The Christian Sentinel

February 1999 issue

BOOK REVIEW

The God Hypothesis by Joe Lewels

(© 1997, Wild Flower Press, 331 pages with illustrations and photographs)

Reviewed by Richard W. Phelps

ã 1999 Christian Sentinel

The God Hypothesis came to my attention, while doing my usual browsing in the New Books section of our public library. The title piqued my interest, as the topic of UFOs and theology has been an interest of mine for years, particularly as some elements of "Ufology" (the study of Unidentified Flying Objects--UFOs) has direct spiritual consequences for us as Christians, as the topic has recently been in books, TV, and major-market movies.

The author, Joe Lewels, holds a Ph.D in journalism and mass communication at the University of Texas at El Paso, although his name was not familiar to me as an author on Ufology, even though I was quite familiar with most of the Ufology literature written since the early 1950s. (I had been following Christian authors such as William Alnor and John Weldon, and non-Christian authors such as Timothy Goode, Donald Keyhoe, Jeremy Randles, and Jacques Vallee).

Neither did I recognize his publisher, Wildflower Press (an imprint of Blue Water Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 190, Mill Spring, NC 28756), but as I looked over Blue Water's list of other books that they'd published, all contained variations on the New Age-Pagan Spirituality theme. (These titles include Becoming Gods: Prophecies, Wisdom, Practical Advice, and Angels & Archetypes: An Evolutionary Map of Feminine Consciousness.) Would Lewel's book be of a similar vein?

The endorsements listed on the back cover of The God Hypothesis are by Dr. John Mack (author of Abduction: Human Encounters with Aliens); Whitley Strieber (author of Communion, Breakthrough, and Transformations), and Rev. Dr. Barry H. Downing, Presbyterian minister, author of The Bible and Flying Saucers).

This pedigree of Ufology authors strengthened my conviction that Lewels would advocate to the consensus view of these authors that (with some variations) a complex hierarchy of intelligent Extra-Terrestrial civilizations have been present throughout humankind's history, working with those "sensitive, open" individuals (mostly UFO Abductees), to "guide" Homo Sapiens in its "ascending evolutionary path," (the major world's religions being echoes of ETs' presence, as "gods," "celestial beings," etc.), so that the human race may, if it leaves its path of violence and destruction of its birthing place, the earth, to take its place with other intelligent extra-terrestrial civilizations in the cosmos, embracing an eastern-mystical pantheism.

As I noted various chapter headings in Lewel's book, such as chapter 9, "Abductees: Shamans of the Modern Age," and chapter 10, "Conversations with 'Homo Noeticus'," it was quite obvious that this "ET" view of Ufology was indeed Lewel's theme, and that his claim of being a Christian was to be taken with great skepticism, as was borne out in the rest of The God Hypothesis.

Lewels denies the inerrancy of the Old and New Testament record. On page 56 (chapter three, entitled Reconciling Science and Religion), Lewels states that (all too typical of the above "ET" view in Ufology),

...the Bible, far from being the perfect , unblemished word of God, is riddled with contradictions and mistakes. Many worthwhile manuscripts and ideas were deleted because religious institutions found them too controversial or simply contrary to the consensus views of the moment. However, there is still a core of truth in the Bible that can best be understood in light of other ancient texts.

He does admit that "in one way, scientists are more dangerous than theologians, at least we know that theologians have a preconceived bias. But scientists go to great lengths to convince us of their objectivity and most people have believed them" (pg. 59), yet Lewels is blindsided to his own biases that reject the Scriptures as the divinely inspired, inviolate Word of God.

And on page 60, he further displays his distorted view of Christianity, when he states that

On the one hand, science tells us there is no God, there are no angels, there is no human soul and there are no other realities. On the other hand, religion, with its emotionally charged rhetoric asks us to accept a sugar-coasted and fanciful theology, populated by two-dimensional characters representing the forces of good and evil."

