Did God create life on other planets?
Otherwise why is the universe so big?
by Gary Bates
[INTRODUCTION ADDED NOVEMBER 2009:
We have received numerous inquiries from around the world on the issue, with CMI-US
CEO Gary Bates quoted on CNN television just days ago—see
http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/tech/2009/11/13/am.vatican.aliens.cnn.html.
In light of this recent story, we are republishing the following article by Gary
(the author of the creationist classic
Alien Intrusion: UFOs and the Evolution Connection) which will be of
great interest to you in understanding this growing phenomenon.]
Many people, Christian or otherwise, struggle with the notion that the earth is
the only inhabited planet in this enormous universe.
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Those who believe life evolved on the earth usually see it as virtual ‘fact’
that life has evolved on countless other planets. Discovering life on other planets
would in turn be seen as confirming their evolutionary belief.
But even many Christians think, ‘God must have created life elsewhere, otherwise
this enormous universe would be an awful waste of space.’ However, our thinking
should be based on what God said He did (the Bible), and not what we think He would
or should have done.
Firstly, since God is the one who made the universe, it can scarcely be ‘big’
to Him. Humans struggle with its vastness because our comprehension is limited to
the created time/space dimensions within which we exist, and it is mind-bending
to try and comprehend anything beyond these. Size is only relative to us as inhabitants
of this universe. And size and time are related somewhat. Because the universe is
big to us we consider how long it would take us to travel across it, for example.
But time itself began with the creation of the physical universe, but how can we
understand eternity? What was ‘before’ the universe? Similarly, how
do we understand how ‘big’ God is? We cannot use a tape measure that
is made of atoms to measure Him.
The Bible and ETs
It is often asked, ‘Just because the Bible teaches about God creating intelligent
life only on Earth, why couldn’t He have done so elsewhere?’
After all, Scripture does not discuss everything, e.g. motorcars. However, the biblical
objection to ET is not merely an argument from silence. Rather, understanding the
big picture of the Bible/gospel message allows us to conclude clearly that the reason
the Bible doesn’t mention extraterrestrials (ETs) is that there aren’t
any.1
- The Bible indicates that the whole creation groans and travails under the
weight of sin (Romans 8:18–22). The effect of the Curse following
Adam’s Fall was universal.2 Otherwise what would be the
point of God destroying this whole creation to make way for a new heavens
and Earth—2 Peter 3:13, Revelation 21:1 ff? Therefore, any ETs living elsewhere
would have been (unjustly) affected by the Adamic Curse through no fault of their
own—they would not have inherited Adam’s sin nature.
- When Christ (God) appeared in the flesh, He came to Earth not only to redeem mankind
but eventually the whole creation back to Himself (Romans 8:21, Colossians 1:20). However, Christ’s atoning death
at Calvary cannot save these hypothetical ETs, because one needs to be a physical
descendant of Adam for Christ to be our ‘kinsman-redeemer’ (Isaiah 59:20). Jesus was called ‘the last Adam’
because there was a real first man, Adam (1 Corinthians 15:22,45)—not a first Vulcan, Klin gon
etc. This is so a sinless human Substitute takes on the punishment all humans deserve
for sin (Isaiah 53:6,10; Matthew 20:28; 1 John 2:2, 4:10), with no need to atone for any
(non-existent) sin of his own (Hebrews 7:27).
- Since this would mean that any ETs would be lost for eternity when this present
creation is destroyed in a fervent heat (2 Peter 3:10, 12), some have wondered whether Christ’s
sacrifice might be repeated elsewhere for other beings. However, Christ died once
for all (Romans 6:10, 1 Peter 3:18) on the earth. He is not going
to be crucified and resurrected again on other planets (Hebrews 9:26). This is confirmed by the fact that the redeemed
(earthly) church is known as Christ’s bride (Ephesians 5:22–33; Revelation 19:7–9) in a marriage that will last
for eternity.3 Christ is
not going to be a polygamist with many other brides from other planets.
