App State Professor says "Ufology Waste of Time"

[Jimi H.]

..Mr. Hendrix, why would I want to research UFOs at a university?..

You initially spoke as if you'd been at the fray and had experience wrangling 'the government'.

Personally, I've never experienced any thought-policing at college, in any shape or form.

 

[Jimi H.]

Its also been my experience that sometimes if we drill down , religious bias plays a part in the skeptic mindset...

I would hardly call the old-school religious types you describe 'sceptics'. I'd def. call them believers!

But I get your point, and I'm sure I've encountered the type. To me, the give-away is that they are likely to deny that it makes sense to think there is life elsewhere in the universe, regardless.

 

[exo_doc]

"It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so."

~Robert A. Heinlein

RAH is one of my favorite authors. Among my favs....Stranger In A Strange Land......Job: A Comdey of Justice...Number of the Beast.

 

[Jeff Davis]

And based on my own discussions with such people the rationale seems to be, The bible doesnt mention ET's just demons ergo they must be demons.
I dont doubt the existance of genuine ET species would put the final nail in the coffin of many of the worlds superstitions. I think they cant help but know this and thus feel threatened by it.

Its akin to a man on one continent knowing there is another over the sea, but hes never seen it or any of the animals on it.
Over time his imagination populates this place with sea monsters and unicorns
Until one day a person from this place comes and with genuine knowledge of it sets the record straight.

I think there is a very real potential for ET to do this in regards to our notions of the universe.

It will mean having to let go of the belief unicorns frolick in this land, something that may be impossible for some

And i cant help but wonder given the Profs generation and culture if this might be the root cause of his rejection of the UFO genre

I don't follow the logic in this at all. Why couldn't a person that believes in God, Christianity or whatever, believe that God made ET too? He doesn't state that he didn't in the Bible that I am aware of.

What if ET landed today and the first thing they proclaimed is that they were sent by the "God" that made them and us? What would happen at this point?

The Bible also does not just mention "Demons", but rather mentions 5-7 different types of specific angels as well. Could not they be in the UFOs?

I have never understood the sentiment that somehow ET would turn everyone into athiests. Just doesn't make sense to me.

 

[mike]

I don't follow the logic in this at all. Why couldn't a person that believes in God, Christianity or whatever, believe that God made ET too? He doesn't state that he didn't in the Bible that I am aware of.

What if ET landed today and the first thing they proclaimed is that they were sent by the "God" that made them and us? What would happen at this point?

The Bible also does not just mention "Demons", but rather mentions 5-7 different types of specific angels as well. Could not they be in the UFOs?

I have never understood the sentiment that somehow ET would turn everyone into athiests. Just doesn't make sense to me.

That is true its an issue thats in sharp dispute

Religious Views on Extraterrestrial Life
Christian views

The question of whether the existence of an extraterrestrial race is compatible with the Bible is in sharp dispute. The dispute is probably of modern origin - the Catholic Church never issued any formal pronouncement on the question of alien life, and most Protestant confessions are silent on the matter. Those insisting that the Bible is entirely compatible with extraterrestrial races hold that the Bible contains no verse that says directly that man is the only sentient race in the universe.

Opponents hold that the presence of such a race would give the lie to the claim of Jesus Christ that He came to take away the sin of the world.[15], and that He died once and only once to bring this about. They contend that since Jesus is referred to singly (as he was an individual person), this rules out the possibility of an alien counterpart to Jesus, and that an alien counterpart to Jesus is a necessary precondition for an alien nation to exist.[16][17]--and that Kingdom is also not of this universe, or "cosmos".
Defenders of the compatibility position might insist that neither of the two verses named above speaks directly to the uniqueness claim. But the original Hebrew and Greek texts use definite article adjectives and references to a specific person named Adam (and another, named Jesus), with no hint that either Adam or Jesus had any counterpart elsewhere in the cosmos. These things militate in favor of uniqueness almost as well as any direct negation of plurality might. Again, compatibility defenders might cite a lack of evidence that any hypothetical alien race would require counterparts to Jesus or Adam. But Christian critics reply that if the Bible is real at all, then life does not arise out of non-life

Some selected quotes from this discussion

Christian Only: View on extraterrestrials (Moses, Earth, salvation, beliefs) - Religious Education Forum

The only "extraterrestials" that I believe in are angels and demons.

The statistical likely hood is, that one day we will have to face up to the existence of extra terrestrials. They of course will have the same problem.
Religions that can not adapt or change in the face of this reality, will have serious problems.
I do not feel that Christianity has a major problem here, except for those that insist that we are made in God's image.
We may have to conclude that God unlike us does not have a fixed image. Or that the Bible is in error on this fact.

what do you base that belief on?
Scripture.

I figure if aliens in outer space existed God would have informed us. I don't see any indication in Scripture that such beings exist. God so loved the "world"----not worlds, or universe----that He sent His only begotten Son to die for it.

I believe the whole UFO phenomenon going on today is purely demonic activity. In the Bible Satan is called the "prince of the power of the air." Makes perfect sense.