But how can Joel Lewels be so positive that the ET entities that he speaks of are really who they say they are, and have our best interests at heart? Ephesians 6:12 states "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

In Chapter 5, Consciousness Unleashed, Lewels again falls for yet another deception: advocating the practice of Scientific Remote Viewing (SRV--where the person goes into an Altered State of Consciousness (ASC), to "receive" mental images/impressions from remote areas in space and time), to validate the existence of ETs.

(SRV was employed by certain U.S. military intelligence agencies for the past 20 years, under such code names as Project Stargate, spurred on by physicist Dr. Hal Puthoff, Army major Ed Dames, and others, for covert intelligence gathering. But, due to public exposure, and concerns expressed by others in the intelligence community, SRV was discontinued.)

Lewels then refers to Dr. Courtney Brown's (Brown is associate professor of political science at Emory University, and author of the book Cosmic Voyage; Brown is a frequent guest on the popular late-night talk-radio program, The Art Bell Show), research into SRV, and further justifies the use of SRV in ET/UFO research, but ignores the underlying spiritual danger of SRV, that would be quite obvious to the discerning student of the Bible, when he quotes Brown's own experiences with SRV, from page 250 of Brown's book, Cosmic View, that

I found that my experiences shook me to the core of my being. In only two years, all of the belief facade that structured my view of the world collapsed, I learned that we were not alone in the universe, and that nonphysical beings shared this dimensional reality with me. I learned that ET civilizations rose and fell in my own planetary neighborhood, and that some traveled through time with the ease with which I walk across the street. I had to reformulate my understanding of God and all religion. It is impossible to relate to you how much I had to adapt and grow in order to confront the realities that were opening to me (italics mine).

He did this again in Chapter 6, The Science of the Spirit, on page 112, when he expounds the dualistic eastern-mystical view of reality (karma) and God, attempting to "unify" quantum physics and religion, to state that

The universe was created in balance between equal forces of positive and negative. This means that the universe is a paradox in which positive and negative are the same and God is a neutral force that places equal value on both. Those things that we perceive as evil are simply manifestations of the negative side of the universe and should be understood and respected, rather than feared. The negative forces simply give us an opportunity to react in a positive, loving way. If we do so, we progress in our spiritual evolution.

Then, in yet another huge leap of faith, Lewels states on the same page that

We are assisted on this journey by other, higher intelligences who are part of a complex hierarchy of intelligences. The beings have existed since time immemorial and utilize a technology that combines science and spirituality to create and evolve physical life forms throughout the universe.

If only Lewels had read Ephesians 6:12, Deuteronomy 18:10-12, and 1 Samuel 28:6-25 in the Bible, and realized that what he is endorsing is completely counter to authentic Christianity! He'd have seen the extremely dangerous deceptions he embraces.

The following "experiment" that Lewels asks the reader to perform only underscores my great concern for any reader that would contemplate doing this experiment, as it is a recipe for spiritual deception and disaster.

Lewels asks the reader to do the following "experiment" to "test" this new scientific/ spiritual knowledge," on page 113 of The God Hypothesis, by entering "into a meditative state (preferably in quiet isolation) and recite the following prayer. (Note: it makes no difference what your religion is or even if you consider yourself an atheist. Remember, this is a scientific experiment" (italics mine).

Lewels then asks the reader to pray to "God" (or, as Lewels says on page 113, you can choose "higher consciousness" or "Prime Creator"):

to learn about the true nature of the universe by showing me examples that I cannot deny and by bringing to me learning opportunities in the form of people to talk to, events to attend, books to read and TV shows to watch. I promise that I will accept the truths that you reveal to me, regardless of how they may contradict my previously-held beliefs (italics mine) and I promise to take advantage of the opportunities you provide for me. Amen.

Lewels then asks that the reader, after praying the above "prayer," to

play the role of the researcher by keeping a journal of events that occur in your life that fulfill the terms of the agreement. Give particular attention to synchronicities, those amazing but meaningful coincidences that you might normally ignore as being the result of mere chance and to "unusually powerful dreams that seem relevant to your study.

