ON THURSDAY, JULY 27 (Wednesday, July 26, in the United States of America), retired US Air Force intelligence officer Maj. David Grusch has testified before the US Congress that the American government is covering up information about extraterrestrial (ET) objects.

Subsequently, the Pentagon — a metonym for the US Department of Defense and its leadership — has strongly denied the claims of Grusch who testified before a House Oversight subcommittee.

Grusch’s highly anticipated testimony was US Congress’ latest foray into the world of “unidentified aerial phenomena” or UAPs, which is the official term the US government uses instead of UFOs.

When asked by the American lawmakers whether the US government had information about extraterrestrial life, Grusch replied that the authorities likely have been aware of “non-human” activity since the 1930s.

He further revealed that the US government not only has UAPs in its possession but also the remains of the allegedly “non-human” pilots of the aircraft.

This made me recall one dark summer night in 1975 in the sleepy northern Cebu town of Borbon when my cousin and I and his friend saw a luminous green stingray-shaped flying object hovering over coconut trees as we were walking towards the municipal plaza where a “bayle” (dance, in English) would be held.

This happened before the 1977 “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” American science fiction drama film hit the screen.

Written and directed by famous movie writer and director Steven Spielberg, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey, and François Truffaut, it is the story of Roy Neary, an everyday blue-collar worker in Indiana, USA, whose life changes after an encounter with a UFO.

Interestingly, retired Christian pastor Rev. Barry Downing wrote his first book, “The Bible and Flying Saucers,” which was published in 1968, stressing that many biblical events may have connections to UFOs.

“I believe UFOs are God’s way of saying to our godless culture: ‘I’m back!’ And if God is back, it is time to repent and be glad that the world lives under the umbrella of God’s love, with his angels looking over us,” wrote Downing, Pastor Emeritus, Northminster Presbyterian Church in Endwell, New York.

As an example of what could be a UFO sighting, he cited the “cloud that moved with the Israelites” in the Book of Exodus.

“The cloud of fire moves … you know … it goes in front of them then it stops and moves some more. After they get to Mount Sinai and build the Tabernacle, the house of worship for the Jewish people, it hovers over the Tabernacle,” Downing said.

On the other hand, even Muslims believe in the existence of extraterrestrial or ET life.

“All praise is for Allah—Lord of all worlds.” (Holy Qur’an 1:2)

With this verse, Allah (Arabic term for God) stresses that He is the Lord of all worlds, apparently referring to worlds as planets, universes, or dimensions.

What do you think?

(AI/MNM)