On Wednesday, a House Oversight Committee hearing wrapped up with testimonies from three whistleblowers who claim that the government has been suppressing and covering up unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs), or what are more commonly called unidentified flying objects (UFOs).

The first witness, David Grusch, seems to have some credentials that might lead people to believe in his veracity. We are so trained to trust the experts, after all. What are Grusch’s credentials? Well, he is a former Air Force intelligence officer who served with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. He had gone public with his statements before the hearing, garnering interest.

Grusch stated, “I was informed, in the course of my official duties, of a multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering program, to which I was denied access.” He later explained, “My testimony is based on information I have been given by individuals with a longstanding track record of legitimacy and service to this country — many of whom also shared compelling evidence in the form of photography, official documentation, and classified oral testimony.”

Grusch’s concern is that too may people are being intimidated from coming forward with their UAP sightings. He also has told the public that the government has recovered pilot remains and aircraft but are hiding it from everyone.

The two remaining whistleblowers were former Navy pilot and Americans for Safe Aerospace executive director Ryan Graves, and retired Navy commander David Fravor. Though their testimonies were not quite as explosive as Grusch’s, both former Navy men seemed to give credence to his claims. Graves’s testimony focused on the silencing of pilots who tried coming forward with sightings of UAPs, and Fravor’s focused on whether or not these encounters with UAPs were an enemy nation’s technology.

Are aliens among us?

Well, this humble publication is skeptical. For one thing, this inquiry seems like a distraction and a sensational waste of government time (insert caustic laugh).

From a purely logical standpoint, if a UAP is sophisticated enough to maneuver through time and space, how come there are crashes with remains? Seems more like a human error thing.

From a biblical standpoint, there are various roads we could go down with UAPs. Some believe that these encounters with seemingly extraterrestrial beings and crafts are actually encounters of the demonic sort. There is a spiritual realm in addition to the physical one, and perhaps those who are more open to the former have seen some of its manifestations. If so, they are probably not friendly lifeforms. Christian thinkers have puzzled and reasoned through the implications of salvation and alien lifeforms.

The general consensus can be summed up in the words of David Instone-Brewer in an article for Premier Christianity Magazine: “We should avoid looking for hidden facts about the universe in the Bible. Whether it concerns life on other planets or other unknowns, we shouldn’t come to doctrinaire conclusions without a sound basis in the Bible. The Bible doesn’t attempt to tell us everything we want to know, but it does tell us with absolute certainty everything we need to know for salvation: the good news that Jesus died for all our sins and that God wants to forgive everyone who repents.”

Another good breakdown of aliens and salvation with great biblical references can be found in The Washington Stand.

People were created to long for the creator, whether that is through fallible beliefs in aliens or religious belief in God. Ultimately, whether it’s based on a popular fiction, foreign enemy technology, or encounters with the spiritual realm, people are fascinated with the mystery and supernatural aspect of UAPs.