- The Bible makes no provision for God to redeem any other species, any more than
to redeem fallen angels (Hebrews 2:16).
Fitting them in there … somehow!
One attempt to fit ETs in the Bible is on the basis of a word in Hebrews 11:3: ‘Through faith we understand that the
worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were
not made of things which do appear.’
The word ‘worlds’ appears in the KJV translation and some others, and
some claim that it refers to other inhabitable planets. However, the word is αἰῶν (aiōn), from which we derive the
word ‘eon’. Thus modern translations render the word as ‘universe’
(entire space-time continuum) because it correctly describes ‘everything that
exists in time and space, visible and invisible, present and eternal’. Even
if it was referring to other planets, it is an unwarranted extrapolation to presume
intelligent life on them.
Jesus’ teaching was causing division among the Jews, because they always believed
that salvation from God was for them alone. Jesus was reaffirming that He would
be the Saviour of all mankind.
Another is the passage in John 10:16 in which Jesus says, ‘I have other sheep,
which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice;
and they will become one flock with one shepherd.’ However, even an ET-believing
astronomer at the Vatican (thus a ‘hostile witness’ to the ‘no
ETs cause’), a Jesuit priest by the name of Guy Consalmagno, concedes, ‘In
context, these “other sheep” are presumably a reference to the Gentiles,
not extraterrestrials.’4
Jesus’ teaching was causing division among the Jews (vs. 19), because they
always believed that salvation from God was for them alone. Jesus was reaffirming
that He would be the Saviour of all mankind.
A novel approach
A more recent idea to allow for ETs arose out of a perceived need to protect Christianity
in the event of a real alien visitation to Earth. Michael S. Heiser is an influential
Christian UFOlogist/speaker with a Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible and Ancient Semitic Languages.
He claims that the arguments put forward earlier might not apply to God-created
aliens. Because they are not descendants of Adam they have not inherited his sin
nature, and thus, are not morally guilty before God. Just like ‘bunny rabbits’
on the earth, they do not need salvation—even though they will die, they are
going to neither heaven nor hell.
On the surface this seems a compelling argument; after all, fallen angels are intelligent
but are beyond salvation (Hebrews 2:16). However, angels are immortal and not of our
corporeal dimension. And Heiser’s ETs in spaceships require a level of intelligence
not found in rabbits. This acutely highlights the injustice of their suffering the
effects of the Curse, including death and ultimately extinction when the heavens
are ‘rolled up like a scroll’ (Revelation 6:14). It also seems bizarre to assign no moral
responsibility for the actions of highly intelligent beings.
Heiser also claims that vastly intelligent ETs would not displace mankind’s
position as being made in the image of God because ‘image’ just means
humans have been placed as God’s representatives on the earth.
However, the Bible says we are made in God’s image and likeness (Genesis 1:26). Man was immediately created a fully intelligent
being about 6,000 years ago and was involved in craftsmanship shortly thereafter
(Genesis 4:22). Since that time, even we have not been able
to develop technologies advanced enough to travel to other star systems. If aliens
were capable of developing incredible faster-than-light spaceships needed to get
here, one would presume they must have been created with vastly superior intellect
to ours—which would make them even more in God’s likeness in that sense
than we are. Or, their creation is much older than the 6,000 years of the biblical
six-day timeframe; the aliens were created before man and had sufficient time to
develop their technologies. However, God created Earth on Day 1 and later the heavenly
bodies on Day 4.
Influenced from outside the Bible
Although Heiser does not promote theistic evolution, he is sympathetic to a universe
billions of years old, as proposed by the progressive creationist Dr Hugh Ross.5 In theory, this could allow
the time necessary for any unseen ETs to develop the almost science-fiction-like
technologies required to get here. But, this is circular reasoning.
However, there is a huge problem for the Gospel in these long ages. First, it’s
important to understand that long ages derived from the belief that sedimentary
rock layers on Earth represent eons of time.6
This in turn derived from the dogmatic assumption that there were no special
acts of creation or a global Flood, so that Earth’s features must be explained
by processes seen to be happening now.7
This philosophy of uniformitarianism seems to amply fulfil the Apostle
Peter’s prophecy recorded in 2 Peter 3:3–7.
