Bio: Joe Lewels is the author of The God Hypothesis: Extraterrestrial Life and Its Implications for Science and Religion, and Rulers of the Earth: Secrets of the Sons of God, both of which document his many years of research into the UFO and alien abduction phenomena.  He holds a Ph.D. in journalism and mass communication from the University of Missouri and he is a certified hypnotherapist. He was chairman of the departments of journalism and mass communication at the University of Texas at El Paso from 1972-1982.  He served as assistant state director for West Texas and Southern New Mexico for the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) from 1993-2000 and was a regular contributor to the MUFON Journal.  He edited the Freedom ofInformation Digest at the University of Missouri and was a writer and editor of the U.S. ArmyAviation Digest at Ft. Rucker, Alabama.  Additionally, he was awarded the bronze star and the air medal with oak leaf clusters for his service as an Army reconnaissance pilot in the Republic of South Vietnam in 1967-1968.

Lecture: Forbidden Science: UFOs and Religion

UFO researchers have long steered clear of religion for good reasons.  The last thing they want is to be thought of as cultists who worship UFOs, as many debunkers have claimed.  As a result, much of UFO research in the past 50 or so years has centered on the use of scientific methods to document and quantify the many thousands of UFO sightings and encounters reported from the world over.  However, some researchers and UFO experiencers have seen elements of the phenomenon as having religious and spiritual undertones.  One of the issues that separates the two camps is the question of when UFOs first appeared on planet earth.  Is there good evidence that proves they have been here for thousands of years?  Examine the evidence and decide for yourself during this scholarly approach by the author of The God Hypothesis:  Extraterrestrial Life and its Implications for Science and Religion.