Here there be Aliens: Potential Origin Stories and Possible Impact
Well, well, well, aren’t we living in the future? First, weather modification and now aliens. This topic is getting a lot of coverage from the press and Congress and so it is good to consider these three questions:
What are aliens?
Why does their existence or narrative matter?
How does their existence or narrative impact us?
Introduction
“Aliens” is not a topic near and dear to my heart. Over the past two years, I’ve probably only listened to two podcast episodes on the subject and followed (somewhat regularly) an Instagram account that frequently covers it (@blurrycreatures). I was just on the cusp of believing that there might be life “out there” when these government whistleblowers came on the scene. Now I’m over it.
Spoiler alert: there aren’t any aliens.
However, personal bias aside, here are the three alien origin theories we get if we think about aliens rationally:
Aliens were created by God either as a physical or spiritual species.
Aliens are a hybrid race.
Aliens are a government narrative.
Aliens were created by God?
All things were created by God including aliens if they exist. This origin theory raises all sort of interesting theological questions:
Do they have a sin nature? If they do, are they a fallen race? If not, why come intermingle with us? If yes, what are the implications and where will they spend eternity? In hell? Seems odd, then, that the Bible wouldn’t mention them.
Are they impacted by our sin nature, much like how lions and tigers and bears are impacted by the consequences of the Fall of Adam and Eve? (I’m thinking of how all creation groans in eager anticipation of its liberation from the curse, Romans 8:19-23).
Are they spiritual or physical beings? It would seem as if they are physical beings, but there are claims that they can jump through portals. And if they are spiritual beings that interact with humans, I would expect that the Bible has a thing or two to say about them.
If they are created physical beings, they are not made in God’s image as we are. They would be on par with animals.
I take issue with the idea that they would be a more sentient race than us, a more evolved species, so to speak. Part of the Genesis story highlights man as the pinnacle of Creation. While the Creation story does not name every animal that God created in the beginning, it does esteem man as the most significant being among the created things. Even the psalmist mentions man alone as a little lower than the angels. As aliens would not be a little lower than angels but below man, and as aliens would not be made in the image of God, it would have to mean that they would be on par with animals. And like animals, they might have the power to hurt or kill us but they would not be the objects of God’s specific, salvific love nor have a more complex sentience than us. Portal hopping would have to be as natural and instinctual as a bunny hopping in and out of burrows— impossible for us, but not all that thought out.
If aliens are created spiritual beings, then they are either benevolent (angels) or malevolent (demons) spirits. We know from the Bible that angels took the form of men and visited Abraham and Lot . We also know the author of the book of Hebrews writes that some Christians have entertained angels unawares but we don’t have any explicit Biblical examples of demons taking human form, especially in the New Testament. We have examples of demons possessing humans but we do not have any examples of demons looking like humans and doing human activities (unless you consider the lineage of the Nephilim). And in the Biblical text, accessory items are also never mentioned such as knives, matches, or — hear me out — space crafts. (Additionally, no one is even claiming that aliens look like humans! And there is certainly no Biblical example of a spiritual being taking on a non-human form).
Finally, if aliens are demons and if these alien / demons are interacting with our government, then we have a whole host of other questions to ponder:
First, we know from scripture that people worship demons and summon demons (1 Samuel 28:3; 2 Chronicles 33:6; Isaiah 8:19; 19:3). These scriptures seem to hint to a pursuit of demons. Perhaps it is not too far-off to liken them to fictional vampires; demons and vampires can certainly wreak havoc in human lives but must be invited in for the host to experience the fullness of their depravity.
Second, if aliens are demons and if our government is chatting with demons then we must consider that our government is summoning demons. If you are willing to consider that aliens are demons, are you willing to consider our government is holding séances? That our government utilizes necromancers?
Third, if we are dealing with demons eventually we will have to deal with their Head Honcho, which is the Devil (Matthew 12:26). Now some might argue that this ties in quite nicely with End Times prophecy, but then which End Times figure would these demons be: The Beast? Anti-Christ?
In this category while I could entertain the idea that aliens are a lower created species, it is going to be difficult for me to squeeze aliens as demons into End Time prophecy. So theory of aliens as demons is also a “no” for me.
Aliens are a hybrid race?
