“A Galaxy Far, Far Away”

Monday, December 04, 2017

I was talking to an atheist the other day, and a question that we both share is the defining question of him being an atheist.  And it is: God sent Jesus to Earth to die for our sins; well, since the universe is so big, and there is most likely some other place in the universe with life, then did God send another savior to there?  Or are we the only planet out of the nearly infinite universe with life?  I'm currently going through a point in my faith where I'm questioning a lot, and I just wanted to know why are we here.

Sincerely,
Intelligent Lifeform

Dear Intelligent Lifeform,

The Scriptures don’t say anything directly about aliens (which is really what we are talking about when we discuss other sentient beings in this universe), but they do say several things that make sentient life on other planets highly unlikely.

1. God made mankind in His image (Gen 1:26). That is where we get our free will, reason, emotion, conscience, etc. The whole point of alien life is that there is a species of life among the stars that is equal to mankind. God says that man has no equal.
2. In the creation story found in Genesis chapter one, Earth seems to be the central focus of the story. The stars, heavenly bodies, etc. are given only a brisk overview. The implication is that Earth is the center of all organic life; it is the central purpose of the creation. It would be odd for God to leave out the part where He made other life-sustaining planets with other sentient beings.
3. Jesus came to die for mankind (1 Cor 15:3) and the people of this world (Jhn 3:16). If there were aliens that had intelligence, souls, and freewill like humanity, wouldn’t God care equally for their souls? If aliens do exist… it seems that they have been left out of the blessing of forgiveness in Christ.

None of these reasons explicitly deny the existence of alien life; they just make the chances very, very improbable. Perhaps someday we will find some plants, fungus, or bacteria on another planet, but I doubt we will ever find E.T.  Which also answers the second part of your question.  We are here because God made us in His image and has given us the free will to choose our own destiny.  His desire is that we, the only sentient creatures created, will choose eternity with Him in heaven (2 Pet 3:9).  If you would like further information on how to choose God, we recommend reading “What Must I Do To Be Saved?”.

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