An Alien Is My Daddy?

When I was a little girl (think 1970) a documentary was produced based on a book called Chariots of the Gods.

The book and movie postulate the notion that this world was "seeded" by aliens, the gods of antiquity were "alien astronauts", and things such as the Pyramids, the statues on Easter Island, and Stonehenge were conceived by aliens.

Obviously, this idea has been around for awhile. There are sci-fi programs (such as my favorite Stargate Atlantis) which capitilize on the fascination with UFO's, "alien cultures", abduction scenarios, and such, but to me it's nothing more than an entertaining plot device.

I've simply never given it much thought.

So it was with some surprise the other night I learned there are (apparently) many people who do believe aliens populated this planet with–well–us.

My husband and I were in the car on the way to a writer's meeting when he began relating to me a conversation between himself, a young woman, and her boyfriend at a social event he attended a few weeks ago for men with beards.

I know, right?

Anyway, the couple began talking with my husband after learning he was a Christian and on staff at a rather large church in our area. They identified themselves as Agnostic. The young woman explained that while she doesn't believe in God, she sincerely believes that an alien race came to earth thousands of years ago to seed our planet.

My husband's question to me was this: "Why is it so hard for people to believe in God but it's perfectly fine to believe aliens created us?"

Intriguing, yeah? Why is it that some people will cling to the idea that aliens arrived in spaceships thousands of years ago to create life here as some kind of grand experiment while rejecting "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth?" Genesis 1:1 (NLT)

I honestly don't understand.

And this idea about UFO's, alien abduction, alien visitation, communion or communication with aliens through channeling (demonic activity, but that's another post) is being promoted more vigorously now that the paranormal is accepted in our culture. I learned there is a very popular television series on The History Channel called Ancient Aliens which pushes the idea that we have aliens to thank for our existence.

Strange.

Here's the thing. If people are more willing to accept an alien as their spiritual father as opposed to God ( to whom we now as adopted children can cry out "ABBA, FATHER" Romans 8:15) then it's on US as Christians. I'm not going to get into all the ways the church has failed to preach the gospel effectively, love one another and our neighbors, etc.

I'm tired of rehashing an old gripe.

The question is where do we go from here? How do we address the beliefs of people such as the young woman my husband met? And when does the church wake up and realize that topics such as aliens, the paranormal, and the occult need to be seriously understood and addressed? When are we going to figure out that it's not something weird (okay-yes, yes, it is) that only a minority of people are interested in but that it's gone mainstream?

You've got people (including many who call themselves Christians) who are all into the paranormal, questioning what they believe. Do we really want them to get their understanding of "life, the universe, and everything" from Sy Fy and The History Channel because we are afraid to talk coherently about aliens? I have not watched the Ancient Aliens program yet but my understanding is a lot of scripture gets (mis)quoted. 

I don't know about you, but I want to be ready with the truth.

Yes. I cannot consider the idea of "aliens seeding the earth" or giving instructions to the ancient Peruvians on how to build Machu Pichu with anything but a burst of laughter.Personally, I find it insulting to ancient cultures when modern man assumes they were incapable of amazing architectural or engineering feats simply because we can't figure out how they did it.

However, there are folks who do believe these things to be true with all their heart and I want to be able to dialogue with them in a respectful manner. I'd like to understand why they reject God (as I understand Him through scripture) but accept aliens as their progenitor. Maybe if I snicker less and listen more I will learn something which can at least help me be a better witness for Christ.

And isn't that what I'm supposed to be doing anyway?