Would Christianity be threatened by alien life?

The recent discovery by NASA of a set of seven ‘earth-like’ planets provides fuel for an ongoing debate about whether alien life exists, one with a long history. In two books, Michael Crowe discusses various perspectives of the discussion from antiquity to 1900. Two particular conclusions are important for me here. Firstly, that the debate has existed since antiquity. He argues that the historical documents

provide a massive refutation of the widespread assumption that the debate began in this century and that finally in recent years the ‘long-standing belief that the only intelligent life in the universe exists on our planet, Earth, is gradually disappearing.’ (1)

The second important conclusion is that for most of history, the debate has not been divided on religious lines: Christian believers have taken both a ‘yes’ and a ‘no’ view:

An important conclusion repeatedly documented in this book is that in numerous pre-1900 publications in the debate, no sharp line can be drawn between an author’s astronomical and religious perspectives. (2)

He does note that the position is frequently rejected on religious grounds but has also been appropriated for religious purposes. (3)

Whether you take a ‘no such thing’ view or believe ‘they are out there but they just can’t get here from there’ or even that ‘they are already here,’ it is still wise for a Christian to have a view on the issue.

Introduction

There are roughly three 3 possible views. The first is that life on Earth is entirely unique and there is no life in any form anywhere else. If this is the case, there is no dilemma for Christianity.

The second position is that they are already here, and have been for thousands of years. A representative organisation is MUFON, one of the longest running UFO groups. Ufologists offer various lines of evidence to substantiate their position:

Sightings particularly those by pilots, radar operators, police officers, military personnel and so on.
Physical trace cases – incidents where there appears to be some observable evidence left behind
Encounters by ‘experiencers,’ that is, those that claim to have had a personal encounter with an ET
Theoretical and philosophical arguments to counter the “can’t get here from there” argument
Discussions about why ET’s would they not land, arguments for a cover-up and others.

The third position is that life likely does exist elsewhere, but can’t (yet) get here. A representative organisation is the SETI Institute, Search for Extra-terrestrial Intelligence. SETI, in various incarnations, has been active since the mid-1980s. In their FAQ under the heading “Science Justification – Why do SETI at all?” they provide in part, a philosophical reason:

It’s likely that any civilization we discover will be far more advanced than ours, and might help us to join a galactic network of intelligent beings. But even if we detect a signal without being able to understand it, that would still tell us that we are not unique in the cosmos. The effect on society might be as profound and long lasting as when Copernicus displaced the Earth from the center of our universe.

There are scholars and scientists on all sides of this debate and there is almost as much ideology from each perspective as there is evidence. One aspect of interest to me – and sometimes hinted at rather than stated outright – is the belief that if extra-terrestrial life is confirmed, religion generally, and Christianity specifically, would collapse in a pile of rubble. However, is this true? What would be the implications for Christianity if aliens were to land and announce themselves on national TV?

Foundations

The simple answer is that it will not bring about the end of religion generally or Christianity specifically. However, aliens knocking on the front door will present different types of difficulties for different parts of the Christian community. To develop the argument, it is helpful to consider Christian belief on a spectrum from ‘liberal’ to ‘conservative.’ These terms are difficult and carry a fair amount of baggage, so some background on these perspectives is necessary. I am not going to debate the theological merits of the positions, only provide enough information to assess the impact an ET arrival might have on their future. It is also important to note that they are used here in a technical Christian sense and not a political perspective.

For simplicity, I will understand the spectrum of Christian beliefs to go something like this: super-liberal, liberal, non-committal, conservative, super-conservative.

The super-liberal takes an ethics-only perspective. Jesus was a teacher of morals and wisdom, his purpose was to show how humans can respect each other and live together well. The Bible is considered to be a book like any other – not inspired – and the narratives are to be taken as metaphors and illustrations of the main messages. Reason and personal experience are key, with God’s immanence being emphasised. Personal salvation, sin and hell and the Trinity are rejected.

The liberal maintains a leaning to the metaphorical view but has a more committed view to the Bible and to the nature of Jesus. Jesus could be understood as divine in some way and his death, while not an atonement, brought people to God and his power. The Bible is still a book not inspired, but its contents should be taken more seriously by the believer.

The term non-committed really covers a number of perspectives. It might be the ‘nominal’ Christian, that is, the person who declares they are a Christian but has only a vague idea of the beliefs of Christianity. It also covers those that are uncertain as to the status of some key elements such as the nature and inspiration of the Bible, did the resurrection actually happen, the incarnation and what is meant by salvation.

The conservative takes views on the questions of Christianity closer to historical, traditional views – hence conservative. The Bible is inspired and reliable but needs to be interpreted appropriately. Jesus is the son of God and the second member of the Trinity, God the Son. He was born of a virgin, the miracles in his ministry occurred largely as described and he rose from the dead. Personal salvation is needed to live a life aligned with his teachings and there will be a judgement (in some form) at the end of time.

