Operation Flying Saucer!

No, I’m serious! The Brazilian government had a top secret program called “Operation Flying Saucer”. OK, it was really just “Operation Saucer”, but a little hyperbole goes a long way when you’re writing a blog. Apparently, in 1977, this effort began because Brazilians were reporting hundreds, if not thousands, of UFO sightings over a relatively short amount of time (UFO is Unidentified Flying Object to the uninitiated, ha ha). Can you IMAGINE the U.S. government ADMITTING they had such a program? Ridiculous, right? Ever hear of Operation Blue Book? If not, just look it up. I can just imagine a meeting of the Brazilian National Security Council(notice how I translated this from the original Portuguese):

National Security Advisor: Mr. President, we want to tell you about super top
secret program: Operation Flying Saucer.
President: Holy Moley! Is this what I think it is?
Advisor: Yes, Mr. President. We are being visited by flying saucers.
President: Have we captured one yet, and reverse-engineered it?
Advisor: No, don't be ridiculous.
President: Listen, is this room secure? No leaks! There could be a worldwide panic.
Uruguay is desperate for this kind of intelligence,so they can hit us
where it hurts.
Generalissimo: We'll be ready for them, Mr. President.

A "nut" (highly unorthodox individual) posted this diagram on that paragon of truth, the internet. It is a supposed diagram of a reverse engineered flying saucer (at area 51, no doubt).

So far, I have been having fun with this, but now for the serious part. Remember, this blog is about PARADIGMS. We need to step out of our old paradigms, and think outside the box. I will take us to that point, but first I need some background information; a little context, if you will.
Here's the deal: A.J. Gevaerd, editior of the Brazilian "UFO Magazine", investigated this program. The government acceded to his inquiries, and tacitly admitted the program did exist. Colonel Uyrange Hollands (ret.), of the Brazilian Air Force elaborates on the now unclassified mission of the program:

1) To collect as many witness reports as possible about the lights and objects being seen and that performed the strange attacks.

2) To register the lights and objects in the jungle with the highest photo and film technology available.

3) To engage, if possible, in a coordinated attempt to contact the "intelligences behind the phenomena".

Here is where we look at a commonly existing paradigm and begin to step outside the box. As a metaphor, imagine you are sitting in a new car, admiring how it looks, sizing it up, making value judgments about it, and drawing some definitive conclusions. Wait, first STEP OUT of that car, then step back 10 feet. NOW examine the car. It is a whole new perspective, right?
The common paradigm for UFOs has been the idea that they house alien beings from other worlds. Maybe so. I am a Christian, and I have yet to find anything in the Bible that states that is NOT true. We know that the Bible does NOT contain all of God's truth, although what is in it IS truth. Try finding something in the Bible about the periodic table of elements or the NBA (you get the point). John 21:25 reads, "Jesus (God) did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written." So, the existence of these aliens is possible. However, bust out of that paradigm. They are UNIDENTIFIED flying objects. They could be anything. They could be yet misunderstood weather phenomena (I don't think so personally, but it is possible). They could be SPIRITUAL beings. In a future blog one day, I will discuss the three dimensions of our known world, and the evidence that there could be more dimensions, as well as the strict limitations of our senses. I will not go off on a rabbit trail. I just want to say these things could be supernatural, and not natural. That IS my own take on it, although I admit we should not paint UFO sightings with a broad brush. They could be a collage of many things, including people who have a vivid imagination or want attention, and in some cases downright schizophrenia.
Let us take a minute to think about my own beliefs on this subject. The UFO phenomenon is absolutely real. Many educated people, including President Jimmy Carter and some scientists, have seen them. I, myself, had a sighting in 1980. I also think SOME, if not all, of these UFOs could be of a spiritual nature. In Ephesians 2:2 (NIV), Satan is called the "ruler of the kingdom of the air". The King James version calls him the "prince of the power of the air". We read how Daniel (Chapter 10) prayed and fasted for 24 days, but his answer was delayed because the angel who was delivering the answer had to do battle with the Prince of Persia. Also, Ezekiel (Chapter 1) saw a wheel in the sky, and described it in clear detail.
As a side note, I remember when, in the 1980s, a Bazetta, Ohio police officer said he "chased" a UFO. It was on the local news because they had his radio transmissions where he was giving the play-by-play to headquarters (the dispatcher). I really don't know why you would chase a UFO. You can't catch it. Anyway, there is no context for this. It is just interesting, and I thought I would mention it.
As a little "teaser", my next blog will be about marijuana.