Is it crazy for Christians to believe in UFOs? Apologist responds

By Billy Hallowell, Contributor Thursday, June 08, 2023

With unidentified flying objects (UFOs) increasingly making headlines, intrigue over the topic only seems to be growing, with one apologist noting this phenomenon is even invading some Christians' beliefs.

Jason Jimenez, who leads Stand Strong Ministries and hosts the "Challenging Conversations Podcast," recently broke down some facts he wants Christians who entertain UFOs and aliens to understand.

"If you look at the belief that many people have had through the centuries, even if you go back as far ... as ancient Greeks, they believed and they even worshiped this idea of extraterrestrials among them," Jimenez said on his show. "And you see that in full display among many of those ancient cultures."

Even today, he said such beliefs are "going strong" among some factions, with UFOs increasingly breaking into the headlines and some claiming the phenomenon is attracting more popularity than ever.

Jimenez's episode on the matter specifically tackled three factors he believes refute the idea that UFOs and extraterrestrial life exist outside planet Earth: scientific explanations rebut claims of alien life, spiritual warfare is a biblical reality and demonic encounters have long been documented.

He started the podcast by noting most of the videos and photos of sightings reported have been determined by experts as having been "doctored up" in some way.

"The vast majority of stuff is a hoax," Jimenez said.

Listen to the apologist break down his position on aliens and UFOs:

But he noted there are some unexplained past events and times when things "outside of the natural where we cannot explain" have emerged, helping fuel the continued conversation about alien life.

"It piques people's interest and it never gets dull," Jimenez said. "And there's movies about it and there's documentaries about it, and so people love to talk about this stuff."

Yet the apologist said he doesn't believe in UFOs and aliens, explaining how Scripture offers no framework for such an ideal.

"The Bible doesn't mention anything of extraterrestrials," Jimenez said. "The Bible does talk about the spiritual realm [and] these spiritual beings known as angelic beings, and then in fallen Angels known as demons."

One explanation for some of these images is a spiritual manifestation of what we see described in the Bible — not alien life invading Earth, Jimenez said. It is an "interaction with spiritual beings" known as angels and demons that could be showing through.

"I wholeheartedly believe that there are times when we have witnessed or even captured the footage of a spiritual being interacting in the physical realm," he said. "Maybe it's a spiritual battle between an angel and a demon. Maybe it's demons messing around in using this type of influence to continue to strike fear or curiosity to lead people away from God."

The apologist discussed the fact one doesn't see any debris nor are their sonic booms or other evidence of aircraft coming into the earth's atmosphere — something he argued would be discernible in the many cases in which people claim to have observed UFOs in the skies.

Jimenez cited astrophysicist Hugh Ross, a Christian who has cast doubt on aliens and UFOs, noting the way these aircraft are said to move defies gravity.

While he believes "science can explain away a lot of these UFO sightings," he circled back to the reality that there are undoubtedly unexplainable phenomena. And, if something is clearly being seen, witnessed, or experienced and it's authentic, one must answer to what is practically happening.

"If we know that aliens don't exist out there, the Bible doesn't mention life outside the Earth ... then how can we explain this?" Jimenez asked.

He noted the Bible's explanation of angels as ministering spirits to guide and protect humans. The existence of a spiritual realm is further addressed throughout Scripture, with Ephesians 6:12 discussing a massive spiritual battle unfolding and bubbling underneath the surface.

The verse (NIV) reads: "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

"I think when we're having these discussions, when people go the realm of the UFOs, notice what's happening is this idea of turning the discussion on something that does not exist," Jimenez said. "And ... therefore not talking about spiritual warfare, spiritual activity."

He continued, "These are angels and demons. These are spiritual beings that come from a non-physical realm that interact in our physical."

Jimenez said he hopes the episode of the "Challenging Conversations Podcast" helps Christians better engage with fellow believers who might entertain UFOs and aliens while also helping them "stand strong with the armor of God."

He believes Satan is using UFOs and extraterrestrial life as a distraction.

"One way he's doing that is for our fixation — for us to focus in on extraterrestrial life," Jimenez said. "So, we're looking beyond and not noticing what he's up to."

Listen to the full episode for more on this fascinating topic.

This story originally appeared on CBN’s Faithwire.com.