The super-conservative takes a strong view on the questions of Christianity. The Bible is fully inspired, inerrant, true and accurate in all it discusses. The miracles and narratives of the Old and the New Testaments occurred as described. Jesus’ death was substitutionary.

Consequences of ET Confirmation

The difficulties presented by the existence of ETs increases as we move from left to right along the continuum. Reactions would (obviously) be different if aliens were friends or foes. For the sake of the following discussion, I will assume they are friends.

Aliens landing on the lawns of Parliament House would not present a significant challenge to the faith or theology of the super-liberal. The Bible could be understood as a local, Earth-bound book that expresses a particular culture and location. It is part of the great literary output of the history and (now) represents the people of this planet. Jesus was a great teacher of ethics, and maybe there are some similarities between his ethics and that of other beings around the galaxy? All ‘peoples’ – now redefined – are one.

The liberal will be in a similar position. Where salvation is thought necessary, there is a tendency to universalism – all will eventually be saved. This could comfortably be extended to other intelligent life forms. Elements of the discussions below will be relevant to the liberal’s negotiation of aliens landing, but less intellectual work will be needed to accommodate the events. Jesus’ life and death was just the approach God took for people on Earth, maybe God used a different approach elsewhere in the universe.

Non-committal. What happens to this substantial group will be varied. What is the nature of the alien – are they friend or foe (and is it obvious)? How do their religious leaders react? How do other faiths react and the rest of the human race? For some the church is a key social institution and may make little difference. Some will fall away, some will go to other faiths or take no faiths. Have the ET’s brought some kind of religious belief with them is it something humans can adopt?

In my view, the most interesting and robust intellectual work will be done by the conservative. The strong commitment to the Bible and the historic creedal statements do not necessarily exclude life other than on earth, but it certainly presents challenges. I will consider a number of options later.

It is the super-conservative who will struggle the most with an alien arrival and who have, in my view, fewer intellectual tools to make sense of what is going on. There can be a tendency to anti-intellectualism and outright rejection of opposing views in some strands and this will lead to isolation.

What Are Some Options and Solutions?

The following are just a few suggestions on how it might be approached. Some are summaries of the published views of others and some are speculations of my own.

— Only the human race is in need of salvation. Original sin only occurred for humans (there is no equivalent elsewhere) and it is only humans that sin (at least as it is generally understood). This might also suggest that only humans are created in the image of God and that the image is something to do with being human. If this is the case, then the incarnation only needed to occur on Earth; the atonement is only needed here.

— Only the human race is offered salvation. This idea is an extension of what has already occurred on Earth. God chose humans over other intelligent life around the universe in a similar way to how He chose the Hebrews over other peoples. No other intelligent life is offered salvation directly but are judged by a natural theology model. Romans 1:18ff

— Salvation is to be understood differently. It may be the case that the nature of salvation is ‘species dependent’ and how we experience it (through the death and resurrection of Jesus) is not the same as how a different species may experience salvation. What this might look like is difficult to say, but is not conceptually impossible.

— Does the incarnation need to be understood in different ways? The incarnation was only necessary for the human race, a combination of spirit and body. If, however, a species was ‘non-material’ then an incarnation as humans understand it would not be needed.

— Alien Culture. Maybe there are ETs that are so spiritually barren meaning there is no context for Jesus to arrive and so God has not intervened. May mean that even a natural revelation model is impossible.

— Atonement. The atonement may also need to be understood differently for different races. For the human race a sacrifice was needed according to the law. It might be necessary to focus less on the mechanics of the atonement and more on the necessity of a (conceptual) atonement, a redemption in some form.

— Time. One important fear is a perceived need for incarnation of Jesus to occur at multiple times in multiple places and consequently, crucified many times over. This assumes time is of the ‘A-series’ type. Simply put, in A-series, time is linear (think A for arrow). The past is completed and the future is yet to be, events occur at points along the line: Jesus appears at different times and locations throughout the universe’s history. However there is also ‘B-series’ time. Here, all events are equally existent and are ordered in relation to each other – earlier than, later than, simultaneous. If all events might be thought of as ‘equally present,’ then maybe Jesus appeared to those He decided to appear to in multiple physical locales and apparently different chronos times, but at a single kairos, spiritual time.

Conclusion.

There is no simple answer to this question. The ideas presented here are only speculative and a later post will start to evaluate their theological appropriateness and usefulness for addressing the issue. There are numerous variables to consider other than the basics here. For example, different denominations might respond differently, how are other faiths dealing with the discovery all within the ‘culture shock’ of the event itself. Even if contact in any form never occurs, the social dynamic of it being inevitable demands Christians pay attention to the question.

References.

(1)
Crowe, M.J. (1999). The Extraterrestrial Life Debate, 1750-1900. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications Inc. p. 547.

(2)
Crowe, M.J. (1999). The Extraterrestrial Life Debate, 1750-1900. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications Inc. p. 557.

(3)
Crowe, M.J. (1999). The Extraterrestrial Life Debate, 1750-1900. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications Inc. p. 557.

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