Extraterrestrial Intelligence and the Catholic Faith: Are We Alone in the Universe with God and the Angels?

by Paul Thigpen

For more than half a century, the question of extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) has been widely dismissed in our culture. That wasn’t always the case. Some of the best minds of the last twenty-five centuries in Western civilization have grappled with this mystery.

In Extraterrestrial Intelligence and the Catholic Faith, best-selling author Paul Thigpen begins with a fascinating historical survey of the public conversation about ETI, tracing the thought of prominent Catholics and others. Well-known figures such as Plato, Saint John Chrysostom, René Descartes, Isaac Newton, Benjamin Franklin, Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange, and C. S. Lewis all speculated about the possibilities of life beyond our planet. Even Catholic saints and blesseds spoke of ETI, such as Pope Saint. John Paul II, Saint (Padre) Pio of Pietrelcina, and Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich.
In light of this history, readers will discover answers to these do Scripture and Catholic teaching shed light on this topic?Are alleged encounters with ETI simply a form of demonic deception?Is belief in ETI compatible with the Catholic Church’s teaching?What might be the spiritual and moral status of ETI, and what relationship might they have to Jesus Christ?Would the confirmed existence of ETI undermine the Christian faith, as some have claimed?How can thinking about ETI deepen our faith and enhance our understanding of the Church’s teaching about God and His creation, Jesus Christ and salvation, and God’s ultimate intention for His creatures?
Still more, a concluding appendix addresses the related issue of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and the speculation surrounding them.

Recent developments in astrophysics, technology, and UFO-related disclosures by the Pentagon have reawakened the public discussion about ETI. Extraterrestrial Intelligence and the Catholic Faith is a thorough guide to navigating the conversation from a faithful Catholic perspective.

Genres: Philosophy, Religion, Catholic, Nonfiction, Christianity

403 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 12, 2022

About the author

Paul Thigpen, Ph.D., is the editor of TAN Books. An award-winning journalist and best-selling author, he has published forty-two books. His work has been translated into twelve languages and circulated worldwide.

Reviews

[Jeff Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had known that the debate on whether there are ETs had a long history, I just had not realized just how open a topic it was in previous centuries. There was a lot of debate on the plurality of worlds and the theological implications of multiple incarnations. Just that history was worth reading, but I really enjoyed Paul Thigpen's measured look at the subject.

[Declan Ellis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thorough and fascinating. Thigpen roots his discussion in millennia of Christian thought and tackles the intersection of ETI and doctrines such as sin, incarnation and the final judgement. This book is humble in approach, yet still contains a myriad of interesting and sometimes obscure speculations. It helped to challenge and expand my thinking on this issue greatly. Ultimately, Thigpen is on the side of the existence of ETI, or at least non-human, non-angelic intelligences. After reading his book, I think I agree with him.

My only critique is that Thigpen's extremely thorough chronological survey of the history of Christian theology of ETI can get repetitive. There's only so many opinions you can have on a topic like this and the same debates reenact themselves across centuries. While it's instructive to see this, I didn't need to read a summary of the multiple incarnations view every time it came up (which was quite frequently).

With this small critique, highly recommended.

[Jessica Wade · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book I have been waiting to read on this topic!! My mind has definitely been stretched. The first part is a historical look at what thinkers over the centuries have said about the topic, and the second part is the author’s reasoned explanations of what he thinks and why. He leads us through all sorts of relevant questions about the spiritual and moral state of ETI (extraterrestrial intelligence), the incarnation of Christ, etc. He draws on C.S. Lewis a lot, which I really appreciated. In short, he has me convinced that the existence of ETI is compatible with catholic theology. He also has a very intriguing appendix about how we ought to understand UFO sightings. I highly recommend!

[Cal Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s funny that the narrative surrounding aliens has been dominated (at least from my perspective) by the show “Ancient Aliens” and others that claim if there are aliens then Christianity must not be true because of Christ couldn’t of incarnated on multiple planets. Well they didn’t do their homework because the Church Fathers all the way down to CS Lewis have all discussed the topic and many have thought that it was probable that an infinite God made other intelligent races and He has an infinite amount of ways to redeem them too. But no one reads history anyways so deceiving the masses is like shooting fish in a barrell.

[Lillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geared to Catholic Church theology nerds, mainly, but a very interesting major takeaway is that people have been discussing the possibility of life beyond Earth for over two thousand years. Greek philosophers, early Church Fathers, a variety of thinkers from different Christian denominations throughout the centuries, and Enlightenment Deists are all among those who considered the topic and debated the implications of extraterrestrial intelligence.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4.5)

I often wonder about the spiritual implications of extraterrestrial life and intelligence. When I saw this book I was so excited to see there was actual discussion on the subject. While it didn’t read exactly how I thought it was going to, it was fascinating nonetheless.

Starting with a general history of extraterrestrial activity through myths and legends, the book leads into the modern-age interpretation of ‘aliens’. Part two of the book discusses more of the spiritual nature and how extraterrestrial life might be interpreted through the church and what it would mean for various religions around the world.

I went in figuring it would read similarly to more science-based extraterrestrial books that cite a lot of facts and witnesses. This was more speculation-based along with various opinions on the subject from religious figures, scientists, and other well-known people throughout history. An interesting read despite how differently it played out. It deepened my interest for sure.

[Gil Michelini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Praise God for the timing of this book. I have been recently reading several accounts of ETI and wondering how their existence would affect the Church's teaching. In the first part of the book, the author presents the history of conversation concerning ETI from ancient Greece until today. In the second part, the author presents his personal theology of our response to ETI.
Overall, a good and informative read. My only complaint is it seems that the directors changed halfway through the first part of the audiobook. From there, the narrator attempts to use a different voice for each of the quoted sources. While the narrator has impressive voice skills, I found this back-and-forth distracting. Good in dialog but not in a non-fiction work.