Admittedly the source is GBN, but the headline is irresistible: “Nasa ‘quietly funding’ theological conferences amid ‘demonic’ UFO fears.” Essentially an interview with Nick Pope (no relation to “the Pope”), the story posits that NASA has been spending on theology because of fears that UFOs might be demons. Nick Pope is a recognized ufologist, but the story doesn’t state where he acquired the information on NASA’s spending habits. Pope did work for Britain’s Ministry of Defence, and has had a long-standing interest in UFOs. And some US congressional members have stated that they believe said UFOs are demons. I’d still like to see some documentation, however, before accepting that NASA’s paying for conferences in a discipline that’s on decline in academia. Seems a little difficult to believe.
It also seems like this would be a more exciting theological conference than the one I attend. Perhaps even stranger than UFOs is the use of the word “theology.” In British English the word tends to mean what “religious studies” means in these (still) United States. American English understands theology to be a distinct part of religious studies—the discipline that is occupied with philosophical questions within a specific tradition. The one probably most familiar is Christianity, where historical theology and systematic theology are often on seminary curricula. I’ve noticed more and more Jewish and Islamic theology cropping up in recent years. I always take pains to say I’m not a theologian (in the American sense). Maybe it would just be easier to consider UFOs.
Image credit: George Stock, via Wikimedia Commons
" data-orig-size="403,600" sizes="(max-width: 403px) 100vw, 403px" data-image-title="403px-PurportedUFO2" data-orig-file="https://sawiggins.files.wordpress.com/2021/03/403px-purportedufo2.jpg" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" width="403" data-medium-file="https://sawiggins.files.wordpress.com/2021/03/403px-purportedufo2.jpg?w=202" data-permalink="https://steveawiggins.com/2021/03/13/mystery-religions/403px-purportedufo2/#main" alt="" height="600" srcset="https://sawiggins.files.wordpress.com/2021/03/403px-purportedufo2.jpg 403w, https://sawiggins.files.wordpress.com/2021/03/403px-purportedufo2.jpg?w=101 101w, https://sawiggins.files.wordpress.com/2021/03/403px-purportedufo2.jpg?w=202 202w" class="wp-image-17158" data-large-file="https://sawiggins.files.wordpress.com/2021/03/403px-purportedufo2.jpg?w=403" />Image credit: George Stock, public domain via Wikimedia CommonsThere’s no doubt that theology gave us demons. One of the points I was trying to make in Nightmares with the Bible is that that’s not entirely true. Demons came first, and theology later. People have, historically, always believed there were other entities that behaved with intelligence. Generally they were more powerful than mere humans. It was really only around the time that Christianity began that such entities were coded as purely evil. Those who posit that UFOs are demons really aren’t up on their theology, which makes me wonder what kinds of conferences NASA is spending its money on. If it is. This seems plausible because the government often spends on things that are unexpected. I personally would like to see a bit more of it funneled towards education, but I’m just one voter. In any case, if there are such conferences, and if they’re British style theology, please put me on the mailing list.
