"Aliens are Demons"
"Aliens are Demons"
A Survey of the Claim and Why I'm Skeptical
Join Intelligence Officer Brendan Sean Murphy as he voyages into space in a struggle for peace and his own sanity. My first novel Fallen is available for $0.99 digital and $14.99 on paperback.
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Religion and Aliens
Fallen and Risen Spoiler Free!
This post is a special in the series of objective, non-judgement views of various religions’ views on the potential of extraterrestrial life. See the previous posts on Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Protestantism and Other Christian Faiths, Islam Judaism, the Dharma faiths, the ancient faiths, Theozoology and World Ice Theory, Native American religions, and the Twentieth Century faiths of Nation of Islam, Scientology, & Falun Gong for more. Please note, in this special, I offer my own personal opinions which, will analytical thought ought, could be wrong.
Why Some Believe Aliens are Demons in Disguise
As documented in the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant and Other Christian Faiths posts, some denominations and individuals do not believe extraterrestrial life besides the angelic species is possible. These Christians believe that while aliens are a theoretical possibility because God can do anything, they believe God didn’t create other life as the Bible doesn’t state God made life elsewhere.
For most, the debate about the possibility of extraterrestrial life is entirely hypothetical. The lack of available evidence on hand demonstrating alien life makes proving it impossible, and the small sample size of the cosmos we have explored makes the confidence of a negative assessment infinitesimal.
Yet, stories of UFOs, strange encounters, and even abductions exist. While most people write off these reports as lies, overactive imaginations, false memories, etc., a segment of Christians who deny the possibility of aliens believe these tales wholeheartedly- as stories of demonic encounters.
This belief focuses on negative effects related to supposed alien encounters, including kidnapping, assaults against the person, various forms of serious illnesses after the encounter, poltergeists, and even claims of death. Proponents point out that these stories share much in common with older tales of demons.
Commentator Tucker Carlson describes his beliefs that UFOs and aliens are spiritual entities similar to demons. Video from The Joe Rogan Experience.
Additionally, stories of supposed aliens giving new religious messages and people who claimed to have encounters developing theosophical gnostic beliefs spur some to state these are tales of devils trying to lead souls astray. The silver bullet for those who argue for the demon-are-alien theory is the claim that invoking the name of Jesus Christ stops alien abductions. Some claim these accounts are open-and-shut cases in which the strange entities must be demons.
However, I believe an analytic look at the evidence and proponents makes the argument less convincing than other claims. Let’s examine theological, anecdotal, historical, and other contexts to see how the aliens-are-demons claim falls apart.
Personal Viewpoint: Why I Am Skeptical “Aliens are Demons”
Are Aliens a Possibility? Theologians Say So.
Like Pope Francis, the Vatican Observatory, the former Sacred Congregation of the Index, and numerous theologians for the last several hundred years, I have no problem accepting the possibility of alien life. So, the idea that anything other than humans or angels must be demons does not hold water for me. Whether or not there *is* life beyond humanity and angels/demons is a separate question we lack evidence and confidence to assess.
Numerous Encounter Claims, Whether Supposedly Aliens or Demons, Mirror What Happened During the Satanic Panic
But what about the stories of people who claim to have met aliens or demons-masquerading-as-aliens? When it comes these claims, I am skeptical, though not dismissive. Part of the reason I hold high standards on fantastical stories is because I am old enough to remember the Satanic Panic. Back then, we were flooded with tales of child abuse, animal sacrifice, and even murder. Television news programs broadcasted sensational stories, neighbors swapped tales, and churches advertised seminars. The cornerstone of all these stories were people who stated they were victims or, in some cases, perpetrators who held high positions in Satanic organizations but converted (defectors always seemed to be high priests of thousands but never lowly members) and wanted to warn others. Books were sold, movies made, and circuits formed presenting the latest speaker with claims.
Almost all of them were liars, crazy, deluded, or manipulated by others. Because of these wild claims, innocent people had their lives destroyed, like those involved in the McMartin preschool trial, and some went to jail, like the West Memphis Three. Studying the mass panic helped foster in me a realization that witness reports, like abductions, cannot be deemed reliable without other evidence and that there is an industry ready to capitalize on sensationalism.
Meanwhile, despite all the stories of alien encounters, we lack solid evidence, only claims. While some oddities, such as health reports and alleged landing damage, not only cannot be dismissed but demand serious inquiry, many reports, whether used as grounds for aliens being demons or extraterrestrials, range from entirely unverifiable to farcical.
Family members and I have had experiences with high strangeness, and I believe events like those should be the topic of serious scientific and religious inquiry. However, there are those who, like during the Satanic Panic, want fame and to feed into sensationalism, flooding the space with trash.
Jesus’ Name Claims and Other Reports of Demonic Activity
But let’s study some of the reports, as it would be wrong to dismiss them out of hand. When looking at the demonic claims about alleged encounters, we can start with the proclaimed silver bullet of “aliens are demons,” which is using Jesus’ name to stop abductions. Typically, some 400 incidents are claimed without much evidence going into who these people are, or how their claims were investigated.
Meanwhile, Christian author Lynn A. Marzulli, who focuses on Nephilim and other esoteric topics, stated, “We kept hearing from Christians who were being abducted, being taken and were saying ‘in Jesus’s name stop’ wasn’t stopping it and this – This next part of our little chatter will be very troubling to some people, but I spoke about this at the last few conferences of the year when I was talking about the new book and while it’s very troubling I think it’s reality and it’s this: that Christians are being abducted, they are invoking the name of Jesus and it’s not stopping the abductions the way it used to do 20 or 30, 40 years ago.”
The use of Jesus’ name is supposedly a fool proof tool against alien-demons, or it’s not. Its apparent hit-or-miss effectiveness neutralizes it as evidence for the aliens-are-demons argument.
