Choosing Your God Wisely

On a Saturday in May I was driving a bit of a distance and came across a radio show along the lines of Art Bell’s late night program. I’ve been thinking about this amazing experience ever since. There was a man being interviewed who proclaimed forcefully that we have been visited by aliens from space. He labored over the fact that this is all well-known throughout the higher echelons of government and it has all been hidden from the American public. He talked about the bodies of aliens that our government has captured alive and that are still, today, stored in secret. He even asserted that everyone in the very highest levels of government know the following specifics:

First, they have proof that aliens exist and they have visited earth.
Secondly, they know that aliens have impacted modern inventions and are responsible for our modern technology.
Third, they know that many people have been captured by aliens and have had a variety of painful experiments inflicted upon them.
Fourth, aliens are responsible for many of the “missing persons” throughout the country.
Fifth, President Eisenhower knew there was no God, only aliens, but in an effort to keep the illusion of God and to keep the population compliant and not panicked, he made it a point to advocate for “In God We Trust” to be added to currency and “Under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance.

As I drove along, I was impressed with his passion and his confidence. He obviously believed what he was saying. He was convinced, or at least was convincing, of the truth of his words. While driving along, I felt a combination of both incredulousness and horror. Could this be true? Could he be telling the truth? I found myself looking at the three options that CS Lewis and others have used over the years when looking claims made by speakers. Either the speaker was telling the truth, was lying or was deluded. There really aren’t any other options.

There this man was, loudly asserting the presence and impact of aliens on planet earth. He was asserting to anyone who would listen that what he had to say was the truth.

Is he telling the truth? Has he seen these with his own eyes while awake and lucid? Is he one of a few lonely voices trying to get the truth out to us?

Or is he lying? Does he know for a fact that this is not true and says it because it gives him popularity and his fifteen minutes of fame? Does he enjoy horrifying and frightening people with visions of lying under the knife of alien scientist who views us as nothing but another specimen? Is he serious on the outside and laughing on the inside?

Or is he a crazy person who has delusions? Does he have visions in his head and thinks that they are reality? Is he schizophrenic? Is he a person who has visions and dreams and can’t separate them from reality?

Then as I continued driving along, I looked at Mount Rainier and the slanting rays of the afternoon sun lighting up the snow. I thought of my little hummingbird coming to my feeder throughout the winter, looking for his daily food. I thought of my dog and cats, the roses and cosmos growing merrily, and the tulips recently come and gone for another year. I thought about coffee and chocolate, lounging in the sun or swimming in the pool. I remembered snuggling on the couch with husband and kids, watching Apollo 13. I considered Jesus’ words that he “came to give us life abundantly.” He talked about God caring for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. Jesus said, “Come unto me you who are burdened and weary and you’ll find rest for your souls.” David wrote in Psalms, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”

I considered the speakers alien gods. Gods of fear and terror. Gods who come to inflict fear and pain, gods who come to feed off of mankind and to take people away in the dead of night. Gods to run away from and escape if at all possible. His aliens sound more like the demons of the spiritual world. They have no compunction about lying or leading people astray. Demons come to harm, kill and destroy. They aren’t aliens, but are created spiritual being alienated from the Creator of the Universe.

Jesus has maintained his credibility much longer than this speaker, however well intentioned he may have been. One of them is telling the truth about God, one is lying or is delusional. Jesus has been changing lives for the good for centuries now. The speaker's gods bring destruction and fear. The speaker can have his reality and his gods; I’ll keep the One who said, “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” I will choose my God carefully.