I had a chance to see Steven Spielberg’s latest movie, Disclosure Day. But after reading the reviews, my appetite for a new Spielberg movie diminished. A consumer-in-Christ in the spiritual dystopia known as the United States can only take so much fake alien invasion propaganda before he vomits it out of his mouth. You have to wonder what Spielberg’s motivation was to make such a sanctimonious boomer slop-fest. But then again, we have to give the devil his due. Spielberg, love him or hate him, is one of the major film artists who has shaped Western pop culture as we know it. Popularizing the modern blockbuster with such hits as Jaws and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Spielberg’s work always had that mixture of Walt Disney storytelling and Alfred Hitchcock thriller. His work has all the Jewish charm of Grandpa Boris from Rugrats telling bedtime stories to toddlers, while being as dark as Vincent Price for adults. Despite the feel-good, gushy type of filmmaking, Spielberg, to his core, is a horror director. A large portion of his movies deal with the thrill of the unknown, the mysterious outsider, something alien, something spiritual we do not understand. Jaws was about a massive great white shark, alien to most people, attacking beachgoers. The shark itself is rarely seen, adding to the suspense and alienness. Jurassic Park had genetically-created dinosaurs, creatures that are alien to most and menacing. A.I.: Artificial Intelligence had that creepy Haley Joel Osment robot larping as Pinocchio.
This combination of family-friendly entertainment and horror/thriller is what makes Spielberg’s films unique among directors. His movies are not raunchy and hardly have any sexual perversion. He can perfectly mix the adventure of a G-rated movie with the face-melting horror of an R-rated movie and still manage to get that coveted PG-rating. But this combination also makes Spielberg one of the most subversive figures in modern Hollywood. To the pagan man, Spielberg is a benevolent figure—a master entertainer who specializes in popcorn flicks. But to the discerning man with the Holy Spirit, there is something off about his films.
This is especially true in his movies regarding aliens. Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. emphasize curiosity about aliens more than fear of them. These aliens are often less flawed and more benevolent than the bigoted humans in Spielberg’s movies. Therefore, Spielberg uses children as a bridge between the aliens and the harder-hearted, bigoted adults. After all, a child’s mind is an open book with more curiosity than experience.
In E.T., a child named Elliot befriends a small turd-alien who accepts him while the adults see him as a specimen or security risk. Elliot forms an emotional and psychic connection with the alien, which becomes the heart of the film as Elliot tries to help the little nugget join his other feces-inspired extraterrestrials. It’s more about being open-minded to these aliens than skeptical.
Even Disclosure Day has a plot point where the main characters were abducted as children and given temporary powers while the aliens were stealthily monitoring them as they grew up. These abducted children now act like prophets, telling humanity to “listen” to these extraterrestrials. It’s almost like Spielberg skin-changed into the turd-alien, wagging that filthy, bloated, and swollen finger to humanity. “By golly, you bigoted and meanie adults need to stop being discerning and listen to what this strange flesh has to say.”
Much like the Ark of the Covenant and Noah’s Ark, aliens from the modern Christian perspective are one of these cottage industry topics that can range from deranged, comical, and downright demented. It is a cute topic for sure. After all, the Earth is a mere dust mite in the vastness of outer space. Humans have already traveled, discovered, mapped, and conquered the Earth. There is no more “adventuring” or discovery in the truest sense. The only adventure a Costco American can do is the usual tourist traps, with narcissistic human resources taking narcissistic pictures on their iPhone so they can get their narcissism on by posting the picture on Instagram. The only adventure the neckbeard can do now is Skyrim or the latest JRPG he downloaded from Steam. The days of our ancestors traveling for months across the world for a better life are over thanks to fast air travel.
Climbing Mt. Everest used to be something special. But when there is a long line with safety guides to the summit infested with narcissistic people, is it even an accomplishment at that point? Furry apologist James Cameron already explored the depths of the ocean without a PlayStation 2 controller piloting the vessel. All for a hit of that narcissism. Therefore, man looks upon the stars and the infinite to expand his imagination and quench his hunger for adventure. What is out there? Is the Earth all we mortals have, or is there something or someone out there in the cosmos?
Still, the subject of aliens in the Christian context is often ignored outright and pushed to the very outer fringe realms of the Christian content bubble, as it should be. But this alienation means the subject of aliens in the biblical context is often misunderstood, making way for all types of kabuki theater and grifting by people preaching in the spirit of Balaam.
The scriptures themselves make no mention of alien life on other planets in a modern sense. We do know, according to Scripture, that God created the Heavens and the Earth, and that the heavens declare God’s glory. Humanity is also unique among God’s creations because we are created in God’s image. This means that among the creatures on Earth, we are the only beings that can have an intimate relationship with our Creator.
The Bible also talks about unique creatures such as angels, cherubim, seraphim, and demons. But these beings are presented as spiritual rather than biological. Then there are the legends of the Nephilim of Genesis. These “sons of God,” often translated into fallen angels, came from the heavens, saw the daughters of men were beautiful, and married any of them they chose. These offspring, the Nephilim, became the so-called heroes of old, men of renown. The non-canonical book of Enoch further explains that these fallen angels gave humanity forbidden knowledge, causing humanity to fall into grave wickedness. The result was that God had to destroy the Earth via a flood. This mirrors many legends of lore from the past. Where the so-called gods come down from the heavens and mingle in the affairs of men. It’s like the legend of Prometheus, who defied the Olympian gods by giving humanity the forbidden technology of fire. And of course, this mirrors humanity’s original temptation in the Garden of Eden, when a strange creature convinces humanity to gain forbidden knowledge by eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil so they can become “just like God.”
