The question the angels asked the apostles bears repeating to our restless world today: "Why do you stand looking into the sky?" (Acts 1:11)

Modern man is fascinated with aliens--those mysterious beings from outer space who have evolved to a state of technological mastery sufficient enough to allow them to freely travel the cosmos.

This fascination is clearly revealed by our current obsession with alien movies, novels, and comic books. Some of the most popular films of our time have revolved around the theme of life from outer space. This list includes movies such as E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Contact, Star Wars, Star Trek, Alien, Predator, War of the Worlds, and Independence Day. This is just a small sampling of what's available. Not surprisingly, five of the top ten money-making movies of all time involve aliens.

The aliens are everywhere. In our shared stories concerning alien encounters we find that aliens are either benevolent (E.T., Contact, Close Encounters), antagonistic (Aliens, Predator, War of the Worlds, Independence Day), or a mix of both (Star Wars, Star Trek, Men in Black). If benevolent, they usually hold the key to some greater future. If antagonistic, their highly evolved powers are frequently more than a match for our primitive weapons technology. Either way, we always seem to misunderstand their intentions.

Our current cultural fascination with aliens provokes a few questions: Are human beings alone in the universe? Why is there such an interest in discovering life elsewhere in the universe? Could our current attention with aliens be indicative of a much greater and deeper desire? Is it possible that this fascination tells us more about ourselves than it does of possible alien life?

Even believers get caught up in this frenzy. Many who believe in God's special creation of humankind often find themselves fascinated with the idea of alien life from outer space. You sometimes hear Christians agreeing with Jodie Foster, who looks up to space in the movie Contact and exclaims, "If there is no life on other planets, it would be an awful waste of space." We forget that the expanse of the heavens is not wasted. All creation displays the glory of God. His glory is evident, compelling, awe-inspiring, and fear-provoking (Psalm 19:1; Rom. 1:20). If the universe exists for no other reason than to display His infinite glory, then that is reason enough! The space is only wasted on those who refuse to see.

As Christians, we also often tend to overlook the fact that a belief in aliens almost always coincides with a commitment to evolution. The argument goes something like this: In light of 100 billion stars in each of a 100 billion galaxies, odds are that somewhere there is a planetary system like ours on which life has developed. Over time, this life evolved to include intelligence and self-consciousness and thus began making progress in technological ability. If this alien race began evolving prior to life on earth then it may have progressed further technologically than we have and thus have the ability to roam the stars in search of other life.

Computing all the complex probabilities involved in attempting to prove this argument is both challenging and controversial. Furthermore, evolution is such a dominant factor in computing these numbers that one must initially accept this theory in order to begin probability analysis.

However, for our purposes, let's assume that life on other planets is a clear mathematical possibility (and that is no small assumption). Could the desire for alien contact stem from more than just a sense of "wasted space" and an acceptance of evolutionary theory? I think so.

I believe that there are at least four factors that lead to our culture's fascination with aliens--factors that are weighty and should not be easily dismissed. A recognition of what stands behind the current alien craze may be just the place to start in order to initiate dialogue with unbelievers concerning the claims of the Christian faith. Consider the following factors:

1. We all feel puny before the seemingly infinite expanse of space above us. Such a magnificent and mysterious display of power provokes fear in the hearts of mere humans. Oftentimes our stories of hostile aliens from outer space are a reflection of our overwhelming feelings of insignificance before such a cryptic and enigmatic expanse. It follows that the foreboding space above would serve as a natural setting for alien encounters that often take on religious proportions.

2. We all long to believe that life has value and meaning. We don't want to ultimately discover that we are a cosmic mistake. The stark cold silence of an unimpressed and lifeless universe leads to feelings of loneliness, alienation, and desperation. Is the expanse of space before us empty? Does life have any value, meaning, and purpose, or is it merely the chaotic and impersonal result of random forces with no intended end? If life has no value, the surrounding universe takes on a haunting ambience. The desire for aliens can be interpreted as the desire to have existence and life vindicated and validated. Aliens from another planet would prove that human life is not ultimately a mistake.

3. We all hunger for answers from an outside, objective source. We haven't found the answers to all of life's mysteries, including the answer to the ultimate mystery--life itself--but we hope that answers will be found somewhere. Any objective observer can see that our limited human answers have been tried and found wanting time and time again. An understanding, benevolent alien would be the perfect source of objective information.

4. We all hope to make contact with a benevolent power or being significantly greater than ourselves. We long for a transcendent encounter that will permanently change our lives for the better. In order for this to occur, the being we meet with must be greater than us, but at the same time, similar enough to communicate and share with us. Repeatedly in alien encounters, the experience takes on religious dimensions.

These experiences and desires are not relegated to nerdy sci-fi freaks. Most human beings share in these things. Not one of these factors is without merit.

Ultimately what we are longing for is found in God, and specifically in Christ Jesus:

In short, our culture's fascination with aliens betrays a much deeper yearning for meaning, purpose, and personality in the universe. After thousands of years of searching on this earth, we have not found what our heart desires, so we hope and pray that the answer is beyond us if it is not among us. But in order for us to access the aliens beyond, we need them to be among us--we need them to make first contact.

This desire can be used to share the gospel. Any movie, story, or myth concerning alien contact can be turned to a discussion concerning the truth that "[i]n the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:1, 14). Jesus is the One who has "come down from heaven" (John 6:38). The Apostle John wrote, "He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all" (John 3:31). Jesus is the One with whom we must have a close encounter. He came for just this purpose. He has taken the initiative and made first contact.

Sadly, He is rejected by the majority of those who long for what He offers. Indeed, He is quickly cast aside without a second thought. And yet, when it comes to the search for alien life, even the smallest amount of evidence causes people to quickly jump to the conclusion that we are not alone. For instance, in Contact, all that was needed was a pattern of sounds coming from outer space in order to conclude that the source of the sounds must be an intelligent being of some sort. The fact that the sound came in patterns seemed to be the clinching evidence. And yet, when these same people see an abundance of pattern, order and unity in the world around them, they refuse to conclude that an intelligent being was its creator. Darkened in their understanding, a wispy strand of evidence intoxicates them while the clear revelation of God's truth is suppressed. It is our task to reveal to them their folly.

In a way, Christians await the ultimate contact, a close encounter of the infinite kind. However, as the angels stated, we do not wait for Him by "looking into the sky" but by actively testifying of His first and second comings. In the words of the angels, "This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11).

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© Richard J. Vincent, February 11, 1999