Legends Are True
Alien Abductions and Ancient Chronicles
I started off the past few weeks of topical posting with a discussion of UFO/UAPs. Now I’d like to circle around a bit and discuss so-called “alien abductions.” While they are closely associated, they are also two different phenomena in their own right. The one is observed “from a distance” as it were. The other involves direct communication and interaction.
Biblical Background
In The Stars are Alive and The Woods Are Alive, we discussed the connection between the angelic hierarchy and its connection both to the physical cosmos and the processes of nature. We also touched on how it impacts human affairs and the destinies of nations. The full “eco-system,” so to speak, of star-angels, elemental beings, and human culture is what Paul refers to in his epistles as the stoicheia, or “elements of the world”:
“Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements [stoicheia] of the world: But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” (Galatians 4:1-5)
In Monsters Are Real, we also discussed how this system—originally set up to lead humanity back to God in the aftermath of Babel—was subverted by the unclean Nephilim spirits. Satan’s kingdom sustains itself by hijacking the spiritual structures in the world that are meant to restrain sin and turning them into instruments of sin.
Even with this corruption, however, the stoicheia continued (and to an extent still continues) to serve as an instrument of God’s providence and justice in Creation. It is, in fact, the “law” (nomos) that Paul refers to in his epistles. Most Christians (particularly in the West) have read this as a reference to the Torah. We forget that Paul (a thoroughly educated man) was writing in Greek for a Greek-speaking audience and using concepts unique to that language. The Hebrew word Torah, which more properly translates as “teaching,” does not directly equate to the Greek nomos, which has overtones of strict justice. For those who wish to explore this topic further I would highly recommend the books Mishnat Rabbeinu Yeshua and Esh Dat: R. Shaul’s Mystical System and the Law, both written and published anonymously by a trained (Messianic) Orthodox Jewish rabbi. I’ve included a couple quotes from the latter here:
“…the mystical system of the “law” sets up a series of heavenly “judges” over the various functions of the world. If, according to the rules of this system, sin is allowed in, it is as if the judge allowed it in. If the rules do not allow sin’s entrance, it is kept out. These judges are the various powers and mazalot through which the world is run. So the system of law is not synonymous with sin, but there is a high degree of access available to the power of sin in it. At the same time, it is a significant improvement upon being “under sin.”” (p. 105)
“… the elements are not fully subject to the Satan. He does have permission to use them in certain circumstances (which are quite broad). This comes about through his role as the prosecutor or “accuser of the brethren.” The elements, though, can also be used for good in the presence of mitzvot [Torah commandments]. The “law” governs this system, only allowing the power of sin to function where there is a valid claim. At the same time, a certain protection from the influence of sin also enters the world under the law’s governing. The positive influence of the law is not merely spiritual but even G-d’s provision also seeps down into this world through it.” (p.111)
This was why, even as they warned against participation in the pagan religious systems of their day, the early church fathers did not dismiss them as altogether demonic. A truly “Satanic” culture ruled by purely malevolent powers would be incapable of lasting and flourishing for centuries as we see in the great civilizations of antiquity (Revelation very much emphasizes the brief nature of Antichrist’s reign). What we actually see in the various pagan belief systems are highly complex tapestries of truth and falsehood, wisdom and folly, kindness and cruelty, virtue and vice. Historically, some strands of them even served as preparations for the Gospel. The third century church commentator Origen, writing on the spiritual powers (or “princes”) behind them wrote:
“…as these princes of this world esteem such opinions to be true, they desire to impart to others what they themselves believe to be the truth: and this is the view which I am inclined to adopt. For as, to take an illustration, certain Greek authors, or the leaders of some heretical sect, after having imbibed an error in doctrine instead of the truth, and having come to the conclusion in their own minds that such is the truth, proceed, in the next place, to endeavour to persuade others of the correctness of their opinions; so, in like manner, are we to suppose is the procedure of the princes of this world, in which to certain spiritual powers has been assigned the rule over certain nations, and who are termed on that account the princes of this world.”
He even believed that these powers were capable of turning back to God and that some of them converted at Christ’s coming (which allowed the Gospel to spread amongst the peoples subject to them).1
I’ll take a moment to pause here on the topic of “angelic repentance,” which is obviously fraught with theological difficulty and controversy. Origen’s opinions later came to be considered heterodox and heretical as church teaching on the angelic powers was increasingly framed and fixed in terms of “bodiless intelligences.” Thomas Aquinas is perhaps the best representative of this view, with his theological system framing all decisions by such beings as instantaneous, fully-informed, and irrevocable. But the difficulty is lessened if we allow for the existence of mortal, embodied, and changeable beings within the angelic hierarchy alongside those of a purely “bodiless” and immortal nature. Given the link between the angels and the physical heavens and the empirical knowledge (not available in classical antiquity) that the heavenly bodies are themselves subject to death and decay from the Fall, this is a more plausible theory to hold in our day.
