Lights in the Sky & Little Green Men: A Rational Christian Look at Ufos and Extraterrestrials

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Summary: With a strong eye toward Biblical scripture
Review: Collaboratively written by Hugh Ross, Kenneth Samples, and Mark Clark, Lights in the Sky & Little Green Men: A Rational Christian Look at UFOs and Extraterrestrials is a straightforward presentation on the issue of life on other planets from a Christian perspective. Essays by the three authors discuss the topics of alien abduction, government conspiracies and cover-ups, UFO cults, and more, with a strong eye toward Biblical scripture and the tenets of traditional Christian faith. Lights In The Sky & Little Green Men offers a unique and highly recommended perspective on a contemporary and often controversial issue.

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Summary: Demons behind UFOs
Review: LAST SUMMER, ATTENTION was focused on the southern skies, where Mars appeared brighter than usual. Its orbit had placed it within 35 million miles of Earth, the closest the two planets have been in 60,000 years.

The curious were drawn outdoors, hoping to catch a brighter than normal glimpse of the red planet. Some, no doubt, came away pondering the existence of extraterrestrials.

Interest in UFO phenomenon continues to fuel the success of movies such as "Signs," and "Contact" as well as TV Shows like "The X-Files" and more recently, Steven Spielberg's "Taken."

For millennia, man has wondered whether he is alone in the universe. Organizations such as the SETI Institute (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence), founded in 1984, employs more than 100 scientists, educators, and support staff in its quest to "explore, understand and explain the origin, nature and prevalence of life in the universe." To date, they've come up empty.

The assumption that there must be life somewhere else in the universe is rooted in the philosophies of evolution and naturalism. It goes something like this: Given the sheer numbers of stars and the possibilities of planetary systems orbiting them, the probabilities of there being another earthlike planet where evolution occurred is significant.

Swiss author Erich Von Daniken - founder of the Archaeology, Astronautics, and SETI Research Association - has been weighing in on the subject since the 1970s with his bestseller "Chariots of the Gods: Unsolved Mysteries of the Past."

"On a clear night, the naked eye can see about 4,500 stars, so the astronomers say. The telescope of even a small observatory makes nearly 2,000,000 stars visible and a modern reflecting telescope brings the light from thousands of millions more to the viewer," writes Von Daniken, and he concludes there must be at least 100,000 planets upon which "civilizations more advanced than our own could have developed." Much of the book cites "dramatic discoveries" such as "an alien astronaut preserved in a pyramid" and "a giant spaceport in the Andes" that Von Daniken offers as "irrefutable evidence that Earth has been visited repeatedly by advanced aliens from other worlds." Though Von Daniken's claims have been debunked by reputable experts, he continues to promote his theories by writing, lecturing, appearing in films and TV specials, and maintaining a multilingual Web site (www.daniken.com). This year, he even launched a Mystery Park in Switzerland.

The Bible is silent about the existence of life on other worlds. With the exception of the angelic host - both good and evil - nowhere in Scripture is it explicitly stated that there are other races of beings anywhere in the universe that might give rise to UFOs.

Genesis simply states God created celestial objects solely: "to divide the day from the night ... for signs and seasons ... for days and years ... to give light on the earth," (Genesis 1:14-15).

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This thesis is supported in a book recently published on the subject. The authors of "Lights in the Sky and Little Green Men," (NavPress, Colorado Springs, Colo., 2002), demonstrate convincingly that "both physical and nonphysical data argue against an extraterrestrial hypothesis for UFOs," while claiming the evidence supports the "extradimensional hypothesis ...a scientifically and biblically credible view of reality."

The book is written by Hugh Ross, who holds a Ph.D. in astronomy; Kenneth Samples, a theologian; and Mark Clark, a professor of political science and director of the national security studies program at California State University in San Bernardino. Their diverse backgrounds provide a balanced, thorough understanding of the UFO-extraterrestrial phenomenon, which is composed of many different elements, among them: natural phenomena, belief in government coverups, and the cultic nature of many human-UFO interactions providing strong evidence for their interdimensional and demonic origin.

The first two chapters are written by Samples. They explain the UFO craze and the different types of UFOs. "Most UFOs become IFOs (identified flying objects)," he writes. "In fact, John Spencer, British ufologist and the editor of The UFO Encyclopedia asserts, 'It is important to note that over 90 percent, possibly 95 percent, of UFO reports received are turned into IFOs and explained satisfactorily.'" In the three following chapters, Ross addresses whether life on other planets is possible, the probabilities of evolution, and the difficulties associated with interstellar space travel.

He demonstrates that the number of stars in the cosmos with planets of any size is significantly less than Carl Sagan's ubiquitous estimates. In a section titled "Hospitable Habitats," he makes this statement: "A calculation of the probability for there existing just one naturally occurring planet anywhere in the observable universe with the capacity to support physical life is less than one chance in 10 raised to the 174th power.," a conclusion he backs up in a substantial appendix.