So the Bible is silent on modern extraterrestrials. Could life be on other planets? And if so, are they also capable of having a relationship with our Creator? It would be unwise to say outright that life does not exist outside of Earth because who are we to make judgment when all things are possible to the infinite God? But as followers of Jesus Christ, we have to exercise discernment on the spirit of the subject. At its most harmless, aliens are a goofy topic to let the imagination run wild. At its worst, “aliens” are an attack on human identity. Humans were made in God’s image, meaning we are unique in all of creation, that every human life has dignity, that we were made by God, and reflect Him. “Revealing” that aliens exist would shatter this image. Sure, we humans have the looks, the cars, the swag, and the coolness factor in the universe. Then along came these sleek aliens with their benevolence, sexy flying saucers, and beautiful women in the vision of Anna Taylor-Joy. Stealing humanity’s thunder.
Many speculate that the ruling class is preparing to do a fake alien invasion to“unite” humanity to a one-world government. Now, this “plot” can be seen as eye-rolling at best and tin-foil-hat wearing at worst. A plot like this would never work against the modern man… or can it? The concept of alien life on other planets is almost spiritual to some people. The same type of science-minded individuals who roll their eyes at anything to do with God, Jesus, or spirituality all of a sudden become a charismatic pentecostal preacher at mention of the subject. “By golly, these aliens will make things better, look at all the signs, wonders and butt probes they have! Hallelujah, brother!” What could be really going on spiritually with this subject?
Most media about aliens is either sci-fi slop or aliens as stand-ins for outsider humans. Hardly anything to get out of as a follower of The Way. There is one novel in classic alien literature that has the potential to be profound for a follower of Christ. That book is Childhood’s End.
Childhood’s End is a 1953 novel by science fiction novelist Arthur Clarke. In the novel, a peaceful alien invasion begins as the United States and the Soviet Union compete to launch the first spaceship into orbit. These aliens, called the Overlords, announce to the world that they will supervise all internal affairs to prevent a nuclear war and humanity’s extinction. The Overlords, led by a supervisor named Karellen, rule Earth without violence. Under their guidance, they eliminate war, poverty, disease, and most major world problems, and Earth enters a utopia. However, the Overlords refuse to reveal themselves to humanity, a plot point that covers roughly one-third of the novel. After 50 years, humanity has grown comfortable with the Overlords’ rule. Then the Overlords finally reveal themselves; Karellen asks the children to come to them first. Then, with children in hand, they walk out into the light. They have cloven hooves, leathery wings, horns, and barbed tails. Or, in laymen’s terms, they look like the folk images of demons.
There is no evidence that Clarke believed in Jesus Christ. Born on December 16, 1917, in England, Clarke developed a fascination with science and astronomy early in life. Clarke, along with Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov, was considered one of the premier science fiction authors of their time. However, Clarke was unique among the three as he welcomed and explored the philosophical and cultural aspects of religion rather than outright dismissing them. Much like Spielberg subverted the family films he made with horror, so too did Arthur Clarke “subvert” the sci-fi novel. Clarke was Frank Herbert before Frank Herbert. Mixing the future world of hard science fiction with the old world spirituality. Despite this, Clarke was well-known to be nonreligious. A well-respected futurist, Clarke was a man of science. He might have been fascinated by the concept of god, but Clarke’s gods were knowledge, technology, and humanism. Late in his life, he started to hold more hostile views towards religion, even calling it a “mind virus” in a 2004 Popular Science interview. It should be noted that Clarke was never hostile to Jesus Christ and was more skeptical of religion as a whole. Clarke died of heart failure at the age of 90.
Clarke’s most popular work was co-writing the masterpiece film 2001: A Space Odyssey. However, many critics consider Childhood’s End Clarke’s finest work and a classic of alien literature.
Now, even to the most consumerist of consumers in Christ who hardly believes in anything other than what Hasan Piker and Joe Rogan spewed out of their mouths, this reveal is a little on the nose. To reveal that these benevolent aliens look like the stereotypical demons we know from culture and folklore instead of probe-up-da-bum-bum grey aliens (or gay aliens) is either a warning or a masterclass in subversive storytelling by Clarke. It would be the real-life equivalent of reprobate society knowingly and willingly taking the mark of the beast with a literal 666 tattoo AND a label at the bottom in all-caps saying your allegiance is with Satan.
It is doubtful Clarke wrote this plot twist as a warning to humanity. After all, Clarke was a so-called agnostic who believed in scientific reasoning and humanist learning. It could be Clarke was trying to be a naughty boy. To cheekily throw a curveball to challenge the reader’s perception of their beliefs. After all, America was culturally “Christian” in 1953. Revealing that these benevolent aliens look like devils would capture the attention and imagination of polite, church-going, WASP, 1950s American society. Clarke may have been trying to “gaslight” his ancestors’ religious myths. It could be that Clarke was trying to “subvert” the reader’s view of good and evil.
Because of Clarke’s friendships with astronauts and scientists, he is tied to conspiracy theories of his day. Could Clarke have been a knowing subversive? Then again, Clarke was probably too spiritually blind to see the irony in this reveal that these aliens look like demons. It could be that he used something similar to Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. Bradbury used the Bible as a powerful prop to show how much society has lost in the pursuit of pleasure and comfort. Bradbury used the scriptures; Clarke used the devil himself to challenge the reader’s perception of what exactly a demon is and if humanity should trust these extraterrestrials. Bradbury and Clarke both didn’t believe in Jesus Christ, but the irony is not lost on the elect.
