Larry Ragland, the senior pastor of Solid Rock Church in Birmingham, Alabama, and director of Larry Ragland Ministries, has issued a formal apology after a video of him claiming a secret government meeting regarding aliens went viral. Ragland, who frequently uses his platform to teach and interpret prophecy, had previously alleged that Missouri Congressman Eric Burlison—a member of the House committee tasked with investigating UAP (UFO) phenomena—warned a group of pastors that an imminent alien disclosure would “shake the foundations of Christianity.”
In his initial account, Ragland claimed that Burlison spoke to pastors via speakerphone, allegedly warning them to prepare their congregations for a shocking revelation: that these beings would claim to be the creators of humanity, asserting that there is no God and that Jesus and the Bible were merely alien inventions. However, following significant backlash, Ragland released a follow-up video clarifying that he had conflated the Congressman’s actual remarks with his own personal opinions.
Ragland admitted that while Congressman Burlison did call in to the meeting, his actual intent was to offer encouragement. According to the retraction, Burlison thanked the pastors for their work and urged them to remain focused on their faith and the teachings of Jesus rather than being distracted by worldly events. Ragland explained that during his presentation, he failed to distinguish where the Congressman’s comments ended and his own theories began.
“I should have stopped and paused and said, ‘And this part is my opinion.’ In the heat of that, I didn’t,” Ragland stated in his apology. He took full responsibility for the misinformation, stating clearly that the inflammatory claims regarding the “seeding” of humanity and the denial of God were his own words, not Burlison’s. Ragland concluded by offering a direct apology to Congressman Burlison for any confusion or professional problems the viral story may have caused.
