Searching for Life in Outer Space

by Terri Kammerzell

Truth of Genesis Ministry Partner

Commemorating the anniversary of the supposed 1947 UFO crash in Roswell, July 2 has been designated by some as “World UFO Day.” The purpose, as some would say, is to raise awareness to the possibility of life in outer space, to bring people together to stare at the skies in hopes to see flying objects, and to urge governments to declassify files on UFO sightings.

In keeping with the spirit, I thought this would be a good week to introduce you to my very related Fun Fact, and to raise awareness about what the Bible might have to say about life in outer space.

Is it possible that there are living things in space?
Yes, but probably only those that originated on Earth, such as bacteria and astronauts. The Bible seems to rule out any native intelligent life in outer space since they would be under the Curse with no possibility of salvation, and Christ—Who died once for all men—will only return to the inhabitable Earth.

The articles and videos I link to on my website basically cover this Fun Fact from three angles: whether science supports the possibility, whether the Bible supports the possibility, and what are the motives of people searching or hoping to find intelligent life in outer space?

I will let you explore the science angle on your own or wait for future blog posts about Fun Facts that talk about that aspect. But now, let’s skip to the third angle: I would like to suggest that at the heart of the search for intelligent—or even simple—extraterrestrial life is a difference of worldviews, and specifically, what a person’s worldview tells them about the origins of life.

By and large, the majority of people who are hoping to find life on other planets are people who are seeking to confirm their evolutionary worldview. After all, if life could have evolved by random chance on Earth, why couldn’t life have evolved—or be evolving—on other planets, whether in our solar system or beyond (“exoplanet”)? If they could find signs of life on other planets, it would help them confirm their beliefs about the origin of life on our own.

And there’s that word: “beliefs.” Because to date, there is no observable, repeatable, testable scientific evidence that something comes from nothing. So evolutionists are still looking—in faith—for solid proof. Having found none on our own planet, many are looking outward.

Additionally, philosophers through the ages have drawn on the passages of Ecclesiastes 3:11 and Romans 1:18-23 to demonstrate that people have an innate emptiness in their hearts that needs to be filled with God. When it is empty, they will search for something else to fill it. This is another search which fuels the hope to find some “greater” life outside ourselves. (We will also discuss this basic biblical concept more fully at a later time this year.)

On the other side of the worldview coin are Christians who acknowledge that life began as a supernatural and intentional event planned and designed by an omnipotent Creator. For us, it is natural that some curiosity could arise about a God Who can do anything. If He created life on Earth, couldn’t He have created life elsewhere?

And so, this Fun Fact looks to that question. In the end, while we cannot be 100% certain we will never find life on an exoplanet, we can draw some conclusions from clues in the Bible that suggest we never will.

Genesis 3 teaches us the origin of sin: Adam sinned and rebelled against God. The same chapter also explains that not only are we all descendants of Adam and Eve, but we have inherited from them a sin nature. Romans 3:23 confirms this: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (HCSB). Romans 6:23a tells us what the consequences of sin are: “For the wages of sin is death” (HCSB). Romans 5:12 also confirms these three ideas in one sentence: “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all men, because all sinned” (HCSB).

Next comes the solution. The rest of Romans 6:23 has the great news: “but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (HCSB).

So how does the gospel message apply to our Fun Fact? Romans 8:22 tells us that “all of creation is groaning” because of the curse from Adam’s sin. If God had created life on other planets, the curse would be applied to them as well. Additionally, God is a holy and just God, and all through the Old Testament we find “rules” that He put into place for His people and for their redemption. Hebrews 10 tells us that the animals sacrificed in the Old Testament were not enough to pay the price for sin. We needed a blood relative to do that for us, which is why Christ had to come to Earth and become a descendent of Adam, to be our relative. This “kinsman redeemer” principle is seen in the story of Ruth. Christ became our kinsman redeemer. The redeemer of the human race.

Were there any “intelligent” life other than humans on another planet, though they would be under the curse of sin, they would not be under the redeeming grace of Christ’s sacrifice. Could Christ also die for them? No, because verse 10 of Hebrews 10 concludes by saying, “Jesus Christ once for all” (ESV).

A human sinned, bringing on a curse for all creation. Christ is the redemption, but the once-and-for-all sacrifice of His human blood is the saving grace of the human race. So, we see that the Bible seems to rule out any native intelligent life in outer space.

Don’t just take my word for it! Visit YouFormedMe.com/astronomy/ufo.html to read, watch, and listen to supporting research and commentary from scientists, doctors, theologians, and more!
This blog is from a special series of “Creation Fun Facts” by Terri Kammerzell, starting from June 10, 2020. Read the introduction at TruthOfGenesis.com/blogs/building-a-biblical-defense-of-creation.