By Thomas R. Horn
April 22, 2010
NewsWithViews.com
The Search For Extraterrestrial Life
In January,
The
Royal Society, the national academy of science of the UK and the Commonwealth
hosted representatives from NASA, the European Space Agency and the UN
Office for Outer Space 
Affairs,
during its 350th anniversary celebration. The event offered some dizzying
intellects in the featured discussion, "The Detection Of Extraterrestrial
Life and the Consequences for Science and Society." Lord Martin Rees,
President of the Royal Society and Astronomer Royal, announced that aliens
may be "staring
us in the face" in a form humans are unable to recognize. Other
speakers used words like "overwhelming evidence" and "unprecedented
proof" to signify how close we are to making irrefutable discovery
of alien life. Some, like Simon Conway Morris, professor of evolutionary
paleobiology at Cambridge University, worried that contact with these
unknowns might not be a good thing. "Extra-terrestrials
might not only resemble us but have our foibles, such as greed, violence
and a tendency to exploit others' resources," he said. "And
while aliens could come in peace they are quite as likely to be searching
for somewhere to live, and to help themselves to water, minerals and fuel."
Vatican astronomers likewise weighed in on this question, "Are we alone in the Universe," and their top scholars hinted that discovery of alien life, including intelligent life, might be made in the near future. Father Jose Gabriel Funes in a long interview with the L'Osservatore Romano newspaper said there is a certain possibility of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, and that such notion "doesn't contradict our faith." Another Vatican astronomer, Guy Consolmagno concluded that chances are better than not that mankind is facing a near-future discovery of extraterrestrial intelligence (Monsignor Corrado Balducci even went so far a few years ago to suggest that aliens were already interacting with earth and that some of the Vatican's leaders are aware of it).
"How can we rule out that life may have developed elsewhere," asked Funes. "Just as we consider earthly creatures as 'a brother,' and 'sister,' why should we not talk about an 'extraterrestrial brother'? It would still be part of creation."
Muslim and Jewish leaders joined Funes to say their religion could accommodate an ET reality, while a scholar for the Russian Orthodoxy excluded the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligence.
The question of how the world's political and religious communities would respond if suddenly faced with visitors from beyond is something world religions and even the US Government has studied. Paul Davies of The Atlantic Monthly wrote in 2003 that the discovery of even a single bacterium somewhere beyond Earth could force mankind to revise its understanding of who we are and where we fit into the cosmic scheme of things. Davies speculated that such a find could throw the human race into a spiritual identity crisis that could leave some gasping for faith in God.
Evidently things have changed since 2003. Recent polls show a majority of people believe ET disclosure would not challenge their faith in God, findings supported by a study at the University of California, Berkeley in 2008. A Reuters Ipsos poll of 23,000 adults in 22 countries taken in April, 2010 found similar responses, adding that more than 40 percent of people from India and China believe aliens are already here and are walking among us disguised as humans.
Professor Anthony Tambasco of Georgetown University not only believes the world is ready for ET, but responding to NASA's recent press releases about life potentially existing on Mars, said that if the discovery of life is substantiated, "it will not unravel traditional biblical convictions, but rather provide an opportunity to enlarge or broaden them."
In a related CCN article, Sayyid Syeed of the Islamic Society of North America said, "Most Muslims would also welcome the discovery of life off of Earth." The Koran refers to Allah as the God of 'worlds,' he said, not just one world.
Rabbi James Ruden of the American Jewish Committee says most Jews also leave open the possibility of life on other planets in their interpretation of Genesis.
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But not everybody in the faith community agrees. Many conservative evangelicals in particular take a more suspicious view of aliens, stating that they could be demonic manifestations or play a role in a future great delusion that gives rise to the appearance of Antichrist.
"I have become thoroughly convinced that UFOs are real," popular Christian writer Hal Lindsey wrote. "I believe these beings are not only extraterrestrial but supernatural in origin. To be blunt, I think they are demons."
Associate professor of psychology Elizabeth L. Hillstrom in her book Testing the Spirits documented a growing number of scholars who support Lindsey's conclusions that UFOnauts are synonymous with historical demons.
"From a Christian perspective," she wrote, "Vallee's explanation of UFOs is the most striking because of its parallels with demonic activity. Vallee himself, drawing from extrabiblical literature on demonic activities, establishes a number of parallels between UFOnauts and demons.... Pierre Guerin, a UFO researcher and a scientist associated with the French National Council for Scientific Research, is not so cautious: 'The modern UFOnauts and the demons of past days are probably identical.' Veteran researcher John Keel, who wrote UFOs: Operation Trojan Horse and other books on the subject, comes to the same conclusion: 'The UFO manifestations seem to be, by and large, merely minor variations of the age-old demonological phenomenon.'"
While open to the idea that demons may play a role in ufology, theologians such as Michael Heiser caution against automatically connecting UFOs with demonology, saying if UFOs do represent something supernatural, the unidentified objects could just as likely be manifestations of good angels, while phenomenon such as so-called alien abduction is more in line with manifestations of demons.
In addition to extrasolar planet discovery or the sudden appearance of a UFO armada, some believe contact with alien intelligence could eventually happen as a result of man-made super technology that opens new dimensions or discovers parallel worlds. Sergio Bertolucci, a top scientist at CERN, surprised reporters for the British newspaper The Register recently by saying the Large Hadron Collider may create "an extra dimension" and that "out of this door might come something."
To understand the social, scientific, and spiritual ramifications of possible contact with aliens and the larger scope of astrobiology and the search for life in the universe, a 20-hour interview series titled Official Disclosure: Prepare for Contact with some of the world's leading authorities recently took place. This included experts like Nick Pope, who was in attendance at the 2010 Royal Society Conference. Nick is Britian's former Military of Defence lead officer over UFO investigations.
The special multi-hour interview series covered numerous important issues that some believe could soon affect all mankind.
Questions such as:
* Is
official disclosure of alien contact near?
* Do world authorities know something about ET they are not telling us?
* Would aliens be friendly or hostile?
* What is panspermia?
* What is happening during alien abduction?
* Are angels or demons involved?
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The answers to these questions are often unnerving as ex-government agents with above top-secret security clearance, world-famous field investigators, physicists and theologians peel back the truth behind a reality so astonishing the personal destiny of every man, woman and child could be impacted by its implications.
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Thomas Horn is the CEO of RaidersNewsNetwork.com and SurvivorMall.com.
Over the last decade, he has authored three books, wrote dozens of published editorials, and had several feature magazine articles. In addition to past articles at NewsWithViews.com , his works have been referred to by writers of the LA Times Syndicate, MSNBC, Christianity Today, Coast to Coast, World Net Daily, White House Correspondents and dozens of newsmagazines and press agencies around the globe. Tom's latest book is "The Ahriman Gate," which fictionalizes the use of biotechnology to resurrect Biblical Nephilim.
Thomas is also a well known radio personality who has guest-hosted and appeared on dozens of radio and television shows over the last 30 years, including "The 700 Club" and "Coast to Coast AM." When looking for a spokesperson to promote their film "Deceived" staring Louis Gossett Jr. and Judd Nelson, "Cloud 10 Pictures" selected Thomas as their spokesperson to explain the Christian viewpoint on UFO-related demonology.
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