Jesus the Man and Alien Beings

We are all aliens now.

Modern science teaches us that we are the products of blind, meaningless chance, and that given the immensity of the universe, there are probably other intelligent life forms, including in all probability many that are much more advanced than we are. Any day now we may find evidence of such beings and come into close contact with them. If we come into contact with alien beings who are much more advanced and intelligent then we are, making us appear to them as ants appear to us, they may view all of our doings, traditions, thinking and spirituality as meaningless and worthless. What happens if we make contact with advanced alien beings with a civilization far more advanced than our own and with alien beings are far more intelligent than us? What if the aliens turn out to be not only atheists but to view our religions as primitive superstitions, not worthy of serious consideration?

Well even ants have sensibilities. I assert that this scenario would make it all the more important, even all important, that a Higher Power, a God, who loves human beings , exists and that we worship that God. I assert that this should in no way diminish the truth or value of our religions and our spiritual history. Religious belief is not only a function of intelligence but rather a function of our lived spiritual histories as individuals, civilizations, and as a species. Our spiritual traditions and beliefs would still be just as valid and powerful, despite the beliefs and philosophies of other species and civilizations. In particular, the meaning of Jesus to Christians would still be valid and true and powerful. We believe in an all-powerful God, and that God is much more powerful than any alien civilization.

But for that matter, what about the spiritual sensibilities and realities of the intelligent alien beings on our own planet, the other intelligent species here on earth? We don’t know about their inner realities either and they may have beliefs we can’t understand. Even if they are not as intelligent as humans, at least in some ways, that does not mean their realities are not valid. What about the spiritual realities of whales and dolphins, crows and parrots, octopuses and cuttlefish? I would not be surprised if they have beautiful understandings or intimations of the meaning of life and death, even if we may never have any way to learn about them.

But when you get right down to it, we are all alien beings, all of us including each and every human being. We each live in our own consciousness and can’t really know what’s going on in other human’s inner spiritual realities. We are strangers in a strange land, and we each have our own inner spirit and soul that we are responsible for. And we must each ultimately decide where we stand spiritually. And we know that our God is bigger than any contingent being’s religion, concepts, ideas or beliefs, including any other alien beings, no matter how intelligent and advanced those beings might be.

And our great God is the source of our hope. Being a God of sacrifice, we know He sacrificed His only begotten Son for our sakes. And we know that our human lives require sacrifice and hardships, but they are made meaningful by His sacrifice and, being greater than any evil, we know His power and plan will ultimately make all sacrifice, all hardship, and all evil be worth the cost, and the end result will be the ultimate good. So while we are strangers in a strange land, we are bound for glory in a home prepared for us by God, and all creatures, high and low, great and small, alien and common, will be brought into their proper home by an all powerful God.

“All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.” -- Julian of Norwich