Lost among recent headlines of pandemics and riots, we seem to have missed several stories that may have been big news at any other time. But finally, Ringside is attacking this major worldwide issue…are there aliens in space? And almost more importantly, will Rev. Ross Engel be the first Space Force Chaplain?
Biblically we can say, without a doubt, that aliens…may or may not exist. Sorry to burst your bubble, but Scripture is silent on the matter, and so we don’t know. What we can say is that if they do exist, they are part of God’s creation. Rev. Ross Engel excitedly claims, “they need Jesus too!” But do they?
The conversation surrounding the existence of life elsewhere in the galaxy is interesting on many fronts, but Ross’ comment brings to light a slightly new twist on the conversation. Do aliens need Jesus? I think this hits on a nuanced component of the nature of creation and the fall that is not often explicitly talked about. When Adam and Eve introduce sin into existence, they do not just curse themselves. All of creation is cursed because of their disobedience. Everything is affected: animals, plants, the earth itself, and the aliens.
So, if aliens are under the curse, do they need Jesus too? Well, no, they don’t. (Sorry Ross…you’ll have to wait to start the Space Force Chaplaincy until humans being to colonize other planets.) Aliens may exist as part of creation, but they are not the epitome of it. They do not represent a superior being, or an elevated existence. They are creatures no different than the animals of Earth. It was man who introduced sin into the world, it was man who fell, it was for the sins of men that Jesus died, and it was for man’s salvation that Jesus rose again. Much like the fall of Adam brought all of creation down with him, so Christ’s death and resurrection restores all of creation.
As Rev. Joel Hess claims, “we can’t say there are no other creatures outside of planet Earth. I think we can say that there are no other people that Jesus died for.” And yet, we remain fascinated, not just by the possible existence of aliens, but by our assertion that they must be infinitely more advanced than we are, that they will set the gold standard by which we’ll measure our own success and advancement. “Without a hope in the resurrection of the dead, you’re hoping that there’s something better out there that can be achieved,” says Rev. Paul Koch. Unfortunately, there isn’t something better. Aliens or no aliens, creation is fallen, and it’s the sinfulness of mankind that made it so. It won’t be the aliens who save us, it is Jesus who paid for the sins of men, and who makes all things new…including the aliens.
This article is a brief examination of one of several topics discussed on this week’s episode of Ringside with the Preacher Men. Listen to Rev. Joel Hess, Rev. Ross Engel, and Rev. Paul Koch duke it out over the importance of Bible Study, the supremacy of the proclamation of the Word as per the Smalcald Articles, the fight between original Ringside Preachers St. Paul and St. Peter, and Ross’ detailed plan for Space Force Chaplains, on the latest full Ringside with the Preacher Men episode, “Racism & the Church.”
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