Hugh Ross - Lights in the Sky & Little Green Men: A Rational Christian Look at UFOs and Extraterrestrials

A

Rational

Christian Look

at UFOs

and Extraterrestrials

LIGHTS IN THE SKY

&

LITTLE GREEN MEN

HUGH ROSS ~ KENNETH SAMPLES ~ MARK CLARK

2012, 2002 by Reasons To Believe

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written permission from Reasons To Believe, 731 E. Arrow Hwy, Glendora, CA 91740

www.reasons.org

ISBN 1-57683-208-2

Cover design by Dan Jamison

Cover photo by vcl/Spencer Rowell/Getty Images/FPG

Creative Team: Sue Geiman, Eric Stanford, Amy Spencer, Pat Miller

Some of the anecdotal illustrations in this book are true to life and are included with the permission of the persons involved. All other illustrations are composites of real situations, and any resemblance to people living or dead is coincidental.

Unless otherwise identified, all Scripture quotations in this publication are taken from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV). Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Ross, Hugh (Hugh Norman), 1945

Hugh Ross, Kenneth Samples, and Mark Clark. p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

1. Occultism--Religious aspects--Christianity. 2. Unidentified flying

objects--Religious aspects--Christianity. I. Samples, Kenneth R. II.

Clark, Mark, 1955-III. Title.

BR115.O3 R675 2002

261.5'1--dc21

Printed in the United States of America

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 / 06 05 04 03 02

eISBN: 9781886653337

For Joel and David;

Sarah, Jackie, and Michael;

Matthew and Caleb

CONTENTS

Speculations about unidentified flying objects and extraterrestrial beings just wont go away. They continue to crop up in conversations all over the planet. Almost everyone can tell

a story of seeing weird lights in the skylights that seem to defy explanation. Almost everyone wonders about little green men flying overhead in spaceships or at least about whether intelligent life exists somewhere beyond planet Earth.

What are those things in the sky?

Where do they come from?

Does alien life exist?

If flying saucers are real, do we need to worry about them?

Is the government hiding something?

Questions like these continue to be asked, revealing a weakness in the answers offered to date.

Often, spokespersons from fields such as astronomy, theology, philosophy, politics, and the military patronize those who pose questions about UFOs (unidentified flying objects), telling UFO observers that they really saw meteors, mirages, military aircraft, the planet Venus, or college students clever pranks. And of course, in many cases, naturalistic explanations are the right ones. But the spokespersons hastiness in offering such answers demonstrates the contempt they hold for anyone who is prepared to believe in UFO phenomena.

The experts persistent denial of anything supernatural or paranormal drives many in the general populace to search elsewhere for satisfaction of their curiosity and concerns. Too often, though, the people to whom they turn are UFO advocates who play on emotions, short-circuiting scientific reasoning, good scholarship, and philosophical thought. These people have an agendaoften one involving the exercise of questionable moral and spiritual influenceand thus the curious may be drawn into a situation that is a threat to their well-being.

In short, people with questions about UFOs may encounter condescending rejection on the one side and dangerous credulity on the other. And its because of such insufficient responses to legitimate questions that the three of usan astronomer and Christian apologist, a philosopher and cult researcher, and a political scientist specializing in national securitywanted to write a book on this subject. Many people are intensely curious about unidentified flying objects and extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) and are frustrated by the explanations they have received. For too long, the community of scientists and scholars who could and should be providing answers have avoided this topic. We wanted to fill the gapand to do it from a perspective that reflects the Christian worldview we share.

As an astronomer who through the years has logged thousands of hours of observation time, I have learned that science can and does address the possibility of lifes existence elsewhere in the universe. I began stargazing as a young boy, and by age seventeen I had become director of observations for the Royal Astronomical Society in Vancouver, Canada. Naturally, then, in my youth I began thinking about extraterrestrial life. Later, when I came to Caltech in the mid-1970s for postdoctoral research, the faculty assigned me the task of processing UFO reports. Now I was really focused on the subject of life elsewhere in the universe. And at about that same time, my belief in the reality of the supernatural led me to undertake an intense study of the Bible. I learned from the pages of Scripture about the all-powerful, always present, and ever-caring God of the universe and about His creation of life. The result of all this was that my curiosity regarding whether life could exist elsewhere and, if so, whether it could come to planet Earth was fully satisfied. Since then Ive spoken to people all over the world about UFOs (among other topics), and many of them have told me that they, too, have found resolution and satisfaction in my discoveries.

These discoveries led me to write my chapters in this book. Chapters 3, 4, and 5 explore the conditions necessary for life to exist on other planetsand to show up in our atmosphere in spaceships. Chapter 6 then opens up the topic of residual UFOs, or RUFOs, which are those unexplainable yet real phenomena that remain after all naturalistic explanations have been exhausted. Further on, chapter 9 addresses the key question of the scientific evidence for the supernatural and of how nature and supernature intersect. That discussion leads naturally into chapter 10, which examines the hypothesis about UFO phenomena that I favor: the trans-or extra-dimensional hypothesis. Chapter 11 goes on to examine RUFOs in light of the trans-or extra-dimensional hypothesis. Finally, chapter 15 offers biblical insight regarding UFOs, especially RUFOs.

My chapters should answer many of the questions you have about UFO phenomena. However, while I can address questions about flying objects and extraterrestrial life from a scientific and theological basis, that information is not enough to cover the broad topic of UFO phenomena. Many other questions remain, requiring the expertise of my two colleagues: Kenneth Samples and Mark Clark.

Kenneth, a philosopher, teaches courses in logic and researches new religious movements, or cults. For many years he studied cults with the late Walter Martin, founder of the Christian Research Institute. Years of solid scholarship inform his expertise on alien abductions and UFO religions. Because thinking people deserve a logical rationale to supply the appropriate context for UFO experiences, Kenneth provides just that in his chapters. Giving an overview of UFO phenomena in chapters 1 and 2, he supplements his own extensive knowledge by citing world-renowned UFO experts. In chapters 12 through 14 he furnishes fascinating and profound insights into alien abduction, ongoing contact with aliens, and UFO cults.

Yet a discussion of UFOs and ETI cannot be considered comprehensive without addressing the possibility of government involvement in cover-ups and conspiracies. Mark Clark, a political science professor specializing in military and strategic studies, provides the breadth and depth of insight necessary to accomplish this task. In chapter 7 Mark exposes the three mysteries that are most often connected with government cover-up in peoples minds: the supposed alien crash landing near Roswell, New Mexico; the governments UFO study known as Project Blue Book; and Area 51, where some think alien spacecraft and bodies are stored. Then in chapter 8 Mark offers a comprehensive look into conspiracy thinking.