Lights in the Sky and Little Green Men: A Rational Christian Look at UFOs and Extraterrestrials [Paperback]

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.

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.

If it is true that a book that both stimulates and irritates is a good read, then this book certainly qualifies. Finally, the Christian publishing community has (briefly) taken its head out of the sand and invited us to a serious academic treatment of the UFO / ET question. I'll cut to the chase and try to be brief (a full ten page review is available on my website, www.facadenovel.com): This is an important book that everyone interested in ufology - Christian or otherwise - should read and digest. With the exception of the two chapters by Mark Clark (chs. 7-8), this is a sterling example of both introducing a topic to readers unfamiliar with the subjects and judicious evaluation of those subjects. The first two chapters are written by Sample, and form an introduction and an overview of the various types of UFOs. The second chapter articulates the two basic categories into which Ross and Sample group all UFO encounters. First, there are the IFOs - UFOs which are actually Identifiable Flying Objects. Most UFOs (and I would agree) can reasonably be identified as: natural phenomena misunderstood by the observer; misidentified man-made flying objects (often of classified military origin); hoaxes; and psychological dysfunction (which does not translate into some sort of mental illness). Second, there are the small number of sightings that simply defy these explanations. These are referred to throughout the book as RUFOs ("Residual UFOs"). These UFOs, the book argues (and again I concur) are non-physical but absolutely real. The question, then, is not whether there are genuine UFOs, but what exactly those UFOs (better, RUFOs) are. Sample informs us that the book will subsequently test two hypotheses for answering this question: the ETH (Extraterrestrial Hypothesis) and the IDH (Inter-dimensional Hypothesis). The former argues that RUFOs are interplanetary; the latter argues they come from another dimension (ultimately, a "spiritual plane" in religious language) and can manifest in both physical and non-physical states. Chapter 6 (written by Ross) complements the brief discussion of the IDH in Chapter 2 by overviewing the evidence for the reality of RUFOs. Sample's later discussion of abductions follows the IDH as an explanation.
The next three chapters (3-5) are written by Ross, and deal with (respectively) "Life on Other Planets," "Evolution's Probabilities," and "Interstellar Space Travel." The material in these chapters amounts to a forceful challenge of the ETH. Indeed, I would argue that any ufologist or UFO enthusiast who refuses or fails to engage Ross's material in these chapters should politely excuse themselves from the field of inquiry and the debate. Chapter 3 puts forth the argument that the probability that there are other planets capable of supporting life is extremely slim - the exact opposite of the widespread argument of ufologists that the universe is teeming with life. Ross utilizes his scholarly background as an astronomer to set forth his case, but his presentation is quite readable for the layperson. His work is drawn from the very best of scholarly journals in astronomy. Chapter 4 sets forth the apologetic for the intelligent design of the universe and life on earth. Ross has become chiefly known for his research and writing in this area - the "intelligent design" view of old-earth creationism. In this chapter he confronts the assumption that since life evolved on earth it must have evolved on other planets. Chapter 5 addresses both the logic and possibility of interstellar space travel, which is glibly assumed by proponents of the ETH. In both cases, Ross argues that such journeys by alien creatures are illogical (why would they bother given the difficulties?) and mathematically and physically impossible. All this leads Ross and the reader to consider the more likely IDH.
Clark's chapters are the low point of the book. ALL (and I mean all) of the major sources that address the government documents obtained via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) relating to UFOs are absent from his chapters and bibliographies. As an example of his poor argumentation, he assumes that Jesse Marcel, Roswell's intelligence officer charged with protecting our country's nuclear secrets, could not identify scotch tape and balsa wood (the alleged remains of the crashed saucer). He also never mentions, for example, that the Project MOGUL explanation offered by the US Air Force is actually the Air Force's third variation of its "official" explanation for the Roswell event. He neglects to tell readers that the Majestic-12 documents ridiculed by Clark have nearly unanimously been dismissed by what Ross and Sample call "professional ufologists."
I do have a problem with the contention put forth in the final chapter that basically all people who experience RUFOs have occult activity in their background. While I would agree with Ross and Sample that RUFOs are best explained by evil spiritual forces, this is an overstatement. Ross's statement on page 124 illustrates our difference of opinion here: "According to the Bible, demons can attack only those individuals who, through their activities, invite the attacks." Ross cites several passages in defense of this view, but none of his references actually makes the point that dabbling in satanic activities will produce RUFO experiences. Christians are not immune from any other type of evil whether it is "invited" or not. Christians are the victims of random violence (witness Columbine); they suffer at the hands of corrupt and evil people through no fault of their own. Ross's position simply does not reflect the worldview of either the Old or New Testament. We are told in I Peter 5:8 that Satan is OUR adversary, and so naturally he seeks to devour Christians. The text does not qualify his destructive appetite by noting "only if we invite his attacks." Must Christians invite "the fiery darts of the wicked" (Eph. 6:16) for them to come? This view is theologically incoherent. Again, my point is only that occult exposure is not a NECESSARY PREREQUISITE for such visitations. (Mike Heiser, PhD candidate in Hebrew and Semitic Languages; author of The Facade).