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| | The word 'UFO' stands for 'Unidentified Flying Object', but has come in general usage to mean a spaceship from outer space, piloted by [[aliens]], or non-human extraterrestrials. UFOs are often believed to be in the shape of flying saucers, but many other shapes have been reported, such as cigar shapes and triangles. The first modern sighting was made in 1947, and soon afterwards a UFO is alleged to have crashed at a town called Roswell, complete with miniature humanoid occupants. Many thousands of sightings have been made since then, and many people claim to have been abducted by aliens and subjected to experimentation. Despite all these claims, no concrete evidence has ever emerged that aliens exist. | | The word 'UFO' stands for 'Unidentified Flying Object', but has come in general usage to mean a spaceship from outer space, piloted by [[aliens]], or non-human extraterrestrials. UFOs are often believed to be in the shape of flying saucers, but many other shapes have been reported, such as cigar shapes and triangles. The first modern sighting was made in 1947, and soon afterwards a UFO is alleged to have crashed at a town called Roswell, complete with miniature humanoid occupants. Many thousands of sightings have been made since then, and many people claim to have been abducted by aliens and subjected to experimentation. Despite all these claims, no concrete evidence has ever emerged that aliens exist. |
| | [[category:science]] | | [[category:science]] |
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| | + | == Spiritual explanations for UFO's == |
| | + | Lynn Catoe, senior bibliographer for the library of Congress, created a 1600 entry on [[UFO]] bibliography for the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research. After a two year investigation, in which she reviewed thousands of documents Cato stated that ""A large part of the available UFO literature . . . deals with subjects like mental telepathy, automatic writing and invisible entities . . . poltergeist manifestations and 'possession....Many of the UFO reports now being published in the popular press recount alleged incidents that are strikingly similar to [[demonic possession]] and [[psychic phenomenon]] which have long been known to [[Theology|theologians]] and [[Paraphschology|parapsychologists]]."<ref>http://www.letusreason.org/NAM25.htm</ref><ref>http://www.probe.org/cults-and-world-religions/cults-and-world-religions/ufos-and-alien-beings.html</ref> Prominent UFO researcher [[John Keel]] concurred. After surveying the literature on [[demonology]] Keel stated, "The manifestations and occurrences described in this imposing literature are similar if not entirely identical to the UFO phenomenon itself."<ref>http://www.probe.org/cults-and-world-religions/cults-and-world-religions/ufos-and-alien-beings.html</ref> |
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| | + | [[Astronomy|Astronomer]] Dr. [[Hugh Ross]] states that ninety-nine percent of what people have told him were UFOs, he said, experience astronomers experienced astronomers can identify as a star, cluster, or other object in the night sky and it is the 1 percent of sightings which he calls residual UFOs - that have attracted his attention. <ref>http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?SearchID=73122266402007&Avis=TO&Dato=20030104&Kategori=NEWS10&Lopenr=101040052&Ref=AR</ref> According to Dr. Ross very few astronomers have seen residual UFOs.<ref>http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?SearchID=73122266402007&Avis=TO&Dato=20030104&Kategori=NEWS10&Lopenr=101040052&Ref=AR</ref> |
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| | + | The following newspaper excerpt summarizes Dr. Ross's findings: |
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| | + | {{cquote|In 1969, however, Dr. Ross met two astronomers who were having regular UFO encounters. Both also happened to be involved in occult activity. |
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| | + | Upon investigation, Dr. Ross consistently found a connection between occult involvement and residual UFO encounters. For example, he said, countries with a high degree of occult activity such as Russia during the Soviet era, France, and certain parts of Brazil also had high percentages of UFO encounters. During Russia?s Soviet period when every expression of religion except occult activity had been outlawed, he said, “Russians were seeing UFOs at five to eight times the rate Americans were.<ref>http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?SearchID=73122266402007&Avis=TO&Dato=20030104&Kategori=NEWS10&Lopenr=101040052&Ref=AR</ref>}} |
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| | + | Given that the current [[origin of life|naturalistic explanations for the origin of life are inadequate]] and that a number of [[conservative Christians]] disagree with the [[theory of evolution]] there have been a number of other arguments in the field of [[Christian apologetics]] regarding UFO's being spiritual in nature and not explainable by naturalistic explanations. <ref>http://www.probe.org/cults-and-world-religions/cults-and-world-religions/ufos-and-alien-beings.html</ref><ref>http://www.letusreason.org/NAM25.htm</ref><ref>http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/lifemars.html</ref><ref>http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/2995/</ref><ref>http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/alien.asp</ref> |