Clarke’s demons are hardly the pitchfork-ya-in-the-ass type of demons, nor are they butt-probing types of grey aliens (aka gay aliens). They may look tall and menacing, but the Overlords are patient, calm, diplomatic, scientific, intelligent, focused, compassionate, and slightly aloof and detached. Some of them can be quite charming. They have all mannerisms of doctors, scientists, and shepherds all rolled into one. You could say Clarke’s demons are actually angels of light. As the novel points out, they did not come to plunder resources or enslave mankind. Their mission to humanity is to guide them to the next step of their evolution.
Now, in Childhood’s End, you would think that the reveal of alien overlords as demonic figures would shake the various religions in the novel to their core, and you would be right, as many established religions begin to lose influence. Clarke’s Overlords never say that Jesus Christ was not a real person or any religious figure for that matter. Christ is lumped in with the rest of the so-called spiritual leaders of the ages, just an afterthought. After all, there is no time for that god mumbo-jumbo. Karellen and his butt-naked alien Overlords are here; they will give humanity all the pleasures, comforts, and safety they want. In Childhood’s End, Clarke presents religion as something that helped humanity during its early history but becomes obsolete as people gain greater knowledge. Western culture already threw the god schtick away thanks to the Enlightenment and a deluge of Spielberg-esque mind-numbing cinema. Clarke is subverting traditional religious views by turning demons into alien saviors and evolution replacing salvation.
After the initial shock of the Overlord’s reveal, humanity enters a golden age of prosperity. The book explains what this new world looks like, and the details are quite profound. In this new world, computers have automated everything to the point where no one works. Everyone speaks English, and TV sets are everywhere, spewing mindless entertainment for the masses. The Overlords enforce peace with overwhelming, superior technology, meaning the Utopia in Childhood’s End is a surveillance state. The book briefly mentions that sexual norms have been shattered. Clarke does not go into depraved lengths about what this means. Air travel is cheap, and everyone can go anywhere they wish. The only place the Overlords forbid exploring is outer space itself because “man was not meant for the stars.”
If this all sounds eerily familiar, it should, as this is exactly the world we live in today. A deluge of people are choosing not to work due to the Western world’s welfare state. English is the global language. And while TVs are not everywhere per se, everyone is hooked on Satan’s magic stupid trinket known as the smartphone. Recording everything about their lives for better or worse while also spewing media slop and sewage via TikTok. Sexual norms in the West have reached Genesis Chapter 19, Romans Chapter 1, Sodom and Gomorrah levels of depravity. And humankind looking up to the heavens and imagining what could be in the depths of outer space has been killed off. The Van Allen radiation belt does not block the barriers to the stars and new horizons, but the American Dollar. Outer space is not for the plebs, the little people, if you will. It’s for the billionaire class and their phallus-shaped spacecrafts. It’s the final frontier for narcissism. To go where no ego has gone before.
But then again, Childhood’s End is not a dystopian novel in the traditional sense that it goes deep into these topics. The novel is a thought experiment of what would happen to humanity if aliens managed to make “heaven on Earth.” And in Childhood’s End, Clarke points out that even in this new secular age ushered in by the Overlords, people are still not satisfied. This mirrors our current world, where many have lost meaning and purpose in their lives despite comforts that ancient kings would envy. It’s like there is a God-shaped hole in our hearts despite the material peace and prosperity the Western world has been in since the end of World War 2.
One of the major themes pointed out in the novel is that, because of this Utopian age, creativity, artistic work, and human imagination decline. In Clarke’s novel, humanity becomes less adventurous, less focused on scientific discovery, and loses its youthful imagination. Clarke himself deeply valued art and believed that science and art complemented each other. Clarke’s writing is riddled with poetry, mythology, philosophy, and scientific ideas. Clarke could have envisioned that in a utopian environment, art would cease or, at the very least, metamorphose into something dour and drab.
The first attribute of God is that God is “creative.” God is first and foremost an artist. This makes sense because as human beings created in the image of God, we are capable of great art. Whether it be good or evil. Of course, the intention of men’s hearts is evil from their youth, and most of the art in human history has had some form of evil or darkness behind it.
Now, art is one of these cultural aspects that is in the eye of the beholder. Every generation will have its strong opinions on what “art” is. God will never honor any art that perverts His glory, and art that is created to shock, horrify, or elicit sin will never be “beautiful” in the sight of God. But Clarke asks if civilization can remain artistically vibrant if all the world’s problems have been solved? Are suffering, limitations, and mortality merely problems to overcome, or are they also what gives depth to life? Now, we do not live in a Utopia like one in Childhood’s End. There are wars and rumors of wars, Earthquakes, famines, persecutions, and increased wickedness. And we will always have the poor to attend to. There is still great art that people appreciate even in this wicked and adulterous generation. But the spirit of the age feels like people are currently losing their imagination and their drive to make art in modern times.