Other negative traits of such alleged encounters, like physical attacks, kidnapping, and abuse, are cited as proof of the demonic nature of aliens. However, even at face value, they are not proof of demonic activity. Many creatures from humans, to bear, and ants can do violent, painful thing like maulings, assaults, and abuse. Without a wealth of evidence that isn’t countered showing aversions to the holy, it’s impossible to say these alleged encounters are demonic.
Development of Religious Beliefs About Unknown Things is a Very Earth-bound Trait
A person sees strange people who look like something he has never seen before, with advanced technology including the ability to fly. The person meets up with others who claim to have seen these strange men. All agree that previous ways of thinking cannot explain what they saw. One even claims to have talked to one of the strangers. Soon enough, they adopt new religious beliefs about the strange men, holding that the strangers must be spiritually advanced, if not gods themselves. Within years, a whole established religion is up and running. I am describing a scenario that “aliens are demons” advocates state is proof of the demonic nature of alleged sighted aliens. However, this is what occurred with the Cargo Cults of the Pacific Islands. These faiths were founded by natives who encountered the United States military during World War II.
People associate technological advancement with spiritual advancement. It’s a natural human trait, not necessarily a sign of demonic activity.
Biased and Flawed Research Backing “Aliens are Demons”
There are good-faith arguments against the existence of extraterrestrial life, and those should be considered. However, there are loud voices in the debate who will spin non-related matters, dismiss alternative views because of biases, and even lie in their effort to convince others that “aliens are demons.” These people poison the well of the debate.
I was once in an online discussion about Catholic beliefs about aliens with an author who is one of the leading voices of all aliens are demons in social media. In the thread, in which he deleted his half and later blocked me, the author stated before the Enlightenment, only condemned heretics believed in aliens. When I pointed out this was not true because Cardinal Cusa believed in aliens as a fact, the author retorted I should read his book. Well, I already had. In the book, he states Cusa was wrong, and the fact that Cusa never went through the canonization process as evidence of the Church rejecting his ideas. However, a person’s status in the church doesn’t reflect the Church’s acceptance of their ideas (Blessed Scotus beat St. Thomas Aquinas on the theology of the immaculate conception, for example), and the Church never condemned Cusa.
In another post, the author lied about a different Catholic author and alien believer, Paul Thigpen. The author then deleted his replies to this thread as I pointed out his grammar prevented him from stating he didn’t tie Thigpen to “this diabolical lie.”
Though the author’s book has plenty of citations, his previous playing loose with the facts requires examining all cited documents to see if the evidence supports the claims (they sometimes don’t). What’s worse, people take his arguments at face value and mix in his shoddy research with their own talking points.
Conspiracism Has Made “Aliens are Demons” a Motte-and-Bailey Part of Kooky Beliefs
Lastly, pursuing the “aliens are demons” discussion leads one into the world of fringe conspiracy theories. People like Taylor Marshall claim aliens are demons and call stories of aliens and the moon landing “globalist propaganda,” while Tucker Carlson states the government is covering up aliens being Nephilim demonic spirits because elites don’t want people having beliefs in the supernatural. Elsewhere, if one goes too deep on social media, it’s easy to find “aliens are demons” goes hand-in-hand with “space isn’t real” and “flat earthers.” There is even a faction that believes planets are the (possibly dead) bodies of fallen angels. People in these camps aren’t pushing “aliens are demons” because it’s their main point, but instead, it is merely part of a cosmos of secret cabals, alternative histories, and conspiracy rabbit holes. These people will believe any farfetched story yet ignore common sense if it doesn’t fit their worldview.
Even the Catholic author previously mentioned above falls into this category.
Already, some crazy ideas are being disproven. A popular refrain of the conspiracists is that the government’s investigation into UAP is a psyop to get us interested in “aliens” which will in the end deceive us away from God (never mind this contradicts Carlson’s theory that the government doesn’t want people thinking about aliens). However, as former AARO head Sean Kirkpatrick wrote, the taskforce is a serious look into possible threats to the United States that those who believe in aliens tried to hijack.
While the fact some people with extreme beliefs think aliens are demons does not disprove the idea, it calls for a calm and sober analysis of evidence. Too often, “aliens are demons” is bait for other beliefs.
Conclusion - Goes for All Sides
I think aliens are a possibility, but I cannot say either way if they are a reality. Extraterrestrials could be genuine, some stories involving alien encounters could be demons, a combination of the above two could be true, or it could be an empty natural universe out there. However, confirmation bias often clouds people’s pre-existing beliefs when weighing claims. We instead need to be calm and rational in our assessments. From “Satan is flying in a UFO” to “Ashtar’s Command will lead us into a golden age,” we need to cut out the poorly reasoned arguments.
In the meantime, I will have fun writing my own stories in which reality, fantasy, and my own personal decisions make worlds come alive.
Risen Update
I received the editor’s changes, and the book should be put to bed this week!
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Happy Juneteenth
Happy Juneteenth, everyone. Today marks President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation going into force for the slaves of Galveston, Texas. Though there were still slaves in the rump of the Confederacy as well in parts of the Union, we celebrate freedom today.
Now, let's do more Civil War holidays. I think Appomattox should have it's own day. It celebrates
The Union’s victory
Reconciliation with respect and honor
Integration as some Confederates described the blocking Union forces like a chess board because of the white and black units.
Until Next Time
Thank you for reading this newsletter post. Next time, I will have information about how to win advance copies of Fallen - The Multicast Audiobook and a digital copy of Risen, the sequel to Fallen. The following newsletter will then will be the big reveal of my current work in progress!
As always, please leave a comment with any questions, reviews, thoughts, whatever about Fallen, Risen, or whatever else I have discussed. I promise to reply!