I have written bits and pieces about this in other places, speculating about how aliens could be tied into Christian Theology and World Religions (if aliens exist at all). I have speculated about how alien life could tie into an overall framework to understand why God made the world, as well as how alien life might be part of the evidence for God's existence. But I have never written a full description of why I think aliens probably exist, and how we might understand their possible visitation to our planet. That is what I would like to do here.
Before I write this, I want to stress that this is pure speculation. It is not dogma, nor is it doctrine. It is an extended exercise in "what if" that is best seen as a form of theological science fiction. Yet, I am incredibly sympathetic to my friend's very last statement. I think his intuition is spot on, and I will explain why below. However, I do NOT think "God" is an alien, NOR do I think Enlightened Beings such as Muhammad or Buddha or Jesus were aliens, BUT I do have a hunch that all of this is interconnected. And I will also explain this too. But please keep in mind this is speculation, mixed with limited evidence, mixed with the theology of Christianity and several Earthly religions.
CREATION AND MULTIVERSE
I think the universe exists as an outward and tangible expression of the Infinite Source who is pure Love, Wisdom, and Power. The universe exists to realize and actualize all of the Potential held in the Divine Self, and at the end of all things, to unite all Realities back with their Source in Eternal Love. This Source is called "God" for most religions (Elohim, YHWH, Allah, Theos, Brahman, Shangdi) or called by a term meant to evoke an Infinite Transcendent dimension of Reality (Nirvana, Tian, Tao). For the sake of simplicity, although this Name has gotten bad press in History, lets just call our Source "God".
Because the Universe exists to actualize Divine Potential and then unite that Reality to God in Love, I don't think one single universe can do the job of actualizing this Infinite Divine Potential. I think that the Copenhagen Interpretation of Quantum physics makes sense theologically: Every Universe that could possibly exist does actually exist. Any time a quantum probability could be resolved in multiple ways, it IS resolved in multiple ways in separate universes which manifest every possible outcome. In this way the Multiverse is the "manifestation of the Glory of God".
When I look at the cosmos, I see a majestic and beautiful, rationally understandable, infinitely creative universe which unfolds the Goodness, Rationality, and Being of God into ever more creative and complex life forms. Furthermore, the physical laws of the universe seem to function in such a way as to maximize the potential for life evolve into ever more creative and conscious beings. Einstein once objected to aspects of quantum theory by saying “God does not play dice”. I humbly disagree. It seems to me that God does play dice. And the dice seem to be “loaded”, so that the system is “rigged” in such a way that intelligent life can evolve, to know and love their Creator and Source of Being. This entire universe is a dance of rational, law governed systems, within which the indeterminate freedom of creativity exists, which issues forth in an awe inspiring diversity of phenomena and creatures. This is precisely the kind of creation which unfolds and displays the infinite potential of its transcendent Creator.
Therefore, I fully expect for humans to one day find life, and even intelligent life, on other planets, because that is the kind of universe I expect to find, if God is the kind of God we have described. If God is the Goodness thus described, and desires that there should be awe inspiring diversity of life forms, I cannot imagine that God would be creatively satisfied by one species of sentient persons evolving on one planet. I would love to be alive when we make first contact with other kinds of persons who are also made in God’s image. When that happens we will enter into another possibility for growth into our understanding of God, as we compare our conceptions of Ultimate Reality with how non-human cultures have come to understand the Ultimate Source of our existence.
EVOLUTION: TECHNOLOGICAL, MORAL, SPIRITUAL
It seems that evolution is the means by which God accomplishes the creation of persons made in God's image, and that evolutionary creation is the most compelling read of Biblical creation narratives. So, in terms of how the evolution of life unfolds, in this galaxy alone (out of an innumerable number of galaxies in our universe) there are innumerable planets that could support life, and thus the high probability of innumerable species of life on those planets. But, of those possible species of life, only the top fraction of a percent become sentient and conscious tool makers, who are the dominant life forms on their planets. Of those sentient tool-making species, only a fraction are able to make it to the "Nuclear Age" without famine, plague, or disaster wiping them out of history. Of those that make it to the "Nuclear Age"-- in which the species finally has the power to wipe out all life on their planet through nuclear bombs, biological warfare, or pollution-- only a fraction make it through this to become interstellar species.
I think that at each stage of social evolution, in order to make it to the next stage, sentient species have to undergo moral and spiritual evolution as well. Without spiritual and moral evolution to accompany and empower technological evolution, the species will inevitably commit "species suicide". Thus all species have to overcome tribalism, nationalism, and the selfish "profit motive" to gain at others' expense, in order to make it to become a space-faring species. This moral evolution is based in a spiritual evolution: Realizing we are all interconnected as expressions of Divine Life in the realm of space and time. In other words, we have to become God conscious and see God in each other's life to evolve into the fullness of our potential.
I think that "God" is the Name for that Force of Love and Wisdom that beckons us to further technological, moral, and spiritual evolution. For some species, God-consciousness probably takes a form like Earthly monotheisms, where there is a personal union with a God who is envisioned as a responsive agent who knows and cares for us. For other species, God-consciousness probably takes a form more like Earthly panentheism, where there is a sense that we are integrated into a Cosmic Pattern or Life Force that binds all things together. In all forms of God-consciousness, the essential element is that we become aware of the Transcendent Value of all Life which impels us toward Love and compassion and empathy for all beings.
