Fr. David, thank you for your very thoughtful reflections on this tremendously disconcerting issue that keeps popping up via respected bloggers and now our federal government. Of course, whatever new discoveries may lie ahead for us, they cannot cancel our faith in the living God, the creator of heaven and earth and the lover of our souls. All created beings are in need of a Savior, the One who leads us on the path of life, the author of the "life that is life." (John 10:10) As St. Augustine wrote, "You have made us for yourself, Oh Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you." So thank you for opening the door on this discussion from a position grounded in Christian faith and unthreatened by new information. But I must admit, with you, that it's exhausting to consider!
Many who hold to the belief that there are other inhabited planets in the universe also hold to the belief in materialistic naturalism, that life came about through strictly materialistic processes with no need for a creator God. If it happened on Earth by time plus chance, it could also happen somewhere else in this vast universe, so they say. But we believe that an infinite, eternal God created the universe and all that is in it. If intelligent life exists on a planet somewhere else in the universe, then God created it just as He created us. He did it for His purposes and to display His glory. God has given us what we need to know about Him in His word, but there is a vast amount about Him that we do not know.
Deuteronomy 29:29
The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
So, in the event that in my remaining lifetime, it is proven beyond doubt that intelligent life exists on other planets, it will not shake my belief in God’s word and the doctrines of the Christian faith. My two cents.
We believe that Someone outside of our understanding of time, space & matter, became Incarnate and then died and ascended to heaven. Why would we not be open to this? The only thing that we really live and die by are the tenants of the Faith. Jesus is the only way!
Hey! What about Balaam's donkey??? :) Seriously, there's lots of non-human intelligence around us. Sometimes on my morning jog I'll come across turkey vultures who are smart enough to pull their roadkill off to the sidewalk, so that they can enjoy breakfast without dodging automobiles every 30 seconds. YT videos of crows making tools to open gates, etc., etc., etc.
I'm skeptical of course. Unless Einstein got it really wrong, aliens can't travel faster than the speed of light any more than we can... so they'd have to have set out on their journey millions or billions of years ago. (Are we really worth that kind of undertaking?) But who knows, maybe there is someone out there?
In the end, none of that matters to me, though it is fun to consider. The Fourth Commandment (Exodus 20:11) says, "... in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them..." Whatever is out there, if anything, is part of the Lord's plan. I'm good.
I’m cautiously skeptical regarding claims of alien encounters. It’s possible that these experiences are the work of demons or evil spirits as a strategy to confuse unbelievers. Or it could be the product of the human love of conspiracy theories. Regardless, the truth of Scripture is not threatened. Mankind knows very little compared to our great God.
After reading a Daily Mail article about how alien disclosures will threaten the Christian faith, this was a refreshing read!
I highly recommend checking out the book Lights in the Sky and Little Green Men by Hugh Ross. He’s a Christian and an astrophysicist.
He realised a few things about alien reports; their craft leave no physical trace, there is never a report of hearing a sonic boom (as with other fast moving aircraft like rockets), people who see aliens or UFO’s always have involvement in the occult (or have a family member who does).
His conclusion is that aliens are not beings from other planets but interdimensional spiritual beings - aliens.
There are also lots of cases of alien abductions being stopped when the abductee calls on the name of Jesus!
This is Rod Dreher’s point as well. Spiritual beings (of a sort) are akin to demonic beings, which sounds more plausible. (I’ll check out the books. Thanks.)
I've followed Dreher's Substack, and your post today, for me, contributes some excellent theological points that add much to his more journalistic (albeit still Christian) point of view.
I've been convinced for some time now that the Enemy has been hard at work trying to destroy the biblical understanding of Male and Female; we've witnessed that in multiple ways for decades now. It makes sense to me that a next diabolical step would be to use demons as aliens (and perhaps as AI creations as well) to cause confusion regarding what it is to be human. However, with each diabolical move Satan makes, God's truth - revealed in His creation and proclaimed by His Word - just seems to shine ever more brightly. For that, I can be most thankful!