If this isn't bad enough, Lewels continues from the above to state that "Our higher consciousness and other, higher intelligences are constantly trying to send us messages through our dreams." He then asks the reader to keep recording in the journal for 90 days, and then send a photocopy of it, along with comments and observations to his publisher's address in the back of his book, of which results will be analyzed and compiled in a study to be published at a later date" (p. 114).

It's obvious that Lewels has really missed out on authentic Christianity, as his advocating of "meditation" on who or what he thinks God is, is a practice specifically warned against in Deuteronomy 18:10-12!

I hope and pray that if one knows anyone that has "acted' upon Lewel's "prayer," that one can inform them of the extreme deceptions that Lewels advocates, and lead them to salvation in Christ. (I held to similar beliefs as Lewels', prior to my conversion to Christ 23 years ago. All the sincerity in the universe will not result in an eternal relationship with Jesus Christ, if one's beliefs are wrong about God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit). Otherwise, that person is opening themselves up to the "principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12).

We must then help the new believer in Christ (from Ephesians 6:13-17) to:

take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. (14) Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREAST-PLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, (15) and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; (16) in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. (17) And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Unfortunately, Lewels advocates, and practices hypnosis, as part of his method to investigate UFO "abductees," who claim to have fragmentary memories of having been taken on board an ET-craft, and under hypnosis relate having been taken on-board an ET-craft, subjected to various painful "medical" procedures, hearing the ET's via E.S.P., and other unpleasant situations.

Like Budd Hopkins and certain others in Ufology, Lewels places complete trust in the alleged abductee's recount of events as they think happened to them. However, those memories may actually be a re-interpretation or amalgamation by the mind of real memories of a non-UFO-related stressful event, dreams, what one has read, or seen on TV or movies, etc.

Also, hypnosis is generally not encouraged for Christians, as one can enter into an Altered State of Consciousnesss (ASC), and thus open oneself up to severe spiritual oppression.

My extreme concern about Lewels' usage of hypnosis in his own work with the "UFO-Abductees" was only amplified, when on page 123 of The God Hypothesis he propounds that the "aliens" can have "a way of taking control of a hypnotic state, as he says,"by memory blocks apparently put in place by these higher beings...so "that different aspects of their life-long experiences are made available to them only when the time is right." (italics mine--RWP).

Lewels goes so far as to contend, on the same page, that the "aliens" could "control the hypnotherapy session and communicate directly with the subject and also with the therapists, left all of them in a state of awe and quite shaken (italics mine, p. 123), " which Lewels contends happened during one of his own sessions!

This is extremely deceptive, and quite dangerous, and given the current public fascination with UFOs in movies and TV, some people will end up being "treated" for their "abduction experience" via hypnosis, not realizing that they are playing right into very dangerous and deceptive spiritual deception.

As Christians, if we do run into such people that claim to have been abducted, "recovered" their "abduction" memories via hypnosis (there are valid cases of truly traumatic abuse, of memories can be elicited via conventional methods), we need to present, via the sensitivity and compassion engendered by the Holy Spirit, the real Message of Hope in Christ to them, as oftentimes these "abductees" have often abandoned their traditional religious beliefs, for the "gospel" of the ETs, that is antithetical to Christian tenets.

My sense that Lewels had indeed undergone a complete paradigm shift from his traditional religious upbringing (apparently a mixture of liberal Protestantism, and some Roman Catholicism), to an all-too-typical blend of evolution and New Age type belief. He holds to the notion that the human race is "upwardly evolving" to its next stage of upward evolution (with cataclysmic events possibly rending the earth uninhabitable), necessitating our "relocation" to another planet in the galaxy, assisted by the "aliens," and to take our place with other intelligent ET civilizations.

Summarizing the last six chapters, 10 through 15, here is how Lewels envisions our future. In Chapter 10, Conversations with "Homo Noeticus," Lewels endorses the idea that humanity learn from the UFO-Abductees," to find out what they can tell us about the nature of the universe in general and of the purpose of the `alien’ presence in particular'' (p. 171).

