As space travel becomes more viable and our knowledge about the universe more detailed, we may wonder what the Bible tells us about life outside our planet. Does the Bible say anything about aliens—and if so, what should we do if we make first contact?
The answer is more complicated than you may think.
If we define aliens as created beings from other planets who have spirits or souls as we do, the answer is no. The Bible starts with Adam and Eve, who are made “in God’s image” (in Latin, imago dei). As Rylie Fine explains, being made in God’s image implies that humans have a God-like function—a spirit or soul, reasoning, and other abilities that the rest of earth’s creation does not have. Because he is made in God’s image, Adam is given responsibility over animals—not to use them however he wants to, but to rule them wisely.
From Adam and Eve, the Bible describes their family and how the humans from that family come to populate the earth. Specifically, most of the Bible focuses on the branch of their descendants that become the people of Israel.
We have some mysterious references to created beings that are not from Adam and Eve’s family. For example, when God curses Cain for killing his brother Abel, Cain worries about wandering and that anyone he meets may kill him (Genesis 4:14). Either he and Abel have so many children already that he’s worried about nephews and nieces he’s never met who will kill, or there are other human-like beings he may run into.
Genesis 6:4 refers to the “sons of God” having children called the Nephilim through the “daughters of men.” As Edward Antonio notes, many scholars speculate that the “sons of God” are demons who fathered children through human women, having children like the giant warriors (like Goliath) we see in later Old Testament passages. In this view, tribes of giants like the Anakim are the Nephilim’s descendants. Therefore, it’s plausible that Cain was worried about running into demon-human offspring.
Even granting that the Nephilim exist, they would not be what we mean when we say “extraterrestrials.” They were still created beings from this planet. Even their otherworldly parents would not be aliens: demons are from “the heavens,” the wide spiritual realm affecting our planet in various ways.
What do we know about this wider spiritual realm?
While the Bible doesn’t mention interplanetary beings affecting us, it mentions various spiritual beings that affect humanity and creation.
Most of us know the Bible mentions angels—spiritual beings that God uses to accomplish various tasks. Early in the Bible, we see the two angels who rescue Lot’s family from Sodom and Gomorrah. Later, we see angels giving messages to Daniel, Mary, Joseph, and others.
The Bible also mentions spiritual beings who fight against God’s will—usually called demons or unclean spirits. The most famous one is “the accuser,” or Satan, traditionally believed to be the serpent that tempts Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Based on passages like Jesus saying he saw Satan fall “like lightning from heaven” and Revelation describing the great dragon taking a third of the angels with him when he fell from heaven, Christian tradition has generally assumed that Satan rebelled against God and was banished.
We have the “sons of God” mentioned in Genesis 6:4 and other passages like Job 1-2, where they meet with God. Kaspars Ozolins explains that some scholars see Job 1-2 as showing that God has a divine council that meets with him regularly. Since the divine council idea appears in many Ancient Near Eastern pagan religions, there is debate on whether Job 1-2 is a literal picture of something God does or a cultural image the writer uses to make a point.
Someone may argue that Old Testament texts about spiritual beings coming from “the heavens” are alien encounters. However, that argument only works if we have strong evidence that the Bible describes something that a simpler explanation can’t explain. Logicians call this Occam’s Razor: go with the simplest definition that fits all the facts.
Now that we know what natural and otherworldly beings the Bible mentions, we still have a related question: could other beings exist on other planets? Do the Bible’s details about God creating the universe give us any hints?
An important part of this discussion is whether we believe God created “the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1) at the universe’s beginning.
If God created our planet at the very start, that may imply that God’s work in the universe begins and ends with what he aims to do with our planet. If not, God could have created various planets and civilizations before we came along.
Current astronomy indicates that the universe existed long before our planet existed. However, this may not contradict Genesis 1:1. The Bible sometimes uses “heavens” to mean the spiritual realm or the sky, not the entire universe.
Further, the fact that Genesis 1:3 talks about God creating light (presumably, the universe) and Genesis 1:9 describes him creating vegetation and land several days later (presumably, our planet) may allow for a long time between the universe’s start and Earth’s creation. Genesis 1 may not describe seven days as we think of days—each one being 24 hours of space-time. From early church theologians like Augustine onward, many theologians interpret Genesis 1 as containing details that the original readers would have recognized as symbols that make a larger point: God may have mysteriously made the universe, but he did make it.
Given these factors, we can’t say for sure that God didn’t create life on other planets before creating Earth. Findings that bacteria once existed on Mars show that there was once some life on other planets.
