Feb 13 2019 32 mins
In the beginning, ancient aliens visited planet Earth, significantly influenced human history, and possibly even engineered human life to evolve. Furthermore, as a result of ancient alien visitations, history is replete with clues regarding these alien astronauts. Flying saucers and little green men may seem the stuff of 1950s B movies, yet ideas like the ones just described are gaining momentum not only in popular culture but also in some scientific circles. Such ideas have also made their way into millions of homes via the History Channel television program Ancient Aliens, currently in its 13th season in 2019. Beyond pop culture, codiscoverer of DNA Francis Crick held to the possibility of directed panspermia the belief that life on Earth did not come about on its own, as naturalism holds, but was instead seeded extraterrestrially. Atheist Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, also lends credence to this perspective. But arent ideas about ancient extraterrestrials nothing more than supermarket tabloid fodder? Isnt it just harmless fun? This conversation with author Robert Velarde about his article Did Ancient Extraterrestrials Visit Earth? covers a brief look at the historical roots of the alien astronauts fascination, explores some of the purported evidence, evaluates claims that the Bible supports UFOs, and reviews some implications for theology.