"This is the best UFO book out there. Halsted clearly has a gift for writing and for explaining strange experiences that should interest us all." 

Brannon Wheeler 
United States Naval Academy ​​

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"Christians urgently need to wake up to the reality of UAPs. I was late to this myself, until a Christian friend convinced me that there is a serious religious aspect to the phenomena—and not a benign one. Matthew Halsted’s Sightings and Secrets is a much needed practical introduction to this mysterious, murky world, written by a Christian believer, for Christian believers. And thank God for it! If the church doesn’t have solid answers to give to legitimate questions about UAPs, then where can serious Christian inquirers turn?" 

Rod Dreher 
author, Living in Wonder 

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"It’s about time! Too many Christians harbor uninformed and simplistic opinions about UFOs/UAPs. Halsted’s book is the remedy for that. With openminded fairness, calm reasoning, and a vast knowledge of the subject, Halsted dissects the vexing, labyrinthine issues and shows us that this much maligned subject should no longer be maligned: The evidence mandates that we make every effort to figure out what is going on. Sightings and Secrets helps us to do just that." 

Dale C. Allison, Jr. 
Princeton Seminary 

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"Sightings and Secrets is required reading for Christians and, frankly, anyone seeking a nuanced, objective understanding of the enduring UFO mystery. Not only is Dr. Halsted’s theological analysis a masterful primer for newcomers to the topic, Sightings and Secrets features interviews with key players sure to fascinate diehard researchers." 

Marik von Rennenkampff
UAP analyst and opinion writer, The Hill 

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"Matthew Halsted has written the single best Christian introduction to the UFO topic to date. Those who dismiss the subject will find compelling reasons to think again. Those who think they have it all figured out will discover honest questions that will help them think much more carefully. Above all else, readers will encounter a model of faithful Christian engagement with a weighty, fascinating, and often baffling subject. Christians will find Halsted an honest and trustworthy guide, not just through the biblical and theological questions that abound in relation to this topic but also to the historical and contemporary cultural narratives that shape conversations about UFOs inside and outside the halls of power in America today. If you read only one book on UFOs, make it this one." 

Todd M. Thompson
Professor of History
Torrey Honors College, Biola University 

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"Sightings and Secrets is the kind of book the UFO/UAP conversation has been missing for a very long time. It’s thoughtful, carefully researched, and willing to wrestle with real mystery instead of trying to explain everything away. Matthew Halsted draws from decades of eyewitness accounts, whistleblower testimony, and government involvement with the patience of a historian and the compassion of a pastor who genuinely cares about the people behind these stories, many of whom have carried the weight of their experiences silently for years. Rather than falling into either outright skepticism or uncritical belief, he takes a refreshingly balanced approach: He treats the evidence seriously while asking the deeper theological questions it raises. What really makes this book stand out is Halsted’s honesty. As an orthodox Christian, he doesn’t pretend these questions are theologically insignificant, but he also refuses to force neat answers onto phenomena that remain deeply puzzling. His discussion of the Bible’s portrayal of nonhuman intelligence is thoughtful and grounded, and his decision to let firsthand investigators—including voices like mine—speak for themselves gives the book both credibility and a personal dimension. I recommend Sightings and Secrets without hesitation to anyone—whether believer, skeptic, or simply curious—who wants a balanced, well-researched exploration of one of the most fascinating and consequential mysteries of our time." 

Rev. Dr. R. W. Boeche 

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"Matthew Halsted, a consummate scholar, provides compelling evidence for the reality of UFOs, or to be precise, UAPs (unidentified anomalous phenomena), not as settled proof of extraterrestrial visitation but as a body of credible, corroborated testimony that deserves serious intellectual and theological engagement. Sightings and Secrets is rigorously documented, pastorally sensitive, and theologically responsible. I recommend Halsted’s careful and courageous work to any thoughtful reader willing to sit with mystery rather than dismiss or ignore it." 

