Is there
such a thing as intellectual extraterrestrial life?
That is, is there intelligent life (i.e., beings with physical
makeup, as opposed to merely spiritual beings such as angels) in
outer space? If so, are there such things as Unidentified Flying
Objects (UFOs), which are guided by intelligent extraterrestrial
beings (hereafter ETs)? Many people have supposedly experienced
sightings of flying saucers. A recent study showed that UFO
sightings have increased 67% in the last three years.1
Yet, the Air Force Project Blue Book has
strongly suggested that there is no substantial evidence to support
this phenomenon. Moreover, there has never been a radar detection of
a UFO.2
Other projects, such as SETI (the “Search for
Extraterrestrial Intelligence”), have found the same to be the
case.3
There is no credible scientific evidence available which
would support such a notion. The “Roswell incident” of 1947, where a
flying saucer allegedly crashed in New Mexico and the U. S. Air
Force retrieved the bodies of aliens fostered the belief in ETs.
This later proved to be a hoax, however. Even the numerous
“abduction” experiences (sometimes referred to as “close encounters
of the fourth kind”) have been shown (predominately) to be little
more than “physic [or spiritual] experiences.”4
Commendably,
this is admitted by evolutionary theorists themselves. Freeman Dyson
acknowledges that “there is as yet no evidence either for [ETs] or
against it.” Ervin Laszlo wrote: “Alas, these efforts [to find ETs]
have not brought positive results.” And Isaac Asimov stated: “We
have absolutely no evidence that any such phenomenon as life on
other worlds exists.”5
Some
Non-Christian Views
Dr. Carl Sagan, the late renowned David
Duncan Professor of Astronomy and Space Sciences and Director for
Planetary Studies at Cornell University, was dogmatically convinced
that ETs do exist. His dogmatism is noticeable in the first line of
his book Cosmos, where we read that “the cosmos is all that is or
ever was or will ever be.” After a few more pages he states that the
“laws of nature are the same throughout the cosmos[…][and that]
evolution is a fact, not a theory.”6
These statements are not argued; no evidence is presented; it is so
simply because Dr. Sagan declared it to be so. Here is the ultimate
ipsi dixit.
Hence, we
should not be surprised when in the same book Dr. Sagan assures us
that “there must be many such worlds [such as ours] scattered
throughout space.”7
Then in his Cosmic Connection, he writes:
The initial
chemical constituents for the origin of life are the most abundant
molecules in the universe. Something like the processes that on
earth led to man must have happened billions of other times in the
history of our galaxy. There must be other star-folk[…]. There must
be, I think, many places in the galaxy where there are beings far
more advanced than we in science and technology, in politics,
ethics, poetry, and music.”8
According to
Dr. Sagan, if life evolved on this planet, there is no reason to
believe that it has not evolved on other planets as well. The
Cornell University professor was so convincing that the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and SETI, have spent
millions of tax dollars to investigate intelligent life on other
planets. In the last quarter of the twentieth and early part of the
twenty-first centuries, numerous messages from “planet earth” have
been sent into outer space with the hope of communicating with ETs.9
Other
reputed scientists, such as Francis Crick and Fred Hoyle, posit the
necessity of ETs due to the complexity of life on earth. They
maintain that “earth life” is so diverse, so complicated, that it
could hardly “just have evolved” by naturalistic processes. So, life
must have evolved on some other planet and “been planted” on earth.10
(It should be obvious that Crick and Hoyle have not solved the
problem of the complexity of life, they have merely pushed it back
to another planet in another time).
Some
“Christian” Views
There are some UFOlogists who profess
to use the Bible in support of their convictions that ET life may or
does exist. Roman Catholic teacher R. L. Dione alleges that UFOs are
to be seen as God’s messengers, His angels, who are involved in
brining prophetic messages to the people of God. They are also used
by God to perform miracles. Even Jesus Christ was benefitted by this
form of messenger. We are to understand, then, that ETs are “closely
associated with the Christian religion.” Others maintain that the
ancient writers of Holy Scripture could not have the knowledge they
possessed about the universe without a supernatural creature such as
an ET.11
Such thinking is such an obvious affront to the monotheistic,
Trinitarian God of Holy Scripture, who as the Westminster Shorter
Catechism (Q. 4)12
defines, is “Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in His
being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth,” that
it needs no further refutation. One who denies these divine
perfections in statements such as those made by these “scholars,”
either explicitly or implicitly, has denied the God who possesses
the perfections.