He states his investigations "were leading us to the conclusion that a completely new approach to Bible interpretation was needed--one that included flying saucers and high technology, as well as an appreciation for a strange hierarchy of celestial beings far more complex than that commonly accepted by modern-day religions (p. 205). This is very close to the theme in the UFO book, Urantia, that Lewels mentions on p. 96 of The God Hypothesis. If only Lewels would read Ephesians 6:10-20, and 1 Peter 5:8.

In Chapter 11, "The Watchers and Human Origins," Lewels presents the idea that we came about via alien-directed creation, similar to Francis Crick's hypothesis of "Directed Panspermia, that Lewels describes as "the possibility that alien civilizations might have visited Earth periodically over the millennia and that Earth may in fact be 'part of a cosmic wildlife park'" (op cit., p. 214).

Lewels carries this reasoning to absurdity, when he asserts that Homo Sapiens heritage can be traced to the dinosaurs, contending that the "reptilian beings of the UFO phenomenon appear to have been involved, along with the others the "Grays," "Tall, Blondes," and the "Praying Mantis" ETs, popularized in UFO literature."

In an immense leap of UFO-liberal interpretation of the Fall of Adam and Eve in the Book of Genesis, Lewels contends that the serpent was actually one of the Reptilian aliens guiding humankind in its evolution (op cit. p. 217). Lewels contends that the Biblical records "tells very little about the creation of humanity (op cit. p. 217), and resorts to various "legends" in Sumerian tablets, The "Book of Enoch," and "the Testimony of Amram, to further his bizarre idea that "The Watchers,' that is the ET's, are watching and guiding our evolutionary progress.

In Chapter 12, "Jehovah--A Powerful Entity," Lewels reinterprets with his "UFO" colored glasses that Jehovah in the Old Testament was perceived as a plurality of gods. Lewels poses the question, "Were these the laws [the Old Testament laws and commandments] of God--the Prime Creator of the Universe, or were they the rules of subordinate gods--the Watchers--carrying out their duties according to some cosmically-divined master plan that is still unfolding today?" (op. cit., p. 246)

In Chapter 13, "The Story of Jesus," just as I expected, Lewels expounds to a Gnostic view of Jesus Christ, and also to the idea that angels hold a much more important place, as "The Watchers," than orthodox Christianity believes. Then, Lewels manages to marginalize the reliability of Scripture, in true liberal "Jesus Seminar style," saying that "the factual accounts [of Jesus' life] related therein are considered by experts to be unreliable...that these events can be more easily understood in light of what we know today of the Watchers and UFO phenomena (p. 263).

In another unbelievably naive reinterpretation of Scripture, Lewels asserts the Resurrection of Christ could've been "a marvel of advanced, spiritual technology possessed by the guardian beings who created us and who assist us in our evolutionary journey" (p. 272).

Not surprisingly, Lewels asserts that the four Gospel accounts conflict with one another (ho-hum, where has one seen that line of ill-informed reasoning before?) Obviously, Lewels has not taken the time to seriously study the four Gospel accounts with true objectivity (thus violating his own guidelines in doing research!). An excellent rebuttal to the misconception of Lewels (and many in the cults and aberrant pseudo-Christian groups, and atheists) is found in Grant R. Osborne's work, The Resurrection Narratives: A Redactional Study, ? 1984 by Baker Book House Company, ISBN 0-8010-6708-1.

Lewels questions other aspects of Christ's life, proposing that He didn't have a truly physical body after the Resurrection (p. 275); that Jesus' real purpose was to "liberate those who had become imprisoned in material bodies (the lower world of darkness) by imparting to them the knowledge of the truth. This is in contrast to the orthodox belief that Jesus came to save humanity from its sins" (p. 262).

In Chapter 14: "A New Beginning," Lewels’ view of eschatology, including the idea that we'd be taken to a new planet, by our alien "guides," as our present earth would undergo tremendous calamities (Art Bell refers to these events as "The Quickening," holding to earth-spirituality ideas), and be rendered uninhabitable. This scenario of Lewels’ would include extreme weather changes, increasing sterility, upheavals, deadly diseases, earthquakes, overpopulation, etc.), due to "'civilized' man's disconnection from the spiritual world...that causes him to destroy God's creation" (p. 288). Lewels asserts that if we (civilized mankind) had not disconnected God from nature (giving as examples the spirituality of indigenous peoples: the Aborigines, Native Americans, Kalahari Bushmen, etc.), we'd not be in this fix.

