This is an op-ed in the New York Times (yes, The New York Times) which argues that the U.S. should consider UFOs a security threat and reopen investigations:
The United States is no less vulnerable than Britain and France to threats to security and air safety. The United States Air Force or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration should reopen investigations of U.F.O. phenomena. It would not imply that the country has suddenly started believing in little green men. It would simply recognize the possibility that radar alone cannot always tell us what’s out there.Why weather balloons should be considered a security threat is not explained, though some of the more notable sightings are reviewed. Ok, sorry about the weather balloon comment, I'm just trying to get over my shock of seeing this in the New York Times, which is known as the newspaper-of-record and one I enjoy reading (except for the pro-Palestinian spin on their Mideast reporting). So, this is a serious suggestion in a serious newspapers, so let me give it a serious comment.
Are we alone in the Universe? When most people think "alien" they think about the Hollywood version, either Klingons, Vulcans or even ET but in the broadest sense of the word, what we really mean by alien is a non-human intelligence. The Bible does state that there are many different kinds of non-humans created by God, there are angels of different ranks and status, even fallen angels commonly called devils and demons, and different creatures around the throne of God in the Book of Revelation. The Bible is also clear about a very important point that should not be lost in the debate about non-humans depicted in the Bible, some of them are friendly and have goodwill towards humanity (think about the angels greeting the shepherds to announce the birth of Jesus) and others (Satan and his fallen cohort) are hostile to humanity. This is the way I look at the question of "is there other life in the universe." The universe is probably teeming with life, God is, after all, a creative being. Are we alone in the universe? No, we are not alone, and we never have been. God has always been with us and angels pre-date humanity.
Another way to look at it, and I think this is the more common way, is that when people ask if there is other life in the universe, what they seem to be asking (and one reason for the antipathy many Christians seem to have for this topic) is if there is other life in the universe apart from the special creation of humanity or apart from God. In other words, if Klingon or Vulcan civilizations could develop and grow apart from God and outside of what we consider to be the great drama of human salvation. Can they rise from primordial goo to galactic civilization? And to that question I would say no. I don't believe that any intelligent life in the universe has been created in a "natural" or evolutionary manner apart from a direct creation by God and that all intelligent life in the universe is bound up with the rise, fall and redemption of humanity.
Humanity, though geospatially no longer the center of the universe (thank you Copernicus) is still spiritually the center of the universe because our creation, fall and redemption are cosmic events and because of the incarnation, because God the Creator humbled himself to become a human without giving up His divinity, something never done for any other form of life. The Bible says that all of creation was affected by the fall of Man and awaits the redemption and the restoration of all things in Christ.
The Bible gives us the following criteria to evaluate others, humans or non-humans (how to test the spirits is the actual Biblical terminology):
1. Who do they serve?
2. What gospel do they preach?
As long as we hold true to these criteria we won't be deceived by any human or non-human.
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