# Could "Aliens" be God's Angels? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 9, 2016, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-aliens-be-gods-angels/762226 "2016-08-09T08:05:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![brendonofq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b19c9b/32.png) [@brendonofq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brendonofq)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-aliens-be-gods-angels/762226/1 "2016-08-09T08:05:24Z")
I am very fascinated by the series “Ancient Aliens”. While the show tends to actually use Ancient Astronaut Theory to try to refute the “God Part” of the ancient writings that they analyze, that show made something click inside of me. I had an idea that suddenly opened up my mind to more literal interpretations of ALL these ancient religious writings. WHAT IF…UFO’s are God’s Angels/Most Trusted Supervisors/Army/Minions…? (Whatever you prefer to call them). Suddenly several things get explained. 1) Clear technological superiority by the aliens over us humans has yet to result in our elimination. 2) It potentially explains this: Across the vast majority of the various spiritual writings over the ancient Earth, they overwhelmingly speak of a “Creator/Controller/God type” that requires “looking UP” to reference… Not DOWN… They did not even know 1,000 miles away existed with other cultures at the times of these writings. Yet all of these different Holy Writings consistently find their “God” as coming from above when God addresses them. Why? The “Finish point” of Solid Earth, water, and the sky ALL should have seemed equally infinite. 3) From a Biblical Perspective…and with the absolute timelessness, and technological superiority that Aliens possess…suddenly the Virgin Mary being impregnated without having sex with a man…or the book of Ezekiel…or the destruction of Saddam and Gomorrah…or the “miracles of Jesus”…all of those seem MUCH more plausible in a world where UFO’s were hovering overhead… with a specific interest in the beings involved in those stories: (“Hey, I have 5 loaves of bread and 5 fish…and need to feed several thousand people…HELP!”) Shoot, that sounds like what humans do for places like Haitii. So it’s not that far-fetched… Thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-aliens-be-gods-angels/762226/2 "2016-08-09T08:28:18Z")
Given you are starting with a premise that there exists a God, and angels, there is no factual answer. So you need a forum change. Requesting one for you… ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-aliens-be-gods-angels/762226/3 "2016-08-09T08:38:23Z")
First, let’s establish that aliens and angels _exist_ before speculating as to whether they might be the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-aliens-be-gods-angels/762226/4 "2016-08-09T10:09:47Z")
Moved from General Questions to Great Debates. **samclem** , moderator ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-aliens-be-gods-angels/762226/5 "2016-08-09T10:58:14Z")
> [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > Given you are starting with a premise that there exists a God, and angels, there is no factual answer. So you need a forum change. Requesting one for you… > [@Smapti](#): > > First, let’s establish that aliens and angels _exist_ before speculating as to whether they might be the same thing. I could be reading the OP wrong, but I don’t think he is claiming angels exist. Quite the contrary. He’s using ancient aliens to explain the mythical origins of angels. I don’t believe it, but it is similar to a theory that I, myself came up with when I was about 12 or so. (Right around the time we started to learn about Greek Mythology in school.) ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-aliens-be-gods-angels/762226/6 "2016-08-09T11:01:07Z")
I fully believe they are manifestations of the same psychological phenomenon. I do not believe they have an objective existence. Aliens are the modern mythological beings, older stories used angels, fairies, jinn or ghosts instead. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-aliens-be-gods-angels/762226/7 "2016-08-09T11:06:16Z")
Well, aliens almost certainly exist, and are of basically the same sort of being that we are. The question is just whether they’ve ever visited or otherwise contacted us, and the answer to that is almost certainly no. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-aliens-be-gods-angels/762226/8 "2016-08-09T11:08:12Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I could be reading the OP wrong, but I don’t think he is claiming angels exist. Quite the contrary. He’s using ancient aliens to explain the mythical origins of angels. He still presupposes the existence of aliens, which really needs to be addressed _before_ we get around to settling whether or not they explain various legends. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-aliens-be-gods-angels/762226/9 "2016-08-09T11:28:14Z")