Fr. David, thank you for your very thoughtful reflections on this tremendously disconcerting issue that keeps popping up via respected bloggers and now our federal government. Of course, whatever new discoveries may lie ahead for us, they cannot cancel our faith in the living God, the creator of heaven and earth and the lover of our souls. All created beings are in need of a Savior, the One who leads us on the path of life, the author of the "life that is life." (John 10:10) As St. Augustine wrote, "You have made us for yourself, Oh Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you." So thank you for opening the door on this discussion from a position grounded in Christian faith and unthreatened by new information. But I must admit, with you, that it's exhausting to consider!
Indeed. Not another controversial thing to consider!
Many who hold to the belief that there are other inhabited planets in the universe also hold to the belief in materialistic naturalism, that life came about through strictly materialistic processes with no need for a creator God. If it happened on Earth by time plus chance, it could also happen somewhere else in this vast universe, so they say. But we believe that an infinite, eternal God created the universe and all that is in it. If intelligent life exists on a planet somewhere else in the universe, then God created it just as He created us. He did it for His purposes and to display His glory. God has given us what we need to know about Him in His word, but there is a vast amount about Him that we do not know.
Deuteronomy 29:29
The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
So, in the event that in my remaining lifetime, it is proven beyond doubt that intelligent life exists on other planets, it will not shake my belief in God’s word and the doctrines of the Christian faith. My two cents.
We believe that Someone outside of our understanding of time, space & matter, became Incarnate and then died and ascended to heaven. Why would we not be open to this? The only thing that we really live and die by are the tenants of the Faith. Jesus is the only way!
Hey! What about Balaam's donkey??? :) Seriously, there's lots of non-human intelligence around us. Sometimes on my morning jog I'll come across turkey vultures who are smart enough to pull their roadkill off to the sidewalk, so that they can enjoy breakfast without dodging automobiles every 30 seconds. YT videos of crows making tools to open gates, etc., etc., etc.
I'm skeptical of course. Unless Einstein got it really wrong, aliens can't travel faster than the speed of light any more than we can... so they'd have to have set out on their journey millions or billions of years ago. (Are we really worth that kind of undertaking?) But who knows, maybe there is someone out there?
In the end, none of that matters to me, though it is fun to consider. The Fourth Commandment (Exodus 20:11) says, "... in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them..." Whatever is out there, if anything, is part of the Lord's plan. I'm good.
Extremely well written again David. A difficult subject indeed and very controversial but you handled it well!!
We must remember ALWAYS that the BIBLE doesn’t change that EVERY WORD is IMPORTANT and that GOD IS STILL ON HIS THRONE.🙏🏻
I’m cautiously skeptical regarding claims of alien encounters. It’s possible that these experiences are the work of demons or evil spirits as a strategy to confuse unbelievers. Or it could be the product of the human love of conspiracy theories. Regardless, the truth of Scripture is not threatened. Mankind knows very little compared to our great God.
Like I said, I am skeptical too.
Thanks for reading!
After reading a Daily Mail article about how alien disclosures will threaten the Christian faith, this was a refreshing read!
I highly recommend checking out the book Lights in the Sky and Little Green Men by Hugh Ross. He’s a Christian and an astrophysicist.
He realised a few things about alien reports; their craft leave no physical trace, there is never a report of hearing a sonic boom (as with other fast moving aircraft like rockets), people who see aliens or UFO’s always have involvement in the occult (or have a family member who does).
His conclusion is that aliens are not beings from other planets but interdimensional spiritual beings - aliens.
There are also lots of cases of alien abductions being stopped when the abductee calls on the name of Jesus!
This is Rod Dreher’s point as well. Spiritual beings (of a sort) are akin to demonic beings, which sounds more plausible. (I’ll check out the books. Thanks.)
I've followed Dreher's Substack, and your post today, for me, contributes some excellent theological points that add much to his more journalistic (albeit still Christian) point of view.
I've been convinced for some time now that the Enemy has been hard at work trying to destroy the biblical understanding of Male and Female; we've witnessed that in multiple ways for decades now. It makes sense to me that a next diabolical step would be to use demons as aliens (and perhaps as AI creations as well) to cause confusion regarding what it is to be human. However, with each diabolical move Satan makes, God's truth - revealed in His creation and proclaimed by His Word - just seems to shine ever more brightly. For that, I can be most thankful!
Read CS Lewis’s science fiction. He didn’t have any problem with an unfallen universe containing a fallen (or ‘silent’) planet.
Amen... 🙏