UFO Religions

Archive for the ‘Bible UFOs’ Category

Well, it’s about time I got back to this.  When I last left you, I had noted that I was writing about end times over on my Naked Bible blog and that you needed to check out that discussion to understand my hesitation on agreeing with the typical Christian “fundamentalist” view of UFOs and aliens. I’m nearly done with that discussion (it’s 14 parts, and likely will only be one or two more; here is the archive). I can now summarize my thoughts.

The standard view of end times, to which the UFO and alien topics are married by many Christians, is riddled with problems. It’s not that the typical scenario — a rapture, then a seven year tribulation period in which the antichrist plays nice for the first half, then unleashes the forces of darkness, then Armageddon, then the second coming (think Left Behind) can’t work — it’s that it is based on a long series of presuppositions, guesses, and a few questionable exegetical points (but so is every other view). That’s what I’ve been illustrating and chronicling on the other blog. And so, given the tenuous nature of the entire reconstruction (and I know it’s news to many of you that there are any problems), when Christians want to insert aliens and UFOs into the picture, I see trouble.

By trouble I mean that those who do such a thing are setting themselves up for not only a potential, huge disappointment, but they risk all that they are saying about aliens and UFOs being construed as nonsense if their eschatology doesn’t pan out.  And they also risk many in the flock leaving the faith over disenchantment with the “assured” nature of their end times schemes. I just cannot endorse how the alien-UFO subject is married to a rapture, for example, because I’m quite uncertain there is even a thing such as a rapture taught in the New Testament. (Again, if that’s news, go to my archive – and please read ALL the posts starting at the beginning – they build on each other).

Other than this general uncertainty, I don’t think the major “exegetical” argument that is used to bolster aliens and UFOs factoring into the end times is at all sound. I speak here of the notion that Matthew 24:37 (“For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man”) is a reference to the fathering of nephilim by the sons of God in Genesis 6. This connection is critical to the typical “fundamentalist” view tying aliens and UFOs to the end times.  I’m also not a believer that Daniel 2:43 is about alien-human hybrids.

I’ll try and explain the problems I see with these interpretations in the next post or two.

Technorati Tags: aliens, end times, Matthew 24:37, nephilim, rapture, UFOs

Here is a link to my ongoing eschatology (end times) archive over on my other blog. I’m still showing how any view of end times is based on guesses and presuppositions. I should warn readers at this point, though. If you are married to the pre-trib / pre-mill view of end times, you may find the last two posts (numbers 8 and 9) at the other blog disturbing. I’m showing how the core ideas of that view are far from self-evident. I’m not taking any sides (again, I don’t care for any of the views), but I’m doing this since it will be the basis for explaining why I’m not on board with the common notion (among Christian ufologists) that UFOs and alien abductions are proof that we are living in the end times. Still setting the table for that.

Technorati Tags: aliens, Christian, end times, eschatology, prophecy, UFOs

Readers will recall that we’re looking at elements of Christian eschatology as preparatory to me getting into my concerns as to the marriage of one specific view of eschatology to the UFO / ET question on the part of Christians into UFOs and ETs.  Here is the latest installment of my eschatology discussion over on The Naked Bible.

Technorati Tags: 70 weeks, aliens, Daniel, end times, tribulation, UFOs

I just posted another installment on eschatology (end times) over on my Naked Bible blog. Again, the goal in that series is to get people to understand that the typical “there’s going to be a Great Tribulation, a rapture, and a millennial kingdom in Israel” view of end times is *not* self evident in the Bible.  But it is precisely that view that is presumed in the Christian “fundamentalist” community that seeks to parse UFOs and aliens as part of the end times.  You need to understand (1) where that theology comes from / how it is argued, and (2) what its weaknesses are before you can understand my concerns with linking biblical eschatology to the UFO / ET issue.

Technorati Tags: aliens, Bible, end times, eschatology, kingdom, prophecy, UFOs