Earlier this week, Matt covered the report that one of the CIA's remote viewers had witnessed life on Mars dating back to one million years BC. The remote viewer in question, part of the CIA's Project Stargate program, saw tall humanoids, pyramids, obelisks, and an ancient civilization preparing for environmental armageddon. That's right out of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom series with a hat tip to Art Bell and a definite nod to Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles.
First of all, let me say this: any person with a decently functioning pre-frontal cortex knows that our government does not have a stellar track record when it comes to telling the truth about anything. If a government official gives you the time of day, check your watch or, better yet, the nearest sundial. I highly suspect that the UFO kerfuffle over recent months has been an effort by those in power to further muddy the waters of the national consciousness.
Second, when the topic of extraterrestrial life comes up, it is not uncommon for someone to remark, usually with no small amount of glee, that the existence of sentient life on other plants would, by its very nature, nullify the validity of the Bible, not to mention the existence of God. I recall the news that Mars rocks had been found on Earth that contained the tell-tale signs of very primitive life rousing atheists. The hypothesis at the time was that life may have originated on Mars but was brought to Earth as the ultimate result of a massive asteroid strike on the Red Planet.
The CIA "revelation" this week would make good fodder for a semi-decent sci-fi potboiler, which is what it is. But suppose for a moment that one million years ago, giant humanoids roamed the surface of Mars, creating fantastic structures and continually expanding the frontiers of science and knowledge. Suppose one day we do find conclusive evidence of life in other parts of the universe. Does that mean an end to faith? Do we cast aside our Bibles and look to the stars while ignoring the Heaven behind them?
No. Such proof would not mandate an ontological tailspin. To begin with, the Bible was not written for civilizations on Mars, Zeta Reticuli, Vulcan, Qo'noS, or Tattooine. It was written for humans. It tells humans how to order their lives, how to treat one another and creation, how to honor God, and how to achieve salvation: things that we have yet to master ourselves.
Were you to board a starship with Mormon missionaries, Jehovah's Witness, Jesuits, street preachers, imams, and rabbis to spread whatever version of the Good News you favor, you would be greeted with bemused or even stunned looks by your potential converts. Such beings would have no point of reference for the religious messages of Earth and likely have no use for them. They may not even perceive the world around them the way you do. It would be as if two small gray people with bulging eyes showed up at your front door one day and said, "Hello. We would like to share the message of our Lord and Savior Xzexplyx. Have you read the Gospel according to Fribxn?" It simply would not compute and would have no meaning for you.
Science, by no means, invalidates the concept of a creator. Cardinal Baronio once remarked, “The Bible teaches us how to go to heaven, not how the heavens go.” There are more wonders yet to be contemplated. On that note, it is folly to contend that God did not make other worlds and other beings. The sheer size of the universe would indicate that we are not alone. And who is to say that God, in His infinite wisdom and creativity, has not brought His message to those people and worlds?
C.S. Lewis understood that. One need only read his Space Trilogy. Regarding The Chronicles of Narnia, Lewis intended that Aslan not merely serve as an allegory for Christ but that he was Christ himself as he would appear in such a world. Consider this exchange from one of the books of the books in the series, "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader":
It isn't Narnia, you know," sobbed Lucy. "It's you. We shan't meet you there. And how can we live, never meeting you?"
"But you shall meet me, dear one," said Aslan.
"Are -are you there too, Sir?" said Edmund.
"I am," said Aslan. "But there, I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.”
And therein lies our task. We may be awed by the wonders of the cosmos and intrigued by the concept of a multiverse. We may fantasize about the possibility of "first contact," all of which is well and good. But our primary mandate and highest good is to know Him better here.
