UFOs and the Bible

Over time, the Western God has been transformed into a fundamentally dualistic entity. He is still the great ruler of Earth as described in the Bible, the leader of the angelic society and creator of the human race; but he now is also the One Universal Consciousness of the Eastern faiths, the infinite energy force that created the Cosmos. Are these two concepts just attributes of the same "God" - or could it be that the biblical God is not a deity at all in the absolute sense, instead representing an ultra-advanced extraterrestrial species that is intimately involved in the affairs of Earth? This idea may seem strange and radical at first, but we will show through logical analysis of ancient scripture and modern UFO cases that it should indeed be true.

Let us begin this difficult subject with a story. How would you react if your best and most trustworthy friend revealed to you that he had once had an encounter with aliens?

"I took a long hike in the countryside one weekend," he begins. "It started getting dark and I was still a long way from the campsite, and I was really tired after a day of walking, so I just decided to lie down and rest. I leaned my backpack against some stones for a pillow and soon fell asleep."

Your friend goes on to tell you that he awoke in the middle of the night and saw an incredible vision: a beam of light stretched down from a hovering object to the ground, and strange-looking beings were going up and down it. "It was just like a ladder," he tells you, "and the leader of the aliens was standing at the top of it. A deep booming voice suddenly proclaimed that they wanted to 'spread my seed far and wide' and that they would watch me wherever I went.

"I tell you," he gasps, "it just scared the crap out of me! I woke up in the morning and didn't know whether it was a dream or what... but it seemed so real. I'll never forget what happened that night. I just hope you believe me - you're the only person I've ever told."

Would you really believe his story, or would you laugh it off as an idiotic joke? Would you try to reassure him that it was only a dream? Or would you perhaps pull out a Bible and turn to the 28th chapter of Genesis, where the patriarch Jacob's nearly identical experience is described? Depending on your basic mindset and your knowledge (or lack thereof) about the UFO phenomenon, you would either confirm your friend's suspicion that he had perhaps witnessed an extraterrestrial visitation; or you would shrug your shoulders with an open-minded smile; or your response might be haughty laughter and rejection, telling him to see a good shrink.

Although most people don't realize it - either because of indoctrination or ignorance or general unwillingness to confront the truth - the Bible and other ancient religious texts actually contain a multitude of stories which can easily be rendered today as UFO sightings and encounters. This essay investigates the evidence for such belief. We will discuss crucial principles that underlie a completely new view of Judeo-Christianity. Furthermore, we will examine several interesting examples in the Old and New Testaments that seemingly confirm the theory of a long-standing, ongoing relationship between humans and more highly evolved beings from the stars.

But before we go any further, it is of the utmost importance that we have a solid understanding of what exactly the modern UFO phenomenon is.

For several decades, a growing number of people have claimed to see strange unidentified flying objects which do not fit the description of any human-made aerial craft. Some of the more commonly sighted UFOs are shining silvery disks and glowing balls of light. Many sightings are reported to the police and military, but the authorities have tended to disregard these reports as pranks or mere lunacy. At one time, however, a serious U.S. government project called Blue Book was launched to determine if UFOs were Soviet spy planes, but it soon was closed down and a campaign of official silence promptly began. Hollywood science fiction and the skeptical news media have given the whole subject of extraterrestrials a bad name, undoubtedly causing many people to keep their paranormal experiences secret.

In recent years though, there has been a tremendous explosion of serious interest and insightful literature. Explainable cases are separated from the more mysterious. Many people are coming forward with memories of alien visitation and abduction. It must be mentioned that a large percentage of supposed UFO encounters - the majority perhaps - are likely nothing more than misinterpretations of environmental or mental phenomena. Regardless of this fact, established astronomers are now finding many planets outside of our own solar system, validating the idea that intelligent alien life should exist. The implications are incredible. What if there are superhuman beings out there, and what if they know about us? How would they look? How could they use their superior knowledge?

