Unidentified Flying Objects- real or not? That is a question that people all over the world have been asking for the past 70+ years. We hear often of people’s sightings of strange phenomena in the skies. Sometimes that have even made high quality videos of the objects. Several cable TV networks, which started out with serious programs of historical and scientific documentaries, have become showcases for scientifically dubious “ancient astronaut theorists.” Why? Probably because they draw bigger ratings than the dull programs they use to run.
So we have to ask, are UFOs real and what should be the attitude of Christians to them?
First, there is no doubt that UFOs exist. Too many people have seen them. The question is, what are they? And, where did they come from?
I think we need to have a healthy sense of skepticism about these sightings and the theories they produce. The truth is, there is no evidence that our planet has ever been visited by aliens from other worlds. The vast majority of UFO sightings have natural explanations. There is no government conspiracy to hide the facts about them. The ancient astronaut theorists base their ideas on ridiculous presuppositions and bizarre notions about ancient writings and archaeological findings.
The fact is, there has never been found a single shred of evidence that life of any kind exists anywhere in the universe but on earth. The odds are so low of life being anywhere (including earth) that it had to be the work of God. So if there is life on other planets, God put it there. So far, however, we have no basis to think so.
Second, even if such beings do exist, that they could travel here from far beyond our solar system is virtually impossible given the known laws of physics. The distances between stars and galaxies are so great that it would take decades to travel from one area of the galaxy to another. Star Trek and Star Wars not withstanding, it is an established fact that faster than light speed travel is not possible. “Warp speed,” “hyper-space speed,” and “worm holes” are mere figments of the imaginations of Science Fiction writers and movie makers (and I love them). If they, or we, could attain speeds enough to do inter-planetary travel, it would so distort time and space that the travelers would never be able to return to the time and place when they left.
So what do we make of the UFO sightings and experiences that cannot be explained (and there are a significant number of them). Christian astronomer Dr. Hugh Ross and his team have discovered an interesting fact about most of the cases of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (that is, UFO abductions and the like). Researchers have found they are focused in areas of the world where the occult is widely practiced and that those who experience them are occult practitioners. He suggests that some UFO experiences may actually be manifestations of demonic activity designed to deceive people from embracing the truth of God and following false teachings. I find that theory quite plausible from a Christian worldview. In any case, as Christians we should not get absorbed into speculations about ideas that have no real bases. The fascination people have with UFOs is one of those ideas.