The conflict with the Gospel is that these very same rock layers contain fossils—a
record of dead things showing evidence of violence, disease and suffering. Thus,
taking a millions-of-years view, even without evolution, places death and suffering
long before the Fall of Adam. This undermines the Gospel and the very reasons that
Christ came to the earth—such as reversing the effects of the Curse.
Ranking the created order
Psalm 8:5 says that man was made a little lower than the
angels and crowned with glory and honour. Heiser has said that salvation is based
upon ranking, not intelligence. If so, where would ET sit in this pecking order
(which omits to mention them)? Would they be higher than man, and lower than angels,
for example? If these advanced ETs were capable of visiting the earth, mankind would
now be subject to their dominion. (Even if the ETs were friendly, potentially
they would be much more powerful due to their intelligence and technology.) This
would be in direct contravention to God’s ordained authority structure when
he ordered mankind to ‘subdue’ the earth—also known as the dominion
mandate (Genesis 1:28).
Be ‘awe’ inspired
Psalm 19:1 tells us a major reason that the universe is
so vast: ‘The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His
handiwork.’
It reminds us that the more we discover about this incredible universe, the more
we should be in awe of the One who made it all. That’s who we should be thinking
of, not imaginary aliens we’ve never seen.
Could there be ‘simple life’ elsewhere in space?
NASA
NASA
Two identical Mars Rovers traverse the surface searching for evidence of water.
Evolutionary researchers are eagerly looking for past or present signs of (even)
microscopic life.
The Bible’s ‘big picture’ seems to preclude intelligent
life elsewhere in God’s universe1 (see main text). But what about
bacteria on other planets for example? It’s possible that God made these,
but exceedingly unlikely.2 What would be their purpose? The entire focus
of creation is mankind on this Earth; the living forms on Earth’s beautifully
balanced biosphere are part of our created life support system.
If bacteria are found elsewhere in the solar system, it will be hailed as proof
that life can ‘just evolve’.3 However, we have previously
predicted in print that in such an unlikely event, the organisms will have earth-type
DNA, etc., consistent with having originated from here as contaminants—either
carried by recent man-made probes, or riding fragments of rock blasted from Earth
by meteorite impacts.
References
- Compare Grigg, R., Did life come from outer space?
Creation 22(4):40–43, 2000; Bates, G., Alien Intrusion: UFOs and the evolution connection,
Master Books, Arkansas, USA, 2004.
- Sarfati, J., Conclusive evidence for life from Mars? Remember
last time! <creation.com/mars>, 15 May 2002.
- Matthews, M., Space life? Answering unearthly allegations,
Creation 25(3):54–55, 2003; <creation.com/space_life>.
Readers’ comments:
Louis v. R., South Africa, 18 November 2009
If life actually were discovered somewhere else in the universe, how would CMI or
Gary adapt this article?
Gary Bates responds:
Thanks for your email. However, a search of our website will reveal that we have
already answered this question. Please see the following articles.
Did God create life
on other planets
Is the Bible falsifiable?
Is the Bible falsifiable and would a real ET do it (part 2)
God and the extraterrestrials.
Are we alone, or is there life elsewhere in the universe?
Life from space?
Unlikely … Let’s wait and see
Also you can visit the
Alien Life / UFO Questions and Answers section on our site for more related
articles.
I hope these help.