These questions make lots of people uneasy. They would rather simply ignore the UFO phenomenon, retreating back into their personal shell of religious or scientific doctrine. It is easy to ridicule those who have the courage to defy orthodoxy and tell the world what they have seen:

"Little green men? Ha!"
"I suppose he was a drunken hick who woke up in his pickup and thought it was aliens."
"Obviously a pot-smoking New Age freak who wants to believe."
"He's probably just a desperate fool trying to make a buck on a sensational story."
"Absolutely crazy. Clinically insane. The woman must be screwed up in her head and doesn't realize it."
"I don't care what anyone says. They didn't really see anything. I won't believe they did."

This prevalent attitude is extremely immature. What motivation would an average person have to tell a story that no one will believe? - unless he firmly believes it himself. Hardly anyone makes money from a lie or a hoax; even Whitley Strieber's famous book about his own alien encounters, Communion, was refused publication by the firm that sold his prior books and then rejected by dozens of other publishing houses. According to prominent psychologist and ufologist Raymond E. Fowler in The Watchers,

"... at the 1987 meeting of the American Psychological Association in New York, participants agreed that a detailed study of alleged UFO abductees revealed them to be normal people from all walks of life. It was concluded that their experiences could not be accounted for strictly on the basis of psychopathology. Thus, what we ended up with are both professional and nonprofessional normal people, cutting across the total social strata, who really believe that they have been abducted by aliens from a UFO."

Although it is usually assumed (as with any unconventional idea) that believers must prove without a doubt that the phenomenon is of an extraterrestrial nature, the burden of proof actually rests on the skeptical side of this issue. One should remember that only one UFO encounter out of millions need be real in order for the believers to be correct. To put it another way, skeptics must demonstrate that all cases are false if we are to rationally believe that otherworldly beings are not making their presence known on Earth. The Universe is an incomprehensibly large and exciting place. Things should be going on that we can barely begin to imagine.

One can discuss the subject of UFOs forever, analyzing various cases and arguing about whether or not they are legitimate examples of a superhuman presence on our planet. But perhaps the most convincing reason to believe modern stories of alien encounters is that remarkably similar stories have been told since ancient times. Though most people don't see this connection, it is logical to look at religion first when trying to find examples of the phenomenon in the distant past: after all, the ancients would most likely cloak any encounters with higher beings in a profoundly mystical shroud of dogma, and these "visits by the gods" would certainly appear in holy scripture. With the passage of time and the advancement of civilization, we have collectively cast aside our old belief in the pantheon of supernatural beings; but today's knowledge strongly suggests that superhuman extraterrestrials really do exist and might somehow affect us. It is time to strip "God" of all his theological accoutrements, to lay bare the core nature of the various "lords," "spirits," "angels," and such who have been said to populate the vast skies above.

Since the Bible is known by most people, we should ask if this widely believed history of the Hebrew people contains examples of superhuman beings coming down to Earth. Obviously it does - the angels and their leader Yahweh make prominent appearances in the text - but the real question is whether these higher beings are extraterrestrials, and if so, if they are the same aliens seen today. What is an "extraterrestrial," an "alien"? Both terms basically refer to any nonhuman being who comes from somewhere other than planet Earth. What is a "superhuman"? Quite simply, it would be a being more advanced than us, possessing incredible technology and seeming supernatural in comparison to ourselves. Thus, it can be concluded that the Bible does indeed deal with the subject of extraterrestrials, for the superhumans described therein come from the heavens (space) and have virtually unlimited power over the affairs of Earth (due to their high level of development). Some people may be automatically repulsed by this idea, but this is only because of comical stereotypes about aliens: the popular culture has turned the whole subject into a joke, and this lack of seriousness leads to a total misunderstanding of the UFO phenomenon. We must realize that ultra-advanced real extraterrestrials would not act like those in the movies and comic books (which are merely a creation of the limited human mind), instead appearing to humanity as a race of gods.