Have you heard of the Nephilim? Genesis 6 says, “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, whenever the sons of God came to the daughters of men and gave birth to them.” These Nephilim, some argue, were human / spiritual being hybrids. Keep in mind that the Genesis text says that these Nephilim existed before and after the flood. Our first re-introduction of the Nephilim after the Flood occurs when the 12 spies go out to explore the Promise Land before the entire Israelite camp crosses over the Jordan River. When Caleb and Joshua come back from exploring and give their report, they say they saw the sons of Anak, who are the Nephilim (Numbers 13:33). Later Moses finishes off Rephaim and his sons who are also considered Nephilim (Deuteronomy 3:1-11). And then, Joshua, Caleb and the Israelite armies went after Anak (who was in the original report) and his three sons who were in Gath (Numbers 13:22, Joshua 15:14; cf. Judges 1:10, 20). They were not overly thorough, however, since Goliath and four other giants, who were also from Gath, were still around for David and his mighty men (2 Samuel 21; 1 Chronicles 20). (Read a more in-depth look at this topic here or in Dr. Heiser’s books, “The Unseen Realm” or “Supernatural”).
What I am trying to establish here is a potential biblical basis for a possible human / demon hybrid sort of origin theory for aliens. However, in every example in the Bible:
These Nephilim look like humans.
They have human capabilities, perhaps just on a bigger, stronger scale.
These Nephilim are not portal hopping. They aren’t flying around in space crafts.
I mean, if these aliens are modern day Nephilim, they would still be the offspring of ancient demons, right? Did the demons only just recently come up with space travel technology? (Laughable). This theory is just too convoluted and problematic and so it is also going to be a “no” for me.
As a side note: I have also heard the theory that the government has created a “clone” or a “shell” or a non-human form for demons to inhabit. And this origin theory is also going to be a “no” for me.
Aliens are a government narrative?
When an employee voices concerns about his company’s unethical dealings to Human Resources, he is following protocol. When an employee voices his concerns about his employers shady dealings to the press, he is a whistleblower. The National Whistleblower Center says, “On the simplest level, a whistleblower is someone who reports waste, fraud, abuse, corruption, or dangers to public health and safety to someone who is in the position to rectify the wrongdoing.”
A whistleblower shares information that someone else wants to keep hidden.
BUT—
What do we call someone who share information about the government that the government wants to keep hidden? We call him a traitor.
The Cambridge Dictionary defines traitor as someone who gives away the secrets of his country.
Snitches get stitches, y’all.
Edward Snowden was an American technologist and former CIA officer, and National Security Agency contractor. In his role at NSA, he discovered classified evidence regarding the U.S. government’s secret global and domestic system of mass surveillance— a practice both contrary to its public statements and in violation of human rights standards and international law. Did the American press have him on national television? No, he fled to Russia while facing charges of espionage. More specifically, Politico writes, “Snowden was charged with conveying classified information to an unauthorized party, disclosing communications intelligence information, and theft of government property.” Correct me if I’m wrong, but conveying classified information to an unauthorized party is kinda the definition of whistleblower. So what, we can’t do that with the government?
Likewise, Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning have born with their lives the punishment that follows “whistleblowing” on the government: solitary confinement, life behind bars, exile. . . According to San Francisco Chronicle:
WikiLeaks first got worldwide notoriety in 2010 when it released video taken three years earlier by U.S. Army helicopter gunships as they shot to death 18 civilians in Baghdad, including two Reuters journalists. Later that year some 90,000 military documents were released, “a devastating portrait of the failing war in Afghanistan,” the Guardian reported, “revealing how coalition forces have killed hundreds of civilians in unreported incidents, Taliban attacks have soared and NATO commanders fear neighboring Pakistan and Iran are fueling the insurgency.”
Leaks related to the Iraq war revealed tens of thousands more civilian deaths than had previously been acknowledged, and showed, as the Guardian found, that “US authorities failed to investigate hundreds of reports of abuse, torture, rape and even murder by Iraqi police and soldiers.”
“We can bemoan how these leaks occurred,” United Kingdom Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said at the time, “but I think the nature of the allegations made are extraordinarily serious.”
Manning provided this information to Assange to publish on Wikileaks. The consequences were not “administrative terrorism,” as one alien whistleblower laments. Assange, by contrast, was evicted from the embassy in Ecuador and then endured three years of imprisonment in Belmarsh prison in England. Peter Oborne in his article for The Guardian writes, “The consequences for Assange will be profound. Once in the US he will almost certainly be sent to a maximum-security prison for the rest of his life. He will die in jail.”
In a stunning deviation from the treatment of Snowden and Assange, three military veterans — Ryan Graves, executive director of Americans for Safe Aerospace, retired Air Force Maj. David Grusch and retired Navy Cmdr. David Fravor— testified in Congress that the U.S. government has operated a secret "multi-decade" reverse engineering program of recovered vessels and that “the U.S. has recovered non-human ‘biologics’ from alleged crash sites” as reported by NPR.
