Boston Globe essay on... aliens and religion, by professor @daviddesteno 😉 bostonglobe.com/2024/03/27/opi…
@dwpasulka @daviddesteno Aliens and religion: some might call that a symbiotic relationship ♾️
@dwpasulka @daviddesteno Good piece. I just wrote about UFOs/Religion for one of my final PhD comp exams. I'd add that scholars of religion are missing the vibrant ritual lives of UFO religions. I want to bring ritual theory to bear on these movements & believe doing so will fill in some academic gaps.
@dwpasulka @daviddesteno The last thing I'd want to call it is a religion. Soon it would have to have rules of do and don't do and guilt and everything that is anathema to those who hate religions. There was enough of that with the Roman Catholic takeover.
@dwpasulka @daviddesteno What are your thoughts on Chris Bledsoe and his experiences? He speaks very fondly about you but I’ve never heard you speak about him. How much of this “slow disclosure” is directly related to his cooperation with the gov’t and Tim Taylor?
@dwpasulka @daviddesteno As if it’s new. It’s ancient
When Chris Bledsoe is burdened with the pressure of convincing us as a "chosen" one that the "gods" he encountered are benevolent and that if he fails, 8 billion people will be set on a path to destruction, I have questions. And then there is the "must" aspect. And how did we go from terrifying his family with dark little creatures having glowing red eyes to the lady in white? [DISCLAIMER: My questions here are about the phenomenon, not Chris. I find him to be kind and sincere. I believe he is having real experiences. I do not believe he is being deceptive. I consider the possibility of deception by whatever is behind these events. There are many valid questions anybody considering these events has the right to ask.]
@dwpasulka So grateful for your work. "Encounters" is stilling on my desk right now. I'm an audiobook guy (glad you read "Encounters" in that version,) but I picked up a physical copy to use as reference and resource for my own work. And after leaving the church years ago, I've started reading the Bible again. You never know what will happen when you study The Phenomena- I surely didn't expect my path to go this way. But it has.