Before people knew that other planets and solar systems sprinkle the depths of space, before they could conceive of "space aliens" in the misguided sense we do today, our ancient ancestors interpreted visits from the sky in a much less sophisticated way. They idealized relatively higher beings as absolute rulers of the Universe - but remember that their universe was nothing more than the land, sea, and sky of what we now know to be one tiny planetary speck. "Heaven" was outside the world they knew, but we can now see that it should be only as exotic as another earth circling another star. The gods of old are part of the physical Cosmos just like us, an idea that traditional religious institutions have blindly refused to accept. When Yahweh commanded the Israelites to "have no other gods before me," when he said in the Torah "I am a jealous God"... his meaning was more literal than we wish to realize. Like a king who demands alleigance to the nation, so too was the Western God a lord who wanted to retain control of his angelic legions and his human slaves. The power struggle with Lucifer was much like a political campaign, each side producing propaganda to win over the simpletons who tilled the fields of Sumeria.

In any case, the important idea is that the early Hebrews believed in "Elohim," a plural term which should be literally translated as "the gods." The single being we today think of as God was the ruler of planet Earth during that time - a being called Yahweh by the people of Israel and Enlil by the people of Mesopotamia. He was physical and imperfect, as were all the other superhumans, but because of their relative superiority in all respects - biological, intellectual, spiritual, technological - they were deified by virtually every ancient culture including the one that produced our Bible. Consider that in the biblical creation story the Elohim say (Genesis 1:26), "let us make man in our image, after our likeness..." The plurality of God in this quote is no coincidence. As Dr. Zecharia Sitchin explains in his groundbreaking book, Genesis Revisited,

"... what went on was the editing and summarizing by compilers of the Book of Genesis of much earlier and considerably more detailed texts first written down in Sumer."

The Sumerian gods were called Anunnaki, translated as "those who came down from the heavens." They were said to have interbred with primitive humans to produce the intelligent variety that built civilization.

We thus begin our discussion of the Bible with a thought-provoking quote:

"And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth... That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. (Genesis 6:1-2,4.)

The term "sons of God" has an equivalent meaning to "angels" - it is used in various instances to show superhuman racial lineage and membership in the society of the Elohim, much like one could be called "a son of the black man." What this shocking biblical passage indicates is the belief that gods are physical beings so genetically similar to Homo sapiens as to make interbreeding possible. Great heroes in ancient societies were often called demigods - and the Hebrews evidently were inclined to do the same thing. Their early patriarchs were each said to have lived hundreds of years. Their Elohim were just like the Sumerian deities before them and the Greek ones afterward: powerful beings who looked and acted much like humans and were intimately involved with them.

It is important at this point that we clarify some physical traits associated with aliens. First of all, two distinct types have always been seen. There is a species of tall, strong, beautiful, intelligent beings who resemble ourselves and live much longer; they thus appear lordlike and seem immortal. These are the gods who are said to have mixed with humanity, and their hybrid offspring were somewhat superior to average people and "of old" as stated in the passage from Genesis. Today, people who encounter them often give them the name "Nordics." The second commonly observed kind of extraterrestrials are now called the "greys." They look like small anthropoids with large heads and a frightening countenance, the most prominent feature being huge black eyes. The greys have no free will, and it is likely that their brains are preprogrammed or collectively controlled. One Sumerian story tells of their creation by the Anunnaki to watch over humans and planet Earth as loyal servants; but the only modern Western religion that differentiates between the two species is Islam, which recognizes the jinn (highly evolved, intelligent beings with free will) and the angels who automatically obey Allah. Lucifer was a jinn, for example, who rebelled against what we know today to be merely one of higher rank, starting a great war between rival factions.

Before returning to the Bible, let us briefly summarize the events leading up to the Israelite saga. After the time when superhuman extraterrestrials arrived and played a role in human evolution, there came the Age of Lordship. This lasted until the "Great Flood" - the melting of the polar ice caps at the end of the last ice age, an event which completely destroyed coastal cities. Until then, higher beings inhabited their own colonies on Earth and directly ruled over emerging societies. But the Flood ushered in the Age of Kingship. Superhuman lords no longer walked among their human subjects in the great cities of Sumeria, but instead returned to the sky from where they chose people to lead our civilizations below. Meanwhile, Homo sapiens had spread from the Middle East to all six inhabitable continents, producing the races we know today.

The Hebrews, a nomadic desert people of the Sinai, had an especially close relationship with the gods; in fact, they came to be known as "the chosen people." Yahweh and the angels watched over them from the heavens above, often intervening for their benefit in various ways. How then, we might ask, did the superhumans make contact with people on Earth?

