How do you interpret UFO files and “evidence?”

Faith & Science Conversation
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Steven Spielberg had a new movie coming out titled “Disclosure Day.” From what I know, the movie follows a guy who essentially has proof that aliens have visited Earth, and now is being pursued before he can release this proof. One thing I did notice in the trailer was that Christian nuns were shown as present and watching the events or “disclose” unfold. There is actually an interesting Vox article regarding Spielberg’s lens on faith in the film and how believers across faiths would actually react to the existence of aliens:

However, this interesting topic is kinda taking a back seat to some other important news. There seems to be a recent resurgence in interest in aliens. The Trump Administration has been releasing classified documents regarding UFOs and recently several UFO researchers have gone missing (https://www.newsweek.com/mystery-over-8-missing-or-dead-experts-linked-to-ufo-research-11792852).

I’m personally a bit skeptical of all the claims. I have absolutely no doubt that somewhere out in the vast Cosmos alien life exists. However, I’m highly doubtful that they have visited (and continue to visit) our little planet, because doing so would violate the laws of physics we know now.

So, do we have aliens capable of FTL or portal capabilities? What are all these weird occurrences that people keep tying to UFOs? What are all these eye witness occurrences (including that weird security camera incident a while back).

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There are actually a few threads on this forum about this.
I’m basically in the same boat. So I think that there could be other intelligent lifeforms somewhere in this universe? Yeah. I think it’s highly probable giving that it seems abiogenesis could have occurred in several ways and there are several hypotheses on it. Given the vastness of the universe there is also the potential for lifeforms that went through a form of abiogenesis in a way we can’t imagine.

I’m a bit skeptical that aliens could have landed on earth from another part of the universe with technology that is far superior to ours. But I mean statistically speaking what’s more likely? A supernatural being that existed before anything or aliens with high tech that visited us? I see no evidence of either.

I’m not a mainstream Christian by any means anymore. To the point being labeled a Christian is not even something significant in my life. I don’t think God is a supernatural being but some form of cosmic consciousness that evolved within this universe or the multiverse and so to me God is already essentially what others call an alien and that this being had found a way to Bluetooth out to humanity and all life giving rise to all faiths. So for me aliens existing means nothing as far as my faith goes. I just presume if they exist whatever gods they worship if any is still the same god as me just accommodating them instead of us.

So they say our universe is roughly 13.8 billion years old. That earth is around 4.4-4.6 billion years old and abiogensis happened around 3.5-4.2 billion years ago. So life developed super fast geologically speaking of earth forming. The sun is slightly older than earth at 4.6byo. From then until now we’ve had a sun develop, a planet develop and life happened and has evolved to us. They don’t seem to known for sure what cap of speed we can hit. Microchips with sails to larger ships with crazy shields moving 20-50% the speed of light. I’ve seen thoughts that within a century we could have six person closed loop system ships using nuclear saltwater propulsion that could reach 10% the speed of light and push us to another star system within a lifetime.

So what about the possibility that a plant like Kapteyn B which is 11 billion years old could be far passed us in technological breakthroughs. Even at 10% the speed of light that’s 134-164 years. Scienctists believe humans may be able to be pushed to survive to 150 years old .so what if a planet that is twice as old as earth with an intelligent life that naturally life’s 200 years developed technology to live to 400 year old, maybe even have the ability to enter a state of non aging while in something like cryo tanks or slowing metabolism and aging by 50%. Then a being could be hitting 800 or so years. So the science is not completely against it. Or if AI is able to be developed into consciousness. I think we basically developed as ai. So maybe some AI life that has no death in its perceived future.

So either way I think it’s a cool serious or concepts and questions. It makes for great horror and sci fu stories and for me personally has zero impact on my faith. I think it’s unlikely aliens are here but I don’t think it’s completely impossible. Would not be mind blow either way to be honest. Though I tend to lean towards the dark forest concepts. That if some other planets did reach that level of intelligence and technology and wanted to come here then they would most likely be superior to us and if they found us they would know others could to which would mean they would have to be confident enough that if they needed to defend themselves against another super power of the stars they could. For a civilization to reach that conclusion I presume it would be based off of experience and so I strongly believe any life that finds its way here form the stars could most definitely be a superior war driven species not afraid to waste resources on getting here or be afraid of other possible civilizations showing up.

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Same.

All of my skepticism comes from the scientific realities like the structure of space-time. Because of this FTL travel is simply incoherent and nonsensical. I see no reason for objection in the understanding of Christianity.

Considering all the time required for the necessities of life, I don’t think it is impossible for sentient life on earth to be the first in the universe. The size of the universe does suggest it is unlikely that this will be the only sentient life in the universe. I think it is unlikely sentient life is very abundant because even though planets are common enough (in our region of the galaxy anyway), planetary systems like ours where gas giants protect inner rocky planets looks less common. Therefore with the impossibility of FTL travel means contact between sentient species is rather unlikely. The new SF film “Project Hail Mary” solves this by giving a common cause attracting aliens and ourselves to the same location.

They are in the same category as experiences of ghosts, religion, and various mythical entities. Simply put, much happens that is not usual or well explained and perception is not independent of belief. We see shapes in the clouds, but it does not make them actualities. At the very least we need to filter them according to what is consistent with the scientific evidence. Clouds are water vapor, not giraffes or space ships. But it does not mean we must limit our beliefs to what science shows. Even if the clouds are water vapor, this does not mean the shapes have no meaning or importance.

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I recently read a study that suggested that, contrary to previous findings, Jupiter is both friend and foe to Earth:

I absolutely loved that movie. I’m actually trying to get around to reading the book.

