The Cult of UFOlogy: A rational discussion

Originally posted by cogburn
Superstition, Religion, UFOlogy... here... in 2008... they have all evolved into the same thing: a system of beliefs that center around supernatural powers that have designs on, or influence over, humanity's destiny.

UFOlogy has NOTHING to do with 'supernatural' powers. They are, purportedly, more technologically advanced and that is a BIG difference. Also, UFOlogy 'believers' do not (for the most part) worship what they study as if it were some sort of 'divine being'. UFOlogy CANNOT be put into the same category as Religion and Superstition.

is vilified and those who espouse such philosophies are "debunkers" and "skeptics" and "closed-minded".

Close-minded yes, simply because they refuse to see what is clearly placed in front of them. As to 'debunkers and skeptics' they are merely categorisations of those people, not vilification.

When we observe phenomena that we cannot explain, especially those exhibiting "intelligent" characteristics, we instantly attempt to integrate it into the wider sense of our system of beliefs and experiences. You see lights in NASA video footage (the tether video comes to mind) and see proof of aliens.

Wrong. SOME people may look at clearly explainable evidence and see 'lights' and 'aliens' but any self-respecting serious ufologist takes the evidence and studies it to attempt to fit it into any known pattern or mould. Failing that it is then deemed 'unidentifiable' and then becomes open for discussion as to what it could possibly be.

Are we alone? Probability says "no". Have ETs visited Earth? Probability says "no". However probability is not absolute and should always been challenged when faced with new evidence. There's ample suggestion in historical texts and inscriptions that seem to indicate that the small probability of visitation may have occurred.

I don't know where you are getting your maths from but if there is a probability of aliens existing in other parts of the Universe then that automatically adds credence to the possibility of them having visited us, even if only by a small fraction.

The argument is then presented that TPTB are "withholding evidence" or "spreading disinformation", which has always sounded to me like Creationists suggesting that dinosaurs and fossil records were placed on Earth to test the faithful.

Learn your history mate. History is resounding with factual stories of The Powers That Be hoodwinking the public and spreading disinformation. The German Reichstag fire the kicked off WW2, The Gulf of Tonkin 'incident' that kicked off Vietnam and Pearl Harbour just to name a few that you may know of. Look them up! They are all cases of disinformation and withholding evidence in order to gain.

Perhaps the greatest thing to come out of the flap over October 14th was the forced re-evaluation of the positions that are so vehemently espoused on these forums. If this is perceived by you to be a “blow to the investigation of UFOs” then I suggest you are one who could most benefit from this event.

You are trying (and failing) to put serious ufologists into the same category as the 'Blossom Goodchilder's'. This is a serious mistake. No person who considers themselves even slightly intelligent took the Oct. 14 warning seriously. I see now that this whole 'rational discussion' has been a ploy to put serious scientific research into disrepute by attempting to categorise it into the same 'tin-foil hat' category as Blossom Goodchild and the Prophet Yahweh.

NASA is an imperfect scientific agency in desperate need of drastic reforms.

Well at least you got that part right. They don't call them "Never A Straight Answer" for nothing.

In the spirit of a good skeptic... Please... Prove me wrong.

Done and dusted. Next?

reply to post by InfaRedMan


Interesting. Tacitus wrote, that Nero blamed christians for the great fire of rome, as at the time, they were considered a dangerous cult by the Romans and Judaism alike. Claudius even expelled the jewish/christian cult from Rome.

Todays Cult, is tomorrows mainstream religion. Must we be skeptical of even our own failings as humans?

Ufology is a cultish society.

Many of us are outside mainstream society.
Many of us follow practices considered bizarre by mainstream society.
Many of us have beliefs that certainly dont gel with mainstream society.
And best yet, we defend these views and some even treat elements of it as dogma.

People get arrested penetrating the area 51 security zones looking for UFO's. Many skeptics on the far right wing would call that a terrorist act, and refer to us as a dangerous cult of misinformation, perverting our youth with fanciful tales of space creatures. Some of us might even pirate music! The horror!

Lets look at the definition of a cult.
Wiki: Cult typically refers to a cohesive social group devoted to beliefs or practices that the surrounding population considers to be outside the mainstream, with a notably positive or negative popular perception.

Sound familiar?

Even a hardcore skeptic is enshrined in ufology, by the mere act of interaction and debunking, they are playing a key role in our cultish behaviour.

Think on the bright side. Embrace the cult, call it a religion, then we can get tax free status! Play your cards right, and you might end up the Bishop of Nellis AFB.

Originally posted by Gaderel
reply to post by InfaRedMan

 

Think on the bright side. Embrace the cult, call it a religion, then we can get tax free status! Play your cards right, and you might end up the Bishop of Nellis AFB.

Gaderel my man... I think you may be onto something

Me?... Pirate Music?... *Gulp!*

IRM

[edit on 17/10/08 by InfaRedMan]