Although many traditional Jews, Christians, and Muslims would probably reject this idea with little thought, the Bible does speak repeatedly of encounters with what today would be called UFOs. One can read the scriptures with only a little background knowledge - so long as one keeps an open mind - and discover numerous examples of anomalous aerial craft appearing in the sky. We find dozens of shining clouds, balls of fire, wheels, and flaming chariots which bear a striking resemblance to extraterrestrial objects seen today. Here are a few general quotes which help to make this point:

"Behold, he [Yahweh] shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind..." (Jeremiah 4:13.)
"Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud..." (Isaiah 19:1.)
"And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night..." (Isaiah 4:5.)

Keep in mind that the people who wrote these things were very primitive compared to modern Westerners. They did not have large vocabularies. They had never even heard of aircraft, disks, and warp-drives. It is therefore to be expected that the words they used to describe unidentified flying objects are simple. Even so, certain examples from the Bible are highly convincing.

Throughout their wanderings in the desert, the Elohim guided the Hebrews from above, riding ahead in various craft. Perhaps the best example takes place during the exodus from Egypt:

"... the children of Israel went up and harnessed out of the land of Egypt. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light..." (Exodus 13:18,21.) The story continues with a pursuit by the Egyptian army. "And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them... but it gave light by night to [the Hebrews]: so that the [Egyptians] came not near the other all the night." (Exodus 14:19-20.)

Since literal clouds don't have fiery pillars, one can reasonably conclude that the object was something very different - perhaps a UFO with a descending beam of light. One is also forced to wonder how the Israelites got across the Red Sea. Could they have been flown across?

The prophet Ezekiel, a frequent recipient of extraterrestrial visitations, described a strange object in the sky:

"And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it..." (Ezekiel 1:4.)

This could very well be a modern-day account of a UFO sighting: a swirling wind accompanied by a huge disk-shaped object surrounded by an intense glow. Ezekiel goes on to describe the strange craft descending from the sky, noting its resemblance to a spinning wheel and mentioning that it is piloted by a powerful-looking being.

In another incredible incident, the transfiguration of Jesus Christ, we find an excellent array of UFO-related phenomena (Matthew 17:2,5-6.)

First of all, Jesus Christ brought his disciples up on a mountain, where he showed himself as the glorious figure of a godly superhuman. "And [Jesus] was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light...." Then a strange object appears in the sky, provoking intense fear in the onlookers. "... behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud.... And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid."

Finally, we read in Luke's version of the story that "... they feared as they entered into the cloud." (Luke 9:34.) What more may have transpired that was never put down on paper?

The subject of alien abduction is certainly one of the most controversial aspects of the whole phenomenon. In light of this fact, I expect that many people will erupt in vitriolic anger at my argument that it occurred in biblical times. So be it. The evidence remains available for all to see if they are willing to look at it objectively.

People have concocted the most ridiculous stereotypes about angels: these powerful beings have become winged cherubs strumming harps and so forth, a view that is totally uncorroborated by the Bible or any other ancient text. In reality, the Bible repeatedly shows angels provoking fear in those who see them, which shows that not all extraterrestrial encounters are necessarily pleasant and that some definitely involve emotionless greys who must carry out certain disturbing tasks.

Probably the best ancient example of standard alien abduction is the story of "Jacob's ladder" - the tale referred to and parodied in this essay's introduction.

"And he [Jacob] dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said.... thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest.... And Jacob awaked out of his sleep... And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place!" (Genesis 28:12-17.)

Intense fear and genetic manipulation are the two most commonly reported aspects of a type-four extraterrestrial encounter. Realize that one's "seed" must be taken in order to be spread around the world. Also consider the fact that the only way a virgin woman can get pregnant and bear a child is through artificial insemination. UFO abductees today have experienced anomalous pregnancies that suddenly end mid-term with no miscarriage. Even young adolescent girls have been confirmed pregnant by gynecologists who find physical evidence of virginity... and the fetuses disappear just as mysteriously as they appeared.