Thanks
Kevin M., United States, 19 November 2009
People talk about aliens and say, "What a waste of space, if we’re the only
ones here!" But if God had created the same-size universe without any other stars
or planets, wouldn’t someone else say the same thing about ours being the
only planet? And if He instead made a much SMALLER universe, still with no other
stars or planets, wouldn’t it occur to others to question why God would create
such a small universe? On the other hand, if we discovered–after hypothetically
searching all the universe–only a few other forms of life, wouldn’t
some ask why there weren’t more? And if every star in the universe had one
or more planets around it, each with intelligent life, couldn’t one still
ask, "Why didn’t an omnipotent God m! ake an even BIGGER universe?" Ultimately,
any reality we discover to be true can be used to question the idea that God should
have–or MUST have–made more and still more, perhaps an infinite amount
of everything. But is God bound to do everything–or ANYTHING–to an infinite
degree? Perhaps His interest in and love for us are made all the more profound by
our tinyness and uniqueness in the presence of an immense though otherwise uninhabited
universe. Perhaps He’s showing us that size and distance and space and matter–regardless
of their vastness–are insignificant compared to the worth of a human soul.
And perhaps, because of His emphasis on love to our neighbors, He’s put all
of our "neighbors" on the same planet WE live on, where we can interact with them.
There are, after all, near seven billion of us, and which of us has exhausted all
the potential interactions or studied all the variety–not only of other people,
but the myriad forms of OTHER life on the planet? Why do we co! nsider all seven
billion of us “alone” when we haven’t even known the company of
most others we DO know about, let alone hypothetical aliens that we don’t?
Or would we still complain of isolation if the universe were filled with life, because
there was only ONE universe and not MANY, as some people think? And if God DID create
many other forms of intelligent life out there, how could that possibly comfort
us if there’s no way of interacting with them or even being sure they exist?
Of one thing most of us can be sure: If God DID create other forms of intelligent
life out there, He obviously hasn’t wanted us to know about it–at least
till now–so what does it matter? And if it doesn’t matter, at least
for OUR purposes, then why assume they’re out there in the first place? And
if they’re there only for GOD’S purposes, what can we possibly know
of it unless He tells us?
Tristan V., Australia, 19 November 2009
Hello,
I wanted to comment on this paragraph:
Or, their creation is much older than the 6,000 years of the biblical six-day timeframe;
the aliens were created before man and had sufficient time to develop their technologies.
However, God created Earth on Day 1 and later the heavenly bodies on Day 4.
If my understanding of Dr Russell Humphreys and Dr John Harnett’s models of
how our cosmos might have come to be formed is correct, then it implies that other
places may be much older than our earth currently is (by their time) even though
they were created after earth was (our time).
If this is correct, then the statement above doesn’t really form a solid argument
as the current creationist understanding would allow such long times in distant
places in the universe.
Thats not to say ET evolved there though.
Cheers,
Tristan
Gary Bates responds:
Hi Tristan,
Thanks for your email. You make a good point. In Humphreys’ time dilation/distant
starlight model, I suppose any “created” aliens say out near the event
horizon of the universe could have millions of years of their time to develop their
technologies.
However, it is a bit of a moot point though. Firstly, for God to have created any
intelligent sentient beings other than humans would violate the gospel—remembering
that the whole purpose of creation was to bring forward a bride for Christ (not
many brides). I pointed out the theological problems with that idea in the article.
Secondly, even if they were millions of years advanced in their technologies (presuming
that my theological interpretation of the gospel is wrong and God did create them),
then regardless of how advanced they are they would really be unable to visit the
earth. The trip would have to take billions of years because faster than light travel
is an impossibility in our time/space universe. Many people think that because there
is advancement in propulsion systems as our civilizations become more technologically
advanced, that somehow we will be able to zip around at warp factor nine in our
hyperdrive spaceships. This really is the stuff of science fiction. Regardless of
how advanced a race’s technology is we will simply not be able to switch off
the laws of physics. In addition, such trips, if they could be done, would require
multiple generations of aliens piloting the spaceships to be able to get here due
to the billions of years it would take.
Lastly, even presupposing my first two points are wrong, any advanced aliens visiting
the earth would break God’s dominion mandate (as described in the article).
Also, in Russ Humphreys’ Evidence for a young world he shows that erosion
has been happening to fast on Earth for the standard evolutionary cosmological dates
of 4.5 billions years. In short, any ET worlds with biospsheres like the earth’s
etc. would have eroded away billions of years ago. I suppose though, they could
have left their worlds and inhabited others and just keep heading inwards where
the world are younger. Oops, trouble is by the time they would reach them they would
have eroded away too etc.
