Articles on the New Age

By Marcia Montenegro

An article in The Washington Post (17 April 1994, page C1) featured a Harvard psychiatrist who has announced that he believes those claiming to have been abducted by UFO aliens. Shortly after the article appeared, a major network news program aired a story on this same psychiatrist and some of the alleged abductees. Although the show also included a few people who offered other explanations for the memories of the abductees (many of whom remembered their experiences under hypnotic regression), the fact that a UFO story was featured in a major newspaper and on a prime time network news show is further indication that UFO and alien reports are slipping from the pages of sensationalized tabloids into more mainstream media coverage.

This parallels t journey of many New Age-related ideas and practices, such as meditation, visualization, and yoga, which were first considered extreme but came to be accepted despite the fact that these practices are based on belief systems and have little or no objective data to support their use. Christians should understand this phenomenon from a Biblical view, and see the parallels between UFOs, aliens and the occult. This writer, who was involved in the occult before salvation in Christ, was struck by the occultic tinge overlaying the accounts of abductees. The main points of convergence between the occult and UFO/alien contact can be summarized as follows:

1. The experiences usually take place at night: This is true as well of supernatural occultic experiences such as visitations by spirit guides, astral travel (out-of-body travel), and seeing ghosts. Although nighttime itself is not evil, it seems that we are more vulnerable then to the supernormal, and often more receptive to it. In the Bible, night represents the darkness of sin and the disguise for those who intend evil: "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them" (Eph. 5:11). Jesus said, "Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed" (John 3:20). Jesus was betrayed at night: "As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night" (John 13:30).

2. Astral travel:The abductees often sense a vibration or hear a "buzzing or humming sound" before feeling pulled towards the UFO. This writer, who had out-of-body experiences, had the same experience with a vibration and sometimes a strong humming noise immediately preceding the sensation of being sucked out of the body.

Whether people can actually leave the body due to occultic power or whether it is a clever illusion is not known by this writer. Those few in the Christian community who have claimed to have met Jesus or been taken to heaven during astral travel have pointed to Paul's story in II Corinthians 12 for validation. However, Paul states he does not know if he was in his body or out of it. Paul did not seek out this experience and did not sensationalize it. In fact, Paul gave no details because he heard things "that man is not permitted to tell" (verse 4b). This is in stark contrast to those who have detailed their encounter with Christ and heaven. Nothing in Scripture validates astral travel. 3.Ghostly appearance:The aliens were often described as "luminous" or "transparent", and the feet were covered or not seen. This is similar to the universal description of ghosts. Why should aliens be transparent if they are real? Why are they so ghostlike? Just as ghosts are undoubtedly demonic spirits, so are aliens. The Bible forbids contact with departed spirits (ghosts). It cannot be coincidental that descriptions of aliens are so similar to that of ghosts.

4. Telepathy and possession:Abductees report that the aliens have compelling eyes and that they are afraid if they look into these eyes, they will lose their will or "sense of self". I recall an encounter at night with a spirit entity (in the guise of an older woman) sitting on my bed who stared intensely into my eyes; with no words being spoken. I knew she wanted my body, and I was saying over and over in my mind, "No, you can't have me!" This battle went on for what seemed a long time until finally she faded away, leaving me mentally exhausted and frightened. There are those who would call this a dream or a hallucination; however, I was deeply involved in the occult at the time and had had other supernatural experiences. The Bible is also very clear that there is demon possession of the unsaved.

A group of New Age witches I knew in Atlanta in the late 1980's had become involved in contacting what they believed were friendly aliens. The leader of this group (named John) told me personally that the spaceships could not be seen, but that his group was in telepathic contact with the aliens. The last time I spoke with him, John reported that the aliens had become unfriendly and were now trying to possess the bodies of those in his group. John was genuinely afraid, so afraid that he and several people in his group were leaving the area. This incident and my experience supported by the Bible validating possession, leads me to believe that the abductees are encountering demons. 5. Changed world view:The most telling mark of the occult is the effect of these encounters on abductees: (1) They feel isolated and alone from others, and (2) their view of the world becomes more pantheistic. The Harvard psychiatrist discovered that the abductees develop a "heightened sense of the sacredness of the natural world" and feel hopeless about the destructiveness of man. They also long to return to what the psychiatrist calls the "divine light" which they encountered during the abduction, and resent staying on earth, although many feel a mission to help advance human consciousness. These attitudes reflect the New Age/pagan view of the world: the priority of nature and earth and its sacredness, and a hostile view of man which calls for evolvement into a higher spiritual state.

Christians need to be wary of belief in UFO encounters. Although some accounts may not be true, the effect on the abductees remains real. These reports do not indicate life on other planets, but rather demonic and occultic activity, whether it is occurring in the minds or the physical world of the abductees.