Some men,
such as Michael Heiser believe in an old universe (perhaps billions
of years old), and claim that over such a large number of years ETs
could easily have developed.13
This is mere supposition founded on faulty exegesis. First, as
properly stated in the Westminster Shorter Catechism (Q. 9), the
Bible clearly teaches that we live in a young universe (thousands of
years old): “The work of creation is, God’s making all things of
nothing, by the word of His power, in the space of six [24 hour]
days, and all very good.” And second, it is one thing to suggest
that ETs could have developed, it is another thing to say that the
Bible teaches it. We are not talking about what may have occurred,
we are talking about what the Bible says. And it says nothing about
such ETs.
There are others, such as Erich von
Daniken, who aver that the prophet Ezekiel had a vision of a
spaceship in Ezekiel 1.14
This is pure nonsense. The prophet’s vision was extraordinary, to be
sure, but it was a Christophany (a vision of the pre-incarnate Son
of God).15
Von Daniken also suggests that the “sons of God” spoken of in
Genesis 6 were aliens visiting planet earth who cohabited with human
beings.16
Again, this is mere supposition, without any exegetical basis. As
Matthew Henry points out, “the sons of God” in this passage are in
all likelihood the “professors of religion, who were called by the
name of the Lord, and called upon that name,” sinfully marrying “the
daughters of men, that is, those that were profane and strangers to
God and godliness.”17
To find “alien intruders” in this passage is an “alien intrusion”
into the Word of God.
Gary Bates
is far more conservative and orthodox in his analysis of the ET
movement than most “Christian” writers on this subject. He maintains
that much of what is going on in this phenomenon is due to the work
of Satan and his minions. The “gospel according to ET” is seen as
the attempt of fallen angels to deceive the people of God and to
have them put their trust in ETs rather than Jesus Christ.18
The present writer believes that there is much to say about the
Satanic influence involved in the UFO issue. According to the Bible
Satan “transforms himself into an angel of light,” and is able to
use his fellow fallen angels to transform themselves into angels of
light with him (2 Corinthians 11:13-14). The Apostle Paul tells us
that the battle the Christian is involved in is not “against flesh
and blood, but against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of
this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly
places” (Ephesians 6:12). The Bible is very clear that Satan, “the
god of this age,” has blinded the minds “of those who do not
believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is
the image of God, should shine on them” (2 Corinthians 4:4). There
is much truth in this theory. And Mr. Bates is to be applauded for
his focus on the Bible as the Word of God, the Lord-ship of Christ
over every area of life, and one’s need to put his trust in Jesus
Christ as his Savior and Lord. But an excessive focus on the “gospel
according to ET” can also be harmful. In the opinion of this writer
the real problem is the lack of knowledge that exists in the church
of Jesus Christ. In the words of Hosea: “My [God’s] people are
destroyed for lack of knowledge” (4:6). We are living in a benighted
age, where the Bible is not well-known among the people of God.
What the
Bible Says
The issue here, as with all matters, is
one of epistemology. How do we know what we know? In the words of
Gordon Clark:
While the
question of how we can know God is the fundamental question in the
philosophy of religion, there lies behind it in general philosophy
the ultimate question, How can we know anything at all? If we cannot
talk intelligently about God, can we talk intelligently about
morality, about our own ideas, about art, politics – can we even
talk about science? How can we know anything? The answer to this
question, technically called the theory of epistemology, controls
all subject matter claiming to be intelligible or cognitive.19
The
Christian has an answer to these questions which is found in the
Word of God, the axiomatic starting point for all of our “knowledge”
of the truth. This is taught in the Westminster Confession of Faith
(1:6) as follows:
The whole
counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for His own glory,
man’s salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down in
Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from
Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by
new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men.