Yes, they _could_ be. But they aren’t. Angels are actually references to minor deities left over from when the Jews were polytheistic, but wanted to re-use old poems and legends, without changing the terms. Elohim = Gods It seems to be that, after they wrote the Bible and destroyed most of the iconography that they had lying about from polytheistic times, the Jews forgot this fact and began the development of [Jewish Mythology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_mythology) to explain all the holes in the OT legends that were caused by the loss of knowledge of the ancient gods, but make sense when that context is known. This started the legends of Lucifer, fallen angels, etc. most of which never actually made it into the Bible (some references in the New Testament). And, I might note, most of our modern day ideas about all of this comes from Paradise Lost and Dante’s Inferno - neither of which is a holy work. So, in summary: Angels refer to ancient gods, and those gods lived on Earth. Except, gods are the fictional creations of humans. Aliens refer to creatures, much like humans, who happen to have evolved on other planets. As of yet, all known aliens are also fictional. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-aliens-be-gods-angels/762226/10 "2016-08-09T11:36:48Z")
I actually thought that this was about the “Aliens” from the movie series. Which would be a cool fan theory, ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-aliens-be-gods-angels/762226/11 "2016-08-09T11:44:48Z")
Ever been anally probed by an angel? It’s totally different from when the aliens do it. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-aliens-be-gods-angels/762226/12 "2016-08-09T12:03:08Z")
Angels don’t make love: angels _are_ love. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-aliens-be-gods-angels/762226/13 "2016-08-09T12:09:57Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > it is similar to a theory that I, myself came up with when I was about 12 or so. (Right around the time we started to learn about Greek Mythology in school.) Erich Von Daniken popularized the theory during the late 60s in the book [“Chariots of the Gods”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chariots_of_the_Gods%3F). He wasn’t the first to suggest it either. Seems a number of others both before and after him came up with the theory independently. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-aliens-be-gods-angels/762226/14 "2016-08-09T18:56:35Z")
Wow, the false premises in this OP are legion. UFOs are identified - but not alien spacecraft. They haven’t wiped us out since they aren’t here. The stories from the Bible and other myths are just stories, and don’t need to be explained. You might as well say that an alien helped Washington’s dollar get across the Potomac. And there is no evidence of aliens actually visiting us. We were perfectly capable of building the pyramids without help. The “there are no angels” bit is fine, though. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-aliens-be-gods-angels/762226/15 "2016-08-09T19:32:15Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Wow, the false premises in this OP are **legion**. Saw what you did there 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-aliens-be-gods-angels/762226/16 "2016-08-09T21:39:39Z")
Have you been listening to Styx again? (relevant lyrics around 3:22):D ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-aliens-be-gods-angels/762226/17 "2016-08-10T02:51:57Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > Have you been listening to Styx again? > > (relevant lyrics around 3:22):D [“I thought that they were angels, but to my surprise…”](https://memegenerator.net/instance/22784019) ---
**Author:** ![Oddball\_92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b3f665/32.png) [@Oddball\_92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oddball_92)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-aliens-be-gods-angels/762226/18 "2016-08-10T04:05:02Z")
Not so far fetched? I would hope you do not pin your eternity to a television series. As with other nonsensical tv shows like ghost hunters, Sasquatch, etc, the UFOites present this almost as though it is proven fact…as though it were a documentary. Perhaps it could be argued that shows like this are one way for satan to lead the unsuspecting from the real truth of Christ. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-aliens-be-gods-angels/762226/19 "2016-08-10T20:12:27Z")
> [@brendonofq](#): > > Across the vast majority of the various spiritual writings over the ancient Earth, they overwhelmingly speak of a “Creator/Controller/God type” that requires “looking UP” to reference… Not DOWN… Look down. What do you see? Carpet. Now go outside and look down - what do you see? Grass, rocks, dirt, leaves, beetles, bird shit, puddles, etc. All of those things, you can reach, you can touch and understand. Now look up. What do you see? A big blue upturned bowl that you can’t touch and seems infinite. White fluffy things that move and change, but with no visible means of support. A big bright ball of hot fire that appears and disappears on its own schedule - a big white light that changes shape cyclically - a load of little dots - some of them stay in consistent positions to one another - others change position and brightness. And you cannot reach, touch or understand any of these things. ‘UP’ is naturally more mysterious and wonderful than ‘DOWN’. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-aliens-be-gods-angels/762226/20 "2016-08-10T21:16:27Z")
Looking at one of your specific claims… “all of these different Holy Writings consistently find their “God” as coming from above when God addresses them.” God _walked_ in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:8). Moses spoke to the Angel of the Lord in a burning bush (Exodus 3:2). Or Numbers 22:21-41, in which the Angel of the Lord appears three times standing on the ground, and then speaks through a donkey. So, no. Not even the Bible as a single source consistently finds God addressing people from above. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-aliens-be-gods-angels/762226.md?page=2)