Why I don’t believe in UFOs
As a pastor I have been asked surprisingly often if I believe in extra terrestrials, UFOs and alien abductions. And though I think the concept makes for intriguing late night stories and big ticket Hollywood films, my answer is usually a quick and resolute no. It’s not that I have no imagination or some personal agenda to prove. The reason I believe that there is no extra terrestrial life out there is simply an exercise in biblical common sense. Let me explain what I mean.
In Romans chapter 8, the Apostle Paul makes a very profound statement about the consequences of original sin not just on earth but throughout the entire universe. He writes in 8:20-22 “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth (emphasis added).”
Paul clearly states under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that Adam’s sin corrupted not just the earth but the “whole creation”. He’s saying that because of Adam’s sin, all of creation fell along with him and has been subject to the judgment of God ever since. He says that only by forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ is one liberated from this “bondage of decay”.
And, not only is the entire creation corrupted by Adam’s sin, but all creation will also be destroyed because of it. The Apostle Peter in 2 Peter 3:7 says that “by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.” And he adds in 3:10 that “the day of the Lord will come like a thief and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.”
So, let me ask a simple question based on these passages of Scripture. If God did in fact create any other intelligent life in the universe, then why would our sin be their death sentence? In other words, why would their demise be tied up with our own? After all, if there really was alien life on another planet in another solar system, then it wouldn’t make sense that our sin on this earth would also plunge their race into our judgment. It is not only illogical but also inconsistent with what we know to be true of God’s revelation about himself.
According to the Bible, Adam, the earthling, is solely responsible for introducing the consequence of sin to the world and, for that matter, to the entire universe. Romans 5:12 says “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” For Adam to be the original sinner, that means that if there were other beings living in the universe, then they would not or could not have sinned before Adam. So then, if aliens did exist, they would either have to be sinless aliens or have come into existence after we did and be likewise condemned by our human sin.
At the same time, if there were aliens living somewhere else in the universe, then why would God have sent his Son to suffer and die but only for the redemption of human beings on earth? Romans 5:18 says “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.” But, what about justification and life for all creation? If there was another line of extra terrestrial life out there, then Jesus’ act of redemption surely would have extended to them as well, right?
Back in Romans 8 Paul adds that even though all creation groans because it is corrupted by human sin, it is only the human race that will be redeemed by Jesus’ death. Verse 23 says, “And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” Simply put, if God had intended that He would redeem extra terrestrial life (creation) also by Jesus’ death, then Paul surely would have included that vital information here.
Now, all that is to say that although I do not for biblical and rational reasons believe in extra terrestrial life, I do believe in extra physical life. Meaning, I do absolutely believe in the existence of a supernatural race of beings we know are called angels. The Bible has much to say about the very real existence of angels of light and angels of darkness who operate in an unseen dimension all around us. In 2 Corinthians 4:18 it says that “the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” So, there is an order of “alien” or angelic beings that do manifest themselves throughout the universe, and it is my belief that what people think are encounters with the 3rd kind are actually encounters with real angelic beings.
As it says in Ephesians 6:12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places.” Given this, it makes sense why so many people would confuse “spiritual forces” with extra terrestrials. In fact, this confusion is most likely not accidental but actually quite intentional.
What I mean by this is that Satan and his angels of darkness (demons) have deceived humanity by trying to mask or at the very least confuse their existence so they can work covertly behind the scene. Therefore, angels of darkness have cleverly disguised themselves by convincing people that they aren’t real but that aliens are. And, if they can convince people that they do not exist by blaming their activity on alien encounters, then they can work in the minds and hearts of people essentially unrecognized and unabated.
The simply truth is that there are no alien beings living on other planets waiting to invade our planet to experiment on our minds and consume our resources. Those stories are either just figments of imaginative minds or misplaced encounters with supernatural angelic beings. As Christians, we must be careful not to be deceived by the crafty “schemes of the devil” who wants to redirect our attention away from what is really happening in the spiritual realm.
It is because of this clever deception tactic that Paul urges us in Ephesians 6:13 to “take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” So, we are mandated to stand firm with the truth about what is really going on in the world around us, and that means exposing lies and crafty schemes whenever and wherever we happen to see (or not see) them.
The most amazing part of this post is in the first sentence “… I have been asked surprisingly often if I believe in extra terrestrials, UFOs and alien abductions.” That is just not a topic of discussion in my world.
Glad you covered this topic I have often wondered about this topic and never came to any conclusion.
Thanks for the comment, Rose. Some were surprised I spent the time to address this, but I think it’s something many people really do wonder about.
Hey Kent, not sure if you remember me… I was in John’s discipleship group back at SBC–my junior year in high school, I think. Anyway, just wanted to say I agree with your overall conclusions on this subject… I believe the UFO/alien phenomenon is real, but they are inter-dimensional spirit beings (specifically demons and fallen angels), not biological extra-terrestrials as Satan would have us believe.
I have come across some reliable, strictly Bible-based, Christ-centered teaching on this subject in my own research/study. There are strong Christian brothers who have made an entire ministry out of exposing the alien deception and are freeing people from the demonic abduction phenomena in the name of Jesus Christ. They are also working to expose the up-and-coming “alien agenda”, “alien doctrine”, or “alien religion” which is–believe it or not–merging quite nicely with the New Age movement. (The basic teaching being that aliens “seeded” our planet and kickstarted evolution. They have left us alone to grow and evolve, but our beloved “space-brothers” or “ascended masters” will soon need to re-visit us to keep us from killing each other and the planet, and will guide us into the next wave of spiritual evolution/consciousness). (I’m telling you what THEY believe, not ME!).
Just look at the movies and television shows being pumped out these days about alien visitation on earth–there is clearly an agenda behind it all (i.e. predictive programming). It isn’t strictly entertainment, like most people tend to believe. You also have very real political movements calling for “alien disclosure” from the government. I honestly think this could play into the End Times deception somehow.
In any event, look into these resources below if you want to investigate this further. As Christians we need to have a ready defense for what the Bible has to say about these matters in order to lead people to the living Christ. I wish the Church had not run so far away from discussing this topic–the UFO phenomenon is clearly demonic in nature and the unbelieving world needs answers that point them to Christ.
Here are the links… (some of them you will have to search through the archives to find the shows related to aliens/UFO’s/abductions/demons/nephilim/fallen angels/etc.):
(*Please email me at jacob [at] segerman [dot] com and I will send the links directly)
Thanks for writing about this subject, I got a lot out of your analysis!
In Christ,
Jacob
Jacob, thanks for the comment and for the additional info. I do remember you and appreciate hearing from you. Come back and visit anytime!