How Steven Spielberg Got It Wrong: God Reigns Over The Whole Universe
I’m a huge fan of Steven Spielberg’s early films. Close Encounters of the Third Kind was the first of his movies I saw. Sure, it was on television, and as a kid, I didn’t understand all of it. But I recognized that it was about aliens and was mysterious and visually stunning. Next, I was awed by Raiders of the Lost Ark which I saw in the theater with my family. My sister and I saw E.T. in the theaters. I skipped Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom but I loved Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Spielberg made many more blockbusters but I admit, I tuned out most of them.
Skip to the present. Spielberg’s latest film is Disclosure Day. On its surface, it seems to be about an Edward Snowden-esque individual racing to find a way to reveal proof to the public that the U.S. government has known about extraterrestrials since the 1940s. But the underlying crux of the film is the idea that humans knowing about alien life in the universe would undermine Christian religion and belief in God. Why? According to the film, it's because these aliens have supernatural powers that seem godlike. One of the supporting characters is an ex-nun and a question is raised throughout the film: Is God just over the Earth or can He be over the whole universe?
I found this amusing because that was the whole premise to my science-fantasy trilogy, the Jordan of Algoran Series. And the answer is this: God reigns over the whole universe. He is not limited to one world. In Jordan’s World (Book One), the main character Jordan Lewis and her mother have been abducted from Earth and stranded on a distant Earth-like world called Algoran. During an outing with her hunting pack, Jordan is injured and dying. Yet the Lord makes an appearance to her and asks if she will trust Him to heal her. She does and not only survives the experience, but the rest of her life changes as a result of that trust.
There also is a legendary, very powerful figure on Algoran named SnowFire. But her influence is only present on Algoran.
It’s a very simple premise. God made the universe. He is a Spirit and outside of the confines of time and space. He is not limited in any way.
In my fictional universes, I write alien beings, other worlds, fantastic technologies and such. But God is always more powerful than any of them. And Jesus is always the solutions to every problem, whether on Earth, in space on a starship or in another solar system or dimension.
That’s the beauty of Christian fiction. You don’t have to actually believe in extraterrestrials or any conspiracy theories. What matters is that your writing is inspired by God through the Holy Spirit and that Jesus and salvation are depicted accurately. Everything else is just details.