Is it possible that the virgin birth of Jesus Christ was a deliberate genetic project conducted by the superhumans? Could he literally have been a demigod like so many other messianic leaders of the ancient world?

"HERESY ! "shout the fundamentalists. "SATANIC BLASPHEMY !"

Yes, I suppose I shall burn in the eternal hellfire of damnation like everyone else who raises controversial questions in the face of the religious establishment. But seriously, consider that Jesus was far from unique. The Aztecs believed in a messiah who derived his lighter skin tone and heavier facial hair from godly genes - Quetzalcoatl was created and sent down to improve their civilization, and the much later arrival of the white conquistadore Cortes was mistakenly considered the demigod's second coming. The Egyptians wrote copiously about their own messiah Imhotep, a demigod who built the first pyramid and taught them advanced sciences, only to ascend to the heavens one day leaving behind tremendous legends and a much improved society. The Mesopotamians had their Gilgamesh, the Mayas their Kukulkan; and the list goes on.

Jesus Christ was the demigod created to become a great leader of the Jews. The word messiah actually means "godly king," and the Hebrew people thus awaited a being who would combine the necessary human traits of King David with the desirable superhuman traits of Yahweh. They got a revolutionary prophet who was descended from both. We need not jump through silly theological hoops such as the Trinity, for the answer is now clear. Jesus was a "Son of God, son of man" simply because he was half alien and half human! We find evidence for this idea right in the Gospels; the early Christians wrote it themselves.

"... the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee... And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying.... And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with God." She is thus visited by a superhuman being who tells her she is somehow special or chosen, and she is afraid. The story goes on to reveal the visitation's remarkable purpose. "And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest.... Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing that I know [have intercourse with] not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word." (Luke 1:26-32,34-35,38.)

Mary agrees to submit to Yahweh as his handmaid, which in that time meant a concubine! She will be impregnated with godly sperm in order to produce the next king of Israel. Unfortunately he never succeeded in ascending the throne and rebuilding the temple, but his followers recognized the reality of his superhuman lineage which was demonstrated through various miracles.

Several other intriguing examples of the UFO phenomenon are associated with Jesus Christ. A detailed account of his birth is given in two apocryphal books, Protevangelion and 1 Infancy, which speak of astonishing events in and around a cave near Bethlehem. Thus begins the story:

"And leaving her [Mary] and his sons in the cave, Joseph went forth to seek a Hebrew midwife in the village of Bethlehem. But as I was going (said Joseph) I looked up into the air, and I saw... the fowls of the air stopping in the midst of their flight. And I looked down towards the earth, and I saw a table spread, and working people sitting around it, but their hands were upon the table, and they did not move to eat. They who lifted their hands up to their heads did not draw them back: And they who lifted them up to their mouths did not put anything in; But all their faces were fixed upwards. (Protevangelion 13:1-3,5-8.)

Everything had been frozen in time! - or placed in a state of suspended animation as we might say today. This phenomenon is commonly reported in modern UFO encounters. So that bystanders remember nothing of a superhuman visitation, they sometimes are temporarily frozen and then reactivated afterwards, almost as if time stops for everyone except those directly involved. Whitley Strieber has experienced this incredible phenomenon, for example, as have people in other famous extraterrestrial cases.

Here it should be noted that all the people in the passage above are said to have had their faces turned towards the sky as if they saw something rather unusual. Could it perhaps be a UFO? As the birth story continues, Joseph finds a midwife and returns to the cave where Mary is in labor. The events which follow are remarkable.

" Then said the midwife, Is she not thy wife? Joseph answered, It is Mary... but [she] has conceived by the Holy Ghost. Then a bright cloud overshadowed the cave, and the midwife said, This day my soul is magnified, for mine eyes have seen surprising things, and salvation is brought forth to Israel. But on a sudden the cloud became a great light in the cave, so that their eyes could not bear it. But the light gradually decreased, until the infant appeared..." (Protevangelion 14:5-6,10-12.)

The same basic story is corroborated in 1 Infancy:

"And behold, [the cave] was all filled with lights, greater than the light of lamps and candles, and greater than the light of the sun itself. When they both saw this light, they were surprised..." (1 Infancy 1:10,12.)

