The ancient astronaut concept has become something of a cult. It has quite a following and I believe these people are being deceived and being led away from God. It is particularly dangerous because ancient astronaut theorists have claimed that ancient astronauts influenced the events of the Bible in Exodus, Joshua and Ezekiel. This is a direct attack on the Bible. People are looking to space aliens rather than to God as the author and sovereign of history. One of the ancient astronaut theorists on the TV show even blasphemously claimed that the God of the Bible was an ancient astronaut and not divine.

UFO researchers are divided into two different viewpoints in explaining UFOs. These viewpoints are the extraterrestrial hypothesis and the interdimensional hypothesis. The extraterrestial hypothesis is the claim that UFOs are spaceships with astronauts from planets in star systems within our own physical universe. The interdimensional view is that UFOs are entities that travel from different dimensions and enter our universe from a parallel universe.

The interdimensional hypothesis is more consistent with the Bible and the Christian worldview because it can be inferred that at least some of the other dimensions of the parallel universe are the same as the realm of spirit. The Bible certainly acknowledges the existence of the spirit world.

Most, if not all, Christian researchers and some secular researchers reject the extraterrestial hypothesis and maintain the interdimensional view. In studying UFOs, I've come to believe that we're dealing with intelligent life not from another planet but from another dimension. It's not astronauts from outer space but spirit beings from the realm of spirit.

I regard UFOs as generally of the same category as poltergeists, hauntings, occultism and other manifestations of the demonic realm. I hold this view because of the deceptive, antibiblical teachings that are transmitted from UFOs such as the teachings of Scientology and the teachings that UFO "abductees" claim to receive. Also the bizarre animal mutilations attributed to UFOs in which animals have their blood drained and have organs removed with surgical precision is further evidence of the demonic origin of UFOs.

Let's examine and debunk the claim that ancient astronauts (space travelers from other planets) assisted ancient civilizations in building the pyramids and other intricate megalithic structures. The TV series presented other phenomena to make the ancient astronaut case but for this article I'll discuss megalithic (large stone) structures.

The Ancient Aliens TV series spends much time discussing the pyramids of Egypt and also the ruins of a temple complex in Bolivia called Puma Punku. It goes into great detail on Puma Punku and shows close ups of very precise cuts in an extremely hard form of granite called diorite. Experts maintain that the builders must have had diamond tipped tools but no such tools have ever been found there.

Ancient astronaut theorists hold the extraterrestial viewpoint and claim that flesh and blood aliens in spaceships came from other planets to earth many centuries ago. They seem to ignore or reject the interdimensional view. They claim that the alien astronauts didn't build the megaliths but gave the ancient builders tools and technical help.

If this is true why did the aliens help them build temples and tombs? Where are the skyscrapers, apartment buildings and other structures more suited for the general welfare of people? Where's the sophisticated sewer systems and waterworks? Where's the electrical grid? Where's the glass, plastics and other materials common in a high tech city? Why did the aliens teach them stone masonry and not much (if anything) else in construction technology?

There are two ways to account for the amazing stone work of ancient ruins. The first is that the ancient stone masons were just plain good. The building trades were very highly esteemed in many ancient societies. In ancient Greece the building trades were looked upon as fine art. The best and the brightest went into construction work and they had legions of slaves to do the heavy lifting. They had ambitious, authoritarian kings who wanted to build magnificent edifices to leave as their posterity.

They took decades to complete their work. It's hard to imagine how Puma Punku was built but then again it's hard even for a technician to reverse engineer anything. Engineers and lay people alike are amazed by the Puma Punku temple complex and there is no written record of how it was built.

The ancient Romans built fabulous edifices during recorded history. No one claims that the Romans relied on extraterrestials. Even the cathedral builders of medieval times spent centuries on their projects and did stone work that would be extremely difficult to replicate today with power tools.

The other way to account for the stone work at Puma Punku and elsewhere is to acknowledge that perhaps they did have some help from the paranormal. By paranormal I mean demons coming from the realm of spirit, not space ships from Andromeda. After all, the ancients were building temples to false gods and this would seem to invite demons.

I mentioned earlier that UFOs have been linked to animal mutilations. There are precise surgical cuts made in the many examples of animal mutilation. This could cause one to think that perhaps the demons behind UFO phenomena could also have precisely cut stones for ancient pagan temples. If demons can cut animals couldn't they cut stones?

Clifford Wilson wrote a book called Crash Go the Chariots that refutes Von Daniken point by point. The ancient astronauts theory crumbles under close scholarly analysis. It is a needless distraction and a stumbling block to many.

The Bible teaches that God is spirit (John 4:24). The Bible also tells us about the activities of angels and demons who travel to and from the realm of spirit.

The Bible is inspired by God and is the accurate record of ancient history. The Bible is confirmed by sound archaeology. The Bible is also attested by the supernatural witness of over two thousand prophecies and their fulfillments down through history. No other sacred writing of any other faith can come close to the Bible's record of prophecy and fulfillment of prophecy.

Jesus Christ came in fulfillment of over 300 prophecies written in the Old Testament hundreds of years before His birth. No other religious leader in all of history can make anything like this claim.

We must not be distracted by theories of ancient astronauts but rather look to God who created all things and sent Jesus, the promised Messiah, to die in our place and take the penalty for our sins. We receive forgiveness and salvation through Christ..

The Bible is scientifically accurate! Find the evidence at www.icr.org.  

Steps to salvation: Jesus said "Ye must be born again." (John 3:7)

1. Believe that God created you and loves you and sent the Messiah (Messiah is Hebrew for Christ) to redeem you.
2. Believe that Jesus the Messiah came in fulfillment of over 300 Bible prophecies to die for you to take upon Himself the penalty for your sins. (Isaiah 53:5-6, John 6:29, Romans 4:5, First Peter 3:18)
3. Turn from sin and call on the name of Jesus to receive forgiveness. (Romans 10:13)
4. Receive Jesus as Savior and experience the new birth. (John 1:12, Acts 2:38)
5. Follow Him as Lord. (John 14:21)

"Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13)

To receive the salvation that Jesus purchased for us at the terrible cost of His suffering and death on our behalf I invite you to pray this simple prayer:

"Dear heavenly Father, I thank you for sending Jesus, the promised Messiah, to die for my sins. I admit that I am a sinner and I ask for your forgiveness on the basis of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I ask you to fill me with your Holy Spirit to empower me to serve you under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, Amen."

If you prayed that prayer in the humble sincerity of your heart then you have received everlasting life, which includes power to live right in this life and entrance into heaven in the afterlife!

Bill Nugent, Overcomer Ministries of West Harrison, New York, USA

(C) 2010 William P. Nugent, permission granted to email or republish if credit given

DEFENDING THE FAITH APOLOGETIC ARTICLES Bill Nugent currently writes a series of articles called "Defending the Faith" which, as the title suggests, defend the Christian faith from the many attacks leveled against it in our postmodern world. The articles deal with such topics as evolution, UFOs, cults, modern/postmodern philosophy, liberal theology and popular culture. At the end of each article is an invitation to receive Christ as Savior and Lord. These articles are sent out over the Internet to several opt-in email lists. People who receive these articles are encouraged to resend them to their own lists and in this way reach their own unsaved relatives and friends with the Gospel. All Defending the Faith articles are © 2009 William P. Nugent, permission is granted to email or republish if credit given. To receive these articles which are sent out once per month fill in your email address below and click the SUBMIT button. *Security: Write the characters in the image above (Case sensitive)