The Earth is a Dangerous Place - The World View of the Aetherius Society John A. Saliba Current UFO accounts display many of the themes that have been central in most, if not all, of the world's religions (Saliba 1995). The widespread belief in flying saucers and the religious connotations ascribed to their presence have contributed to the emergence of several religious organizations based on the existence and activities of extraterrestrial intelligences who are believed to communicate with select human beings. Moreover, many UFO experiences have been frightening and foreboding. Reports of abductions (cf. Jacobs 1993; Mack 1994) are noted also for stressing the dangers that aliens present to a scientifically inferior human race and for the imminent apocalyptic scenario they so often graphically depict (Whitmore 1993). The drastic demise of the members of Heaven's Gate has lent support to the popular view that UFO religions are dangerous apocalyptic cults and may lead their members to commit suicide or other forms of violence. Philipps-Universität Marburg Marburg Deutschhausstraße 9, 35037 Marburg 1999 2015-08-25 2015-08-25 Text article urn:nbn:de:hebis:04-0004-1999-127-37629 eng 1418722-x 4 2 (1999) 1 https://journals.uni-marburg.de/0004/article/download/3762/3578 10.17192/mjr.1999.4.3762 https://journals.uni-marburg.de/0004/1999/127/3762