Theology and Extraterrestrials (David Opderbeck)

David Opderbeck writes this post…

Christian Theology and Life on Other Planets

How would your theology change if scientists discover life on other planets?

Astronomers have made remarkable progress in recent years in identifying exoplanets – planets orbiting stars other than the Sun.  Now, it seems that scientists have identified an exoplanet that might be capable of supporting carbon and water based life.  This conclusion is based on the planet’s mass and its distance from its star.   In short, the planet appears to be “just right” for carbon and water based life, much like Earth.

This discovery, of course, does not mean there actually is life on this particular planet, much less intelligent life.  However, as one of the scientists involved in the discovery stated, “The fact that we found one so close and so early on in the search suggests there’s a lot of these things.” It seems reasonable to suggest that if there are many potentially habitable exoplanets, and if the chemical basis of life is as dynamic as scientists believe, life has arisen on at least some other planets.  Given that most galaxies contain hundreds of billions of stars, and that there are hundreds of billions of galaxies in the universe, it seems inevitable that there is life elsewhere in the universe.

In fact, I’ll go out on a limb:

I predict that, in my lifetime (within the next 30 or so years if the actuarial tables are right), simple extraterrestrial life will be discovered.  I won’t offer a prediction about the discovery of intelligent extraterrestrial life, but given the numbers of stars and planets in the universe, speculation about its existence seems reasonable.

Such discoveries have the potential to upset Christian theology.  We assume that the Biblical picture places humanity at the pinnacle of creation.  Psalm 8, for example, affirms the exalted place of human beings in the order of creation.  Notice, however, that even in Psalm 8, there are “heavenly beings” that occupy an order higher than humanity.

These, of course, are angelic beings, and not extraterrestrial life (no, I am NOT suggesting Psalm 8 speaks about aliens!) [but see footnote below].  Have you ever stopped to wonder about this realm of heavenly beings?  What is their story?  In what way are they morally accountable?   Why – apparently – did the Logos not take on the ontology of an angelic being in order to redeem that order of creation?

Scripture tells us almost nothing about the “heavenly beings,” which perhaps should inform whatever theology we might eventually develop concerning extraterrestrial life.  It seems that there is much, much more to the story of the creation and to the teleology of the entire universe than presently has been revealed to us as human beings, either through scripture or general revelation.  I think this should lead us towards a greater sense of wonder and humility before the God of the universe.  Whatever is out there, it belongs to God.

[Footnote – It’s likely that the “heavenly beings” in Psalm 8 refer not to what we might think of as “angels” but to the ancient near eastern idea of a “heavenly court.”  Regardless, scripture as a whole seems clearly to contemplate a spiritual realm of created personal beings that are morally accountable and capable of rebellion against God.]