Headlines claiming NASA hired priests to prepare for aliens have been making the rounds for over a week now. Can you see it? Flocks of clergy educating the panicked public on a new species? Absurd.
So, did NASA hire priests to prepare humans for aliens? Well, not exactly. There was an exchange of money for information. But to say priests were hired to explain aliens goes beyond sensationalizing. It’s a tad more involved and a bit older news than recent headlines will have you believe. But fascinating nonetheless.
It’d be more accurate to say NASA did seek the insight of theologians and scholars to merge with scientific knowledge. And that they were willing to invest a lot of money to get that insight.
In 2014, NASA gave a $1.1 million grant to the Center for Theological Inquiry (CTI) in Princeton, New Jersey to help further their research. While this is an institution rooted in Christian theology, that’s not the same as employing priests.
What is the Center for Theological Inquiry (CTI)?
The institute as a whole aims to “build bridges of understanding by convening theologians, scientists, scholars, and policymakers to think together – and inform public thinking – on global concerns”. Great minds of all disciplines. Yes, there are priests but the religious experts aren’t exclusively of Christian faiths.
NASA & CTI’s Mutual Interests? Societal Consequences of Astrobiology.
NASA’s grant supported the study of “the societal implications of astrobiology”.
According to CTI director William Storrar the project’s aim was, “to foster theology’s dialogue with Astrobiology on its societal implications, enriched by the contribution of scholars in the humanities and social sciences”.
What Does This Have to do With Actual Aliens?
While Astrobiology doesn’t directly involve the study of actual aliens (since they don’t officially exist) it’s the study of the entire scope of life in the universe. Anything they find: plants, bacteria, and yes, alien creatures. If there are extra terrestrial beings it would extend to include the study of their origins and conditions for survival. Any living thing out there and its creation. One can easily see how that would correlate to our own ideas of our creation.
As former head of NASA’s Astrobiology Institute, Carl Pilcher put it, they wanted to… “consider the implications of applying the tools of late 20th (and early 21st) century science to questions that had been considered in religious traditions for hundreds or thousands of years.”
NASA really did hope to gain insight into possible reactions to the discovery of alien life; how it could impact the ideas we have of God and creation. Which is interesting since those ideas don’t usually align with those more “scientific minded” – the fact that it’s a concern at all is very telling.
What did they already know that made them deem the research necessary in the first place? Did they already uncover something that directly overlaps Astrobiology and theology?
Logically, we know if NASA is preparing for a “discovery” it’s probably because they’ve already had one. It’s the reveal they’re really preparing for.
So Why Are all These Articles Saying NASA Hired Priests to Prepare for Aliens?
Christian theologians were involved, but so were scholars and experts in sciences and humanities. The recent revival of interest in this study is probably due to the announcement of Dr. Andrew Davison’s 2022 book release, Astrobiology and Christian Doctrine.
Scientist and theologian, Dr. Andrew Davison was a CTI fellow and spent the 2016-2017 academic year on the NASA sponsored program. His assigned segment of focus was on the consequences of Astrobiology for Christian theology.
Do Aliens Pose a Threat To Christian Theology? Not That Can Be Seen Thus Far.
As far as consequences go, Dr. Davison pointed out, “non-religious people also seem to overestimate the challenges that religious people would experience if faced with evidence of alien life.”
Overall, NASA may have missed the whole point of faith here. And they’ve clearly got some reading up on prophecy to do…
Most religious and spiritual people already know there are extraterrestrial lifeforms out there and have some ideas about what they really are.
They change nothing about the belief in God and creation. In fact, proof of their existence only reinforces it – especially for those who don’t dismiss the Books of Enoch.
The University of Cambridge Shared Davison’s Efforts
“So far, my attention has mainly been focused on what theologians call Christology: the discussion of who Jesus was, and in particular of what it would mean to hold that he is both human and divine. The most significant question there is probably whether one would respond theologically to the prospect of life elsewhere in terms of there having been many incarnations, or only the one theologians talk about in Jesus.”
– Andrew Davison
The Biggest Concern? “Incarnations of Christ” in “Alien” Cultures.
Well… isn’t that kind of already the case? Everybody has their own version of events with similar key players. It would also depend what’s meant by “alien” cultures? All one has to do is cross an imaginary man-enforced border to be called an alien. The term “alien” merely refers to one who is from somewhere else, it does not have to mean a different species.
We could also be talking about making contact with interdimensional beings that are just like us. Maybe even parallel versions of us! Actual, biological humans – of course they would have our creation and savior stories.
What people really have to wrap their heads around, is that time is not linear, other dimensions really do exist next to ours, and other beings (possibly even humans) could be living in them. There’s far more out there than just what’s hiding behind Mars or inside the moon.
As for non-human extraterrestrials claiming to have their own “incarnations of Christ”… we already know what that is don’t we? We were already warned about that.
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