Ancient Aliens’ As Popular Alternatives to Biblical History
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Theofilos A Nordic open access journal in Theology, Philosophy and Culture Published by NLA University College – in partnership with Johannelund School of Theology VOL. 11 NR. 2 2019 Available at www.theofilos.no Scientific Rebuttals to ‘Ancient Aliens’ as Popular Alternatives to Biblical History Peter S. Williams Assistant Professor in Communication and Worldviews NLA University College [email protected] Abstract: Just as Christian apologists need to rebut the ‘alternative’ histo- rical claims of The Book of Mormon, so they need to rebut claims about so-called ‘ancient aliens’. These claims offer people with a secular worldview historical counter-narratives to biblical history that draw upon the scientific respectability of astrobiology and the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (SETI). Rather than interacting with the speci- fics of ‘ancient alien’ narratives on a case-by-case basis, I argue that ‘anci- ent alien’ theories are intrinsically convoluted and highly ad hoc, and that multiple essential facets of such theories are disconfirmed by scientific evi- dence. Not only do we lack convincing evidence that extra-terrestrial intel- ligences have visited Earth, but SETI has provided observational evidence that suggests technologically advanced aliens simply don’t exist, at least in our cosmic neighbor hood. In sum, when it comes to ‘ancient aliens’, it’s those who believe in ‘ancient aliens’, not Christians, who are swimming against the scien tific evidence. Keywords: Ancient Aliens, Biblical History, Extra-Terrestrial Intelli - gences, SETI hristian apologetics should devote within the apologetic fields of ‘natural some attention to rebutting ‘alter- theology’ or ‘ramified natural theology’ Cnative’ historical claims, whether (see my paper on ‘Science and Natural those claims are contained in, for exam- Theology in Contemporary Apologetic ple, The Book of Mormon1, or in the many Context’ earlier in this edition of books and television ‘documentaries’ that Theofilos). make claims about so-called ‘ancient ali- Proponents of ‘ancient aliens’ see the ens’. Claims about ‘ancient aliens’ offer a contradiction between their alien related counter-narrative to the biblical under- beliefs and Christianity as a reason to standing of various historical and/or pre- doubt Christianity and thus Christian historical events and figures, including ramified natural theology. A legitimate the origins of humanity, the biblical pro- but lengthy response to this doubt would phets and the reality of the incarnation. be to offer a sufficiently robust positive These controverted subjects all feature apologetic for Christianity. This paper Copyright © 2020 Author(s). Peer reviewed open access article – published under CC BY-NC 4.0. Theofilos. Volume 12, 2020, issue 1, pp. 85–111 DOI: https://doi.org/10.48032/theo/12/1/8 ISSN print 1893-7969, ISSN online: ISSN 2703-7037 86 Scientific Rebuttals to ‘Ancient Aliens’as Popular Alternatives to Biblical History offers another legitimate, and more relevant scientific data. Historical claims direct, response by critiquing the core ten- about ancient aliens get packaged into ants of ‘ancient alien’ beliefs, principally entertainment driven TV ‘documentaries’ on the basis of scientific evidence. and shared as YouTube videos that spre- At a methodological level, this paper ad through our social media environment can be viewed as a case study in addres- like the common cold among H.G. Well’s sing anti-Christian claims in contempora- ill-prepared Martian invaders.3 ry popular culture by drawing upon data Journalist Fiona Macdonald defines from culturally esteemed sources of evi- ‘fake news’ as ‘news from dubious sour- dence that constitute common ground ces, advertising content, or stories that between Christians and non-Christians are just totally made up – but which still (in deed, to avoid any appearance of bias, go viral on Facebook and Twitter.’4 As an I will quote principally from secular sour- example of ‘fake news’, consider a July ces). Rather than engaging with the speci- 2017 article from the website of well- fics of the many different ‘ancient alien’ known British national newspaper The beliefs in contemporary culture, this Sun: paper focuses upon using evidence from LITTLE GREEN AMEN. Does this pain- multiple scientific fields (including phy- ting prove ALIENS were present at the sics, psychology, origin of life studies, Crucifixion of Jesus? Probably not . astrobiology and the search for extra-ter- but that’s what UFO watchers are clai- restrial intelligence) to critique the key ming. The painting appears to show propositions that a) intelligent extra-ter- ‘crafts’ . but they might just represent restrials exist and that b) they have visited guardian angels.5 planet earth. Ancient Aliens in Contemporary Culture Narratives about alien visitors to Earth are given credence by the intellectually superficial bent of contemporary