Are aliens important to the Gospel?

Is there life "out there?" Do alien life forms exist on other planets located in this solar system or on any of the "many other" solar systems that exist in our galaxy and universe? Are the hundreds of millions of dollars being spent on the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence (S.E.T.I.) going to be productive? Why are many evolutionists so obsessed with the need to find proof for alien intelligent life-forms with whom we could communicate and perhaps befriend?

I am asked these questions, and many more like them, every month. The reasons that evolutionists want there to be human-like creatures beyond our planet are varied. A short list would include the following.

First, and foremost, it is their attempt to prove once and for all that there is no Creator God. If life forms like us do exist "out there," then we are not unique. If life evolved into existence "out there," then life must have either evolved here, too; or, life came into existence someplace else and was transported here by some as yet unknown mechanism. In either case, it must have happened a long time ago. (To an evolutionist, "Time" is always the key actor in the plot.)

Second, it is their attempt to prove that there is no such thing as sin. If life did evolve "out there," then life evolving from nonliving material to living material by random chance must be a universal phenomena and, again, we are not unique - we are not special. If life did evolve into existence someplace else, it must have happened that way here, too. Such a discovery would mean that life was an inevitable consequence of time, space and matter without the need for a Greater Intelligence to assemble the pieces. If this is so, then we are merely the naturalistic (materialistic) outcome of chance events; and, we are not responsible for our actions and there are no consequences to our actions. If life is "common" throughout the universe, then we are just "common."

Third, and the one most often overlooked, is the money. Remember the admonition of the "Deep Throat" character of Watergate fame? "Follow the money." (Or, more recently, "Show me the money!") I continually lament that Science is no longer the noble search for knowledge; today Science is the search for the next grant.

Evolutionists want income. What is one of the ways that they get income? They tell stories that capture the imagination of people who are, as the Bible describes, "willingly deceived."

A couple of years ago our government, NASA, brought out a meteorite that they had had on the shelf for a dozen years, claimed that it had come to Earth from Mars, and announced that the surface of the meteorite contained proof that life exists/existed on that planet. This was their rationale for going to Congress and asking for money to fund Mars probes and a future manned mission to Mars. This supposed proof has since been shown to be total fiction but the public has not heard that.

In like kind, the people involved with S.E.T.I. have their political and monetary objectives in mind. They solicit donations to fund their "research." Hollywood evolutionists make movies to entertain and to promote their evolutionary worldview (like Jurassic Park I, II and III).

I actually like good science fiction. After all, Jules Verne was in many ways a visionary and predictor of things which were to come. Imagination is a necessary part of science because without imagination we could not form a hypothesis or construct an experiment. But, the physics of Star Wars, Star Trek and Independence Day are imaginary. They do not work!

I admit it, I enjoy going fast. "I feel the need, the need for speed." However, we are not going to be zipping around our Galaxy at Warp 8.7. Escape velocity from Earth is about 25,000 m.p.h. The fastest unmanned spacecraft that we can make goes about 36,800 m.p.h. Even at that speed, it would take about 79,000 years just to reach the nearest star, Proxima Centauri. Any volunteers?

In a practical vein, does the Bible have anything to say about alien life forms? Does the Bible have anything to say about their existence or nonexistence? Does their existence or nonexistence have any theological bearing on us? Would there be any problems that the existence of aliens would cause us? As always, the Bible has much to say about these questions.

Biblically, there is no problem with God having made planets orbiting other stars throughout the universe. God may decorate the universe in any fashion He sees fit; He is sovereign. And, He has placed other planets around other stars, and He did this because it was the perfect thing to do. It is clear from the Genesis text that He did treat our planet as special within the universe. The Earth is clearly the center of the creation story and all the other stars, moons and planets were created in order to benefit life on earth. In Genesis 1:31 God declares that the entire universe was "very good," perfect and without sin.

Adam and Eve were declared to have been made in the image of God. While this has several major aspects to it, nothing else anywhere in the universe is described in this manner. Romans 8:22 declares that the entire universe, total and complete, was affected by the sin of man and woman on earth. Why should alien life be subjected to decay for something they did not do? 2 Peter 3:12 declares that the entire universe will be destroyed in a judgment by fire. Revelation 6:14 speaks of this, as well. Would a righteous and just God destroy the innocent? No, that would not be the character of the God of the Bible.

The Bible clearly teaches that we are the Bride of Christ. Nowhere does the Bible say that Jesus will have multiple brides. Yet, to fulfill the righteousness of God, if He created life on other planets that could sin and be saved, then Jesus would have to go to each of those planets and die for them too. Wouldn't He? Romans 6:10 says, "For the death that He died, He died to sin, once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God." We use the word "all" generically, generally, but we cannot know that we are right. God is the only One who may use the word "all" and really mean it. Christ came here and died "once for all" and He will not be going to other planets to do the same for them.

Romans 3:23 tells us that, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 15:21 and 22 says, "For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive." If alien life did exist, then they are not of Adam's seed. If they are not of Adam's seed then they are not subject to death. But, that would contradict Romans 8:22. Either alien life in need of a savior is nonexistent, or the God of the Bible is capricious.

The Bible does make a direct declaration that there are no alien life forms existent in the universe which are capable of sinning and in need of a savior.

Psalm 115:16 declares that, "The heavens are the heavens of the Lord; but the earth He has given to the sons of men."

Isaiah 66:1-2 states: "Thus says the Lord, 'Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? For My hand made all these things, thus all these things came into being,' declares the Lord."

God clearly occupies His heavens and He does not share it with alien life forms. The earth is the one and only unique place where sinful and savable life exists - us!

Last, if life that needed saving from sin existed anywhere else, why do we occupy the only place in the universe where God has chosen to dwell in the future?

Revelation 21:1-4: "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them, and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.'"

Are we so egotistical that we believe that we are so special that God would do this in preference to others? No.

"And the Word became flesh, and dwelt (tabernacled) among us, and we beheld His glory, as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)

Why does He choose to dwell with us? Because, He loves us and wants us to have fellowship with Him and no other!