Did God Create Alien Life?

You may not have recognized all those Star Wars quotes (if you did know all of them, congratulations, you’re officially a Star Wars nerd!), but it’s likely that you’re at least familiar with that last one: “May the force be with you!” (Obi-Wan’s memorable line in the first film) which has become arguably the most famous Star Wars quote of all time.

And so, not that long ago, in this galaxy, Star Wars fans decided to make May 4 a “holiday” to celebrate their passion for all things Star Wars.1 And yes, as you probably guessed, this day was launched off a pun of that famous Star Wars catchphrase—may the fourth be with you!

Actually, as a Christian, May 4 reminds me of a more important fourth day that involved the creation of the sun, moon, and all the stars by our all-powerful Creator God (Genesis 1:14–19). And speaking of creation, did God create advanced alien races, like Wookies and Jawas, scattered across the universe? (More on that question in a moment, stay tuned . . . .)

But today is not just celebrated by die-hard Star Wars fans. Many people around the world, even those who may not know much about Star Wars, will celebrate this day by rewatching the original Star Wars films (Episodes IV, V, VI), dressing up as Jedi, and eating various Star Wars-themed desserts, such as lightsaber pretzels, Princess Leia cupcakes, Wookie “Chewy” cookies, Yoda apples, and Ewok bars. (Or maybe it’s just me and my family that do those traditions . . . .)

The Cultural Impact of Science Fiction

Ever since the first film (which was later retitled Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope) was released in 1977, the Star Wars franchise totally revived the marketplace for space science fiction (sci-fi) as a genre and has had a significant impact on our modern culture at large. In fact, it’s likely that just about anyone you talk to around the world today will have at least heard of Star Wars!

But it’s not just Star Wars movies that have impacted the culture! Every year, Hollywood has and continues to produce very successful sci-fi blockbusters for the last few decades, with films like Dune, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avatar, Interstellar, Galaxy Quest, Lilo & Stitch, Signs, Men in Black, Independence Day . . . we could keep going, of course, but I think you get the point.

Here’s the point: the whole topic of space exploration and aliens is really popular—it’s so popular that it has totally captured (like a tractor beam!) the imagination of Hollywood and our culture at large! But actually, this fictional idea hasn’t just permeated secular culture—it has also infiltrated some of the church today, with more and more Christians I’ve met who are now starting to buy into the possibility of alien life in outer space.

After all, the Bible doesn’t have the words extraterrestrial or space alien anywhere in the text, so is it possible that he did create them but just didn’t tell us?

Even at the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter, I’ll sometimes meet Bible-believing Christians (usually after one of my talks on aliens) who are now buying into this belief, believing that maybe God did create aliens on other planets. After all, the Bible doesn’t have the words extraterrestrial or space alien anywhere in the text, so is it possible that he did create them but just didn’t tell us?

Where Did This Belief in Aliens Come From?

Before we discuss whether or not God created aliens, think about this for a moment . . . did Christians ever talk about aliens throughout church history? Did any of the early church fathers or the Protestant Reformers ever write about the possibility of alien life created by God? I don’t think so! No, Christians believing in the possibility of alien life is a relatively new concept.

In fact, the belief in possible life on other planets didn’t really start to emerge in the culture until the arrival of the heliocentric model2 in the seventeenth century when nearly everyone began shifting away from the geocentric model. Prior to this time in history, nobody bothered to give it much thought. And over the next few centuries, this belief steadily kept growing in the culture.

Fast-forward to the 1950s, the idea of alien life really started to blast off (pun intended) where this decade saw the largest spike in sci-fi stories and films than any decade prior. And it especially took off after the launch of the first man-made satellite, Sputnik, by the Soviet Union in 1957. This marked the start of the “space race” between the Americans and the Soviets, which led to NASA finally landing men on the moon in 1969.3 After this real historical event, the idea of traveling to other worlds and interacting with intelligent aliens really launched (okay, last pun, I promise!) into popularity, thus leading to a huge rise of sci-fi movies and shows beginning to flood the Hollywood entertainment market.

