Did Jesus Die for Little Green Men?
Is it possible that there is intelligent life out among the stars? And if there is, what would be the theological implications of this fact? Many Christians have assumed that there could not be intelligent extraterrestrials, and that if some were discovered then this would somehow constitute a challenge to the Christian faith.
Apparently that wasn't the view of Larry Norman, the father of Christian rock. Norman always sang about interesting, relevant and unusual topics. And in his classic song "UFO" (off the album In Another Land) he even explored the largely uncharted territory of “exotheology”, that is, the discipline that is concerned with theological reflection on the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

In the song Larry likens the returning Christ to an "unidentified flying object". In keeping with this cosmic theme, Larry then sings that if life exists on other planets, then Jesus has already visited there as well, and has died to save their souls.

Fascinating, isn’t it? I mean back in the early 1970s, at the same time that the Christian group Love Song was considered risqué for singing about a “little country church” with a rocking beat, here is Larry Norman making loaded theological claims about alien salvation!

Larry Norman was undoubtedly ahead of his time, for recent years have seen a growing number of theologians turning to the questions of exotheology. The interesting thing is that these seemingly esoteric topics often have very practical implications.

Let’s consider Larry’s claim that Jesus would die for aliens. This strikes me as a mistake, for the New Testament writers understand the salvation offered by Jesus in truly cosmic terms. As Paul put it, through Christ God is reconciling all things to himself, “whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” (Col. 1:20)

Surely “all things” would include any alien civilizations that exist in distant galaxies. And if so then Jesus wouldn’t have to go and die again, for his atoning work is a once-for-all act.

But that only leads us back to another interesting question: who would like to volunteer to be the first interstellar missionary?