God wants the universe to evolve beings who can come to know and love their Creator, and express the Creator's Love and Wisdom to others. I think that those we see as the "Great Saints" or "Enlightened Beings" or "Avatars" are those people who have come to a unique experience and vision of this Harmony with God. They have come to this from their own cultures, with their own limitations, and they phrase it in their own idioms. But the underlying values are so similar as to be the same: Universal compassion, selfless altruism, gracious kindness, joyful peace, deep wisdom, liberating justice, healing, wholeness, integration, etc. Along with this comes the knowledge that to deny these values ultimately leads to death and destruction and addiction and bondage and misery. Call it karma. Call it hell. Call it purgatory. But the self destruction that comes from denying "the Love that moves the stars" is a real consequence of failing to evolve morally and spiritually.
I think the Buddha, Muhammad, Lao Tze, Confucious, Moses, Abraham, Krishna, Guru Gobind Singh, and many others are all examples of humans who have come to this realization from their own cultural perspectives. Furthermore, I expect that each Alien species that has not killed itself also has their pantheon of Enlightened Beings who have realized and manifest these Divine Values. But I speculate there is also another way Divine Life is manifested within the species of the Universe. And that is by Incarnation.
EVOLUTION AND INCARNATION
While Enlightened Beings or "Saints" are sentient beings who come to realize their oneness with "God" in a kind of "bottom up" manner, there is also the possibility that "God" could choose to empty God's Infinite power and experience existence as a finite creature in a "top down" manner. That would seem to be part of the logic of Creation: That the Infinite God should experience what it is like to become finite, the unborn God experience birth, the eternal God experience aging, the undying God experience death. Furthermore, the function of the Divine Incarnation is to provide each species a vision of what fully evolved life looks like, in the middle of the course of species evolution. This is to say, using the ideas of Catholic Theologian Teilhard De Chardin, that the Incarnation is the "Omega Point" of evolution appearing in the midst of History.
This is because God knows how incredibly hard it is for species to evolve morally and spiritually beyond the predatory instincts that made that species the dominant species on their planet. God knows that it is precisely these predatory instincts-- to gain at others' expense, to compete, to win, to subjugate, to dominate, to destroy-- which doom species to commit "suicide" when they reach that level of technology which allows them the power to destroy their planets. This is why it makes sense that, in order to maximize species capacity to evolve morally and spiritually, that God should become incarnate at the optimal time in history which is early enough to change their moral and spiritual trajectory, while also being late enough in history that the incarnation can be reliably recorded and transmitted to others.
It is also beneficial that the Incarnation should happen amongst a social group that is weak and vulnerable, in order to fully embody the Divine Value of compassion and empathy for the weak, vulnerable, and needy. Because without a value for "the least of these", a species cannot possibly grow into that vision of universal compassion that will allow them to survive once they attain the godlike power of technology. Without the Incarnation coming early enough, the message won't have time to be integrated into culture when technology increases. Without the Incarnation coming late enough, the message cannot be reliably transmitted through cultures around the Planet in reliable records. Without the Incarnation happening amongst the vulnerable and oppressed, it would simply reinforce predatory morality of the strong feeding on the weak.
Thus, I think that God did become uniquely Incarnate in the Person of Jesus Christ, to be the "Omega Point" of human evolution arriving at the midpoint of history, at just the right time for his message and example to be transmitted through world culture. His incarnation in no way diminishes the moral and spiritual insights of other Enlightened Beings, but serves to highlight and validate what is good, true, and beautiful in their teachings. They are all signposts pointing to God Incarnate, and God Incarnate is thus a signpost pointing to what we all can evolve into if we follow his Path of Love. After all, Jesus did say "Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. " [John 14.12]
And furthermore, not only does something unique happen for humans in the Incarnation of Christ, but something unique happens in the life of God as well. God experiences what it is like to be one of those unique sentient creatures called humans: To experience what it is like to walk bipedally, to have two hands with opposable thumbs, to eat human food, to speak human language, to process information with a human brain, and to see with human eyes. God takes the fullness of human experience from the womb to the tomb, and unites it with God's life forever. God takes the finitude of a particular human life and unites it with the infinity of the universal divine life. And I speculate that what God has done on this planet, with this species, is what God has done on countless other planets with countless other species as well.
ALIEN INCARNATIONS AND VARIATIONS
This idea was first suggested to me by the writings of CS Lewis. In Lewis' "Space Trilogy" he sets up the principle that the Divine Life is manifested to each sentient species in accordance with their culture and their needs. In these books, he paints a picture of planets alive with radically different species of sentient life. Not only did they have different kinds of forms and limbs and sensory apparatus and language, they were also affected by sin and morality in different ways. For some, sin and moral failure had only affected a portion of their life. For others, sin had wiped them out completely. And for at least one race, they had not fallen at all. They still existed in primal harmony with God.
CS Lewis also speculated that God became incarnate ONLY on our planet, because ONLY humans had a unique need for God to be manifested in this way. While the ideas listed in the paragraph above always sparked my imagination, I thought something awry with Lewis' thoughts on alien incarnations. And Lewis validated this feeling in his fantasy series "Chronicles of Narnia". Because in the Chronicles, there is a countless multiverse of worlds, and every fictional world takes on objective existence at some level of Reality. This process of the Creator creating creative beings, and then their creations taking on objective existence as part of Reality, is often called "subcreation" or "mythopoeia" in by CS Lewis and his friends.
For Lewis, EACH of these created worlds had a Divine Incarnation appropriate to that world. In Narnia, God was Incarnated in the Lion Aslan. But Aslan was not a different Person from the Person of Jesus of Nazareth. They are both the same Divine Person incarnated in two different dimensions, on two different worlds, according to the needs of the sentient beings there. So while Lewis' Space Trilogy denies that the Divine Incarnation happens for any species but humans, Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia almost guarantees that every species has a Divine Incarnation.
