Are Aliens Real?
And What This Question Means for Christians
Former President Barack Obama caused a stir recently when he made a claim in an interview that aliens are real.1 He later clarified his remark and said that he “saw no evidence during [his] presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us.”2
Of course, a reporter asked President Trump about this afterward. Trump argued that Obama revealed classified information, but that he himself did not know if aliens were real.3
This is a topic that people have been interested in for a long time. A couple of years ago, I recorded a podcast on this topic after a Congressional hearing on UFOs in which a former Air Force intelligence officer claimed that “the U.S. has recovered non-human ‘biologics’ from alleged crash sites.”4
Several years before that, I wrote an article about the Catholic Church searching for signs of alien life.5 This inquiry was made to determine whether extraterrestrial life was possible and what implications this would have on the Catholic Church.
Since the topic of aliens is back in the news, I want to revisit the discussion from that 2023 podcast episode and write about it on this platform. So in this post, I want to consider what the existence of alien life would mean for Christians. Is it even important for us?
If aliens exist and are able to visit Earth and make contact with mankind, there are six things that would not change.
#1 – God Is Still the Creator
Many believe that the universe was formed by a great cosmic accident (a “big bang”). Scientists who espouse this idea contend that if everything came about by mere chance, there is no need to include God in the discussion. They believe that if they could find evidence of life elsewhere in the universe, it would support their theory that life came about merely by natural processes rather than by the work of God. If life began naturally here, why not on other planets as well?
The problem with this reasoning is that finding evidence for the existence of life on other planets (if it can be found) does not change this fact: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Whether we find life on or from other planets does not change this fact. God is still our creator.
#2 – God Created the Universe in the Way He Said He Did
Regardless of what may or may not have been done on other planets, we know what the Bible says about Creation. Genesis 1 tells us how God created the heavens and the earth in six literal, consecutive, 24-hour days. Finding alien life forms will not change this fact.
#3 – Mankind Is Unique and Special
The evolutionist who believes that life came about by blind chance through natural processes must conclude that man is not special. Instead, man is seen as another animal – more highly evolved, but an animal nonetheless.
Yet the Bible tells us that mankind holds a special place in God’s creation: “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth’” (Genesis 1:27-28). We were made in God’s image and have been given dominion over His creation.
Not only that, but God also “desires all men to be saved” (1 Timothy 2:4). His love for us was the motivation to send His Son to earth to die on the cross for our sins (John 3:16). Paul wrote, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
No UFO-related discovery or declassification of government files related to extraterrestrials should ever make us think that we are not important to God.
#4 – The Bible Says Nothing about Alien Life Forms on Other Planets
Whether or not aliens exist, we need to understand that the Bible simply does not address this question. No passage suggests that God created life on other planets. At the same time, no passage definitively says He did not. Therefore, it is not a matter of faith. Instead, without conclusive evidence, it remains in the realm of opinion and speculation.
#5 – The Bible Is Still True
What if it could be proven that intelligent life forms do exist on other planets? Since the Bible is silent on the subject (previous point), such a discovery or revelation would not discredit the Bible. The word of God is still truth (John 17:17). It will not change, being “forever…settled in heaven” (Psalm 119:89), and it “endures forever” (1 Peter 1:25).
#6 – God’s Plan of Salvation Will Not Change
Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). The apostle Peter declared, “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). The author of the book of Hebrews wrote, “And having been made perfect, [Jesus] became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation” (Hebrews 5:9).
What if aliens came to earth and proclaimed some other “plan of salvation” or another way to eternal life? Remember what Paul wrote to the Galatians: “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!” (Galatians 1:8-9). Aliens or no aliens, Jesus is still the way, and it is only through Him that we can be saved.
The above points were discussed in the podcast episode on this topic. Since then, I have seen another question arise about aliens…
Are Aliens Demons?
I have been seeing a lot of posts popping up on my social media feed lately in which people are claiming that aliens are demons. Most of the posts offer no explanation or argument, just the assertion that aliens are demons. Is there any Biblical support for this claim?
The Bible describes demons as evil spirits. They are beings who can:
Believe in God – “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder” (James 2:19).
Be tormented by the Lord – “When [Jesus] came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way. And they cried out, saying, ‘What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?’” (Matthew 8:28-29).
These evil spirits possessed people during the time of Jesus and the apostles (Matthew 8:16; 9:32-33; Luke 10:17). By casting them out, they proved that Jesus had power over them.
Paul described the idols that the Gentiles worshiped as demons (1 Corinthians 10:20). This imagery is also used in the Old Testament (Leviticus 17:7; Deuteronomy 32:17). Paul warned Timothy of false teachers who taught “doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1), which were teachings contrary to the word of faith revealed by the Holy Spirit and delivered by the apostles.
However, while the Bible talks about demons as being real, no passage suggests that they take physical form today – either by possessing the body of a human being or by coming in the form of an extraterrestrial.
Conclusion
Do aliens exist? I don’t know. Does the government cover up information and hide it from the public? I’m certain they do. Does that mean they are hiding information about the existence of extraterrestrial life? Again, I don’t know.
However, while discussions like this are interesting, we should not allow them to overshadow what is truly important – the hope of salvation we have in Christ and the need for us to render faithful obedience to Him.
So you can believe that aliens exist, or believe that they do not exist. But Jesus said, “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24). We need to get that right before anything else.
“They’re real”: Barack Obama talks aliens, Area 51 (video clip)
Trump: Obama gave classified information on aliens (video clip)