popular culture. As John A. Keel comments: The E.T. [Extra-Terrestrial] premise has been promoted by the movies and by the UFO buffs so tenacious- ly the average person in the street now sort of accepts it, because they haven’t given much thought to it. They don’t realise how much of it is based upon wishful thinking and faulty logic. They have seen the movies or they have heard the UFO buffs on the radio or the TV and they say, ‘Well, that make sense, we’re being visited by aliens.’2 Illustration: The Crucifixion of Christ fresco, by unknown artist, Svetit skho v eli Cathedral Such beliefs combine a superficial respect in Georgia.6 for science per se with ignorance of the Theofilos vol. 12 nr. 1 2020 Peter S. Williams 87 Whilst stating that ‘art historians who in the past did not adhere to literal have studied the 11th century piece say representations of things and often the weird dome-shaped “crafts” [sic] used symbolism to tell a story to give greater meaning to the picture. represent guardian angels,’ the Sun article In this crucifixion of Christ the contrasts this opinion with that of the UFOs are representations of light website TheAncientAliens.com as if they (life) and darkness (death). Many were on a par: ‘The unknown artist seems artists painted the Sun and Moon, to be telling us that these flying saucers faces or angels to present these were present during the death of Jesus.’7 symbolic elements. Basically, there According to the TheAncientAliens.com are no aliens to see here.9 website, from which the Sun article is As Italian art historian Diego Cuoghi clear ly cribbed: reports: ‘most of the crucifixions done in Art historians explain these to be the Byzantine style show the same representational of angels watching “objects” on either side of the cross. They the event. However, angels were are the Sun and the Moon, often repre- depicted with wings, and halos in sented with a human face or figure.’10 Byzantine art of this time, as were Cuoghi points out that those who consi- all divine entities. We can see in this same painting that Jesus, Mary and der such symbolic elements as representa- John have halos. Others speculate tions of alien spacecraft: these represent the sun and the assume that the artist, e.g. an moon. However, the sun and moon Italian artist of the 15th century or as personas was not accepted by an anonymous Byzantine painter, christianity [sic]. The two objects would actually be allowed to insert were not given identities or deity any non-canonical or un-codified status by the church as was the element into a religious representa- prac tice in Sumerian, Egypt and tion. On the contrary, in past times China.8 the commissioners (those who These comments reveal a startling igno- choose the subject and supervised the execution of the art work – in rance of Christian theology and art (neit- these cases the religious institu- her of which would portray Mary, John tions) would have never allowed or angels as ‘divine’). As a matter of fact, the author to insert into a work of I haven’t been able to find any art histori- art anything other than what [they] an who thinks the objects in the Svetit- previously decided, especially in skhoveli Cathedral crucifixion fresco are case of religious subjects.11 meant to be angels. Moreover, that an In short, this ‘ancient aliens’ story is fake artist personifies the sun and moon news disguised with the form, but not the doesn’t entail attributing literal ‘personas’ substance, of journalistic balance. Indeed, to them, still less ‘deity status’! According the superficially balanced opinions pre- to Nigel Watson, author of the UFO In - sented by the article appear to have both ves tigations Manual: been drawn from one and the same unre- There are numerous examples of liable source! what to our modern eyes look like astronauts and spaceships in anci- A Brief History of Ancient Aliens and ent and religious artworks. What Modern Religion we have to understand that artists As theologian David Wilkinson observes: Theofilos vol. 12 nr. 1 2020 88 Scientific Rebuttals to ‘Ancient Aliens’as Popular Alternatives to Biblical History ‘The link between extraterrestrial intelli- that God created a one and only gence and a religious quest has had a sig- son, who was also himself at a ran- nificant time in the last hundred years, dom point in history, who came to come to earth and forgive people with various new religious movements their sins for some reason we don’t built on the mythology of aliens.’12 really know.14 Science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard (1911-1986) founded the Church of Scien- Alternatively (and accommodating the tology in 1952, blending the ‘ancient ali- existence of two independent historical ens’ hypothesis with his ‘Dianetics’ birth accounts for Jesus15), it might be system of ‘auditing’: suggested that aliens ‘implanted’ Jesus into Mary’s womb.16 Auditing purports to identify spiri- Swiss UFO religion leader ‘Billy’ tual distress from a person’s current life and from past lives.