Aliens, as commonly depicted, are faerie. There is no two ways about it; they serve the same role in modern times that the fair folk and demons did in earlier eras, especially before the Enlightenment.
Think about it: aliens come from far away, well beyond the reach of even the most advanced means of travel. They are depicted with technology far in advance of what humanity has. Sometimes, they have physical capabilities greater than humans, whether naturally or via technology. Sometimes, they resemble humans or familiar Earth animals, while other times they look completely monstrous. Sometimes they aid humanity, other times they menace humanity.
Creatures from distant realms with unexplainable powers — just like traditional faerie (or if you’re Japanese, youkai.)
I find it amazing that actual belief in aliens is so prevalent in a so-called scientific era. The scientific rationalism held up as an intellectual ideal today was supposed to drown out belief in beings of this sort, especially those associated with Christianity*, yet the same thinking has re-emerged in a completely different form that maintains a thin veneer of scientific plausibility. It goes to show that there is truth to the idea that religious thinking is natural to humans and will continue for the foreseeable future; people perceive the supernatural and will justify it in whatever terms they could.
* An argument could be made that weakening Christianity was the entire point.
‘Creatures from distant realms with unexplainable powers’
Arthur C Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey holds probably the most famous example of inscrutable, mystical aliens. Or the emissaries in Childhood’s End, which look like devils. It’s weird how people who are the strongest public atheists like Clarke end up articulating the strangest mysticism. Even Asimov did it in his Foundation sequels, with the hive-mind planet Gaia.
We didn’t destroy angels and demons, just displaced them elsewhere. There is definitely a regression to pre-Aristotelian thinking going on at the moment all over the West. Extinction Rebellion are without a doubt a pagan cult, what with all their strange acolytes dressed in red, and squirting of pseudo-blood from fire engine hoses (look it all up). Some people want to appease the ‘gods’ through blood, and if they can’t carry out sacrifices literally, they’ll act them out another way.
https://paullucaswriter.wordpress.com/2019/07/31/magical-thinking-is-a-threat-to-western-civilisation/
Excellent point. There is a Youtube video in which a scientist studying religion points out just how common belief in the supernatural is, even among avowed atheists. Very few people adhere to a strictly materialistic way of thinking.
Paul
Very insightful. I’m intrigued who’s pushing for the pre rational regression?
Who benefits and how?
Why is this happening now?
Rawle
Because a purely materialistic outlook is both shallow and incomplete. Humans are hard wired to believe. It’s incumbent to believe the right things
xavier
Agreed, Xavier. Materialism just isn’t enough, for the simple reason that you can’t derive “should” from “is.”
The irony is that Clarke claimed the “inevitable” discovery of aliens would end Christianity. This is merely cryptic until you discover it’s the “man was made in God’s image” that he thought fatal.
We project a lot of our biases, hopes, and fears onto aliens, so it’s no surprise that Clarke used them as a club against Christianity.