However, few Christians are worried about Martian bacteria when they ask about alien life. The key concern is whether life could have traits we see as uniquely human, like moral and spiritual awareness. Are there other beings made in God’s image out there?
If so, what does that mean for the gospel message?
While some Christians have pondered whether animals have souls, most orthodox Christianity has agreed that only humans have eternal spirits that go to heaven or hell. Humans are made in God’s image, became separated from him through the Fall, and must be reconciled to him (Romans 3:23). Jesus’ mission when he came to earth in first-century Judea was to die for humanity’s sins so that anyone who believed in him could be reconciled to God the Father (Ephesians 2:15-18).
If extraterrestrial life with imago dei traits (reasoning abilities, moral and spiritual awareness) exists, we would assume they must also reconcile with God. But how?
The Bible doesn’t tell us directly, so different Christian thinkers have presented possibilities. For example:
Lewis’ emphasis on Jesus only being incarnated on Earth and L’Engle’s emphasis on extraterrestrial beings having reverence for Jesus as a unique being, fit with Paul’s report in Romans that Jesus did something on Earth that he never did again. He had to die for sin, but he cannot die for sin multiple times: “The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God” (Romans 6:10). Furthermore, after being resurrected, Jesus ascended into heaven, where he sits at God the Father’s right hand (1 Peter 3:22). Jesus will appear on Earth again for the second coming but won’t undergo death and resurrection again.
If we found alien life made in God’s image, we would need to ask whether:
“Once and for all” apparently makes the first option impossible. It also raises some interesting questions about missionary work.
Since the Great Commission tells us to share the gospel in every language with all people groups (Matthew 28:16-20), we may wonder what sharing the gospel means if we find solid evidence that extraterrestrials truly exist.
Various Christian authors have explored how the gospel applies to space travel.
Many authors outside orthodox Christianity have also explored missionaries interacting with alien civilizations.
Mary Doria Russell (a convert to Judaism) wrote The Sparrow, a novel featuring Jesuit missionaries sharing their faith with an alien species. Russell described the novel as exploring when missionary work goes badly, the attempt to recognize mistakes and try again.
Ray Bradbury (who described himself as “a delicatessen religionist” who appreciated many faiths) wrote a short story, “Fire Balloons,” about priests sharing the gospel with pure energy beings on Mars. Eventually, the priests discover that the beings already know God and have reconciled with him. Bradbury reports he consulted a Catholic priest about the possibility of Martian missionary work while writing the story.
First, the Bible affirms that God created the universe, not just our planet. If he created extraterrestrial beings in his image, he has plans for them, too. He works all things together within his plan, which we can only see dimly.
Second, the Bible’s emphasis on a wider spiritual world than we detect should make us humble about our place in the universe. Even if we are the only created beings made in God’s image, we are part of a larger story that we only see parts of. Discovering extraterrestrials would not change that essential fact.
Third, the Bible’s emphasis that not all otherworldly beings we meet are trustworthy—demons pretending to be pagan gods or angels—means we should be cautious of any claims that otherworldly life has appeared and offers “the real story about God.” The gospel may apply to other planets in ways we don’t expect, but that doesn’t mean its essential truth would be different.
Fourth, even if we discovered that extraterrestrials existed, were sinful and had to hear the gospel, and that we were being called to share it with them, that may not be as bizarre as we’d think. Consider that many Jews in the first-century church saw Gentiles as completely removed from God’s grace. Peter’s description of the Roman Cornelius believing the gospel would have shocked some Christians in Jerusalem as much as we’d be shocked to hear there was a thriving Jesuit mission on Mars. God has a knack for upending our expectations. The gospel repeatedly gets shared.
Finally, we are called to focus on what the Bible says explicitly. There are many things the Bible doesn’t describe in full detail—whether there is life on other planets, where the Nephilim came from, exactly how many years it will take to fulfill the Great Commission, etc. We seek to understand what we can learn, but remember to “keep the main thing the main thing.” Until first contact happens, we keep doing what we’ve been called: share the gospel with humans, live the most God-honoring lives possible, and build up the church.
Photo Credit:©GettyImages/FOTOKITA
This article is part of our Bible resource for understanding the significance and meaning of biblical phrases and ideas. Here are our most popular Bible articles to grow in your knowledge of God's Word:
Promises of God in the Bible
Is "This Too Shall Pass" in the Bible?
What Was the Ark of the Covenant?
Top 10 Bible Stories for Kids
“Iron Sharpens Iron” in Proverbs 27:17
"Fearfully and Wonderfully Made" in Psalm 139
“Be Still and Know That I am God” in Psalm 46:10
"No Weapon Formed Against Me Shall Prosper" - Isaiah 54:17