Congress seeks answers about what confirmable evidence exists.
asserted
evidence → seek → answers
Stephen Spielberg’s recent Disclosure Day movie portrays a government UFO cover-up.
asserted
movie → portray → up
UFOs and God interviews experiencers, scientists, faith leaders, and other experts to stimulate public conversations.
asserted
UFOs → interview → conversations
Have visitors from other planets come to earth?
asserted
visitors → come → earth
How should we consider the various reports?
asserted
we → consider → reports
The U.S. government now uses the term “unidentified anomalous phenomena” (UAP) in place of the more familiar “unidentified flying objects” (UFOs).
asserted
government → use → objects
In June, the Pentagon released newly declassified reports and videos going back to the 1940s, including material from members of the public, plus the FBI, CIA, NASA, and Department of Defense.
asserted
Pentagon → release → Defense
Many especially wonder how all this relates to faith: “If extraterrestrials exist, does it mean God does not?” asked a headline in the Baltimore Sun.
asserted
headline → wonder → Sun
If both exist, how do extraterrestrials relate to God?
asserted
extraterrestrials → exist → God
Can they live eternally?
asserted
they → live → ?
Controversy exists in faith circles.
asserted
Controversy → exist → circles
For example, a Catholic priest recently found himself demoted after speculating on his Facebook page that UAP sightings could be demonically influenced.
uncertain
sightings → find → page
Experiencers participating include film co-director Amanda Llewellyn, who claims encounters with strange beings as a young girl.
uncertain
who → participate → girl
Her husband, co-director Wes Llewellyn, hosts the documentary and includes in the film many skeptical questions that have guided his research since his wife first told him her story shortly before they married.
asserted
they → host → story
Producer Bill Myers, a professional acquaintance who brought the film to my attention, told me he initially thought the topic was “merely for the tin foil hat crowd.”
asserted
topic → bring → crowd
But “four years of research, interviewing substantial voices of various disciplines” convinced him the film was a wise move.
asserted
film → interview → him
I confessed to sharing his “tin foil hat crowd” skepticism and watched the movie as such.
asserted
I → confess → movie
Skillful cinematography, variety in action, careful questions, numerous short interview clips, and humor keep the lively production from resembling a hard-to-follow academic lecture.
asserted
cinematography → keep → lecture
And the film includes conflicting views: That UFOs are real and that they are imagined; antispiritualism and spiritualism; New Age and Christian.
asserted
they → include → views
Scientists featured use colorful illustrations.
asserted
Scientists → feature → illustrations
For instance, regarding life beyond earth, Canadian astrophysicist Hugh Ross, whose work I have long respected, explained that the probability of finding a simple bacterium on just one other planet in the universe is astronomically slim.
asserted
probability → regard → universe
He says it’s identical to the probability of someone winning the California lottery 60 consecutive times without ever buying any tickets.
asserted
someone → say → tickets
Ross expresses concerns about believing the alleged UFOs are physical entities.
asserted
UFOs → express → concerns
“When they go through the atmosphere at thousands of miles per hour,” he notes, “the observers hear no sonic booms.”
asserted
observers → go → booms
The G-forces would be so great at such speeds, he reasons, that the UFOs would be “completely shattered.”
asserted
UFOs → reason → speeds
Whatever they are, Ross says, they are “not subject to the laws of physics.”
asserted
they → say → physics
The film notes that faith perspectives on non-natural visions include the experience of the biblical Paul: “I was caught up to the third heaven 14 years ago.
asserted
I → note → heaven
Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know — only God knows. …
asserted
God → know → body
But I do know that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words….
asserted
they → know → words
You can examine the film’s — or others’ — evidence and decide.
asserted
You → examine → evidence
As a skeptical university student, I studied historical evidences for Jesus’ resurrection and concluded that he was real.
asserted
he → study → resurrection
It encourages viewers to consider the evidence themselves and discuss these matters with others.
asserted
It → encourage → others
“We need to talk,” is the closing line.
asserted
line → need → ?
Rusty Wright is an author and lecturer who has spoken on six continents.
asserted
who → speak → continents
He holds Bachelor of Science (psychology) and Master of Theology degrees from Duke and Oxford universities, respectively.
asserted
He → hold → universities
The Aporia
