Jesus among the stars: What does the possibility of extraterrestrials mean for Christianity?
Could God’s power for salvation be for the Jew, the Gentile, and the extraterrestrial?
In the past few years, this question has grown in prominence following a series of high-profile events. In 2020, the Navy confirmed that videos circulating on the internet of “unidentified” flying objects from 2004 and 2015 were authentic. These videos show images of objects flying in ways that defy known physics, leaving the pilots stunned.
When interviewed by CNN, the former U.S. Navy pilot, David Fravor, described the encounter as, “something I have never seen in my life.” On July 26, 2023, Fravor and former intelligence official David Grusch were called before the House oversight committee, following Grusch’s claim that the U.S. government was in possession of partially intact alien vehicles. Among the surprising assertions made during the committee meeting what that “non-human” biologics were recovered from some crash sites and that the government was covering it up.
While the government has denied some of the claims, the confirmation of the videos’ authenticity and the testimony of generally well-regarded former government officials is surprising, to say the least.
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This article seeks not to examine the authenticity of these claims. Rather, how the possibility of life beyond Earth, poses an interesting question for Christians to contemplate.
Contemplating sentient extraterrestrial life in the light of the Gospel is not as outlandish as it might seem. Thomas O’Meara’s book, Vast Universe, documents how prominent ancient, medieval, and renaissance Christian intellectuals, including Origen, Thomas Aquinas, Guillaume de Varuroillion, and Nicholas of Cusa, among others, pondered the question of other worlds and intelligent beings existing beyond Earth. More recently, prominent Christian apologist C.S. Lewis discussed the possibility of alien life in multiple books and essays, while two Vatican astronomers discussed the question in their book, Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial?
One of the issues that often arise among these authors is the need for salvation or lack thereof. In the words of British astronomer David Wilkinson, “This illustrated a fundamental tension which was to run through Christian engagement with the subject. That is, the power of God should not be limited, but how can human uniqueness be maintained?”
The first possibility is that some creatures may have never had a fall from grace. Popular media generally takes for granted the possibility that alien life will likely be just as corrupt and sinful as mankind, but would that actually be so? C.S. Lewis in his science fiction trilogy (Out of the Silent Planet, Peralandra, and That Hideous Strength) contemplates a universe where original sin is restricted to Earth and mankind is the outlier in a solar system full of sinless creatures. In this scenario, mankind is one lost sheep out of a hundred which the shepherd wandered off to save. The other sheep might not need the shepherd to take extreme steps to save them as he did for mankind. Also, we might be more dangerous to them as purveyors of spiritual sickness, and likely physical harm, than they are to be to us.
However, suppose that these creatures are indeed fallen like we are. What would Jesus and the Gospel mean to them? The answers to this question generally boil down to two views.
First, God in His divine beneficence and wisdom, chose to start His work of universal salvation on earth. Proponents of this view argue that just as God picked Abraham to be a father to a people that would be a light to all the nations, so too is the Gospel to be universal among all of God’s creatures.
Second, God might have used other tools and other messages to bring about his divine will and salvation on other planets. Both of these positions have their critics. Some argue that the former position risks putting the position of mankind in a place of importance that it might not deserve when compared to God and the scale of the universe. While critics of the latter position, voice concerns that risks veering into relativism and trying to find salvation outside of the Gospel.
C.S. Lewis contemplates all three positions in his essay “Religion and Rocketry” and finishes his exploration of the subject with the following observation, “And, as we have seen, the mere existence of these creatures would not raise a problem. After that, we still need to know that they are fallen; then, that they have not been, or will not be, redeemed in the mode we know; and then, that no other mode is possible.”
All of these possibilities are purely speculative until mankind actually encounters sentient extraterrestrials that can be observed and communicated with. Such an encounter would change the trajectory of our species and likely be greeted with astonishment, surprise, awe, and even disbelief. Many who saw mankind, either consciously or unconsciously, as the center of the universe would have their illusion shattered. However, this does not call into question the underlying assumptions of our faith. In the words of papal astronomer Brother Consolmagno, “The idea that human beings are the center of the universe is an enlightenment idea, a humanist idea. It's Voltaire, not Christianity." What would be required of the believer is wisdom, discernment, and humility to examine all knowledge in the light of God’s Word.
And how might this encounter affect our understanding of the Gospel? Perhaps we would discover that some of our positions are far too “human-centric” than they should be. This would be no fault of our own. In the same way that the man in Plato’s cave could not be faulted for understanding the world as rock, light, and shadow, we too would have only seen the universe through a cracked door before God opened it a bit wider. What would it mean to be created in God’s image if we were but merely one of many sentient and physical beings in the universe? If there are many other fallen or unfallen creatures in our universe, how do we then understand the story of the fall of mankind?
When Psalm 147:4 says, “He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them,” it shows that God has concerns for the universe. It is not just a vast realm forgotten by God but one where each star is known by its creator. This should give us pause, for if God knows these stars just as well as He knows Earth or the star that it orbits around, then perhaps He has shaped other systems in a similar way. For the believer, such a situation should be a cause for reflection upon our place in the universe.
Justin Roy is a Program Officer with the International Republican Insitute (IRI) who holds a Master’s in history from the University of San Diego. Previously, he worked with a humanitarian organization in Greece and Croatia during the European Refugee Crisis and in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. Finally, he has written for multiple outlets, including Providence, The Federalist, and The National Interest.