I cannot prove it. But at a deep intuitive level, I think that this is how God relates to the multiverse, and every sentient species in it. At just the right time in the history of each species, among some vulnerable or despised group in that species, God becomes incarnate. The Infinite Universal Life experiences Particular Embodied Life within the unique constraints and limitations of that species, in order to guide their moral and spiritual evolution, that they may evolve into the fullness of what they could become. Thus, I would not be surprised if, when we encounter alien life, we find that they also see themselves as bound to all other sentient beings in the Transcendent Life of the Infinite Source of the Universe expressed in unending Love, Wisdom, and Power. But not only that. It would not surprise me if we find similar stories of Incarnation across the cultures of the galaxy, in which this Infinite Source becomes finite and embodied, to show creatures how to manifest Divine Love in the world.
However, I truly wonder if we have to wait to "find them". I think it might be the case that "they" have already found us. I think it might be the case that they have been visiting us for the entire history of our race. Because if other species are anywhere near as curious as we are-- and I think curiosity is not only an evolutionary benefit, but also a mark of "the image of God" in us-- then they probably want to study and observe how other species evolve as well. After all, we spend an immense amount of time and resources documenting the evolution of other species on our planet. Would it be so odd that alien xenobiologists and historians would want to do the same on other planets?
Furthermore, if alien species have attained the level of moral and spiritual evolution to not destroy themselves with their godlike technology, they might then see themselves as extensions of God's life in the world, sent to help other species attain their full development as well. And yet, they would surely realize that imposing themselves explicitly on other planets would stunt the evolution of those species (in a way similar to why "The Prime Directive" is used in the Star Trek universe). For instance, in the case of Earthly colonialism, we have seen how more powerful and advanced societies can actually retard the social and economic growth of developing nations. As is the case with our primitive colonialism, even more so with hyper-advanced alien civilizations. So perhaps the reason we have not met "them" yet is that we have not evolved enough yet to meet them. At this stage it would harm, and not help, our species evolution.
Another reason we may not have met them yet is due to our hubris in estimating how clever we are in finding them. This is because the MORE sentient and intelligent an entity is, the LESS we can understand it without its' "consent". For instance, we can know much about so-called "inanimate" matter and vegetation. To know a semi-sentient, somewhat intelligent animal, it takes more skill in observation and capture (cf. the difference in observing ants, rats, and chimps). Humans are yet harder to observe in an "objective" way, and are not able to be "captured". If there are advanced aliens, or angelic beings, they could only be observed by watching for their "mistakes", or asking them to reveal themselves, because they would be able to understand and evade even our best technology. And, if we are talking about the Infinite Source of all Reality, we would have to wait for such a Person to reveal themselves to know anything personal about them, because there would be no way to “capture” or “trick” them into revealing themselves.
Our technology must be to spacefaring aliens, as the technology of chimps or stone age primitives is to ours. For instance, imagine showing a set of smart phones to Leonardo Da Vinci and asking him to discern how they worked. As smart as he is, he would have no idea about electromagnetic waves or silicon computer chips or even how basic batteries worked. He would be completely unable to detect how they transmitted messages and data to one another. He would have no conceptual grid to even begin to understand them. And yet we take them for granted today. In the same way, it is hubris of the highest sort to think that we have reliable means of detecting whatever forms of life, and communication, and transport, there may be in the universe. But then again, if there is one thing humans are very good at: It is hubris.
Another problem with finding or recognizing alien life would be that we may have no real idea what to look for. We tend to think of aliens as embodied beings more or less like we are embodied. Sure, they may have more or less arms and eyes and digits. But essentially, we think of aliens as fleshy kinds of things, with cells and body structure and brains and organs. But, life may also have radically different forms. It could be digital, for instance. It might be that when humans finally develop Artificial Intelligence, it will only be our digital children that will be fully suited to meet alien life. Or it could be that some aliens are a trans-dimensional form of life that we might think of more as "ideas" or "patterns" or "mathematical concepts". Not only is the multiverse possible in the four dimensions of space and time, but we also know from quantum physics that at least 11 dimensions exist. Could even other dimensions exist that hold life appropriate to their dimensions? This idea is not incredibly different from how many religions think of angelic beings: Those purely spiritual beings who act as God's instruments for communication and control of the universe.
GODS, ANGELS, AND ALIEN VISITORS
So, we can conceive of "organic" aliens, "digital" aliens, and "spiritual" aliens at minimum. If such beings did ever appear to humans through the centuries, how might they be conceived? Science Fiction writer Arthur C. Clark is famous for pointing out that "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic". That is, it would appear as a violation of natural laws that could not be reduplicated using even the most advanced primitive "science" and "technology" available at the time. For primitive creatures, any being wielding such technology must be seen as an angel or demigod or god. There would be no other way of conveying the experience in ancient cultures.
So it is the case that what are seen as "theophanies" or "angels" or "demons" or other mythological stories in cultures around the world might be experiences of ancient cultures with advanced civilizations. I don't think this can explain ALL myths and miracles and angel stories. But perhaps it could explain some. But if it explains some, how far does that explanation go? Could not "God" simply be an advanced alien race? Could humans simply be science projects of aliens, and not the result of evolution? Might not ancient civilizations and wonders such as the Nazca lines and the Pyramids simply be the result of humans working with aliens? After all, this is the basic thesis of several "Ancient Alien" theories that have sold tons of books and fueled several TV series and movie franchises.
