Reflections on Sci-fi Aliens and the Incarnation (Part Two)
If you missed Part One. you can CLICK HERE.
I have been slow in getting to the Incarnation of Christ, but I will delay it a bit longer. Consider a change of perspective. If you were a being visiting an alien world full of… well… aliens, how would you want to present yourself. You have a few choices.
Option 1. Perhaps you would want to instill fear. If you want to conquer their world, or at least gain a certain hegemony or economic concessions, you might want to present yourself in such a way as to show yourself as powerful, dangerous, scary. In the Bible, the revealing of God to the people of Israel at Mount Sinai may perhaps be seen in this way. God is powerful, separated, and deserving of fear and reverence.
Option 2. Perhaps you would want to instill awe or worship. One might think of the movie “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” One might watch the movie and see it as an attempt by an alien species to make peaceful contact with humans. However, while it may be peaceful, the place, time, and context of the encounter is completely controlled by the aliens, and the encounter clearly is meant to demonstrate their awesomeness, otherness, and superiority. A humorous variation on this is the Far Side cartoon that has first encounter with aliens where an alien is seen on the ground clearly having tripped and tumbled down the gangway of the space craft. One of the aliens at the top of the gangway says to another, “Wonderful! Just Wonderful! … So much for instilling them with a sense of awe.” Perhaps the theophany n Isaiah 6 is closer to this. God is shown in high majesty. While fear may be a reasonable response, the encounter feels more like awe and reverence as the goal rather than fear and reverence.
Option 3. Perhaps you would want to make a connection of familiarity. If you have features that look similar to the beings on this world, your job is somewhat easy in this. If you have the ability to look different, such as if you are a shape-shifter, you might consider changing your appearance to look like them. If you are not able to look like them, a possible solution would be to have a representative who looks more like those one is trying to reach. If no such representative is available, perhaps a “robot” or android could be used. In the Bible, God has at times reached out in a visual way through representatives. Sometimes, these were prophets (fellow humans) or angelic messengers. Genesis speaks of God walking with Adam and Eve in Eden before the Fall. We are not sure of what form this took, but it is pretty clear that they felt comforted by God’s presence, until they disobeyed. Apparently sometimes these angels look so much like humans, their extraterrestrial origin is not immediately recognized. Obviously, the incarnation of Christ could also be seen (in a general sense) as part of this option.
Of course, the physical form is helpful, but the accessories or symbols are necessary as well. This goes back to the “world of hats” trope. The hat, or uniform, or associated paraphernalia will be interpreted just as much as the physical form. If one comes to a new planet with things that look like weapons, this will be interpreted differently than if one comes with gifts. Of course, symbols can be misinterpreted, either by accident or by intention. One is reminded of the Twilight Zone episode where aliens come to earth with a book that says “To Serve Man”— something that sounds benevolent. Later, it was discovered that the book was a cookbook— far more malevolent than benevolent. Philippians 2 reminds us that Jesus did not only come incarnated— as human, but also as a servant— a benevolent role.
Okay, we are talking somewhat more about the Incarnation. The third, final post will draw these two posts into the issue of God with us. To go to the third post, CLICK HERE.
