Do you believe in
UFOs?
This was one of the
most common questions my students would ask me in class. I answered "Certainly." UFO simply means "unidentified flying object." I believe there are many flying
things people have seen that have not been positively identified. Usually
that's because the viewer cannot give a totally accurate description of the
object in question. Now, do I believe that UFOs are from somewhere out in
space? No. I believe that most UFOs have simply natural and boring
explanations. Unusual weather patters, unknown (to the viewer) aircraft, stars,
planets, or more commonly meteors and comets.
The question usually
then turns to "Do you believe in alien life?" While I won't
completely rule out the possibility of microbial, plant or even animal life on
other planets, I do not believe in intelligent life beyond Earth. The Bible
tells us that God created man in his own image. (Genesis 1:27) This was the
culmination of the creation week. That is, everything else in the universe was
created before man. (Genesis 1:31-2:1) It is reasonable to assume, then that
the entire universe was created for man. Therefore, man is the most important
item in all of God's creation.
If there exist other
intelligent creatures on other worlds, then they must have been created by God,
also. (John 1:3) This poses some problems. Were they also made in God's image?
Do they possess a sinful nature? If, so, then how are they saved? Did Jesus
come to their world, also? What would be God's point in making two intelligent
species? No where in the Bible is there any hint of life outside of Earth, in
spite of what the UFO people say about Ezekiel. (They claim that Ezekiel's
vision of the "wheel within a wheel" (Ezekiel 1:15-16) was actually a
flying saucer and the living creatures he saw were aliens.)
Now, while I said
that most UFO sightings could be explained, I also won't rule out the
possibility that demons could cause themselves to appear to people as UFOs or
aliens to get them to question their faith in God. However, this, I believe is
a rarity. (For more information read Gary Bates good book Alien Intrusion.
available at www.answersingenesis.org.)
By the way, the whole
argument in favor of aliens is basically an evolutionary argument. If life
evolved on Earth, the argument goes, then it must have evolved elsewhere also.
The universe is just too big for Earth to be the only inhabited planet. That is,
the main argument in favor of extraterrestrial life is a purely speculative
one.
Another thought, UFO
people are also the hardest to try to talk to. Most of them have the conspiracy
mindset. I had an interesting conversation about Roswell with a student. He
asked why doesn't the Air Force just release their information about Roswell.
I told him that the Freedom of Information Act required the Air Force to
release the information in 1998. The did and showed that the crash in Roswell
was of a spy balloon system. He didn't believe me and said that was just what
the government wanted us to think. I said "OK, suppose I took you to Area
51 into Hangar 18 and showed you the wreckage and it actually was a spy balloon
system. Would believe me, then?" He said "No, I would think you were
just showing me what you wanted me to believe." The problem wasn't that he
couldn't believe the government. It was that he wouldn't believe the
government.
Many people are the
same way about the Bible. You can show them all the evidence there is that the
Bible is true and they still won't believe because they don't want to believe.
Usually that is because they don't want to give up a sinful lifestyle. You will
never argue anyone into Heaven. But, hopefully, with your arguments, you will
open their hearts to hear the gospel.
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