Other topics in the book include UFO cults, alien abductions, government conspiracies, the Bible and UFOs, the interdimensional hypothesis, and RUFOs -residual unidentified flying objects or those UFOs "that make repeat visits to certain witnesses and sites."

The writers of "The X-Files," portrayed many of these elements in the weekly television series that had FBI agent Fox Mulder (played by David Duchovny) attempting to expose a government coverup to breed alien-human hybrids. "The truth is out there" was the caption on a poster depicting a famous photograph of an alleged UFO on the wall in Mulder's office. I was a loyal fan of the show for much of its nine seasons.

Despite the fact that it was science fiction, Agent Mulder was right about one thing: The truth about UFOs can be known.

Ross concludes: "Indeed, the UFO mystery is a mystery solved. Earth is not being visited by aliens from another planet but some people are being visited by spirit beings who want everyone to think they are aliens from another planet. By trusting the revelation given by the Greatest Transdimensional Being of them all, people never need wonder about UFOs again. When people put their lives in the hands of this Cause of human existence, this God who loves every person, the fear of UFO demons and what they can do evaporates."

Gregory J. Rummo is a syndicated columnist. E-Mail Rummo at [e-mail]

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Summary: Finally Answers To The UFO Mystery
Review: Most UFOs are just naturally occurring events, hoaxes, or military aircraft as we all know but what about those few that really cannot be explained? What about the claims that people make that have encountered alien life forms visiting Earth?

You can find a lot of UFO book on the market that claim they hold the answers to this puzzling phenomenon but they usually only leave you with more questions then answers.

Lights in the sky breaks the trend. It proves the answers to the UFO mystery.

It starts by making the case that life on other plants is highly improbable and interstellar space travel is even more improbable and borders on impossible due sheer distance and the dangers of space travel. These claims are backed up with science and it goes into some depth. Meanwhile, the idea of a government cover-up can be chalked up to simple slow moving bureaucratic procedures.

Lights makes the claim that real UFO encounters are of a more super nature occurrence and are usually experienced by people who have a connection with the Occult. That these experiences are of demonic origins. Before you scoff at this idea keep in mind that idea of UFOs as we know them became popularized as the human race pioneered space travel. Pervious to then, people claimed to have seen "air ships" at the turn of the century and "fairies" and other mystical beings before then.

Lights in the Sky is well written and well research and is a must read for anybody interested in UFOs. Its aimed for a Christian audience but its not at all preachy. Its a work that should be taken seriously by both Christian and non-Christians.

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Summary: Multi-level approach at analyzing RUFO phenomonon
Review: Overall, I was impressed by the way this book was organized. The authors investigate the probability of rudimentary and advanced life existing in other parts of the universe, looking at the many challenges of intergalactic space travel, and government conspiracy theories (among other topics). Before fully delving into the extra-dimensional explanation, the readers have been lifted to a level where they can step back and see the UFO phenomenon through the scope of rational thinking. The real experience of abductees and those who claim to have had close encounters are not ridiculed nor dismissed.

The authors address a topic that I have wondered about for many years. Is it possibile for travel between (theoretically backed) existing dimensions - outside of x,y,z, and time - which we as humans are limited?

The scientific claims and theories regarding RUFOs (residual UFOs) are backed up by using Biblical scripture and scriptural accounts. If you profess to be a Christian you will take from this book ample evidence linking the demonic powers described in the Bible with RUFO encounters. If you are not a Christian, this book will be an excellent beginning resource to see the utter uniqueness of our solar system, our earth, the existence of life, and the very real possibility that an intelligence beyond our universe exists.
A fascinating read!

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Summary: The truth is out there...WAY out there!
Review: Thirty years ago I read a pamphlet written by a fundamentalist author (who inundated the Christian market with such pamphlets back in those days) who asserted that the UFOs that weren't out-and-out hoaxes to be the work of the demonic realm. When I discovered this book, co-written by an evangelical scientist that I highly respect (Hugh Ross), I was interested to see what conclusion would be reached by these highly educated authors. Guess what? Same conclusion! However, painstaking scientific knowledge and logic are brought to bear on this issue, to the point where it's impossible (for me, at least) to doubt that this really is the case.

The sections of the book written by Ross were the most compelling for me. He lays out the utter impossibility of travelers from other galaxies making the trek from earth. In fact, he makes a strong case for the view that earth is the only planet in the universe capable of sustaining intelligent life. After he fully convinces the reader that UFOs are not carrying interstellar visitors, he uses the interdimensional model, accepted by many non-religious researchers, to explain the small percentage of UFOs that are actually legitimate. He ties in the fact that most alien abductees have a background in the occult (not necessarily ALL of them, with due respect to a previous reviewer) to conclude that demons are behind the UFO phenomenon.

This is a fascinating book, and I'm sure some people will shake their heads, but the authors make what seems to be an air-tight case. So enjoy watching Star Trek, but keep in mind that it's just a fantasy, and those Klingons could not possibly be from another planet.