Spirituality Studies 10-1 Spring 2024 77 Amir Azarvan Notes [1] As the term “unidentified aerial phenomena” (UAPs) appears to be a euphemism intended to remove the stigma of openly endorsing the extraterrestrial theory, alien skeptics like myself prefer the older label of “unidentified flying objects” (UFOs). [2] I critically address the notion that we should reject supernatural claims on the grounds that they violate “natural laws” in a 2020 essay (Azarvan 2020). [3] In 2010, five percent of Britons believed that they have seen or heard an angel in 2010. Five years later, as much 18% of Americans claimed to have seen a ghost (Linden 2010; Lipka 2015). [4] See also The White House Historical Association. [5] St. Paul appears to express something similar in his second letter to the Corinthians: “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” (2 Cor 11:14). [6] Such experiences as these are still being reported. In my interview of monks at an Orthodox Christian monastery, I inquired on whether they have ever physically seen, heard, or perceived in any other way something References Athanasius of Alexandria, St. Life of St. Anthony of Egypt. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. First Rate Publishers. Azarvan, Amir. 2020. “Explaining Science (And Its Limits) To Students.” God & Nature. godandnature.asa3.org. Burris, Sarah K. 2023. “Marjorie Taylor Greene Questions if Ufos and Aliens Are Really Angels: ‘Honestly, I’ve Looked into It.’” Raw Story, July 20, 2023. rawstory.com. Catoe, Lynn E. 1969. “UFOS and Related Subjects: An Annotated Bibliography.” United States Air Force of Scientific Research, Office of Aerospace Research. Accessed August 24, 2023. apps.dtic.mil. C-Span. 2023. “Hearing on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.” Accessed March 6, 2024. c-span.org. Diadochos of Photiki. 1979. “On Spiritual Knowledge.” In The Philokalia: The Complete Text, Vol. 1, edited by G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard, and Kallistos Ware. London, UK: Faber & Faber. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Research Division. N.D. “Educational Attainment, Annual.” fred.stlouisfed.org. History Channel. 2022. “Ancient Aliens: Aliens in Disguise Warn Researcher – ‘We’ve Taken Many Humans’ (Season 18).” April 21, 2022. youtube.com. Jensen, Gary F., and Ashley Thompson. 2008. “‘Out of the Broom Closet’: The Social Ecology of American Wicca.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 47 (4): 753–766. Kaplan, Michael, and Steven Greenstreet. 2021. “Ufos Are Real, Feds’ Cover-up Fueled by Fear: Ex-Pentagon Whistleblower.” New York Post, April 30, 2021. nypost.com. Lipka, Michael. 2015. “18% of Americans Say They’ve Seen a Ghost.” Pew Research Center, October 23, 2015. pewresearch.org. Linden, Martha. 2010. “1 in 3 ‘Believes in Guardian Angels’.” The Independent, December 23, 2010. independent.co.uk. Markides, Kyriacos C. 2001. The Mountain of Silence: A Search for Orthodox Spirituality. New York, NY: Random House. National UFO Reporting Center. N.D. “UFO Report Index by Country/State.” nuforc.org. Peter of Damascus, St. 1984. “The Remembrance of Christ’s Sufferings.” In The Philokalia: The Complete Text, Vol. 3, edited by G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard, and Kallistos Ware. London, UK: Faber & Faber. Pew Research Center. 2023. “Religious Landscape Survey.” pewresearch.org. Rose, Fr. Seraphim. 2018. Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future. Platina, CA: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood. Stanfield, Charles A. 2010. Haunted Presidents: Ghosts in the Lives of the Chief Executives. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. The White House Historical Association. N.D. “Is the White House Haunted?” whitehousehistory.org. U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis. 2023. “GDP By State.” bea.gov. that they would describe as demonic. They all laughed as if to say, “Of course!” One monk shared that he often hears strange nocturnal sounds intended, he believed, to distract the brothers from prayer or instill fear in them. Another recounted how he used to often receive a knock on his cell door late at night, only for him to find no one on the other side. Yet another monk relayed that he was once physically restrained by an unseen force, and prevented from praying the Noera Prosefche (or the “Prayer of Jesus”). Also, I was shown the location in the monastery where a terrified lay parishioner claimed to have seen a bizarre being who bore what he described as a horse head. [7] “The literary form [note: of science fiction],” Fr. Seraphim (2018, 73) explains, is a product of the “post-Christian age” (evident already in the stories of Poe and Shelley). The science-fiction universe is a totally secular one, although often with “mystical” overtones of an Occult or Eastern kind. “God,” if mentioned at all, is a vague and impersonal power, not a personal being. [8] These are the New England, Mideast, Great Lakes, Plains, Southeast, Southwest, Rocky Mountain, and Far West regions.
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