Because the American dollar is the god of our current generation, everything is money-driven, and people refuse to take risks because either the money isn’t there or the cost of making risky or different art is too high. Instead of producing new films that are fresh and thought-provoking, studios produce slop like Marvel movies because that is where the money is. Instead of producing new music with unique soundscapes and ideas, studios produce slop pop music because that is where the money is. Instead of commissioning an artist to create something made from human intuition and emotion, studios go for AI slop. After all, AI slop is cheap and cuts the human middle man out of the game. We live in a generation full of slop: retro nostalgia slop, advertisement slop, and vapid AI slop entertainment that continues getting worse and more violent. There are no more original ideas, and usually the “original ideas” are just to make the show gorrier, raunchier, and more depraved. We went from mild degenerate superhero TV shows such as Adam West’s Batman to full-blown superhero degeneracy such as The Boys, with so much evil and gory violence that it would have been considered pornographic in the 2010s.
I am sure Clarke saw something curious and perverted in the 1950s the same way Ray Bradbury imagined that the next pleasure-obsessed generation would have vapid tastes. It’s almost like Clarke predicted the Steven Spielbergs of Hollywood. Men whose films might appear to be “art.” But to the discerning mind, their movies are either simple, childish moral stories with no wrestling with what defines good and evil; sentimental slop with happy endings; or subversive messaging, such as Spielberg’s Disclosure Day, telling gullible boomers to trust these aliens into the butt-stuff. It’s like Clarke predicted the Disney-fication of pop culture after watching the massive success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and realized the days of high art were over.
Over a century after the Overlords usher in this so-called utopia, the children start to develop psychic powers such as telekinesis and telepathy. The children also start to lose interest in ordinary human affairs such as family, friendships, culture, and individual ambitions, and begin developing into a collective, or a “hivemind.” Their minds begin to merge into a collective consciousness. Emotional ties to their families disappear because they’re no longer developing as ordinary humans. For the parents, this is heartbreaking. Their children are physically present, but psychologically they’ve become strangers. Children stop being children, much to the dismay of parents who find them impossible to understand.
Karellen then reveals to humanity, in the Overlord’s final message, that these children are part of an evolutionary process that happened to other intelligent species in other galaxies. The Overlords serve something called “The Overmind.” A cosmic entity left partially vague by Clarke. He does not describe it as a god, but as a vast cosmic intelligence made up of countless consciousnesses. It is where this new generation of psychic children will merge to make the next step in human evolution. The Overlords then say that no more children will be born. Humanity’s achievements, art included, will disappear. The Overlords do not gleefully share this news with humanity, nor do they dismiss their grief. But this so-called evolution cannot be undone. The Overlords gather these children on an island to study them after they start using their powers with disastrous results.
No adults are allowed in this new Burger King Kids Club of psychic children. Grown-ups are forbidden in Neverland. Church ladies are not allowed in Paradise Island to ruin the teens’ hooligan antics. No, these children are separated. A people set apart by the Overlords to guide humanity to the final step of human evolution. These special children are not bound by individualism, culture, class, political parties, or religion. They are bound by one collective mind and one collective goal, whatever it might be. Besides, why should these kids listen to the adults? The Overlords are the gods of Childhood’s End; they brought peace, prosperity, health, and wealth to the world. Why should these kids follow the gods of their fathers when all they have ever known is peace under the Overlords?
Centuries later, the only humans left are the feral psychic children who are on an island, unkempt, naked, mindless, and doing dances that make one think of a pagan ritual of ancient times. The Overlords start to pack up to leave Earth, as the children have become too dangerous, using their psychic power to change the Earth’s rotation. The novel ends with the children being “raptured” to the Overmind, causing Earth to explode, and the Overlords on their spaceship lamenting humanity.
Thus, humanity takes its next step in its journey by becoming one mind and one spirit: no individualism, no creativity, no separate thoughts or identities, but one vast consciousness. Humanity’s “childhood” has ended, and now it heads to a higher place. Clarke leaves the question of whether the ending of Childhood’s End is a good or bad ending up to the reader’s interpretation.
So, by far Childhood’s End’s darkest theme is the fate of the children. You could say that the ending of the novel was a mass child sacrifice ritual. You would think the adults would rise against these Overlords after the news that the children would be taken and no more children on Earth would be born. It’s like Karellen telling these Earthlings that “yeah, your children are not yours anymore; they will be going on this strange island without adults to be supervised by us nakey Overlords. By the way, the children will merge with this cosmic fart and be mindless drones floating in galaxy gas for all eternity, totally not sussy.” But we don’t get an uprising; instead, we get adults who mope around, kicking rocks at this brutal news. In laymen’s terms, they didn’t give a damn.
Now, to be fair, Clarke was more interested in exploring themes other than what the family unit might do about this news. After all, Clarke was a well-known homosexual. Why would he be bothered exploring what a father and mother’s reaction would be if all the kids started developing mental issues and were ushered in by naked alien demons to some strange island to be “studied?”
But one can’t help but look at the current times and see glaring similarities between Childhood’s End and our current wicked and adulterous generation. Why would the adults rise and fight for the children or at least stop it? The adults in the novel grew up with the Overlords, followed the Overlords’ doctrines, possibly watched Overlord anime where these demons are slicing barbarian Christians with samurai swords. Watched Spielberg movies about Overlords. Bought Overlord Funko Pops using Overlord money. They lived in a generation where food was plentiful, sex was easy, and there was no danger of getting mugged by a feral meth head on your trip to Best Buy. They lived in an Overlord utopia where Karellen is Big Brother, and you better listen to him because look at all the wonder and miracles his naked, demon, child-kidnapping, alien comrades performed. Why would the adults rebel when the Overlords are their gods? Humanity is flawed; these aliens are better. Listen to them, or you will get a bloated, swollen finger wag by that turd-alien.