In other
words, the Bible, either explicitly or implicitly, speaks infallibly
to every area of life; it never leaves us without an answer to our
questions or solutions to our problems (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
The Bible nowhere explicitly affirms or
negates ETs. Implicitly, however, Scripture does deny the existence
of such beings, thus negating the possibility of flying saucers
guided by these so-called non-earthly creatures.
Scripture
views Earth as the center of the universe. It is on Earth that the
drama of sin and redemption takes place (Genesis 1-3). It is the
Earth that God “has given to the children of men” (Psalm 115:16). It
was on Earth that God created man in His image (Genesis 1:26-27).
Adam was created as the federal and natural head of the entire human
race. From one man and his wife, on this Earth, God brought forth
“every nation of mankind” (Acts 17:24-26). And although the Bible
does speak of the Sun, Moon, and stars (Psalm 19:4; 136:8-9), and
states that they have definite purposes, i.e., “for signs, and for
seasons, and for days and years[…] to give light on the
earth[…][and] to rule the day[…][and] the night” (Genesis 1:14-16),
and says that “there is one glory of the sun, another glory of the
moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from
another star in glory” (1 Corinthians 15:41), only the Earth is
referred to as the place where man “dwells.”
Further, the
Earth is the place where God the Son took upon Himself a human
nature (John 1:1-3, 14; Luke 1-2), and gave His life to redeem a
fallen world (John 1:29; 3:16; Hebrews 2:9). It was also on Earth
that Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead (John 20:1-18; 1
Corinthians 15), and from Earth that He ascended to the right hand
of His heavenly Father (Acts 1:9-10). Then too, Christ, who is
referred to in the Bible as the second and last Adam (1 Corinthians
15:45-47), is stated to be the Kinsman-Redeemer (Goel) of those whom
He came to redeem (Isaiah 59:20). According to the Bible, a
kinsman-redeemer is one who is “related by blood to those he
redeems.” This clearly rules out any ETs.20
In all of
these Biblical references, it is the Earth where intelligent life
resides. There is not even a hint that any form of ET life exists.
Nor is there any prophecy regarding the invasion or coming of such
beings. This alone should suffice to warn us about speculation
regarding ETs. Has not God said that the Bible equips us for every
exigency of life (2 Timothy 3:16-17), never leaving us without an
answer? What about UFOs? Has God failed to inform us of this
phenomenon? To quote the Apostle Paul: “May it never be!” (Romans
6:2, passim).
In addition,
as previously noted, the Bible teaches that Adam was created as the
federal head of the human race. Implicit in this concept is the fact
that in Adam, God who alone is good (Mark 10:18), gave mankind the
best possible representative for humankind.21
Yet Adam fell into sin, and in his fall sin was imputed to the
entire human race (Romans 5:12-19).
Several
millennia later God sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to
reconcile the world to Himself (Colossians 1:20), and to redeem His
elect people (Ephesians 1:7). One sacrifice, and one only, was
sufficient and efficient for all time (Hebrews 7:27; 1 Peter 3:18).
According to Scripture, the Lord Jesus, who is the only way to the
Father (John 14:6; Acts 4:12), must never die again (Hebrews 9:28).
It is worthy of note that when Peter says in Acts 4:12 that “there
is no other name under heaven[…] by which we must be saved [emphasis
added],” this strongly indicates that there is no way that any
intelligent life, on any planet (“under heaven”), if such existed,
can be saved apart from Jesus Christ’s sacrificial cross work.
According to the inspired apostle, the idea of a Savior who goes
about from planet to planet to carry out His redemptive work is
inconceivable.
Here we have
an answer to the question concerning ET life on other planets: If
there were such, who would redeem them? Certainly not Christ, who
died once for all of Earth’s elect, a never to be repeated event (1
Peter 3:18). And if these alleged creatures had not fallen in sin,
and thereby would not be in need of a savior, then we must conclude
that God did not give earthly mankind the best representative in
Adam. There would be someone on another planet who did not succumb
to temptation, who was ethically superior to the first Adam, and at
least, to some measure, the equal of the second and last Adam, Jesus
Christ (1 Corinthians 15:45-47). This is an untenable theory.