I don't think so. First of all, this would imply the problem of infinite regress: What made the aliens, who made the aliens, who made the aliens, who made us? This pushes us back to the very origins of the Universe, and past the limits of empirical science. This is because empirical science deals with observable, repeatable, events that happen in space and time. But it cannot answer questions about what is non-empirical, non-observable, non-repeatable, before there was space or time or any other dimensions. In other words, science can only tell us how something comes from other things. It cannot tell us why there is something at all, rather than nothing. If there is a Transcendent Reality that gives rise to all other realities, it is a question for philosophy or theology or mystical experience. Not science.
Thus, beyond any conceivable level of technology is Transcendence: The Infinite Transcendent Reality that gives rise to all worlds. This Transcendent Source is not a being-- not even the most powerful of all beings-- but rather It is Being Itself. It does not possess a set of powers that can be duplicated by technology. It is power Itself. It does not merely possess all kinds of knowledge and goodness. It is knowledge and goodness itself. In other words, there is an infinite qualitative difference between "gods" (with a lower case "g") who possess superior knowledge and goodness and power, and God who is the Transcendent Source of knowledge, goodness, and power.
Thus, even if our species (and other species) have encountered "gods" and "angels" at various points in history (who may be alien life forms of various types), there is still the question of "God" with a capital "G". If there are aliens, I would imagine an ongoing task for their civilization is to experience and embody the Infinite and Transcendent God. We are all created by God, through the process of evolution, to grow into the fullness of Godself. And how we do that growing will be appropriate to the kind of being we are-- organic, digital, spiritual, etc.-- and the level of development and evolution our species is at.
To come back to the question of whether humans have been visited by aliens in ancient history, I could turn to my own religious tradition. In Christian Scripture we find curious and mystical references to appearances of God-- theophanies-- such as the famous three visitors to Abraham in Genesis chapter 18. There are countless stories of encounters with trans-dimensional angelic beings, from the ladder of Jacob in Genesis, to the Commander of the Armies of the Lord in Joshua, to the spinning wheels of four-faced angels in Ezekiel chapter 1, to the angel Gabriel meeting with Mary in the Gospels, to the wild and apocalyptic visions of John in Revelation. No one is quite sure what to do with all of these. Certainly some are ancient myths or symbolic visions of a purely literary nature. Perhaps some are direct revelations of Godself in space and time. And perhaps others are what we might call "alien lifeforms" of an organic or spiritual nature who acted as spokesmen for God.
But if I allow myself to be wildly speculative, perhaps my favorite "what if" story is that of the "magi" in Matthew chapter 2. According to the cryptic retelling of Matthew, these mysterious and unnamed non-Jews from the "east" were the first people who recognized Jesus as God incarnate by bringing him gifts symbolic of his Divine vocation: Gold for a King, frankincense to be used in the worship of a Deity, and myrrh to embalm a sacrificial victim. Where did they get such knowledge? What place in the "east" did they come from? How did they follow a "star" to the exact place Jesus was? All of these tantalizing morsels fit into a wild speculation that the magi were alien xenobiologists here to welcome the Incarnation of God in human form, just as God had become incarnate in their species in their histories. These alien scientists had meticulously watched the signs of human evolution, and realized that we were at the exact right crossroads for the Advent of God in human form. And they welcomed this Advent with an Epiphany gift to set him on his way to accomplish his Divine mission. This is an absolutely improbable reading of the Gospel based on pure speculation founded on problematic assumptions. But you have to admit: It would make a great plot for a movie or short story.
SPECULATION NOT DOCTRINE NOR DOGMA
This has been fun to write up. But I must stress that I hold this as pious speculation, and should be taken as such. It is NOT dogma. It is not part of those essential truths that "must be believed" to experience the fullness of salvation, and to live a moral life. It is also NOT doctrine. It is not part of the established ideas that make up any religion, although it has some basis in established religious doctrines.
For instance, for this alien hypothesis to work, God must exist, and the unique Incarnation of God in human history must have happened in the person of Jesus Christ. The doctrine of Creation must be true: The idea that the Universe exists as a intentional act of a Loving God, who uses the secondary processes of evolution, to create sentient persons who are "children of God" made "in the image of God". It also presupposes some doctrines which are minority opinions in Christian history. While many Christians have held an exclusionary vision of Christ who will ultimately save only the elect, the view presented in this essay presupposes an inclusive vision of how God has acted in Christ. It assumes that what God has done in Christ is the fulfillment of what God has been doing throughout all of history, and that Christ is God's primary instrument in bringing about the ultimate salvation of the entire Cosmos.
But immediately after listing these doctrinal propositions, we immediately drop off of a cliff into pure speculation. After all, we should note that we have no publicly agreed upon evidence that alien lifeforms have visited us, and no firm observational data that life exists anywhere else other than on our pale blue dot on the far side of the Milky Way galaxy. So the hypothesis described in this essay is only one of several possible hypotheses about the existence of alien life. In fact, there are a number of hypotheses that would flatly deny what I have written here.
One possible denial is that no alien life exists at all, and we are the only planet that can support life in the universe. There are both religious and non-religious versions of this theory. On the religious side, there are some fundamentalist Christians who claim that the creation stories of Genesis are a literal recounting of history that tells exactly "how" God created the world (rather than poetic or mythical account of "why" God created the world). And since these narratives claim that the first woman, Eve, is "the mother of all living" (Genesis 3.20), there can be no other life than what has come from her. And thus, all aliens are either human misperceptions, fraudulent hoaxes, or demonic beings seeking to deceive us. Needless to say, not only do I find this interpretation of Genesis fatally flawed and scientifically inaccurate, but I also find it highly improbable given the sheer size of the universe and the countless number of planets in it.