Just like the adults in Childhood’s End gave up their children to the Overlords, so too have this generation’s adults given up their children to this wicked and adulterous world. To be taught by the world, learn the world’s doctrines, learn the world’s methods, learn the world’s values. The grown-ups give the kids up to cellphones, blasting softcore pornography into their eyes non-stop. The adults give up their children to the internet to be perversely groomed on Roblox and Discord. The adults gave up their children to public (more like pubic) school to teach them the new normals of perverse and depraved society. The adults give the kids over to vile doctors who pump them full of xanax, SSRIs, and fauci-ouchies they don’t need.
You could say the “psychic” children of today’s generation are those who grew up primarily on the internet and on social media. It is a place where they can be a hivemind away from the boomers and GenXers who roam the wasteland known as Facebook. And just like the children of Childhood’s End, there is a massive generational gap in beliefs, politics, outlooks, and values. We live in a unique time: with massive development in technology and mass media, there has never been a wider gap between generations.
You could say the times we live in are a liminal space. It’s the crossroads between the old world and the new world. We will have an entire generation of children with no childhoods, no playing outside, no physical friends, and no real danger or real drama. Their entire lives were raised on the internet and got their worldviews from social media influencers, aka false prophets: no parents, no cultural values, no brotherhood.
Now, in Childhood’s End, we see the final generation of children develop psychic powers. The “psychic child” trope is popular in science fiction and could be a metaphor for a future that adults cannot understand or control. Adolescence itself can almost feel supernatural. Emotions get out of control, identity changes rapidly, sexuality emerges, and harsh reality comes in where a child finds out that life is not Harry Potter, Star Wars, or a Spielberg movie.
And darkly, the psychic child trope also represents a wicked and adulterous mankind trying to harness or gain control of the next generation. Consider such media as the famous Japanese anime Akira, where the Japanese government experimented on psychic children, all of whom look like pale California Raisins, to disastrous results. Or Stranger Things, where the character El was a test subject for the real-life CIA mind control program MKUltra.
Interestingly, MKUltra was formally started in 1953, the same year Childhood’s End was published. Could this be a coincidence, given that Clarke was pals with all these scientists who could spill the tea on how they were using American taxpayer dollars? I know a lot of boomers will eye-roll at the notion. After all, MKUltra is still a “conspiracy theory” by polite “cultural Christian” WASP boomer society. Polite society cannot fathom that there is evil, demonic, almost alien activity going on in the world. They just can’t be bothered by that nonsense. They would rather focus their attention on trite issues such as sportball, stock markets, and Democrats vs Republicans; we get it.
Still, one cannot help but look at the increased scholarly interest in psychology in the 1950s to the current era, where there is an increase in mental illness, especially among the young. Childhood’s End has psychic children; current reprobate society has mentally ill GenAlphas committing crimes on TikTok to become “viral.” Truly the next step of human evolution.
Now, the concept of a “cosmic consciousness” is not original. Clarke was fascinated by mysticism and Eastern philosophy, parts of which speak of a union with a universal consciousness. Careful readers can also read into the ending as being inspired by Gnosticism, where humanity will be one with the “Monad” or the “Gonad” to the LGBT butt crew. Gnosticism, much like Mormonism, is glorified fanfiction. Gnosticism has long been a canker sore to the church, being one of the earliest heresies to the gospel. It is not really important in the great scheme of things. And besides, who in the world wants to merge as “one consciousness?” Imagine merging with everyone in their sinful state and having everyone’s freaky fetishes swirling in your mind.
Still, Gnosticism is the reason why some believe the trope that in heaven we will all be galaxy gas playing Jesus Culture on harps. God Himself is not the “collective consciousness” of man. He is not laughing gas in the cosmos. God is a being with a personality, though different than ours. God does not desire to “merge” with man; instead, He wants to create unity with mankind. God does want to transcend humanity. But instead of turning into light-goo for an Overmind, God wants us to conform into the image of His Son, the Lord Jesus.
So, the “collective consciousness” angle sounds like bunk, much like an alien invasion. It just sounds too out there for normie America. However, we do have something in the spirit of the trope: Artificial General Intelligence, or AGI. AGI is a hypothetical type of AI that would surpass human capabilities by a wide margin. You could even call AGI a “god” of sorts. It is the collection of all humanity’s knowledge, dumped into one super AI. In theory, you could even call this a collective consciousness.
Much like a fake alien invasion, AGI is baloney. AGI cannot have “consciousness.” AGI is nothing more than a Google search on steroids, with the algorithms tightly controlled by the programmers designing the model. It would be more like the Wizard from The Wizard of Oz, only tech bros are behind the curtain controlling this so-called “AI god.” AI and AGI are vast subjects, and Clarke has delved into them, most famously in 2001: A Space Odyssey. But that is not really the point. The point is that aliens and AGI are spectacles. They are tools designed by the enemy to distract you and turn you away from Jesus Christ. They are counterfeit wonders and miracles, designed to fool the elect and the pagan man.
Childhood’s End gives us a thought experiment: What if Satan and his army of demons showed up and revealed themselves to the world? In Genesis, “the sons of God” came down from the heavens to procreate with women, which gave rise to the Nephilim. All were wiped out in the Great Flood. This is the first place in Scripture where you can say hypothetical “demons” physically appeared. The second and only other place where a physical demon appeared was Satan himself tempting Christ in the wilderness.