I really liked this video that suggests that our species is way ahead of when most life should exist:

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Not much of an argument there frankly, quite the opposite.

ANY body can alter orbits enough to send an asteroid towards earth. All it takes is 3 bodies (such as sun, earth, and asteroid) to make the orbital mechanics chaotic. So yes Jupiter can do this too, and yes we should perhaps one day take responsibility for this ourselves. But Jupiter does eliminate asteroids from the solar system and capture them in orbits and trojan points (as well as stabilizing the asteroid belt). So… I don’t see how you can see the overall effect as anything but positive.

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When I originally found out this information, I had wondered, “is a giant planet nearby a necessary requirement for a planet to be able to host life?” If a planet is constantly hit by asteroids, life will have a hard time forming. I’m not at all suggesting that Jupiter is a negative for our solar system. Indeed, its chonk is enough to have residual gravity on the outer solar system, so we are able to have a very wide solar system without planets getting flung out of our system.

This also inspired me to do some more research, and in looking into it, it is also vital to note Jupiter’s role in flinging water from the outer solar system into the inter solar system. This is may be one of those vital features of gas giants, as water cannot condense in great enough number in the inner solar system due to the sun’s energy.

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I hear that the audiobook version is an amazing experience, and somewhat different from the movie. I hope to get around to listening to it.

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Bonus (fiction): in the science-fiction which I find myself occasionally writing. One of my favorite groups is the spacer Sisters, who help spread AI to as many post-indistrial words as they are able.

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Spielberg, as always, has come up with an intriguing plot! But his equation of UFOs with religion (and which of these threatens the other more?) is, while not altogether NEW as a concept, still is the more telling aspect of this plot. And there is no equivalence, except in the modern mind, I suppose.

I listened to someone, at a recent social event, laugh about the idea of a Deity concealed in “a pillar of fire” leading runaway slaves across a desert. He said, rather, that he supposed the “pillar of fire” was a UFO.

In our era saying something was a UFO is the more credible when it comes to determining how a large group of runaway slaves got across a barren desert….or how you and I survived high school (and other notable events)

While intriguing, the two “plotlines” are not the same. One “plot” (if you want to call it that) says that the whole kit and caboodle—the whole enchilada—was fashioned out of the imaginings of a Being we cannot see and Whom has existed since forever (“whenever forever began”) and Who still exists and always will…..long after the Sun turns into a red fireball and blinkers out for good.

The other “plot” only thinks it negates the first one….but not necessarily. It is not equivalent…..The Being Who existed since Forever was newborn –and beyond that — would have done those other fellows (and ladies) from a Galaxy Far Far Away…..it’s just that we have never conceived of such a thing….

…and we still do not know. Great movie plot. UFOs? The man who supposed that a UFO led a scraggly group of escaping slaves across the desert may have forgotten that a UFO is “unidentified” and thus did not need to be deemed a space alien….in this case at least. But he was making “manageable” something (that is, the Divine meeting the Finite) that for him was incredible.

The disturbed nuns in the upcoming movie are equivalent to the man at the conference, but in reverse. The Bible was composed thousands of years ago—but not billions of years ago. Believing, or knowing, that God created the Universe and then the earth and has spent considerable time with us, even coming to live among us and die for our sins, may have been dealing elsewhere in the universe with other creatures. Or maybe not. We don’t know. There is more evidence for an Intelligence behind the Universe than aliens. But who knows? It’s a movie plot, and a fun one, pure and simple.

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As a planetary scientist interested in SETI/technosignatures research, I think it is worth looking into UAPs just to see what they are but I don’t think there is currently any reason to suggest that they are alien spacecraft. There does seem to be this odd rule in popular media where God and aliens are not allowed to exist in the same universe. This might be because aliens are often invoked by secular materialists to explain things attributed to God by religious believers, thus religious groups like Answers in Genesis have a tendency to dismiss the idea of aliens as inherently anti-God. On the other hand a lot of secular humanist types I know tend to assume aliens exist but are highly skeptical of anything related to God even if the conversation would be identical if you were to switch the word “aliens“ with the word “God.“ I tend to reject the supernatural/natural rubric as a false dichotomy has more to do with the Enlightenment than anything Biblical. In my view the universe is a strange place likely full of beings that could be considered gods, angels, or advanced aliens depending on your culture and ideology. Whatever you call them, I want to know more about these beings and how they relate to the universe, ourselves, and the supreme being that we call God. There is actually a weird webpage connected to the official White House website on aliens. Unfortunately it is about the aliens that don’t have green cards not the ones that travel the universe in flying saucers, despite initial appearances.

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Thanks for the info! I didn’t know that “planetary science” was a different field in and of itself; what do you study that separates you from the astronomers and astrophysicists?

I have noticed this too. Actually, I think it was most directly apparent in one of the Transformers movies (context for non-nerds among us, the Transformers are actually aliens), where a soldier remarked “If we [humans] we made in God’s image, who made them [the Transformers]?”

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Basically planetary scientists study the solar system (asteroids, comets, the planets and their moons), while astrophysicists study everything outside the solar system (stars, galaxies, blackholes, etc.)

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Neat-o! Have you heard of any major developments in our understanding of our solar system?

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Yes and one way to learn about it is by reading my Substack (shameless plug–I won’t link to it to avoid the wrath of the moderators but just type in my name on Substack and you should find it).

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Perhaps of interest. Tomorrow. (6/24/2026)

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Exciting stuff! What do you suppose will be found?

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