Moreover, in Romans 8:19-23 we read
that the entire creation (not just planet Earth) has been affected
by the Fall of man. The only alternative, then, is that there is
still intelligent life on other planets that has fallen in sin and
is left without any hope of a savior. This too is implausible. It is
out of accord with Revelation 5:9, where we read that Jesus Christ
died to redeem those “out of every tribe and tongue and people and
nation.”
Simple logic
would seem to demand that if Adam’s sin affected the whole universe
(which it did), and if Christ died only once to redeem fallen
persons “out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation” (which
He did), then another fallen or un-fallen world with intelligent
life is not possible.
What about the numerous alleged
“experiences” of people from various parts of the world? Simply
stated, empirical experiences (which can never give us truth), of
Christians or non-Christians, are not our epistemic base. “He who
trusts in his own heart [experiences] is a fool” (Proverbs 28:26).
Experiences which are out of line with the teachings of the Bible
must always be renounced as fallacious. The Bible has a monopoly on
truth; only God’s Word should be trusted. And the Scripture is
clear: there is no ET life; hence, neither are there UFOs piloted by
such life forms.
A note of
correction is made here on footnotes 2 and 3. The footnotes indicate
that in Gary Bates Alien Intrusion: UFOs and the Evolution
Connection, the author claims that there has never been a “radar
detection of a UFO.” This is inaccurate. What Mr. Bates claims is
not that there has never been a radar detection of a UFO, but that
there has never been a radar detection of UFOs entering our
atmosphere from outer space. Thanks to Creation Ministries for
pointing out this error.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
1- Huffpost Weird News Aol.com, August 26, 2011.
2- Gary Bates, Alien Intrusion: UFOs and the Evolution Connection (Powder
Springs: Creation Book Publishers, 2004), 18, 155. See also
ufocasebook.com/bluebook. html. The Air Force project ceased in 1970. Mr.
Bates is an evolutionist turned evangelical, whose book is considered by
some to be “the book” on the subject of UFOs and intellectual
extraterrestrial beings. It is a very fine source and has been used
extensively by the present author in the writing of this essay. (See note
below.)
3- Bates, Alien Intrusion, 72-75, 126-128. See also
history.nasa.gov/seti.html. (See note below.)
4- Bates, Alien Intrusion, 178-189, 225-266.
5- Cited in Bert Thompson, “Is there Intelligent Life in Outer Space?”
Reason and Revelation (October 1991), 38-39. Dr. Thompson’s article has also
been very helpful in writing this essay.
6- Carl Sagan, Cosmos (New York: Random House, 1980), 1, 4, 27.
7- Sagan, Cosmos, 12.
8- Cited in John Robbins, “The Sagan of Science,” The Trinity Review
(September/October, 1988), 4.
9- Robbins, “The Sagan of Science,” 4-5. Thompson, “Is There Intelligent
Life in Outer Space?” 37-38.
10- Thompson, “Is There Intelligent Life in Outer Space?” 37-38
11- Bates, Alien Intrusion, 93-94, 104-106.
12- All references to the Westminster Standards, to include the Westminster
Confession of Faith, along with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms, is from
Westminster Confession of Faith (Glasgow: Free Presbyterian Publications,
1990). The English has been modernized.
13- Bates, Alien Intrusion, 375-378.
14- Bates, Alien Intrusion, 378-380.
15- Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible (Old
Tappan: Fleming H. Revell Company. n.d.), IV:747.
16- Bates, Alien Intrusion, 380-381.
17- Henry, Commentary, I:51.
18- Bates, Alien Intrusion, 267-312.
19- Gordon H. Clark, “How Does Man Know God?” The Trinity Review
(July/August 1989), 1.
20- Bates, Alien Intrusion, 375.
21- Gordon H. Clark, The Biblical Doctrine of Man (Jefferson, Maryland: The
Trinity Foundation, 1984) 49.
From The Trinity Review; April 2012; W. Gary Crampton, Th. D.
www.trinityfoundation.org