From a non-religious standpoint, there are still others who deny that alien life could exist. Some say that the probability of life forming is so incredibly small that this is probably the only place in the universe it could happen. I seriously doubt this. Like I said earlier, I think God does "play dice", and the dice are loaded to result in life. But there are still other versions of this hypothesis, which are usually versions of the "Fermi Paradox", which says that alien life probably does exist, but that life never results in spacefaring civilizations that could reach our planet. The reasons for this vary. Some say that the evolutionary learning curve is too steep, and that civilizations are doomed to "species suicide" because they blow themselves up, or use up their resources, before being able to go off world. Again, as I have noted, I would imagine this is the case with some, or perhaps most, alien civilizations. But I also think that a great number would evolve past this point so that they could harness new forms of energy, be able to bend space and time, and explore the universe.
As a side note: It is pretty obvious to me that we are on the cusp of the evolutionary chasm I have noted several times in this essay. If I were to make an analogy between the life-cycle of human individuals and the evolution of the human species, I would say this: As a species, I think we have reached "adolescence" when we finally get the keys to the car, but we do not yet have the wisdom needed to make good choices when driving. "The car" here is the power of the atom, the power of the DNA molecule, and the power of the digital computer, which are able to radically transform life on Earth, or wipe it out completely (depending on how we use them). Like individual adolescence, there is some legitimate question as to whether we will be able to make it to adulthood without crashing the whole thing and killing ourselves. If aliens are currently observing our civilization, I imagine that they too are waiting to see what we do, and perhaps even subtly nudging us in the direction of maturity in ways we cannot easily discern. We are at the point of massive technological evolution, but the question is whether our moral and spiritual evolution can catch up, so that we can learn how to use our technology constructively. Because, as we are reminded in Spider Man: With great power comes great responsibility.
A second kind of hypothesis that would deny alien life is to say that it exists, but it is almost certainly malevolent. Again, there are religious and non-religious versions of this. One religious version is given by Science Fiction writer James Blish in his book "A Case of Conscience". In it, we find alien life. But the only reason that life exists is because it was created by Satan, out of jealousy, as a mockery of human life. That alien life is eventually used as a tool of Satan to try and destroy human society. While anything is possible, and I do agree that there are malevolent spiritual forces and powers in the universe, I am not sure I find this tenable either. It presupposes that a supernatural force has to directly work on organic matter to make it alive, using a form of "Intelligent Design". But I think that God has encoded physical laws in such a way that they trend toward the evolution and emergence of sentient life, without any need for a supernatural intelligence to intervene and "design" life. Also, it doesn't do justice to the goodness of the created universe. If the universe is "good", as a place for life to evolve, so that we come to know and love our Creator, then it makes sense it would be "good" on other planets for the same purpose. The universe is made to display the glory of God, not just here on Earth, but everywhere (cf. Psalm 19).
There also exists a non-religious version of this hypothesis, represented by the "Dark Forest" theory of Chinese Science Fiction writer Cixin Liu. In this hypothesis, the process of evolution shapes every species on every planet in an irredeemably predatory and competitive way, so that we cannot even admit we exist to other species without them seeking to eliminate us. The universe is a "dark forest" in which we are all hunters seeking prey, and if we come across any other hunter, we must eliminate them first before they gain the technological ability to eliminate us. Thus, the history of the universe is a history of species committing "first strikes" on other species to eliminate them before they can threaten them, leaving genocides and destroyed solar systems in every corner of the universe.
But I find this problematic not only on religious grounds, but also on evolutionary grounds. Because we are not just shaped by predatory drives, but also by a drive to cooperation and compassion. Indeed, our very bodies are formed by cells that have learned to work in symbiosis as different organs operating as one. And we see examples of cooperation and compassion throughout the animal kingdom, from species that live symbiotically, to ant colonies, to animals that live in packs, to societies of primates. So, when and if we find alien life, it is doubtful it will be a "dark forest" of pure predation. Indeed, if societal evolution works anywhere near the way I hypothesize here, we must evolve morally to ever greater levels of cooperation to become space-faring civilizations.
It is doubtless there are many other hypotheses about aliens beyond the alternate theories listed above. Indeed, there are as many theories as there are Science Fiction novels and movies. And there are theories put forward by other religions as well. For instance, forms of Hinduism have been open to life on many worlds for centuries. So there is no telling which theory, or mixture of theories, is closest to being correct until we actually encounter alien life. But I have a feeling that life is out there. And if human religion in general-- and the Way of Christ in particular-- are to survive the world-shattering paradigm shift that will occur when we finally encounter this life, we need to think through what our religious claims can look like in the face of a cosmos teeming with life. How can we understand God and Christ in light of an encounter with sentient aliens who also have their own cultures and philosophies and religions?
Not only do I think Christian Faith can survive the encounter, but I think it can thrive and become what Christ intended for it to become: A Way of unifying all that is good, true, and beautiful in the universe into the Cosmic Body of Christ, so that the entire universe can manifest the Glory of God. The fourth century saint Athanasius once said that "The Divine became Human so that Humans may be made Divine". In light of a cosmos teeming with intelligent life, perhaps we might enlarge that to say "The Creator has entered creation so that all creatures might share in the life of their Creator".
So, with all that said, let's see if they show up. I would love to meet them if they do!
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A Concluding Post Script: If someone from off-world reads this and would like to talk, come visit me. I would love to find out how wrong (or right) my intuition and speculative reasoning is. The invite is always open. Shalom in the Cosmos!