Just some musings on the subject.
Kind regards.
Gary Bates
Peter W., United Kingdom, 2 December 2009
I have studied UFO phenomena on and off since I was a child. My father was a Professor
of Systematic Theology at Northwestern. He too had an interest in UFOs. He lunched
one day with the late Dr J Allen Hynek of Project Blue Book fame. When asked what
Hynek thought these phenomena were, Hynek replied “I know they exist as I
was chasing one last night with the Police in Rockford (Il), I do not know what
they are but I THINK they are extra-dimensional.” Well he was right wasn’t
he? The best web based article on UFOs from a Biblical perspective is to be found
on the Blepo Factor website-here is the URL—http://www.blepofactor.com/ufos.htm
That should wake a few people up.
http://www.blepofactor.com/ascended_masters.htm
As for the vastness of the universe and the assumption that if man had made it man
would have filled it with other life forms-first we have a presumptive arrogance
that God would do things our way. He doesn’t and states this. Secondly as
my Dad told me “God made it marvelous simply because He wanted to. Lastly
the Bible tells us through the Psalmist-“The Hevaens declare the Glory of
the Lord”. Amen.
Pat F., United Kingdom, 3 December 2009
Thank you so much for this well-argued article, with which I totally agree. And
a thousand thanks for your ‘Creation’ magazine, which we have been getting
for many years and which we believe to be the finest magazine ever published, bar
none. It is a joy to receive-full of truth, reinforcing the faith that many of us
hold by providing us with the hard facts. I hope that many more people will subscribe
and furnish their minds with the truth about creation and evolution.
Thank you again and may the Lord get your message to more people than ever in 2010.
All best wishes,
Pat F.
Dr David King, Australia, 3 December 2009
As an astronomer (previously appearing in Creation magazine [Ed.—see
Exploring the heavens])
I wholeheartedly agree with Gary Bates. There is no evidence in science or the Bible
that there is life elsewhere. We are His handiwork.
Steve M., New Zealand, 7 December 2009
Sirs, you have nicely summarized why I concluded some years ago that the idea of
theological life on other planets was fraught with theological and logical difficulties,
therefore was not likely.
Let me add that I find the SETI quest to be religious in motivation. Having denied
God they are groping in the dark for some substitute. As Christians we have no need
for a God substitute; and there is no logical reason to assume any other life in
the universe.
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Related articles
References
- Of course, there are angelic beings. These were made early
in Creation Week—referred to as ‘sons of God’ and ‘morning
stars’ in the poetry of the book of Job, they rejoiced and sang at the formation
of the earth’s ‘foundations’ (Job 38:7). Return to text.
- Sarfati, J., The Fall: a cosmic catastrophe:
Hugh Ross’s blunders on plant death in the Bible, Journal of Creation
19(3):60–64, 2005; <creation.com/plant_death>.
Return to text.
- The church was bought with the blood of its Saviour from the
wound in His side, a clear analogy to the first woman being born from a ‘wound’
in Adam’s side. Return to text.
- Consolgmagno, G., Humans are not God’s only intelligent
works,
3 January 2006. He actually took the affirmative side in a debate with CMI’s
Dr Jonathan Sarfati
(they didn’t see each other’s arguments before publication in the liberal
Science and Theology News). Return to text.
- Ross believes in soulless man-like creatures before Adam,
similar in spiritual status to Heiser’s hypothetical ETs. For a complete refutation
of Ross’s ideas see Refuting Compromise by Jonathan Sarfati Master
Books, Arkansas, USA, 2004. Return to text.
- Henry, J.F., An old age for the earth is the heart of evolution,
Creation Research Society Quarterly 40(3):164–172,
December 2003. Return to text.
- Mortenson, T., The Great Turning Point, Master Books,
Arkansas, USA, 2004. Return to text.
(Available in Portuguese)
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