message at the right time. It is
possible that the top religion of the future is one you have not yet
heard of.
