You may have noticed, there is a growing interest something called “Ancient Aliens.”  This a step up from UFOs and a little guy named ET.

When i was a boy, my older brother developed a fascination in flying saucers and visitors from outer space. I was the little brother, and I started reading his books, and I caught the fascination. It was all exciting until one Sunday, when our family went to church. The preacher brought up the topic of UFOs. This was thrilling to my brother and me, for a few seconds. We thought the adult world was going to endorse our hobby.

Our hopes disappeared instantly, when he told us all how bad this belief was. We were not, under any circumstances, allowed to believe in that. I remember our mother looking at us with a look of severe correction. Later, at home, all the books were taken away, and we were warned to never speak of UFOs, flying saucers, and visitors from outer space again.

My mother died a few years ago, but if she was still with us, I want to know if she asked the preacher to say those words, to correct her two wayward boys. I think we were set up.

A few years later, I learned about a Swiss hotel keeper named Erich von Däniken, who wrote books telling us that ancient aliens had visited humans thousands of years ago. Those aliens taught humans how to be civilized, and today we call them gods. His most famous book is probably “Chariots of the Gods” and he also wrote “Gods from Outer Space.”

You get the picture; this could make the God of the Bible an extraterrestrial visitor who taught early humans how to be civilized. That could also make Jesus a visiting alien.  Erich von Däniken was raised to be a Roman Catholic, and educated in a religious school, until he apprenticed to be a hotel worker. He rejected the Roman Catholic beliefs from his school, and developed his own ideas about ancient aliens who visited our ancestors.

If my brother and I had continued with our UFO hobby, we had the potential to become believers in Erich von Däniken’s ideas.

Notice that the Bible is very important in ancient alien thinking. People who believe in God read stories about God and angels coming down to us, and communicating important things. Ancient alien believers interpret these same stories as visits from other worlds. Other objects, like the pyramids of Egypt, are tied to Bible stories.

I understand now, how two boys were really interested in extraterrestrial visitors in UFOs. This is fun. And now people everywhere are starting to believe. You might have heard of a video series called “Ancient Aliens.”

These ideas are an interpretation of the Bible. People who are not interested in God and the Bible, are developing a fascination with some Bible stories.

If you have a few minutes, here is a Christian version of one of those stories. Ezekial wrote about a strange craft floating in the sky.

I mostly put that link in because I like the song so much. I like listening to Christians as they worship God. Some are very talented.

If we read the whole Bible, we learn about a God who loves us, and someone who died on a cross to save us. In my experience, it is possible to have a new life with a new, living Holy Spirit in me. That is different from some interesting ideas delivered by the pilot of a UFO.

It is normal to read Bible stories with an understanding of technology. It’s fun, and some of those ideas might be true. With all that fascination, we should remember that God gives us new lives, not just interesting stories.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

(Luke 2: 8 to 14)