29Sep
Can God and Aliens both Exist?
If you get nothing else from this blog, get this. The best homework for you is to ask people, “Do life forms exist outside of Earth? Yes, no, or maybe?” Talk about a conversation starter!! You’ll be shocked at who replies differently than you’d think. Try it at a dinner table, work space, or social gathering this week ok? In the sci-fi movie Contact, Dr. Ellie Arroway (played by Jodie Foster) lounges against the massive array of radio dishes day after day, night after night, until one day, a distinctive pattern of sound crackles through the headphones and she sits bolt upright. Something is there!
If we’re going to be transparent, and followers of Jesus above all should be, ever so often a news story pops up about life forms other than Earth, and for a fraction of a split second, some neurotransmitter lodged in our brain ignites the thought out “What if?” Now, for me personally, once the brief flush of adrenaline subsides at the idea I immediately and summarily discredit and discount any and all such notions as “hogwash.” However, considering my call for followers to be transparent, I’ll admit that “What if?” did float through my mind, if only for a fraction of a split second.
What if alien life were discovered in light of all the media attention fixated on the matter? Would the discovery reduce the significance of the human race? Or would it disprove the existence of God? Could it negate the validity of Scripture or lessen its relevance? Muttering “hogwash” might not be the best response. So what should we say?
Created for, by, and through Him
For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on Earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. – Colossians 1:16-17 Did you know that dozens of species are discovered annually underneath the deepest rims of Earth’s oceans? One such discovery was the “Gummy Squirrel” in 2018. According to an article in Livescience.com:
If there were such a thing as an underwater freak show, then this would be it. Scientists from the Natural History Museum (NHM) in London have discovered a mysterious menagerie of marine megafauna deep in the Pacific Ocean, and dozens of the oddball creatures could be species that are unknown to science. |
A type of sea cucumber, this gummy squirrel looks frighteningly similar to a banana. (Image credit: DeepCCZ expedition; Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation and NOAA)
With the assistance of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) during the summer of 2018, scientists recovered 55 specimens lurking on the western edge of an abyss located between Hawaii and Mexico, roughly 16,400 feet (5,000 meters) below the sea surface. Of that assemblage of oceanic oddities, seven were recently confirmed to be newfound species.
While this may be breaking news to us, it’s not to God. In response to Job’s questioning, “Why Lord is it so?” the Almighty responds like this:
“Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said: ‘Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.
Where were you when I laid the Earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep? Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness? Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the Earth? Tell me, if you know all this.'” – Job 38:1-5; 16-18
Not only is the Lord aware of all creatures in creation, but He created each out of nothing (ex nihilo) by the very power of His word. And He did so for a specific purpose. Everything that lives and breathes must glorify the Lord through His creation (general revelation) and grow in union with His Son Christ (special revelation). Psalm 150:6 declares it this way: “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!” And as a particular point of interest, God could have said, “Let there be light,” “Let there be firmament,” “Let there be luminaries,” and the like. But in actuality, those declarations were shorter and more emphatic. The purpose was to highlight the sheer force of God’s word, whether spoken or written:
Be light! And there was light.
Be firmament! And there was firmament.
Be luminaries! And there were luminaries.
In closing, would it be a stretch to question if another undiscovered existence “out there” might equally point to the God of the Bible who created it, much like the Gummy Squirrel beneath the ocean blue? I’ll leave that to you, but you have to promise to start up the dialog as homework. I’m pretty confident that “What if?” has likely already crossed your mind. Am I right? If so, I greatly appreciate the transparency.
If you got nothing else from this blog, I hope you got this. The best homework for you is to ask people, “Do life forms exist outside of Earth? Yes, no, or maybe?” Talk about a conversation starter!! You’ll be shocked at who replies differently than you’d think. Try it at a dinner table, work space, or social gathering this week ok?
My new book “Inerrancy” is an unashamed affirmation of the truth of Scripture and its importance to the future of God’s Church. It’s also a reminder that compromise is a slippery slope. Order now on Amazon! Or grab the first chapter free here!
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