Ingrid Faro
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Seminary 

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"Sightings and Secrets is a thoughtful, engaging, and refreshingly balanced exploration of a subject too often dominated by either sensationalism or dismissal. Matthew Halsted takes eyewitness testimony seriously without surrendering critical judgment, and he brings biblical scholarship and Christian theology into the conversation without forcing the evidence into predetermined categories. Particularly helpful is his reminder that Christianity need not fear the possibility of the existence of extraterrestrial or other forms of nonhuman intelligence. The Bible does not claim to catalog every creature God has made, and its silence about extraterrestrials is not the same as their denial. Indeed, Scripture already presents a richly populated cosmos of angels, cherubim, seraphim, 'sons of God,' demons, and other intelligences. Whether UFOs ultimately prove to be human, extraterrestrial, spiritual, or something stranger still, Halsted makes a persuasive case that the phenomena deserve careful attention. Christians curious about this perplexing subject will find here a wise and accessible guide." ​

Michael Licona, PhD 
Professor of New Testament Studies 
Houston Christian University 

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"If there is anything my late husband, Dr. Michael Heiser, taught me, it was to be curious, to take human experiences seriously, and “if it’s weird, it’s important.” Dr. Halsted’s book delves into some of these very areas in a serious manner, legitimizes genuinely normal people’s experiences of the sometimes misunderstood and of the supernatural phenomena of this world. I know that Mike would love reading his book, talking about it, and recommending it to those who truly wonder. I am profoundly grateful that Dr. Halsted continues to cultivate and offer intelligent research for a curious mind." 

Drenna Heiser Hollander
President, Michael S. Heiser Foundation ​

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"I have wondered quite a bit in recent years why more preachers do not talk about the paranormal, UFOs, NDEs, deathbed visions, and the like, especially when there seem to be so many reports of just these kinds of experiences, and even biblical warrant for much of it, depending, of course, on how we interpret the events and experiences themselves. I am hopeful that Matthew Halsted will help remedy this, in part, with Sightings and Secrets, in which he explores one fascinating facet of what many have called “the unseen realm”: UFOs—or UAPs, as they are now commonly called. Halsted pushes against the materialism that seems to have pervaded much of evangelicalism and offers a sensible, well-researched, thoughtful, and accessible treatment of the subject, along with a good deal of evidence that demands serious consideration. ​​In these ways, Halsted explores one dimension of the unseen realm, helping to clear our eyes so that we might see more clearly and think more carefully about the strange and mysterious world we inhabit. He stands in the company of thinkers such as Michael Heiser, Dale Allison, and J. P. Moreland, helping us retune our sight while carrying the next generation of scholarship and, hopefully, the evangelical church itself toward a greater depth of understanding of God and God’s world." 

Joshua R. Farris, Rev. PhD,
Visiting Fellow, Ruhr University Bochum
author, Why Souls? A Mirror to the Universe 

 

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"Sightings and Secrets is an anomaly. Not only does it fearlessly tackle a topic that, until recently, was reserved for eccentrics and iconoclasts, but it does so at a time when such conversations are increasingly difficult for the church to ignore. Pastors and priests can no longer afford to overlook discussions about aliens and government secrets when such topics regularly appear in the evening news and across social media. The question is whether the church can provide meaningful engagement with the questions congregants have been asking for decades. Halsted meets this challenge not merely through speculation and theological inquiry but by getting his hands dirty and speaking directly with eyewitnesses and government officials. It is a genuinely original work and, to my knowledge, an unparalleled contribution to theology. The path forward remains unclear, but Sightings and Secrets offers an important first step." 

Seth Hart 
Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies and Theology
J. Vernon McGee Chair of Biblical Studies
John Brown University 

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"For too long, aliens and UFOs have been fodder for supermarket tabloids, daytime talk shows, and other sensationalist media. Such silliness has blinded us to the important spiritual and theological concerns these topics present. The time has come to quit calling the possibility of intelligent beings living among us a "conspiracy theory" for wackos. Christians have no right to dismiss such important topics, nor even to ignore them. Instead, we must courageously engage with the disclosure that's happening before our eyes. Matthew Halsted's Sightings and Secrets wisely takes a curious-yet-cautious approach. After confronting us with evidence we can't ignore, Halsted helps us consider the biblical options and theological categories to process the data. This book offers great assistance to those trying to peer into the unseen realm with faith, fortitude, and fearless allegiance to Christ." 

Dr. Bryan M. Litfin
Professor of Bible and Theology
Rawlings School of Divinity
Liberty University