I cannot prove it. But at a deep intuitive level, I think that this is how God relates to the multiverse, and every sentient species in it. At just the right time in the history of each species, among some vulnerable or despised group in that species, God becomes incarnate. The Infinite Universal Life experiences Particular Embodied Life within the unique constraints and limitations of that species, in order to guide their moral and spiritual evolution, that they may evolve into the fullness of what they could become. Thus, I would not be surprised if, when we encounter alien life, we find that they also see themselves as bound to all other sentient beings in the Transcendent Life of the Infinite Source of the Universe expressed in unending Love, Wisdom, and Power. But not only that. It would not surprise me if we find similar stories of Incarnation across the cultures of the galaxy, in which this Infinite Source becomes finite and embodied, to show creatures how to manifest Divine Love in the world.
However, I truly wonder if we have to wait to "find them". I think it might be the case that "they" have already found us. I think it might be the case that they have been visiting us for the entire history of our race. Because if other species are anywhere near as curious as we are-- and I think curiosity is not only an evolutionary benefit, but also a mark of "the image of God" in us-- then they probably want to study and observe how other species evolve as well. After all, we spend an immense amount of time and resources documenting the evolution of other species on our planet. Would it be so odd that alien xenobiologists and historians would want to do the same on other planets?
Furthermore, if alien species have attained the level of moral and spiritual evolution to not destroy themselves with their godlike technology, they might then see themselves as extensions of God's life in the world, sent to help other species attain their full development as well. And yet, they would surely realize that imposing themselves explicitly on other planets would stunt the evolution of those species (in a way similar to why "The Prime Directive" is used in the Star Trek universe). For instance, in the case of Earthly colonialism, we have seen how more powerful and advanced societies can actually retard the social and economic growth of developing nations. As is the case with our primitive colonialism, even more so with hyper-advanced alien civilizations. So perhaps the reason we have not met "them" yet is that we have not evolved enough yet to meet them. At this stage it would harm, and not help, our species evolution.
Another reason we may not have met them yet is due to our hubris in estimating how clever we are in finding them. This is because the MORE sentient and intelligent an entity is, the LESS we can understand it without its' "consent". For instance, we can know much about so-called "inanimate" matter and vegetation. To know a semi-sentient, somewhat intelligent animal, it takes more skill in observation and capture (cf. the difference in observing ants, rats, and chimps). Humans are yet harder to observe in an "objective" way, and are not able to be "captured". If there are advanced aliens, or angelic beings, they could only be observed by watching for their "mistakes", or asking them to reveal themselves, because they would be able to understand and evade even our best technology. And, if we are talking about the Infinite Source of all Reality, we would have to wait for such a Person to reveal themselves to know anything personal about them, because there would be no way to “capture” or “trick” them into revealing themselves.
Our technology must be to spacefaring aliens, as the technology of chimps or stone age primitives is to ours. For instance, imagine showing a set of smart phones to Leonardo Da Vinci and asking him to discern how they worked. As smart as he is, he would have no idea about electromagnetic waves or silicon computer chips or even how basic batteries worked. He would be completely unable to detect how they transmitted messages and data to one another. He would have no conceptual grid to even begin to understand them. And yet we take them for granted today. In the same way, it is hubris of the highest sort to think that we have reliable means of detecting whatever forms of life, and communication, and transport, there may be in the universe. But then again, if there is one thing humans are very good at: It is hubris.
Another problem with finding or recognizing alien life would be that we may have no real idea what to look for. We tend to think of aliens as embodied beings more or less like we are embodied. Sure, they may have more or less arms and eyes and digits. But essentially, we think of aliens as fleshy kinds of things, with cells and body structure and brains and organs. But, life may also have radically different forms. It could be digital, for instance. It might be that when humans finally develop Artificial Intelligence, it will only be our digital children that will be fully suited to meet alien life. Or it could be that some aliens are a trans-dimensional form of life that we might think of more as "ideas" or "patterns" or "mathematical concepts". Not only is the multiverse possible in the four dimensions of space and time, but we also know from quantum physics that at least 11 dimensions exist. Could even other dimensions exist that hold life appropriate to their dimensions? This idea is not incredibly different from how many religions think of angelic beings: Those purely spiritual beings who act as God's instruments for communication and control of the universe.
GODS, ANGELS, AND ALIEN VISITORS
So, we can conceive of "organic" aliens, "digital" aliens, and "spiritual" aliens at minimum. If such beings did ever appear to humans through the centuries, how might they be conceived? Science Fiction writer Arthur C. Clark is famous for pointing out that "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic". That is, it would appear as a violation of natural laws that could not be reduplicated using even the most advanced primitive "science" and "technology" available at the time. For primitive creatures, any being wielding such technology must be seen as an angel or demigod or god. There would be no other way of conveying the experience in ancient cultures.
So it is the case that what are seen as "theophanies" or "angels" or "demons" or other mythological stories in cultures around the world might be experiences of ancient cultures with advanced civilizations. I don't think this can explain ALL myths and miracles and angel stories. But perhaps it could explain some. But if it explains some, how far does that explanation go? Could not "God" simply be an advanced alien race? Could humans simply be science projects of aliens, and not the result of evolution? Might not ancient civilizations and wonders such as the Nazca lines and the Pyramids simply be the result of humans working with aliens? After all, this is the basic thesis of several "Ancient Alien" theories that have sold tons of books and fueled several TV series and movie franchises.
