Alternate History of Ancient Aliens
Erich von Däniken, “Chariots of the Gods?” An Alternate History of Ancient Aliens
Jamie Gunderson has a different take on the ancient astronaut theory than I do. I highly recommend reading her thoughtful article in Theology & Science, “UFOs in Christian History: The Joy of Alternate Histories.” Let’s analyze Gunderson’s take on the crucifixion of Jesus and the alternate history of ancient aliens.
Alternate History of Ancient Aliens
I wrote the first edition of UFOs—God’s Chariots? in 1976 primarily to criticize and deconstruct Erich von Däniken’s Chariots of the Gods?. Von Däniken’s book has sold 70 million copies, and his TV series Ancient Aliens has been on the air for nearly 20 years now. My wife, Karen, and I watch Ancient Aliens quite frequently, with a glass of wine in hand.
Transcendence and Intimacy
The problem with this ancient alien alternate history, as I thought in 1976 and still do now, is that it is not just pseudo-archeology; rather, it is cheap propaganda. The theological problem is that this alternate history seeks to replace the spiritual aspects of reality with flat materialism. Extraterrestrial materialism, to be sure. But boring materialism nonetheless. By giving technological explanations for archaic religious symbols, the ancient alien alternate history loses the spirituality of all archaic religions, including Christianity.
In my interpretation, I embrace two nuances. First, I embrace the religious sensibility of transcendence. In fact, it is the tension between transcendence and intimacy. That which is beyond perception and concept stirs the inner soul. The near-infiniteness of the universe provokes a sense of awe, wonder and sacredness in the human soul. It is this inescapable spiritual sensibility that the ancient alien alternative history exploits, reducing it to scientific and technological progress. Our spiritual sensibility is invited to savor the unfathomable mysteries of the universe, only to then be served up on a plate of rusty nails.
The second nuance is to mention the implicit respect that alternate ancient alien histories give to science and scientists. We are taught that the amazing achievements of our ancestors on Earth were due to scientific genius. Earthlings were too stupid to build pyramids; it took extraterrestrial science to make it happen.
Alternate History of Ancient Aliens
On a more subtle level, behind the alternate histories of ancient aliens lurks a scientific soteriology. This soteriology also lurks in astrobiology and ufology. Science is salvific. If terrestrial scientists cannot save humanity from annihilation by thermonuclear war or ecological self-destruction, maybe extraterrestrial scientists can. I have named this the ETI myth. According to this myth, science is our savior. Salvation will come from terrestrial science. And if that fails, it will come from celestial science.
What I find interesting about Jamie Gunderson is that she presents an explanation that is different from mine and new to me. She posits that 70 years of von Däniken’s despiritualization of religion can be explained as follows: An alternative history of ancient astronauts gives humans epistemic pleasure. Got it? Epistemic pleasure? What on earth is that?
Cathedral of Saint Vincent and the Glorious Virgin Mary (Mtskheta, Georgia)
Were there alien spaceships present at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion?
George Mason University Professor of Religious Studies James Gunderson begins his elegant article with an analysis of the 11th-century fresco of the Crucifixion of Jesus in the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta, Georgia. Can you see the two flying saucers hovering above us? Could aliens have been observing this historic event?
Sean Martin suggests that in the alternate history orbit of the ancient aliens, aliens aboard a spaceship are observing this momentous event: “In the upper left and upper right corners we see what appear to be airships or some sort of advanced technology that clearly would not have existed for humans 2000 years ago.”
At this point, I want to say “Stupnagel!” but I’ll refrain. Let’s pretend we’re not reading. Instead, let’s keep calm and say this: What this alternate history calls “flying vehicles” are stylized forms of the sun and moon commonly found in iconography of this period. This iconography dates to 1000 years after Jesus’ crucifixion. This means that this iconography does not provide evidence that aliens witnessed Jesus’ death.
It doesn’t take a great deal of insight to see that this alternate ancient alien history is a kind of pseudohistory that infuriates scholars, art historians, and theologians.
Alternate Histories of Ancient Aliens Give Us Epistemic Joy
Does the Ancient Alien Hypothesis have any value? No, it doesn’t. The level of stupidity here is comparable to that of Chicken Little yelling “The sky is falling.”
Professor James Gunderson on Alternate Histories of Ancient Aliens
So what explains the popularity of the TV series Ancient Alien, along with its social media platforms and book sales? The answer offered by Jamie Gunderson is epistemological “pleasure.”
Pleasure is rooted in the possibility of a story, in the direction of something coming together, something in motion….It does not matter whether a story is historically “authentic” or “inauthentic” (i.e., “right” or “wrong”), but rather that an alternative epistemology offers an appeal that other epistemologies do not (Gunderson 2024, 73).
That is, what gives us epistemic pleasure is the sensation we get when we hear the question, “Could it be alien?” Just as a great idea seems like a bright lightbulb glowing in our brain, so too an alternate history of ancient aliens gives us the sense that new truths might be revealed.
How knowledge feels matters: moving beyond the normative dichotomy of vocal denial and enthusiastic support allows us to ask more interesting and complex questions about UFO narratives and the knowledge-making processes that underpin them (Gunderson 2024, 76).
Conclusion
I urge you to visit Theology and Science and read Jaime Gunderson’s thought-provoking article and see if it gives you epistemological pleasure.
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Click here for the book Are UFOs God’s Chariots?
Ted Peters directs traffic at the intersection of science, religion, and ethics. Peters is Professor Emeritus at the Graduate Theological Union and co-editor of the journal Theology and Science with Robert John Russell on behalf of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences in Berkeley, California. He co-edited Astrotheology: Science and Theology Meet Extraterrestrial Intelligence (2018) with Martinez Hewlett, Joshua Moritz, and Robert John Russell; co-edited Astrobiology: Science, Ethics, and Public Policy (Scrivener 2021) with Octavio Chon Torres, Joseph Seckbach, and Russell Gordon; and co-edited Religious Transhumanism and Its Critics (Lexington 2022) with Irving Gau and Brian Patrick Green.
Ted is the former Director of Research for MUFON Louisiana and author of UFOs: God’s Chariots? Spirituality, Ancient Aliens, and Religious Yearnings in the Age of Extraterrestrials (Career Press New Page Books, 2014). His website is TedsTimelyTake.com.
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References
Däniken, Eric von. 1972. Chariots of the Gods? Volume 1. New York: Bantam.
Gunderson, Jamie. 2024. “UFOs in Christian History: The Joy of an Alternative History.” Theology and Science 22:1 66-79; https://doi.org/10.1080/14746700.2023.2292927.
Peters, Ted. 2014. Are UFOs the Chariots of the Gods? Spirituality, Ancient Aliens, and Religious Yearnings in an Extraterrestrial Age. 2nd edition. Pompton Plains, NJ: New Page Books.
