If Aliens Exist, What Happens to God?

The publication of 72 files from the FBI, CIA, and Pentagon reveals testimony, videos, and artistic depictions of what officials call unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP). What could this mean for our faith?

Nothing!

And since I am giving my answer so early, you can either stop reading this blog post now or continue reading the reasons why my answer is nothing.

Recently, a growing number of files have emerged suggesting that there is something out there that we do not fully understand. Whatever it is, something seems to be moving. Alongside these revelations, there have also been reports of disappearances and deaths involving people who were researching similar topics, to the point that the FBI reportedly examined whether any connection existed with UAP-related investigations.

Could the existence of other intelligent life threaten our faith? Could it bring confusion, disorder, or uncertainty?

Theologians and YouTube commentators are already rushing to defend Christianity, arguing that not only does the Bible never say that extraterrestrial life cannot exist, but that there are references to beings such as angels in the Old Testament. And perhaps we will hear even more adaptations of this kind, simply to make Christianity fit comfortably into every new discussion and remain mainstream.

However, reality may be a little different.

From our experience, we understand that there is a side of human nature that loves searching for the unknown, advancing technology, and discovering new astronomical phenomena. Yet there is another side of our nature that turns toward things that are deeply earthly and spiritual, a dimension that remains unexplored no matter how much it has been studied.

This dimension of faith and spirituality cannot simply be explained away because our consciousness is limited.

If we were programmed by another civilization, then they have failed, because many of us who believe in Jesus find our answers in a man who lived 2,000 years ago rather than in any evidence we may have for extraterrestrial life.

If we are an experiment, and our faith still sustains us - even if faith itself were somehow part of a system designed to help us survive - then our belief in God and in a person transcends even the programmers themselves.

And if there is another civilization out there, that does not necessarily mean that it knows its own origin. We would be more than happy to share our faith with them. It might even save them from countless interstellar journeys in their search for meaning.

The fact that a civilization may have developed extremely advanced technology does not necessarily mean that it knows God.

Think for a moment about Adam and Eve if they had remained in the garden a little longer. Knowing their character, they might eventually have developed modern methods of growing and harvesting apples. They might have dug deep into the earth and built storage facilities. They could have possessed all the knowledge of God, yet that would not automatically have given them the ability to truly know Him, even while living in His garden.

A large percentage of the files that have been released seem to originate from regions such as the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and other areas where tension exists. Perhaps that is what attracts them?! 

Faith focuses on something within us that no technology, no observation of distant galaxies, and not even the advances of psychology have managed to replace with God.

Even if other life is discovered in the future, even if everything changes, what remains is the experience of two thousand years and humanity's encounter with the divine.

It is something that cannot be fully explained. And the paradox is that the less visible it seems to be, the closer you move toward it, the more deeply you feel it, and the more it softens your inner world.

Throughout history, many scientists who helped humanity better understand the universe did not see scientific discovery as a threat to faith.

Johannes Kepler, one of the founders of modern astronomy, believed that by studying the heavens we were "thinking God's thoughts after Him." For Kepler, science was not the opposite of faith but another way of appreciating creation.

Isaac Newton, whose work transformed physics and mathematics, spent a significant part of his life studying theology and Scripture. He believed that the order and laws of nature reflected the work of a Creator.

Max Planck, the father of quantum theory, argued that science and religion were not enemies. In his view, both emerged from humanity's search for truth and meaning.

Even Albert Einstein, although his understanding of God differed from traditional religious belief, often spoke about the profound mystery and order of the universe. He famously remarked that "science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind."

Perhaps this is why so many people, even after exploring the vastness of the cosmos, continue to ask the same ancient questions about meaning, purpose, and God.