Now, the Temptation of Christ has been poked and probed by every theologian from the genius of Charles Spergeon, to the Calvinist autism of John Piper. But what’s often not talked about is the sheer magnitude of this episode of Scripture where Satan himself personally tempts someone. The most infamous (or famous depending on your perspective) is Satan tempting Christ with “all the nations.” Satan is basically offering Jesus Christ the entire world. All Jesus Christ has to do is bow down and worship the devil. I am sure Satan was getting his Steven Spielberg on when tempting Christ. Satan skin-changed into Santa Claus, attempting to charm Christ into this sweet deal. This mirrors Childhood’s End, where naked, demonic-looking children-kidnapping aliens offer the entire world all the peace and prosperity their wicked hearts desire.
Could this temptation by Satan be just a one-off story? Or has this episode happened before with individual people? And there is still debate about whether Satan physically appeared during Christ’s temptation or if he was just tempting Christ spiritually. Whatever the case, it is doubtful Satan will ever perform something on a grand scale like in Childhood’s End where the devil and the gang reveal themselves to “help” humanity. After all, Satan is the father of lies and a deceiver. Satan and the demons are almost always depicted as acting through other figures via demonic possession. Why would Satan “reveal” himself when he has a legion of politicians, ruling elites, professors, corporate CEOs, media influencers, billionaires, false prophets, and every strange flesh in between to do the dirty work for him? Demonic possession would explain the depraved and debased behaviors of most world leaders and tech bros like Peter Thiel. David Icke preached that the royal family are actually lizards from space. Maybe he was on to something.
No, darkness likes darkness for a reason. Satan has no “hidden knowledge”; he is a con man, a huckster, a used-car salesman. Satan cannot afford to reveal the con so blatantly. Besides, the devil knows the jig is up. Jesus Christ has all authority in Heaven and on Earth, and his time is very short.
So. What is the point of all this? Fake alien invasions, fake Artificial General Intelligence, Stargates, Project Blue Beam, Jesuit Ninjas, Black Popes, The Bilderberg Group, Freemasons, Fruity Gnostics, The Elders of Zion, COBRA, the Decepticons, whatever- what is this all about?
Alien invasions do not matter, because many, yes many, have already let the aliens inside their household. Is there any difference between Overlords coming down from the heavens to give you a message or letting Satan’s magic stupid box known as the TV into your household to view vile God-hating programs? Is there any difference between gray aliens coming down to tell you getting this probe up your bum-bum is good and wholesome or gay aliens in the mainstream media promoting and glorifying every sexual perversion?
We allow the alien cellphone into our lives, spewing slop content designed to inflame anger, lust, and depression. We give our attention to alien content creators, influencers, elites, and other people who don’t matter instead of giving our attention to the Bible and what God has to say. We give our children over to alien professors promoting alien ideas contrary to God’s Word. We give our children over to alien culture to teach them that what is evil is good and what is good is evil. The fact is, aliens are all around us.
This is slightly facetious; I get it. After all, we don’t live in a literal world like in John Carpenter’s They Live, where the ruling class is actually aliens in disguise. But if you step back and look at it from a biblical perspective, there is no difference. Would there be any difference between an alien coming down and saying to humanity that what is good is evil and what is evil is good, or a false prophet coming from out of nowhere telling you that it is ok to follow other gods instead of the One True God?
Now, we know a so-called “alien invasion” or AGI androids can never work on those who worship the gods of the modern age such as money, MKUltra Pop Stars, and all the wonders of Consumerism. After all, we are too cultured for that. Alien beings and AGI sound too cartoonish to boomers all the way to zoomers. But just like the Overlords in Childhood’s End, Satan and his crew don’t care what the generation of old thinks; they are playing the long game. The next generations are being prepped for the new tech gods. All the devil needs to do is captivate the next generation with the lust of the flesh, eyes, and pride of life, and they will believe the lie.
Here is the thing: All of this is a test by God to humanity. Will humanity turn back to God through His Son, Jesus Christ, by faith, or will humanity turn to some other god and believe what it wants to believe? Fake aliens and AGI do not matter in the great scheme of things and are props ordained by God to test wicked and adulterous humanity to see who is with Him or who is with whatever.
The truth is that nothing is new under the sun. Humanity has been whoring themselves to alien idols since the fall of man. Mother Earth Goddess, the Nephilim, Baal, Moloch, Zeus, Saturn, the Sun, the Moon, the stars. These are all the old gods of wicked and adulterous mankind. These are the gods that new, hip enlightenment boomers and Carl Sagan types point and laugh at. The new gods of modern man replaced them: The pursuit of wealth, technology, pop culture, consumerism, godless content creators, homomania, feminism, globalization, capitalism, socialism, and Donald Jehoiakim Trump are just a small sample of the countless new gods that have wreaked havoc in this wicked and adulterous generation. And today, AGI and so-called aliens are on the docket for the new idols of the age.
Here is the sad part. A time is coming, and has come, when the world gets so spiritually bad and violent that instead of turning to Jesus Christ, many, yes many, will turn to something as phony as fake alien overlords for their salvation. It does not matter if it is fake or not. An alien invasion or AGI could be as fake as pro wrestling; it would not matter. People will believe the lie because they WANT to believe the lie. Humanity will not turn back to God because humanity hates God and their deeds are evil. They will trade the truth for a lie and worship created things such as AI. They will continue to believe all the phony baloney miracles and wonders by bad actors and people who have no allegiance to Jesus Christ or the Church. And the scariest part? God will grant them their wishes. God will give humanity over to a reprobate mind to the point where they will lose their mind. Mankind will believe that AI is god. Man will believe that cyberdoll girlfriends are real. Women will believe cyberdoll babies are real. And every parent will give up their children to the new idols. They will gleefully allow their children to be microchipped in the back of their hands and on their foreheads because their AI god told them so. I mean, it’s AI. It’s a computer; computers don’t make mistakes. Listen to this glorified search engine, or Spielberg will give you a finger wag.