Again, Lewels has not done his homework on exegetical study of the Bible, as this quote from him, on p. 300 of The God Hypothesis, in Chapter 14, evidences:

And those who worry that the aliens are here to enslave us have not yet considered the possibility that we are already enslaved on the lower rung of existence -- the dark world of the physical universe. Finally, those who believe that aliens are all satanic, representatives of the fallen angels, have not accepted that we are also fallen creatures, who when given the secret of our own salvation, chose to ignore it, misrepresent it and worship it, rather then embrace it and live it.

Sadly, Lewels gives this misguided (again, Lewels appears very sincere, but misinformed sincerity does not lead to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, but to deception) message to the UFO abductees, that "you should know that in the past, when you have felt that you were going insane, it was only because the world was insane and you were different. It isn't you, and others like you who are connected to the Father, that our hope for a better future lies. Your knowledge and special perspective is needed now more than ever before. You are needed...to teach the rest of us how to reconnect to the spiritual world" (p. 300).

Christianity's message to the UFO abductee is to immediately pull away from such beliefs in UFOs, read the Gospel of John, asking Jesus to forgive your sins (John 3:16) and let Him be Lord over all your life. You then can read the Word of God, letting the Holy Spirit "teach you all things" (John 14:26), and find a church home, with those who truly worship the authentic Jesus Christ. How much more spiritually enriching is this, than the "gospel" of Ufology could ever be, as you can freely communicate with God Himself, without having to go through some "hierarchy of subordinate gods," not being sure who is on your side?

In Chapter 15, "Afterword," Lewels correctly quotes Pope John Paul II as saying "Darwin's theory of evolution is more than a hypothesis." This then sets the tone for his concluding thoughts.

On page 306 Lewels notes:

as a scientific theory, however, it seems to answer many questions about the nature of humanity and about the current course of human events. By merging science and religion, we can begin to see that there is a middle ground between the seemingly irreconcilable positions of Darwinism and Creationism. It provides us with logical and elegant answers to many of the mysteries of science and religion that have puzzled our best minds for centuries--mysteries regarding the existence of the soul and of our innate psychic abilities.

Lewels displays his naivete of his understanding of Christianity, when he slights the warnings by Christian pastors about the Satanic nature of certain UFO encounters, and then states

It will take the calming voices of those who are able to embrace the grander perspective, that the universe is paradoxical, to help prevent an overreaction and panic...that good and evil are only human perceptions of the natural forces of positive and negative and are, in fact, just part of the evolutionary process, the ET presence can have a positive result (pages 312-313) (italics mine).

He closes with a reiteration of his "holographic universe" picture of reality (where in his re-interpretation of quantum physics, he holds that everything is "connected," and thus God is all, and all is God, in typical eastern mystical thinking). When we can "love and respect all living things as the Creator does--equally and without prejudice. When we can do that, we are ready to leave this illusory world of the physical domain forever and advance in our journey toward the oneness of God" (p. 315).

I must disagree with Lewel's conclusion, as Jesus Christ states that "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6). We don't need a subordinate order of gods/aliens to "guide" us on our "evolutionary path" to "join" other ET civilizations in some galactic Federation, Star-Trek fashion.

For those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in our lives, we are promised eternal residence in incorruptible bodies, that will worship with joy and reverence the God of all of space, dimensions, and time (Hebrews 1:10-11), who is "made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they" (Hebrews 1:4).

To those who believe that our hope lies in ETs, I challenge you to try an experiment: ask Jesus Christ into your life, and let Him give you true meaning to life; beware, there are those out there who teach another Jesus, foreign to what God's recorded Word accurately says about Him (II Timothy 4:1-4; Matthew 24:24).