Such is the title of this essay from the Journal of Popular Culture, a peer-reviewed resource. The article deals with alien abduction researchers like David Jacobs and John Mack, and it’s fairly sympathetic to them. I post it here so you know that this kind of stuff does indeed get discussed in mainstream scholarly journals.
Aliens in the Academy
Hi Mike.
Just thought I’d give you a ‘heads up’ on ABC’s soon to be aired remake of the 1980’s V series.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahjPQjQGdbU
Seems you will have some blogging to do!
@Heiserite: cool – I’d really like to see it.
Here was a lost opportunity for a rigorous thread…on the true UFO religion that is expressed in the abduction phenomenon-
“A number of Mack’s patients ‘‘discover’’ that they have a ‘‘dual identity,’’ that they are part human and part alien. Such a claim not only places the abductee in both the object and subject positions in this phenomenon, it also confers upon him or her super subject status. Mack muses, ‘‘If, for example, the alien beings are closer to the divine source or anima mundi than human beings generally seem to be, then it is possible that their presence among us, however cruel and traumatic in some instances, may be part of a larger process that is bringing us back to God, or whatever we choose to call the creative principle’’ (190–91). To remember being part alien is to reconnect with one’s profoundly significant role in reconciling humanity to God. This is a far more powerful position than that of objects of study, and it even exceeds that of cosubjects.”
The parallels here that mirror New Testament intervention by the Holy Spirit in the conscious life of the believer, the presence of “two in one” the “indwelling” that Christians refer to, could not have been more fully counterfeited than in the narrative above. The only difference of course, is that the One True God doesn’t require “cruel and traumatic instances” to establish the indwelling, but rather a heartfelt willingness to change, acceptance of Jesus as Lord, and a voluntary request by the individual for the indwelling to occur. I guess that “voluntary request” is a luxury when you are in the human abduction business.
Perhaps the modern day abduction phenomenon is simply a perfecting of the crude demonic possessions we see recorded in the NT. Gone are the messy “demoniac” beginnings of propelling human beings to exhibit anti social behavior such as naked flagellation and cave dwelling. In with the elegant, out with the wreckless- if we can convince Harvard PhD that we are bringing him closer to God while we are really just hitching a ride (against his will at that!) -then we really have come a long way from the old days of manifesting ugly symptoms of demonic possession and graduated to the Ivy League.
My friend on the inside of these things had some interesting things to say about the Rockefeller connections. I could send you those (without source attribution) via email if you like.
Bottom line Dr. Mack, be careful who you “chose to call the creative principle”.
Yes, please do send…are you referring to the Roper Study or to Mack’s earlier studies? BTW I learned of John Mack’s death while listening to Terry Gross of WNYC / NPR. HE was an extraordinary man.
Please email to the jbm address?
Also listened to your Utopian lecture last week.
You’ll have to email this to me, along with the context, so I know what to send. Email keeps it on my radar.