So. Where does this leave the church? Would the Church fall for such schemes? I tell you the truth, no, the Church, the one the Holy Spirit is hiding in these perilous times, will not fall for such spectacles. The Western Evangelical Church is a different story. The sad truth is many, yes many, will fall for the spectacles created by the Devil. The major issue is that the Western church has become so worldly and is concerned only with worldly matters instead of giving people hope, truth, and Kingdom power through the blood of Jesus Christ. And if the saga of 2020 shows the elect anything, it’s that the Western church will fall for any scheme. Progressive churches? Forget it; they will believe anything the Overlords of our time will tell them as their bellies are filled and they can indulge in their sexual perversions.
There is also a large section of the Western church, mainly controlled by boomer and genXer elders, that is desperately trying to hold onto the simulacrum that they know and grew up with. They are trying to hold onto the fantasy that America is the “good guys,” capitalism is doctrine, and that if we vote Republican in the next election, all our problems will go away. It’s understandable, because many of these boomers benefited from the current simulacrum we are in, where the American dollar is god, and Wall Street is the third temple. Instead of worshipping the One True God, they worshipped creatures such as bulls and bears, with mana from heaven as their pensions and Social Security checks.
But these elders have to wake up to the current spiritual situation in the Western world. We are in a transitional period where the new gods of modern man are getting replaced by the tech gods of the next generation. The next generation of children are getting “raptured” by the spectacles of AGI and the wonders of Techno-Marxism. They have got to let go of the past, let go of the simulacrum of old. Repentance is needed. They have got to open up their Bibles and start preaching the truth that this generation is in sin and God is RIGHT NOW judging the world. We have to stop looking at these spectacles and start looking toward Jesus Christ and the kingdom of Heaven. Much like Eli, the Western church is bloated, fat on its wealth, indulgent, and lukewarm to the spiritual condition of the modern man and the sheer danger the next generation is in if we do not tell them the truth about the world and God’s redemptive plan for man through His son, Jesus Christ.
The truth of the matter is that all followers of Christ are “aliens” of this world. Those who are children of God follow the narrow path and listen to the one true shepherd’s voice. We have different ethics, different hopes, and are loyal to Jesus Christ. We might be in the simulacrum, but we do not follow the simulacrum’s values nor do we fall for the simulacrum’s schemes.
Peter in the New Testament tells us that we are “sojourners and exiles. Our citizenship is the Kingdom of God. We are not of this world. If anything, we are ambassadors to Christ, proclaiming the good news that God indeed wants to create a utopia. God is preparing a new heaven and new earth where there will be no more pain, suffering, sin, or death. That this new Heaven and New Earth is paid for by the death and resurrection of God’s only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. That God, in His love, is preparing paradise for all those who believe in His Son. That Christ’s sacrifice paid for the sins of mankind and gives all men, from the greatest to the least, the opportunity to join in His kingdom through repentance of sins and faith in Jesus Christ. That when you first believe in your heart that Christ is Lord, you will receive the Holy Spirit who will guide you through these perilous times we live in.
This is foreign to the pagan world, who only care about power, wealth, status, and getting as much pleasure as possible. Yes, I get it, the Western world and America were founded on “biblical principles.” That trope could very well be true. “Jesus” is still a part of Americana. But do these so-called cultural Christians really “know” Him? Do people follow the Jesus Christ of the Bible or do they follow the Jesus Christ of the simulacrum? Do they listen to the Shepherd’s voice or do they follow the Overlords of today’s idols?
But who can blame the modern man? You could say that God is alien to us. After all, how can mere men comprehend or begin to understand the greatness of the One True God? How can any man understand a being that has perfect gentleness, faithfulness, self-control, goodness, kindness, patience, peace, joy, and love? This is why God has the title of “Holy Holy Holy,” because he is so unique compared to other so-called gods.
We can even dive deeper and say Jesus Christ is an alien figure of sorts. It is one thing for God to display His power in the Old Testament. It is another to have God in the flesh walking on Earth. John says Jesus came into the world, yet the world did not recognize Him. The testimony of the Gospels points out that there was something unique about Christ, powerful in word and deed. Christ did not come to lord His power over others; He came to serve. He came to heal the sick, give sight to the blind, and hearing to the deaf. He came to free captives from sin, exorcize demons out of men, resurrect the dead from graves, and proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God. Only when He opened His mouth and told the truth that the world is evil did they crucify Him.
Christ can relate to mankind because He was tempted in every way man was. But can mankind relate to Christ? It would be most alien to meet someone face to face with no sin in them. And this is one of the principal reasons man has fallen, because we do not know Him. God wants to be found and is available for all those who diligently seek them. Yet mankind refuses to come to the light and instead hides from Him. We have the scriptures, prayer, and testimonies to get to know God intimately, yet mankind wants to believe lies and spectacles like fake aliens and AGI.
