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Feedback 2007
Published: 22 December 2007(GMT+10)
Christians shaped by experiences rather than the ‘Bible first’ approach
There is danger in accepting ‘the physical reality’ of UFOs
One of the photos presented by Billy Meier, which he claimed was of a beamship
This week’s feedback comes from Dean K. and is addressed to our resident UFO
specialist
Gary Bates. Dean’s letter is first in green followed
by Gary’s response.
Thanks so much for the creation journal
Journal of Creation. It is
an excellent publication and joy to read.
I have a question for Gary Bates.
I read his book
Alien Intrusion: UFOs and the Evolution Connection
recently, and found it to be an excellent resource on the subject of UFO’s
and alien abductions. Recently I came across a member at [a Christian online video
site] that is promoting a website called [a Christian UFO-believing site].
The member has made comments like ‘our problem is we have demythologized many
aspects of God’s Word and a correct understanding is going to be needed to
keep us during the trying times that Satan is going to be allowed to perform in
the days ahead when the restrainer is removed.
If it is appropriate and you could forward a request to Gary, I would like his opinion
on this site and how best to respond to this member. Thanks for your consideration
and keep up the good work.
Dear Dean,
Thank you for your email.
This website [name withheld per our feedback
rules] looks to be a fairly new one. I hadn’t come across it before.
The other sites and names it also promotes are familiar to me though, and some of
them I have been in contact with. This is not to say that I agree with everything
endorsed on there—far from it. The errant views of Christians about UFOs is
especially worrying to me as I feel that even Christians can be prone to deception
from sightings or from placing too much store on what they think are real physical
manifestations of flying craft.
Firstly, let me say that this site appears to be run by Christians and their motives
may well be to glorify Christ, but I feel that it is beset with the same faulty
thinking and problems that many other Christian UFO-believers suffer from.
From a brief look it seems to allow for the idea that UFOs (as in unidentified flying
objects) in ancient history may have indeed been real flying machines, rather than
spiritual manifestations and illusions by deceiving angels, or hoaxes or natural
phenomena. It may surprise some to know that this is actually a very popular idea
among many Christians. The site alludes to some of the events of the Exodus to claim
that UFO type craft were leading the Hebrews out of Egypt. This plays into the hands
of the non-Christian, UFO-or real ET-believing community who presuppose that these
allegedly real machines are piloted by aliens from another world. So, in essence,
the Christians are agreeing with a group of people who either completely reject
the divine inspiration of Scripture to start with, or only regard the Bible as a
corrupted history book that actually records the visitation of aliens in various
vehicles. If they can get Christians to agree that some of these ancient stories
are indeed ‘evidence’ of real flying craft, then it is my view that
the Christian is on the slippery slope. They will be ridiculed for not ‘accepting
the truth’ and just putting a Christian spin or religious twist on the ‘evidence’.
... the major issue here is the Christian using or relying upon their experiences
over God’s Word. In other words, their experience is used to explain the Bible,
when it should always be the other way around.
For example, it is often claimed that UFOs parted the Red Sea (Exodus 14:16–40), or that Moses was spoken to out
of the burning bush via a radio transmission beamed down from the mother ship (Exodus 3:2–6), or that Elijah was raptured onto an
awaiting spacecraft (2 Kings 2:11–12). The unfortunate fruit of reinterpreting
the Old Testament will be the effect it has on understanding the New Testament.
For example, I’ve been similarly challenged at speaking events by UFO-believers
who claim that Jesus was just an advanced extraterrestrial, and the reason He could
walk on water, raise the dead and perform other miracles was because of super advanced
technology that was indistinguishable from the supernatural to the ‘primitive
humans’ of the day. Similar views are held by the famous Erich Von Däniken
(author of Chariots of the Gods) and Zechariah Sitchin and his ancient
astronaut theories based upon his reckless interpretations of Sumerian clay tablets.
I have also received numerous letters from Christians challenging me as to my views
that there is no other intelligent life in the universe (see
Did God create life on other planets?).This view that we are alone in the
universe (except for angels) is derived by starting with
Scripture and based upon our understanding of it as the final authority
in all things. In most cases, the challengers had derived their views that
there could be extraterrestrial life because they had seen ‘something’
they could not explain, that is, a UFO. The reality is that a UFO is what it means—an
unidentified flying object, and 90–95% can always be explained as either natural
(a planet or a star—even ball lightning on occasions) or man-made phenomena
(satellites etc.). The few that defy naturalistic interpretation usually display
supernatural characteristics not in keeping with physical craft.
However, the major issue here is the Christian using or relying upon their experiences
over God’s Word. In other words, their experience is used to explain the Bible,
when it should always be the other way around. Regardless of what the experience
is, this is dangerous ground to tread because it automatically leaves oneself vulnerable
to deception, no matter how seemingly virtuous or even godly it can appear on occasions.
Believe me when I say that you would not believe the stories I’ve heard based
on people’s experiences. For example, supposedly ‘good angels’
visiting folk to tell them that the aliens are real and that God is using them to
effect his purposes on Earth. There is no doubting that experiences can be real
and extremely powerful but the only way to discern them is through the filter of
Scripture. The very instant it is not in accord with God’s Word, like the
example I just mentioned, then you can be sure it did not come from God. (See Aliens, evolution and the occult
for more on this). This is why for non-Christians, such supernatural feats are not
understood by them as such, so they believe they have been really visited by aliens.