But it didn’t just affect Hollywood! Around this time, much of the scientific community began taking a more serious interest in alien life—trying to move this idea from science fiction to actual science—believing that we will one day discover life on other planets. And this belief has been a major driving factor in modern “science” fields ever since.4

In fact, the primary motivation behind just about every NASA mission today (once you get past all the “fluff” from the media) is to find evidence of life in outer space, and there are even plans to colonize Mars, with a permanent base on the martin surface, in order to expedite that effort!5 (By the way, here’s a really easy way to “colon”-ize Mars: :M:a:r:s:.)

Did God Create Aliens?

Did God only create life on earth? Or is it possible God also created life on other planets? There are countless planets in the universe, so we can’t be alone in the universe . . . right? These are questions that I frequently hear from Christians!

Of course, our almighty God is powerful enough to have created alien life if he wanted to, so that’s not the question. Rather, the question is why would he? Or more specifically, why would he, and not tell us? As Christians, it’s important we always examine everything in light of Scripture. Again, there’s no chapter in the Bible that directly addresses life on other planets. However, we can still answer this question implicitly by starting with Genesis.

Recall from the first chapter of the Bible (Genesis 1), the text doesn’t mention any specific day during creation week when life on other planets was created. (If he did create aliens, this would’ve been the perfect place to mention it!) In fact, God spent the vast majority of creation week preparing the earth for the crowning glory of his creation—man. Simply put, it’s plainly clear from the text that man is the center of God’s attention. Think about it, even on day four, God made all the heavenly bodies for our benefit—to separate day from night, for signs and seasons, for days and years, and to give light on the earth (Genesis 1:14–15).

And the Bible clearly states that God designed the earth for us to inhabit—with no mention of any other planet to be inhabited (Isaiah 45:18). This clearly implies that the earth is unique in the entire universe—specially made for us to inhabit and call home. So, for this reason alone, it’s very unlikely that God created other life-forms elsewhere in the universe.

But if they do exist, we have to ask the question: do they have souls/spirits? Are they made in the image of God like us? Remember, it’s important we always build all our thinking on God’s Word in every area, including this topic!

Let’s consider physical, intelligent beings like Wookies, Klingons, or other “humanlike” beings. Although they definitely make for good entertainment in sci-fi movies and shows, the concept of advanced alien races is theologically problematic. Let me explain using the following (imaginary) scenario, with Chewbacca, Superman, and Spock reading the Bible: can these intelligent aliens be redeemed from the curse? (See Genesis 3 and Romans 8.) In other words, does God’s plan of salvation apply to them?

Imagine Superman, after reading chapters in the Bible, like Genesis 3 and Romans 8, says this:

And Chewy thinks:

Romans 8 makes it clear that Adam’s sin affected all creation—not just mankind. So then we have to ask the question: are these high-level sentient aliens fallen? If not, then they’re redundant. God already has the angels (the cherubim, seraphim, etc.). And even if these aliens have never sinned, they would still suffer the effects of sin, suffering under the bondage of corruption—despite having never sinned!

Then Superman says:

God’s plan of redemption is through Christ—the last Adam—which means redemption is only for humans descended from the first Adam! So, if they were fallen, they would be left in their fallenness—with no hope of redemption—because Scripture reveals that God only provided salvation for humans. In other words, what’s required in redemption is representation. So, according to Scripture, the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ—the God-man—would not provide them with salvation.

And so, Chewy realizes:

To which Superman asks the next logical question:

Think about it! If they have a soul, what’s their eternal destiny? Would they go to heaven or hell after they die? As Spock logically thinks:

So then Superman asks the question:

To which Spock responds:

Obviously, it makes no sense to have intelligent beings—who suffer because of Adam’s sin—but cannot be saved! Christ is able to redeem man because he represents man by taking upon himself a second nature—as being fully God and fully man. Christ is the God-man (i.e., he’s not the “God-Klingon” or the “God-Wookie”).