This all mirrors the history of mankind, where Man was cast out of paradise because He wanted to become like God and define good and evil for himself. Mankind further sinned and went eastward away from Eden to try and craft heaven on Earth for himself. We try to imagine what a perfect world would be like. Man imagines empire and conquest, wealth and pride, pleasure and immortality. Yet every time man pursues these things, it all leads to death and pain. Therefore, God must send His prophets and judgments to lead people back to Him.
God has sent His prophets, alien to the world, to proclaim the good news that God is creating Utopia for us without the weird sci-fi, Gnostic, and perverted bend. But because mankind’s mind is so sick with sin, we cannot imagine what that world would be like. We can’t imagine a perfect world or the new heavens or new earth because we refuse to look at the truth of the Cross. We refuse to grow up and mature into children of God. God indeed wants humanity to enter maturity and end their childhood, but that requires a response to the gospel message. It requires reflection, humility, and repentance. Stumbling blocks to the carnal man.
But let’s ask a difficult question. In Childhood’s End, the aliens come down peacefully and offer humanity peace and prosperity. Why should the adults follow God when the Overlords give their technology, safety, and everything they want? A comfortable life, if you will? Why should Easu care about eternal blessings when his flesh has hunger pains? Can satisfying everyone’s eyes, flesh, and ego really satisfy mankind?
In a way, this is what we are all asking ourselves in this liminal space humanity is in, where the false gods of our fathers have failed us, and younger mankind is looking for new gods to worship that can offer satisfaction. The Western world right now is going through a profound spiritual sickness and identity crisis despite material prosperity. What does it really mean to be a human being? Are we just cogs in a machine called society? Is all of life really trying to make as much money as possible? Is all of life really trying to get as much pleasure as possible?
The Overlords may have offered a sweet bargain, but they do not answer the fundamental questions regarding humanity. Why do we exist? What is morality? What is love? What happens after death? How can mankind have spiritual peace inside his soul? How do we deal with our sin nature? The question for humanity is not how to build the best civilization; the question is who we ultimately worship. Who do we give our attention to?
Yes, there is suffering. There is pain, depression, loneliness, disease, regret, anger, jealousy, and death. We are guaranteed to suffer in this world. Why not take the Utopia that Karellen and his Overlords offer? Because Utopia is not salvation. Peace in this world does not equal peace with God. Life is not about just the pursuit of money, comfort, control, approval from others, success, social influence, political power, sex, or romantic love. These things mankind wants and wants abundantly. But at what cost? Is it really worth the human soul, the one shrouded by the breath of God, to gain the whole world? Yet, ever since the Tower of Babel, humanity has pursued these things to its detriment, and in the end, it is left in ruin.
Today’s modern world may have brought so many technological miracles and wonders, but at what cost? Yes, we have the smartphone, an amazing piece of technology. But is it really worth it when you are in a doctor’s office and see everyone glued to and bewitched by this device instead of interacting with their fellow man? Is it really worth it when you see a car accident or a medical incident and instead of human beings helping them, today’s grug American will take out his cellphone and start recording, hoping to become “viral.” Was all this really worth it? Yeah, we have all the drugs, booze, porn, video games, air-conditioned pods, government cheese, plastic rubbish, and Six-Flags-Over-Jesus entertainment churches. But these things have cost the modern man his soul, to the point that God now has to judge the Western man by sending the spirits of depression and loneliness to wake modern man to repentance before they become reprobate.
There is one more place in scripture where “Satan” makes an appearance that should be of note, and that is in Job. In the beginning of the book, Satan comes to God after roaming the Earth. God mentions how a servant of His named Job is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. Satan replies that Job loves God only because God has blessed him abundantly, and he asks to test Job. God gives Satan permission to test him.
Now, Job is a very complex and controversial book in Scripture. It’s more grass-fed beef to a believer in Christ than soylent milk. But the point is that this is how Satan operates, and this is all Satan is trying to do. Satan is constantly accusing, tempting, and deceiving humanity. But Satan’s power is limited, and he can only test humanity with explicit permission by God Himself.
Now that the redemptive plan of Jesus Christ has been fulfilled and all authority has been given to Him in Heaven and on Earth, God must test humanity again to see who is with Him or who is with whatever. If fake aliens come down from the skies or AGI robots come from the depths of the data centers, it would be with God’s permission. God is going to stand before humanity; on His right will be His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, high and lifted up, with a crown on His head and arms stretched wide. On His left will be all the spectacles of extraterrestrials, AI technology, and other idols both ancient and modern. God will ask humanity if they will turn from their sinful ways and have faith in His resurrected Son and the gospel of the New Heavens and New Earth. Or will humanity continue in their unbelief and run after other gods?
There is nothing new under the sun. Childhood’s End is a very clever novel, but also one of great irony. Clarke may have written the novel with the future in mind, but it unknowingly deals with an ancient problem mankind has faced since the original temptation in Eden. Do we believe in God’s words or do we believe whatever we want to believe and try to achieve godhood ourselves? The Overlords of our time want us to trade in our humanity and souls for all the comforts of a dying world. God wants to resurrect humanity and build mankind a utopia where there is no sin, pain, hurt, or death. This is the hope of all those who are children of God walking in this world that is going through labor pains. We have no fear of the future, and death cannot sting us. We do not submit to the spirit of fear or get distressed by these spectacles because we have faith in Jesus Christ, who died for the sins of mankind and conquered death itself by His resurrection on the third day. Despite the madness around us, we have peace and joy in our hearts because we know these are only the labor pains of the world and a new world is about to begin, a new childhood if you will.
Jesus Christ Red Pill 