However, I don’t understand the rhetoric that claims people are somehow demythologizing
God’s Word though. What does this mean? The comment fails on its own logic
because believing that UFOs are piloted by angels doing God’s bidding etc.
is actually imposing or forcing something upon the text that is not there. In other
words they presuppose that these ‘ancient UFOs’ are real physical craft
and therefore they have to be squeezed into the Bible somewhere. If God’s
Word says pillars of fire and a cloud went before the Hebrew nation, then it was
a pillar of cloud and the fire is not the exhaust of a jet engine.
These faulty views of real craft piloted by angels is one that being promoted by
the Rev. Dr Barry Downing in his book, The Bible and Flying Saucers. Frankly,
I regard Downing as a wolf in sheep’s clothing and feel that his views do
great harm to the authority of God’s Word. I have mentioned his views in my
own book Alien
Intrusion: UFOs and the Evolution Connection. Downing was, and might
still be, the chaplain of the world’s largest UFO group, MUFON (Mutual UFO
Network) in the United States. This shows the high regard in which he is held, particularly
from a group that promotes the idea that extraterrestrials are visiting the earth.
Such groups love nothing more than to hear Christians themselves reinterpret Scripture
to allow for a UFO or two because they feel that yet another powerful historical
document supports their own views. This is the danger of accepting UFOs in the Bible.
Powerful angels may indeed have the ability to construct material things or even
flying machines, but I don’t recall any occurrence in Scripture where this
is recorded. In addition, there are, on average, about 150 UFOs sightings every
day, yet, no two UFOs have ever appeared exactly alike. If fallen angels (or even
good ones, as many of these Christians believe) are zipping around in flying saucers,
then they would have to be constructing thousands of craft each year, which is clearly
nonsense.
One of the most popular reinterpretations is an account known as ‘Ezekiel’s
Wheel’ (Ezekiel 1:1–28). I am constantly challenged on this
one when out speaking so I have reproduced the explanation from my book (below).
Adding man made ideas is really no different, in reality, to adding evolution to
the Bible. It creates doubt in the veracity of God’s Word, and if the Scriptures
don’t mean what they say in one area, then how can one be sure where the truth
begins? If it is truth, then we can be confident in what we believe. When challenged
about unseen evidence that might falsify the Scriptures, like the appearance of
genuine alien craft or real ETs, we should have the confidence, backed up with enough
knowledge of God’s Word, to make a stand (see
Is the Bible falsifiable? And would a real live ET do it?)
I hope this helps.
Gary Bates
Did Ezekiel see a UFO?
One of the most infamous claims about UFOs appearing in the Bible is the ‘sighting’
by Ezekiel in Ezekiel 1:1–28. Erich von Däniken is just one
of many leading writers who claim that the prophet Ezekiel saw a spaceship.
In the case of the mighty prophet Ezekiel, he was given an amazing experience, and
a picture of something that no other person had seen. The text clearly describes
the events that took place, and Ezekiel says his vision was imparted to him by God
(1:1, 3).
A prophet is a specially chosen person. He is a spokesman for God, and God communicates
with his chosen person in such a style that the prophet knows for sure he is hearing
only from God. ‘Knowing the voice of God’ is one of the reasons that
the biblical prophets were always 100% accurate, unlike modern ‘prophets,’
whether in the Christian church or outside of it. Ezekiel had a similar problem
with a proliferation of false prophets in his day. Chapter 13 records that he was
told to prophesy against the false prophets of his day. People did not always like
God’s true prophets because they often spoke directly and personally about
people’s lives, particularly in the area of revealing and condemning their
sin. Often the hearers would reject God’s warnings via his prophet because
they wanted to continue in their own way.
In Ezekiel’s case, God used dramatic imagery to get his message across. For
example, in chapter 37, Ezekiel was given a vision of a valley of dry bones. Step
by step, sinew and flesh attached to these bones until they came to life as a vast
army. Was it meant to be taken literally? Not in this case, because God told Ezekiel
that the story was ‘symbolic’ of Israel’s restoration to their
homeland (they were in exile at the time).
The so-called UFO that Ezekiel saw was no different. No one saw it except Ezekiel.
He describes wheels, wings, and living creatures that looked like burning coals
and moved like flashes of lightning. Above this strange contraption were a throne
and a figure that looked like a man with a brilliant light surrounding him. But
right at the very beginning of the passage (vs. 1) and at the end (vs. 28), Ezekiel
unmistakably pronounces that it is a vision of God. In verse 17, the ‘vehicle’
is described as going in all directions at the same time, which a real vehicle cannot
do. This description is a reference to the fact that God is everywhere at the same
time (omnipresent) and that he is not constrained to our understanding. The vision
of a man was probably that of the preincarnate
Christ.
Many UFO believers claim they place great store in the biblical texts but only when
it suits their purposes to do so. It is incredible how often people take a passage
of Scripture completely out of context to prove a pet theory. Masquerading angels
have also falsely concocted a pseudo-philosophy to closely parallel the texts for
their own evil aims. The Bible has become ‘fair game’ for those with
their own agenda. I recall an investigator at a UFO meeting glowingly using the
passage in Ezekiel to say that ‘even the Bible mentions UFOs.’ When
I challenged his comment, pointing out that nowhere does Ezekiel use the term ‘ship’,
‘craft’ or any other word to describe a vehicle of any sort, and when
I made the more important point that the text clearly describes the thing as a vision
from God, he replied, ‘Yeah, but it’s still a UFO.’
I didn’t say what he wanted to hear. He had already made his mind up and brought
his outside ideas to the Bible. He wanted to believe that it is a UFO, despite the
intent of the author and the actual words written. This misreading of the Bible
is sadly common in UFOlogy.
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