If the statistics are to be believed there are more American adults who believe in extraterrestrials and say extraterrestrials are visiting Earth, than believe in God as He has revealed Himself to us in the Bible.
The statistics
A 2012 study commissioned by the National Geographic Channel found that 36% of American adults believe U.F.O.s exist. That exact same percentage said they believed that aliens have visited the Earth. 77% said there is evidence that Earth has been visited in the past, regardless of whether they had made up their minds on the question one way or the other (https://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2012/0628/More-than-one-third-of-Americans-believe-aliens-have-visited-Earth).
To compare, in 2017 the Barna Group found that while a total of 73% of American adults call themselves “Christian”, only 10% had a Biblical worldview. This may seem like a rather small number, but it is a slight improvement over their 2009 survey (https://www.barna.com/research/state-church-2016/).
Some Christians believe studying the U.F.O. phenomenon is a complete waste of time that’s better spent preaching the Gospel. With all due respect, it’s time to wake up and smell the ozone before it’s too late.
One-third of the USA’s adult population—81 million—believe E.T.s have been visiting Earth and only 10% (24 million)—believe in God as described biblically. While I haven’t checked the statistics of the other Western nations, I’m almost certain the numbers are similar. Clearly something has changed in Western society since the end of World War 2, when U.F.O.s were brought to public consciousness.
Media everywhere push the idea that aliens visit Earth. Popular sci-fi has openly become televangelism for the E.T. religion.
What if…?
What if a news station were to break its programming next week to announce that an extraterrestrial vehicle has just landed at a well-known location? Christians need to be prepared to respond to such a report. Why? Because the public’s being primed to accept the arrival of E.T.s.
We’d be told our ancestors weren’t visited by God and His angels; they were too primitive to see E.T.I.s and their technology for what they really were. The truth, of course, is just the opposite.
Please don’t think I’m a believer in E.T.s. I’m not. What I’msaying is that we need to be discerning in all things, with Scripture as the final authority.
Humanity’s status
Our status in the grand scheme of things isn’t affected by “aliens” or anything else for that matter. We’ll always be at the centre of God’s plan for the universe. However, the principalities, powers, thrones, and dominions Paul warned about would like to try.
Not extraterrestrial
The modern “ancient alien” gospel has its roots in an old supernatural source. This enemy isn’t extraterrestrial, though it’s part of their deception to convince humanity they are.
People latch onto the E.T. gospel because guilt feels bad, thinking’s hard, and the only sin in a post-modern world’s telling someone his/her worldview’s flawed. E.T. religion’s doctrine is built on scraps of evidence, and since there’s no central orthodoxy, believers are free to read into their “gods” just about anything. As Christians we believe in a Deity who told His followers to love God with all their hearts, souls, and minds.
Not harmless
As noted earlier, 1 in 3 American adults believe a religion that’s completely alien to the Christian Gospel. Because this faith’s face is an E.T.I., rather than a person, the Church ignores it. It’s weird, “out there”, harmless even. Except it’s not. There are many festivals and conferences dedicated to it held in the U.S.A. alone, which often have a heavy New Age presence. People there search for answers to the big questions. The presence of E.T.s on Earth’s treated as a given, and the potential threat of hostile E.T.I.’s downplayed.
If the E.T. gospel’s evangelists are to be believed, we’ll finally know where we came from, why we’re here, and where we go when we die. Said differently, the answers we hold are in our Bibles.
Westerners have been soaking in post-modern philosophy (which denies truth is knowable) since the 1930's. Thanks to the effects of this self-refuting philosophy on our education systems most are unprepared to demand actual evidence for claims made by E.T. believers. Instead, we’ve been content to ignore a belief system that’s lured in 1/3 of our friends and family. We can’t be content to dismiss the U.F.O. phenomenon by saying “Jesus works for me, but you do you.”
The final destination
Propositional truth, which are claims that can be tested on the strength of logic, exists. Christianity’s based on propositional truth. Example: Jesus is God. Because Jesus said no-one comes to the Father except through Him, there are no other paths to God. This being truth, following the E.T. religion to its final destination has eternal consequences. And if one-third of adults believe E.T. exists, and three-quarters believe there’s evidence of E.T.I. contact, then the odds are at least one person you know believes the E.T.I. gospel. This fact alone should be enough to spur us into action so we are able to answer the questions E.T. believers have. After all, ignoring the U.F.O. phenomenon hasn’t made it go away. Ignoring it simply left a hole in Christians’ understanding, and has given seekers no choice but to go to the New Age for answers. We shouldn’t ignore it any longer. The eternal destinies of those around us are at stake.
Katelin Staples is from Gladstone, Queensland. By day Katelin is employed as a proofreader. Katelin has a passion for discovering the deep things of God and how they affect the world around us.