Interestingly, a distinction between “embodied” and “disembodied” spirits is not just confined to isolated stories like St. Anthony’s encounter with the satyr, but has often existed at the level of popular belief and praxis in traditionally Christian societies. John Cuthbert Lawson, studying the role of Ancient Greek pantheon in the belief system of modern (19th century) Orthodox Christian Greece, noted:
“…the Nereids, and with them all the surviving pagan deities, are pictured by the peasant in corporeal form, whereas the angels—and there are bad angels, who ‘possess’ men, as well as good—are in common speech as well as in the formal dedications of churches known as οἱ ἀσώματοι, ‘the Bodiless ones.’ There is then an essential difference in the nature of these two classes of beings, which justifies the supposed distinction in their methods of working. For ‘possession’ proper is the injury inflicted, or rather infused, by spirits pure and simple; external ‘seizure’ is the work of corporeal beings.”2
This could explain why the entities in “alien abductions” seem to possess far more freedom of action than we would expect from purely demonic spirits (on the latter subject, I would highly recommend Fr. Carlos Martin’s “The Exorcist Files”). As embodied beings, they would (theoretically, albeit improbably) have the ability to turn back to God, whereas a “bodiless intelligence” would have its nature fixed in a permanent state of rebellion. The 17th century Presbyterian minister Robert Kirk drew similar conclusions while examining the fairy beliefs of his native Scotland:
“The noctambulos [sleepwalkers] themselves would appear to have some foreign joking spirit possessing and supporting them, when they walk on deep waters and tops of houses without danger, when asleep and in the dark; for it was no way probable that their apprehension, and strong imagination setting the animal spirits a work to move the body, could preserve it from sinking in the deep, or falling down head-long, when asleep, any more than when awake, the body being then as ponderous as before; and it is hard to attribute it to a spirit flatly evil and enemy to Man, because the noctambulo returns to his own place safe. And the most furious tribe of the demons are not permitted by providence to attack men so frequently either by night or by day…”3
While fundamentally dangerous and untrustworthy (recall that in traditional folklore fairies pay the “devil’s tithe”) the destruction of human souls would not necessarily be the goal of such entities. They could rather be motivated by pure selfishness or even a distorted sense of benevolence. Some perhaps could even think they “doeth God service” (John 16:2). C.S. Lewis explored a similar idea in his novel That Hideous Strength:
“Well, about Merlin. Were there possibilities for a man of that age which there aren’t for a man of ours? The earth itself was more like an animal. Mental processes were more like physical actions. And there were — well, Neutrals, knocking about.
”You mean eldils — angels?”
”Well the word angel rather begs the question. Even the Oyeresu aren’t exactly angels in the same sense as our guardian angels. There used to be things on this earth pursuing their own business. They weren’t ministering spirits sent to help humanity, but neither were they enemies preying upon us… all the gods, elves, dwarfs, water people, fate, longaevi.”
“I don’t mean that anything can be a real neutral. A conscious being is either obeying God or disobeying him. But there might be things neutral in relation to us.”
Historical Connections
I would propose that in ages past, there were cultures—and entire civilizations—who lived in a very close and intimate relationship with their resident stoichea. So much so that it could be compared to when Adam and Eve “walked and talked” with God in the Garden of Eden. Imagine a daily, direct, sustained, regular, visible, and tangible contact between human and non-human intelligence in virtually every aspect of life.
This close contact could have prevailed, for example, in the original Indo-European culture that birthed both Celtic Druidism and Vedic Hinduism. We’re given glimpses of such a world in Sanskrit texts like the Mahabharata, with its dizzying array of deities, daevas, demi-gods and demons freely interacting, interbreeding, and establishing elaborate networks of alliances and counter-alliances with humanity. Richard Thompson, in his book Parallels: Ancient Insights into Modern UFO Phenomena, notes another key detail:
“One important point to make about ancient Vedic society is that aerial vehicles, called vimānas in Sanskrit, were well known. They could be grossly physical machines, or they could be made of two other kinds of energy, which we can call subtle energy and transcendental energy. Humans of this earth generally did not manufacture such machines, although they did sometimes acquire them from more technically advanced beings. The more typical vimānas had flight characteristics resembling those reported for UFOs, and the beings associated with them were said to possess powers similar to those presently ascribed to UFO entities.” (pp.187-188)
Such powers—called siddhi—included mental communication and mind-reading, far-sight and far-hearing, levitation and gravity manipulation, changing the size of objects or living beings, teleportation (of both objects and people using the power of thought), passing through solid matter, controlling other’s thoughts from a distance, invisibility, shapeshifting or generating illusory forms, and entering another person’s body to control it. While they were primarily associated with “gods” or daevas, they could also be acquired by humans. (Parallels, p. 190)
The mythical Tuatha de Danann of ancient Ireland, later (coincidentally?) called the “Aes Sidhe” were said to have possessed similar capabilities. The following is a traditional account of their arrival on the Irish isles:
“In this wise they came, in dark clouds from northern lands of the world. They landed on the mountains of Conmaicne Rein in Connachta, and they brought a darkness over the sun for three days and three nights. Gods were their men of arts, and non-gods their husbandmen."4
Eventually, they were defeated in battle by the ancestors of the Gaelic Irish and driven “underground” into the “sidhe” mounds where they dwelt in an invisible and immortal state as the “Fair Folk” of later Irish folklore (often known to “spirit away” both children and adults to their own realm—with a few sent back “changed”). Centuries later, St. Patrick is said to have actually baptized some of them—one of whom died immediately thereafter when the Christian sacrament cut her off from the power of her people.5
Preternatural longevity is also present in Hindu tradition6, attested to in Ancient Greek accounts of India7, and even corroborated by fairly recent history. The Indian Christian missionary Sundar Singh is said to have met a 400-year-old hermit while preaching in the mountains of Kailash.8
Should it surprise us, therefore, that the theological messages communicated by the entities in reported “alien” encounters all seem to be variations on Hindu or Buddhist spirituality?