Meanwhile, a UFO had already heralded the forthcoming birth of Jesus to King Herod's astrologers, in the well-known story of the "Star of David." Contrary to the traditional interpretation, however, the Bible makes it clear that this object was not really a star at all. Here is the accepted story in the Gospel of Matthew:

" Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem. And he [Herod] sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.... they departed; and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was." (Matthew 2:1,8-9.)

This strangely moving "star" which leads the astrologers directly to the place of Jesus' birth is also described in the Protevangelion, where its real character is even more obviously revealed:

" They answered him [Herod], we saw an extraordinary large star shining among the stars of heaven, and so out-shined all the other stars, as that they became not visible... So the wise men went forth, and behold, the star which they saw in the east went before them, till it came and stood over the cave where the young child was with Mary his mother." (Protevangelion 15:7,9.)

Various angels are described as well along with the aerial craft: one who appeared to the astrologers from the "star," one who came to them in a dream, one who visited shepherds in their fields at night with the "glory of the Lord shining round about them," and a multitude of extraterrestrial beings who were present in the cave during and after Christ's birth.

To conclude our analysis of UFOs and aliens in the Bible, it should be mentioned that not every story which finds its way onto the written page is necessarily true. Overall, however, the Old and New Testaments provide an accurate (though at times embellished) history of the Jewish people which should be understood as such. Abstruse symbolism was probably not the writers' intention, even though this is precisely what modern theologians try to read into their own personal interpretations of ancient scripture in order to avoid blunt reality. It is safe to assume that the many people who contributed to the Western Bible just wrote down what they thought and experienced - and this includes a tremendous amount of material which can be considered representative of the UFO phenomenon throughout history. Some of the stories we discussed are probably true, others maybe not - precisely the way it is with modern cases - and there are quite a few others which could also be considered. The crucial fact remains that superhuman extraterrestrials have seemingly been with us since the dawn of Man.

It is perhaps worth noting that many UFO abductions include a prophetic element: the beings often harshly rebuke our species for its shortcomings and attempt to give us moral and spiritual guidance, sometimes even invoking frightening apocalyptic images and predictions much like those in the Book of Revelation. A large percentage of people who have had an encounter with aliens thus feel a burning need or "calling" to deliver this important message to the rest of humanity. In The Omega Project by prominent psychologist and paranormal researcher Kenneth Ring, a professional survey is presented which found that 85 percent of all UFO abductees report an increase in their concern for the welfare of our world, with 60 percent saying it has strongly increased. The same survey also shows that 71 percent of abductees believe humanity is on the verge of a new age. Almost two thousand years ago an angel took John on a dramatic journey above the earth during which he was told of a climactic future period and a utopian world thereafter. The same ideas are now being imparted to us with an intensity like never before. Perhaps the dramatic increase in observed extraterrestrial activity during the past few decades is largely because human civilization is undergoing dramatic changes. Exciting times are ahead.

Finally, we should mention that the line between angels and aliens remains somewhat blurred even today in this age of science fiction and Hollywood stereotypes. Three fascinating books (including the bestseller The Andreasson Affair) have been written about one woman named Betty Luca, whose extensive contact with extraterrestrials has a decidedly religious tone. As a devout Christian she actually believes that aliens are angels. A Mennonite woman, Lynn Miller, is discussed in Secret Life by ufologist David M. Jacobs; she remembered having "flown with the angels" at age 12, only to discover later that this was merely one in a long series of UFO encounters. Miller came down with diphtheria when six years old, and since the family did not believe in modern medicine they prayed to God for a miracle. Sure enough, that very night typical greys visited her and the very next day she was totally cured.

Stories like these show convincingly that religion and ufology are inseparably tied together. Regardless of what we choose to call them, superhuman beings are here and have always been watching over us. As Arthur C. Clarke once said, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Aliens thus appeared supernatural in ancient times, and they still do to a lesser degree today. But today we understand the true scope and scale of the Cosmos. We must therefore come to accept that the gods of old are far from absolute, far from perfect. They are just better than us... for now. One day we might find ourselves in their position.

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