And so, I agree with Spock’s conclusion:

Simply put, the work of Jesus cannot atone for the sins of advanced alien beings. And so, the idea of intelligent life existing on other planets is completely unbiblical! Actually, these kinds of issues highlight the problem of trying to mix unbiblical ideas into a biblical worldview. I mean, can you imagine a gospel message that begins with: “Long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.” No, that would obviously trivialize the gospel!

And so, the idea of intelligent life existing on other planets is completely unbiblical!

And speaking of the gospel, I should also quickly mention that it’s unbiblical to believe Jesus somehow visited multiple alien worlds, lived there, died for them, rose again . . . and repeated this process on each world. In other words, Jesus dying multiple times is NOT biblical! The Bible makes it very clear that Jesus died once (e.g., Romans 6:10; Hebrews 9:28; 1 Peter 3:18).

What About Non-Intelligent Life on Other Planets?

Usually, after I explain to Christians why the concept of intelligent life in space is theologically problematic, they will almost always ask me: what about plants, animals, or even microorganisms on other planets?

Of course, we can’t be dogmatic, but I strongly suspect not. Here’s why: recall from Genesis 1 that God created everything for man’s benefit and enjoyment. In other words, we have dominion over God’s creation (Genesis 1:28), which is also stated in Psalm 8. So the question would be: do we have dominion over those plants and animals on alien worlds? What purpose would they serve for us? So, for this reason alone, I believe it’s unlikely that there’s any non-intelligent life out in the cosmos.6

There Is Someone Out There!

In the end, the concept of intelligent (and non-intelligent) life in space makes no sense theologically. So, back to our original question, are we alone in the universe? Biblically speaking, yes . . . and NO! Actually, when we start with the Bible, we know Someone is out there—God, our omnipresent Creator! But of course, unbelievers don’t really want to believe that reality, which is why they continue spending millions of dollars every year, trying to search for life in outer space:

This reminds me of the Bible verse: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God” (Romans 3:10–11, emphasis added).

And speaking of the Bible, it does technically speak about “aliens” in Ephesians 2:19 (emphasis added):

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.

So, from that biblical sense, I actually do believe in aliens—those alienated from God who need the gospel!

That is, Christians were once “aliens” before coming to Christ. And once people become Christians, they are no longer “aliens” or foreigners—they are citizens of heaven. So, from that biblical sense, I actually do believe in aliens—those alienated from God who need the gospel! I encourage all my “alien” neighbors to receive Jesus as their Savior so that they are no longer “aliens” and become a part of the family of God. There are billions of “aliens” on earth who need to hear the message of the gospel and be saved from hell. If you’re a Christian, I urge you to keep on reaching more “aliens” with the truth of God’s Word and saving gospel message so that they can be granted citizenship into heaven.

Conclusion

Now don’t get me wrong . . . I’m not saying that Christians must stop watching sci-fi movies like Star Wars.7 Like any other fiction, I personally have a lot of fun watching sci-fi movies and shows that have space aliens. (In case you couldn’t tell, I’m a big Star Wars fan!) I really enjoy the interesting and thought-provoking themes that are in many of the good sci-fi films (emphasis on good because there are plenty of bad/cheesy sci-fi productions out there in today’s market, and Christians need to be discerning about what is appropriate and antibiblical). Plus, I’ve been a “space guy” for most of my life, so I love anything that has to do with space exploration! For those reasons, I will continue to watch sci-fi movies and shows for entertainment.

But at the end of the day, here’s the important thing to keep in mind: aliens are make-believe ideas that need to remain in the realm of fiction! Let’s not try to move them from fantasy into reality—let’s keep them contained to the “big screen” for us to enjoy. And may the fourth be with you!