Motivations
While fundamentally dangerous and untrustworthy (recall that in traditional folklore, fairies are said to pay “the devil’s tithe”), the destruction of human souls would not necessarily be the goal of such beings. They could rather be motivated by pure selfishness or even a distorted sense of benevolence. Some perhaps could even think they “doeth God service” (John 16:2).
I bring this point up because I’ve heard it commonly repeated that alien abductions can be “stopped in the name of Jesus” and that they never happen to believers. But there’s at least one case I know of that directly contradicts both those statements.
Betty Andreasson is repeatedly described as a “fundamentalist Christian” by the UFO researchers who examined her case. The entities who interacted with her affirmed her beliefs, showed no aversion to the name of Jesus, and claimed to be acting in His name. One of the first things she did upon meeting them was to present them with a Bible—which they accepted. She believes to this day that her abductors, who in every other way match the classic descriptions of “gray aliens” were, in fact, angels of God. What makes it hard to accept these entities’ stated identity and purpose at face value is the painful, invasive, and disturbing procedures to which they subjected Mrs. Andreasson during her time in their company. And while the theological messages they communicated differed from other alien encounters by affirming most points of historic, orthodox Christian belief, they also contained highly suspect statements centered around familiar themes of “cosmic oneness” and “evolution of consciousness.” Her husband Robert Luca, who had his own set of abduction experiences, went on to affirm the following:
“…the human spirit is part of a great continuum stretching across all of time and creation. A human being manifests his or her spirituality in terms of a religion, whatever that religion may be, as long as it is the human incarnation of the spirit. Bob describes himself and Betty as devout Christians, but that doesn’t impose an exclusivity upon their experiences. Although Bob says he does not know for sure, he would not be surprised if Buddhists, Taoists, or other practitioners of other religions manifested their own spirituality through their respective belief systems. For him, the extraterrestrial revelations fit into his belief system.”
“There is evil, the extraterrestrials told Luca, and it is manifest throughout human experience. Evil was part of the original plan for creation on the largest plane of existence because it was part of the road to advancement of the spirit. On the micro plane of existence, human beings can choose not to do evil so as to advance to the next stage of existence. However, a world without evil is a world without challenge, a world without the opportunity to rise above the temptations of evil so as to do good.”9
I leave the above statements to the discernment of my readers.
Breakaway Civilizations?
There are other cases where the “freedom of action” we mentioned earlier shows up in very unsettling and even terrifying ways. In 1992, Peter Khoury reported being sexually assaulted in his bed one night by a female entity that placed him a state of hypnotic paralysis (recall the siddhi-powers mentioned earlier). What makes his case unique is that a physical hair sample was left behind which he submitted for DNA analysis (the full story can be found in Bill Chalker’s Hair of the Alien, but I would not necessarily recommend it to more sensitive readers). The results showed that his attacker was human—but she carried genes from an extremely rare Chinese ethnic group as well as from an equally rare Gaelic/Basque ethnic group (a link to the Tuatha de Danann?). Making things more bizarre, she had different DNA in different sections of the same hair strand (an extremely rare condition known as genetic chimerism which virtually never occurs on so precise a scale). And she also had genetic deletions that would have conferred immunity to various diseases including HIV.
Believers in the demonic hypothesis should pause here and consider the implications. Are they prepared to affirm that fallen angels and/or Nephilim spirits (“the most furious tribe of the demons”) are allowed to directly manipulate the human genome? I personally prefer to believe they could only do so through proxies—preferably human ones. The old tales do speak of those who have acquired the magic of the fairies. Perhaps they’re more true than we’ve been willing to believe…
“For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” (1 Corinthians 8:5-6)
McDermott, Gerald, God’s Rivals, p. 151
Kirk, Robert, The Secret Commonwealth
Chalker, Bill, Hair of the Alien, p. 238-239