I don't think so. First of all, this would imply the problem of infinite regress: What made the aliens, who made the aliens, who made the aliens, who made us? This pushes us back to the very origins of the Universe, and past the limits of empirical science. This is because empirical science deals with observable, repeatable, events that happen in space and time. But it cannot answer questions about what is non-empirical, non-observable, non-repeatable, before there was space or time or any other dimensions. In other words, science can only tell us how something comes from other things. It cannot tell us why there is something at all, rather than nothing. If there is a Transcendent Reality that gives rise to all other realities, it is a question for philosophy or theology or mystical experience. Not science.
Thus, beyond any conceivable level of technology is Transcendence: The Infinite Transcendent Reality that gives rise to all worlds. This Transcendent Source is not a being-- not even the most powerful of all beings-- but rather It is Being Itself. It does not possess a set of powers that can be duplicated by technology. It is power Itself. It does not merely possess all kinds of knowledge and goodness. It is knowledge and goodness itself. In other words, there is an infinite qualitative difference between "gods" (with a lower case "g") who possess superior knowledge and goodness and power, and God who is the Transcendent Source of knowledge, goodness, and power.
Thus, even if our species (and other species) have encountered "gods" and "angels" at various points in history (who may be alien life forms of various types), there is still the question of "God" with a capital "G". If there are aliens, I would imagine an ongoing task for their civilization is to experience and embody the Infinite and Transcendent God. We are all created by God, through the process of evolution, to grow into the fullness of Godself. And how we do that growing will be appropriate to the kind of being we are-- organic, digital, spiritual, etc.-- and the level of development and evolution our species is at.
To come back to the question of whether humans have been visited by aliens in ancient history, I could turn to my own religious tradition. In Christian Scripture we find curious and mystical references to appearances of God-- theophanies-- such as the famous three visitors to Abraham in Genesis chapter 18. There are countless stories of encounters with trans-dimensional angelic beings, from the ladder of Jacob in Genesis, to the Commander of the Armies of the Lord in Joshua, to the spinning wheels of four-faced angels in Ezekiel chapter 1, to the angel Gabriel meeting with Mary in the Gospels, to the wild and apocalyptic visions of John in Revelation. No one is quite sure what to do with all of these. Certainly some are ancient myths or symbolic visions of a purely literary nature. Perhaps some are direct revelations of Godself in space and time. And perhaps others are what we might call "alien lifeforms" of an organic or spiritual nature who acted as spokesmen for God.
But if I allow myself to be wildly speculative, perhaps my favorite "what if" story is that of the "magi" in Matthew chapter 2. According to the cryptic retelling of Matthew, these mysterious and unnamed non-Jews from the "east" were the first people who recognized Jesus as God incarnate by bringing him gifts symbolic of his Divine vocation: Gold for a King, frankincense to be used in the worship of a Deity, and myrrh to embalm a sacrificial victim. Where did they get such knowledge? What place in the "east" did they come from? How did they follow a "star" to the exact place Jesus was? All of these tantalizing morsels fit into a wild speculation that the magi were alien xenobiologists here to welcome the Incarnation of God in human form, just as God had become incarnate in their species in their histories. These alien scientists had meticulously watched the signs of human evolution, and realized that we were at the exact right crossroads for the Advent of God in human form. And they welcomed this Advent with an Epiphany gift to set him on his way to accomplish his Divine mission. This is an absolutely improbable reading of the Gospel based on pure speculation founded on problematic assumptions. But you have to admit: It would make a great plot for a movie or short story.
SPECULATION NOT DOCTRINE NOR DOGMA
This has been fun to write up. But I must stress that I hold this as pious speculation, and should be taken as such. It is NOT dogma. It is not part of those essential truths that "must be believed" to experience the fullness of salvation, and to live a moral life. It is also NOT doctrine. It is not part of the established ideas that make up any religion, although it has some basis in established religious doctrines.
For instance, for this alien hypothesis to work, God must exist, and the unique Incarnation of God in human history must have happened in the person of Jesus Christ. The doctrine of Creation must be true: The idea that the Universe exists as a intentional act of a Loving God, who uses the secondary processes of evolution, to create sentient persons who are "children of God" made "in the image of God". It also presupposes some doctrines which are minority opinions in Christian history. While many Christians have held an exclusionary vision of Christ who will ultimately save only the elect, the view presented in this essay presupposes an inclusive vision of how God has acted in Christ. It assumes that what God has done in Christ is the fulfillment of what God has been doing throughout all of history, and that Christ is God's primary instrument in bringing about the ultimate salvation of the entire Cosmos.
But immediately after listing these doctrinal propositions, we immediately drop off of a cliff into pure speculation. After all, we should note that we have no publicly agreed upon evidence that alien lifeforms have visited us, and no firm observational data that life exists anywhere else other than on our pale blue dot on the far side of the Milky Way galaxy. So the hypothesis described in this essay is only one of several possible hypotheses about the existence of alien life. In fact, there are a number of hypotheses that would flatly deny what I have written here.
One possible denial is that no alien life exists at all, and we are the only planet that can support life in the universe. There are both religious and non-religious versions of this theory. On the religious side, there are some fundamentalist Christians who claim that the creation stories of Genesis are a literal recounting of history that tells exactly "how" God created the world (rather than poetic or mythical account of "why" God created the world). And since these narratives claim that the first woman, Eve, is "the mother of all living" (Genesis 3.20), there can be no other life than what has come from her. And thus, all aliens are either human misperceptions, fraudulent hoaxes, or demonic beings seeking to deceive us. Needless to say, not only do I find this interpretation of Genesis fatally flawed and scientifically inaccurate, but I also find it highly improbable given the sheer size of the universe and the countless number of planets in it.
