THE GREAT UFO DEBATE:
INTRODUCTION

In April of 1986, I attended the 10th Anniversary Convention and
Banquet of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims
of the Paranormal (CSICOP). There I sat next to a charming gentleman
named Lucien Kemble, who told me to my surprise that he was a Fran-
ciscan monk. Fr. Kemble and I talked and dined together often at the
convention, and we have maintained a correspondence ever since. His
skeptical attitude towards the paranormal stems from his desire not
to see the true works of God and Christ get lost in a flurry of meta-
magical fluff and nonsense. As an accomplished amateur star-gazer, he
views the beautifully integrated mechanics of the universe itself as
the one true "paranormal" occurrence.

In our correspondence, I raised with him my disagreement with
CSICOP's attitude on UFOs. "SOMETHING is going on up there," I told
him, "and Science is missing the boat." Rather than sneering at me
condescendingly, as others have, he very politely and with genuine
curiosity asked me my reasons for believing thus. It was then that
the idea of a public electronic debate on the subject occurred to me.

The fortieth anniversary of the traditional beginning of the UFO
era presents an appropriate time frame for a reasoned, objective dis-
cussion of the UFO issue, specifically, whether UFOs represent a gen-
uine opportunity to add significantly to our knowledge of the uni-
verse, or are simply a figment of the collective imagination. As Para-
Net is philosophically neutral territory, a sort of electronic "Hyde
Park" of the paranormal, what better venue for such a discussion to
take place.

Here, therefore, begins the second ParaNet Debate: UFOs, 1987 -
After 40 Years, Have We Got ANYTHING? I will begin the debate with a
brief article, which will be posted here and submitted to Fr. Kemble
for his reply. Copies of the submissions will be sent to various
others in the field, skeptics and believers alike, for their perusal
and possible response. In addition, all ParaNet users are invited to
participate. You can submit a response by typing it on an ASCII word
processor and uploading it to Section 1 - Ufology, or if it is less
than 2000 characters, simply post it to the message base. Non-users
can simply send a typewritten submission of up to 3000 words to:
ParaNet, PO Box 17675, Fountain Hills, AZ, 85268. (If you happen to
have access to IBM-formatted disks, you can submit in that manner as
well.) As ParaNet is an eleemosynary entity, we regret that we cannot
compensate anyone for a submission; we ask that you do this in the
interest of public education. However, all copyrights will be honored
and posted as requested.

The fruits of the debate will be stored in the ParaNet Library for
reference by future generations of Truth-seekers.

And now, let the debate begin!

--Jim Speiser

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