And for the record, I know people who saw a UFO land in their backyard, and they said it emanated "pure evil." So, being Christians, they began to pray fervently, commanding it to leave in the name of Jesus (kind of like casting out a demon), and it did. Sounds creepy and weird, sure, but I don't at all put it past Satan to use "extraterrestials" and alien spacecraft to deceive people.

Once you go outside of the Bible, it's mere speculation. I just think, in light of all that the Bible says (and I believe the Bible is truth), the chance that God created beings on other planets is highly unlikely. Because the major theme of the Bible is God's love for, and redemption of, mankind. Everything in the Bible centers on the relationship between God and man. And Revelation talks about a new heaven and a new earth, after the old ones are done away with, and in these descriptions I find no reference whatsoever to any other beings or planets. If such beings or planets existed, you would think God would make mention of them when He destroys and recreates everything, because they would be impacted too. So I think my conclusion is more valid, at least from a Christian standpoint

Why? who taught you this?
God said so. That's good enough for me.

Now to be fair there are plenty of "it wouldnt effect my faith" posts too, but its the attitude ive quoted thats relative to the UFO skeptics point im making

Do a search for UFO's Demons and you will see plenty of examples that mirror Nick Popes investigation of the collins elite.

would not be surprised to turn on the news someday and see a report about a confirmed "alien" contact. If it were to happen, you can bet that at some point, these "higher beings" who are allegedly so much more "evolved" than us are going to start poisoning the spiritual waters with dangerous doctrines that are in direct conflict with the Bible. I'm not suggesting that open contact with an alleged alien will definitely occur. But if it ever does occur, the purpose will most likely be to lead people away from a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. It would also be consistent with the Biblical warning stated in the Bible verse at the top of this page.
We should also not be surprised if most scientists would be deceived by such an event. Most scientists today are atheists or agnostics. They have a predisposition to ignore spiritual explanations and would likely attempt to explain such phenomena in light of their materialistic, naturalistic philosophical biases. These are the same biases that cause so many of them to be deceived by the lies of evolution, and to ignore God's clear warnings about the Evolution myth.

What the Bible says about UFOs and aliens

For these people the notion of ET existance represents a clear and present danger to their faith, a poisoning (of) the spiritual waters with dangerous doctrines that are in direct conflict with the Bible

 

[Jeff Davis]

That is true its an issue thats in sharp dispute

Then it's really a matter of cultural progression, isn't it? The opinions that are based in religious institutional dogma would seem to be far and away in the minority with respect to the actual religious populous. I mean, I talk to people all the time as it's my job literally, I have yet to run into a single individual that believes emphatically that UFOs are the sole (no pun intended) work of Satan.

Personally, with respect to "aliens" or "demons", either are equally a product of progressive cultural developments and their acceptance. The same precise "aliens" that abduct people and carry out this notion of contemporary hybridization were doing the exact same thing 500-1000 years ago via the fairy folk and their mothering.

First we learn of Demons in the Biblical sense wherein they possess derelicts and the mentally deranged that live in caves. We learn of Jesus commanding the demons to enter a group of pigs and run off a cliff. Next thing you know, they're being credited with piloting flying saucers.

This whole Collin's Elite thing is extremely fishy IMO. I have read Final Events and did not come away thinking that I honestly learned anything new. There will ALWAYS be religious fanatics whose only tangible angle is government enabled. Just because there was such a group, doesn't mean there weren't five other groups of equal investigative authority researching other angles of origin or general understanding concerning UFOs.

The Bible is a series of books and letters that are interpreted as many ways as there are people to interpret them. You will always be able to find ample evidence to support a percentage of fanatics.

IMO, obstinacy and dogma is a combination that always seems bound to fear and the divisiveness of control. Whether it's UFO dogma, or Religious dogma.

I would like to offer up this outstanding video lecture to basically hint at where I am coming from. It contains many prime examples of why UFOs have LONG been deeply interwoven into humanity's past. Please feel free to discuss/rip to shreds.

 

[Michelle]

I had to weigh my words before I replied to this. To be frank: As an ex-high school teacher, if you were my student and you had that attitude, I'd be more than happy to let you go, and you'd only have yourself to thank for the trouble.

You can be pretty sure your proff knows way more about scholarly matters than you do as a fresh student, and (s)he will continue to do so if you turn tail when something goes against your beliefs.

If you decide that the best thing for you is to stick around and aquire all the knowledge you can, you can return later, with all your academic skills, and the very best cases. Cases that you haven't been able to solve for yourself after years of trying, and then challenge the proff to explain them, or even explain how they could be mondane. You'd be much better off that way, trust me..

Weigh away. My "belief" is just as I said earlier. If you are a college professor then you should be teaching people to have an open mind, not a closed one. The same with any level of education. America does not teach. America does not produce creative individuals. I was lucky enough to have amazing teachers in high school and some great professors while in college.

The lesser offenses I speak of range from mistreatment of students all the way to insufficient credentials. I refuse to subject myself to poor teaching, which is why I was very careful in choosing my professors in college. Why should I waste my time in a class room loosing brain cells when I could be in the class room next store getting an education?