Is God An Extraterrestrial? | Unveiled

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Is God an Alien?</h4>

It’s said that God created the universe in six days. That Jesus, the son of God, performed miracles during his time on Earth. That Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are the supreme forces driving reality. Or that Siddhartha Gautama, The Buddha, can lead us to spiritual Nirvana. Figures and stories such as these are the foundation for humankind’s most widely followed religions. But, since the coming of the space age, and with our rapidly growing cosmological knowledge… could a revolution of Faith take hold?

This is Unveiled, and today we’re answering the extraordinary question; is God an alien?

Exotheology emerged as a budding academic field in the 1960s and ‘70s. In general, it represents a major meeting point between science and religion. Exotheologists are tied up in trying to achieve an understanding of religious concepts in relation to potential extraterrestrial intelligence. How would our belief systems cope should alien life be found? Would they prosper or fail? Could religion ever account for aliens, in itself? And, would an extraterrestrial life form have religion of its own?

At around the same time as exotheology was establishing itself, the Ancient Astronauts theory was started up - pedaled most notably by the Swiss writer Erich von Däniken in his 1968 book “Chariots of the Gods?”, plus several follow ups. While exotheology is generally considered a valid pursuit, von Däniken’s ideas are typically deemed controversial and unfounded. For instance, his claims toward various ancient monuments as having been built by aliens rather than humans. Critics say that there was never any evidence for such claims, and modern research has continually shown that sites such as the pyramids and Stonehenge were built by human hand alone.

Nevertheless, the wider merging of humanity’s ideas about divine figures with the search for alien life has continued into the modern day - although in different directions. The Reverend Professor David Wilkinson - principal of St John’s College, at Durham University in the UK - is one high-profile figure with variously perhaps controversial views on record. In 2013, he published the book ”Science, Religion, and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence”. On the one hand, Wilkinson is a Methodist minister, but on the other he’s an astrophysicist and a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. Speaking to “The Northern Echo”, again in 2013, he tells of keeping an open mind and, on the subject of the vastness of the universe, he says; “surely there must be another Earth-like planet out there and surely there must be other life”. Toward the end of the article, he’s quoted as saying “Often we find a God who’s more surprising and extravagant than we ever imagined”.

Professor Wilkinson’s comments are generally more concerned with how we might tally the discovery of alien life with long-held religious views. He never insinuates that God Himself is an alien. However, others have done. For example, the Reverend John Polk, from North Carolina in the US, published in 2015 a book titled; “Yahweh, the Biblical God, is an Alien”. It weighed in at more than 200 pages, with variously repeating claims that all of our God-like figures are actually alien beings… and that Polk had been selected as a seer to channel the true message. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the book - which has been criticized as made up and poorly written - has never been taken seriously on anything close to a wider scale.

There have been other occasions, however, when similarly subversive views have caught on, and sometimes in a big way. Probably the most infamous example is in the Church of Scientology, which features the figure of Xenu in its particular legend as to how life came to Earth. According to Scientologists, Xenu was an ET ruler - an alien overlord, if you will - who populated Earth with intelligent beings 75 million years ago. Of course, none of that checks out in mainstream science, but it also flies in the face of conventional religion. So, while Scientology is vague on the concept of God itself, it might be said that it suggests that yes, God is an alien.

But, as new age as Scientology might seem, it actually isn’t that new of a concept. The Aetherius Society was founded by George King, a London cab driver, in 1954, after King claimed to have received a message telling him to; “Prepare yourself! You are to become the voice of interplanetary parliament”. From that point, King claimed to have been able to channel what the Society refers to as cosmic masters. And here’s where our particular question comes into play. In short, a cosmic master is a supreme alien being. Aetherius itself was said to be one; an advanced extra-terrestrial that King had a direct line of telepathic communication with. However, and according to the Society, most of the most well-known and widely-followed religious figures are cosmic masters, too. Jesus, the Buddha, Krishna… there’s a long list of deities and prophets that are said to be somehow involved, from belief systems all over the world. Many of the key moments and symbols of religious belief were also redrawn by King and his followers - such as the Star of Bethlehem, which gets rethought as a UFO. 

Again, perhaps predictably, the Aetherius Society has faced heavy criticism over the years. King claimed that he held many, variously superior titles - including an obscure form of knighthood in the UK - but most of those have been discredited. The skeptic James Randi, among others, has spoken out against the Society before. Meanwhile, its apparent teachings have seemingly struggled to keep up with contemporary scientific knowledge. For example, followers are told that most key figures come from planets and places within the solar system - such as Jesus and the Buddha, who are said to come from Venus - but there’s been little-to-no evidence so far that this could be true. Of anything, let alone of Jesus and the Buddha specifically. Instead, it might be argued that King’s original story was limited by the scope of what was known at the time… and is let down by the wealth of what’s known today. Nevertheless, the Society does still exist, many decades on. King died in 1997, but members believe that he is now a cosmic master, as well. In terms of numbers, it’s thought that the Society today is a small but international group. 

So, is God an alien? Clearly it’s a question wrapped up in all manner of other questions, before and after it. Does God exist? Whose god is the right one? Do aliens exist? How advanced could any one alien life form ever become? There have been (and are still ongoing) numerous controversial attempts to suggest that yes, what we know as a god could actually be an ET. From the Aetherius Society to Scientology, there are groups that seemingly bow to the higher knowledge of an off-Earth force. In many cases, however, the line between alternate belief and dangerous cult is pretty thin. What’s your verdict? Let us know in the comments!

Meanwhile, there are those such as the Reverend Professor Wilkinson who are busy mulling over slightly less blockbuster notions. Because the relationship between our understanding of aliens… and the ideas we have on divine beings… is certainly an interesting one. Consider for a moment if an advanced alien civilization does exist, somewhere in the cosmos. A Kardashev type three or higher. If we were to somehow cross paths with that group, they would certainly appear god-like in many ways. Such an event would surely rattle the Faith of many followers of any religion, and for some it would shatter their beliefs entirely. But, on the other hand, an advanced alien group could never really be a god, at least not to those in monotheistic religions. They would be more than one; God is the only one.

Jump up something like the Kardashev Scale to types five or higher, however, and eventually you might get to a level that isn’t really a civilization anymore, but rather it’s a supreme force. An indefinable but also unbeatable quantity, that knows and understands and sees literally everything. At that point, is it God? Maybe. Is it still an alien? Maybe not. Again, be sure to let us know what you think, in the comments!

Since the mid-twentieth century especially, humankind has looked to the stars with new vigor. In ancient times, those twinkling lights were understood by some to directly correspond with the gods that they followed. Of course, that’s no longer the case, and even our most entrenched beliefs have somewhat moved on. But might the universe still one day reveal a greater link? Or, as lowly humans, are we always destined to wonder what’s out there… but never know for sure.