From a non-religious standpoint, there are still others who deny that alien life could exist. Some say that the probability of life forming is so incredibly small that this is probably the only place in the universe it could happen. I seriously doubt this. Like I said earlier, I think God does "play dice", and the dice are loaded to result in life. But there are still other versions of this hypothesis, which are usually versions of the "Fermi Paradox", which says that alien life probably does exist, but that life never results in spacefaring civilizations that could reach our planet. The reasons for this vary. Some say that the evolutionary learning curve is too steep, and that civilizations are doomed to "species suicide" because they blow themselves up, or use up their resources, before being able to go off world. Again, as I have noted, I would imagine this is the case with some, or perhaps most, alien civilizations. But I also think that a great number would evolve past this point so that they could harness new forms of energy, be able to bend space and time, and explore the universe.
As a side note: It is pretty obvious to me that we are on the cusp of the evolutionary chasm I have noted several times in this essay. If I were to make an analogy between the life-cycle of human individuals and the evolution of the human species, I would say this: As a species, I think we have reached "adolescence" when we finally get the keys to the car, but we do not yet have the wisdom needed to make good choices when driving. "The car" here is the power of the atom, the power of the DNA molecule, and the power of the digital computer, which are able to radically transform life on Earth, or wipe it out completely (depending on how we use them). Like individual adolescence, there is some legitimate question as to whether we will be able to make it to adulthood without crashing the whole thing and killing ourselves. If aliens are currently observing our civilization, I imagine that they too are waiting to see what we do, and perhaps even subtly nudging us in the direction of maturity in ways we cannot easily discern. We are at the point of massive technological evolution, but the question is whether our moral and spiritual evolution can catch up, so that we can learn how to use our technology constructively. Because, as we are reminded in Spider Man: With great power comes great responsibility.
A second kind of hypothesis that would deny alien life is to say that it exists, but it is almost certainly malevolent. Again, there are religious and non-religious versions of this. One religious version is given by Science Fiction writer James Blish in his book "A Case of Conscience". In it, we find alien life. But the only reason that life exists is because it was created by Satan, out of jealousy, as a mockery of human life. That alien life is eventually used as a tool of Satan to try and destroy human society. While anything is possible, and I do agree that there are malevolent spiritual forces and powers in the universe, I am not sure I find this tenable either. It presupposes that a supernatural force has to directly work on organic matter to make it alive, using a form of "Intelligent Design". But I think that God has encoded physical laws in such a way that they trend toward the evolution and emergence of sentient life, without any need for a supernatural intelligence to intervene and "design" life. Also, it doesn't do justice to the goodness of the created universe. If the universe is "good", as a place for life to evolve, so that we come to know and love our Creator, then it makes sense it would be "good" on other planets for the same purpose. The universe is made to display the glory of God, not just here on Earth, but everywhere (cf. Psalm 19).
There also exists a non-religious version of this hypothesis, represented by the "Dark Forest" theory of Chinese Science Fiction writer Cixin Liu. In this hypothesis, the process of evolution shapes every species on every planet in an irredeemably predatory and competitive way, so that we cannot even admit we exist to other species without them seeking to eliminate us. The universe is a "dark forest" in which we are all hunters seeking prey, and if we come across any other hunter, we must eliminate them first before they gain the technological ability to eliminate us. Thus, the history of the universe is a history of species committing "first strikes" on other species to eliminate them before they can threaten them, leaving genocides and destroyed solar systems in every corner of the universe.
But I find this problematic not only on religious grounds, but also on evolutionary grounds. Because we are not just shaped by predatory drives, but also by a drive to cooperation and compassion. Indeed, our very bodies are formed by cells that have learned to work in symbiosis as different organs operating as one. And we see examples of cooperation and compassion throughout the animal kingdom, from species that live symbiotically, to ant colonies, to animals that live in packs, to societies of primates. So, when and if we find alien life, it is doubtful it will be a "dark forest" of pure predation. Indeed, if societal evolution works anywhere near the way I hypothesize here, we must evolve morally to ever greater levels of cooperation to become space-faring civilizations.
It is doubtless there are many other hypotheses about aliens beyond the alternate theories listed above. Indeed, there are as many theories as there are Science Fiction novels and movies. And there are theories put forward by other religions as well. For instance, forms of Hinduism have been open to life on many worlds for centuries. So there is no telling which theory, or mixture of theories, is closest to being correct until we actually encounter alien life. But I have a feeling that life is out there. And if human religion in general-- and the Way of Christ in particular-- are to survive the world-shattering paradigm shift that will occur when we finally encounter this life, we need to think through what our religious claims can look like in the face of a cosmos teeming with life. How can we understand God and Christ in light of an encounter with sentient aliens who also have their own cultures and philosophies and religions?
Not only do I think Christian Faith can survive the encounter, but I think it can thrive and become what Christ intended for it to become: A Way of unifying all that is good, true, and beautiful in the universe into the Cosmic Body of Christ, so that the entire universe can manifest the Glory of God. The fourth century saint Athanasius once said that "The Divine became Human so that Humans may be made Divine". In light of a cosmos teeming with intelligent life, perhaps we might enlarge that to say "The Creator has entered creation so that all creatures might share in the life of their Creator".
So, with all that said, let's see if they show up. I would love to meet them if they do!
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A Concluding Post Script: If someone from off-world reads this and would like to talk, come visit me. I would love to find out how wrong (or right) my intuition and speculative reasoning is. The invite is always open. Shalom in the Cosmos!
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