Some have argued with me on the grounds that Snowden and Assange provided government documents as evidence for their claims while these whistleblowers are only “testifying.” And sure, I can see that. But if the government is truly hiding non-human biologics and if the government truly, truly does not want the American population to know. . . then we would not know. These men would not be speaking. The military would demand the media to not publish articles regarding them or their testimonies. The story would die. And those men would be fired.
But that’s not the case and because that’s not the case that leaves me with two options:
The government wants us to know aliens are real and are slowly easing us into this reality (i.e., a frog in a pot of water).
Aliens are not real but the government wants us to think they are real and so they are slowly easing us in this “reality.”
All things considered, I think position #2 makes the most sense.
Why the Alien Narrative Matters
No matter how you slice it, the alien narrative begins with a lie: either they have lied for decades past and are now coming clean or they are lying to us now. I think we need to be honest with ourselves in our acknowledgement that our government lies to us. If this is the Great Unveiling, it is beginning with the admission of a lie. And so, while this is not alien-related, we can take this fact and consider it in other categories. What other areas could the government have lied to us? When will it lie to us next?
Next if you believe as I do that this narrative is false, then you must come to terms that the government creates false narratives. I would assume that the government would create a false narrative in order to better control its populace— right? You could argue that the false narrative is to protect the government’s citizens but as there is obviously no impending threat of invasion, there is no need for protection. Perhaps you could argue it is to pacify its citizens but, even then pacification is just another method of control. An unpacified people might riot or freak out or demand answers and solutions. The government can control all of that through secrecy, through false narrative. Call it what you will, but the underlying motive for secrecy is control. The government wants to control the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How of the disclosure.
How it Impacts Us
The most fascinating thought experiments, however, come with the impact of an alien narrative — regardless of if its based in fact or fiction. The mere existence of this narrative is enough to warrant contemplation.
I have heard many such theories as to the implication of the alien narrative, and I will share three of them with you now:
A “scientific” explanation for the rapture of the church
A global unifier— all the nations of the earth standing together against a common enemy
A religious unifier — all the religions of the earth finding their common ground in aliens
Aliens and The Rapture of the Church
The pre-tribulation stance holds that Christians will not undergo the Great Tribulation during the End Times but instead be caught up to Heaven. This “catching up” is called the Rapture. Some are speculating that the government will advise that those taken were actually abducted by aliens.
I’m wishy-washy on this theory— partly because I don’t know if I believe in a pre-trib rapture.
Aliens as a Global Unifier
Global citizens.
Countries without borders.
International interdependence of the world's economies, cultures, and populations.
This is globalization and not everyone wants it. Dissenting anti-globalization groups exist within almost every developed and developing nation and what could silence these protesting voices quite like a call to unity against an invading alien race? They say, “One world government” and I say, “No, thank you.” But then what happens when we need to pool the earth’s resources and military might to form a resistance? Nations unite!
It is fear mongering at its finest.
If aliens are real, then the call to arms might be warranted— but we do not see any such intergalactic warfare in End Time prophecies.
This line of questioning begs the question: why suggest the reality of aliens if they are not prepared to actually introduce us to aliens? Some minds have suggested that the government is currently working on something — some Thing — that is outside our realm of possibility which they would then pass-off as an alien. (And truly, it would be alien to us, in the strictest sense of the word). They would create the “problem” and then offer the “solution.”
The solution would be, of course, a One World Government in which the government has more power, and the individual has less.
Aliens as a Religious Unifier
Imagine “discovering” that all the supernatural events of every major (and I guess, minor) religion was man’s attempt to understand an alien encounter. The parting of the Red Sea? Aliens. Mohammad’s experience on the mountain? Aliens. Jesus raised from the dead? Aliens.
A one-world government needs a one-world religion. How handy that an alien narrative could unite the religious people of the world into one religious system. How even more handy would it be if the new alien religion was state-sponsored.
Conclusion
If aliens exist, they are explicitly created by God as a physical or spiritual specie or they are implicitly created by God as a hybrid.
If aliens do no exist, then they are fiction of the government.
But whether they do or do not exist is not the question. For the Christian, the existence of aliens is unimportant— fun to talk about, sure, but ultimately unimportant.
Either their newly discovered form is as a novel of a revelation as a previously unknown deep-sea fish or they are demons with which we should have no introduction.
Or they are totally unreal, in which we dismiss both aliens and the government that promotes them.