Extraterrestrial Intelligence and the Catholic Faith: Are We Alone in the Universe with God and the Angels?

Written by Paul Thigpen

Narrated by Kevin O'Brien

Does intelligent life exist beyond earth?For more than half a century, the question of extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) has been widely dismissed in our culture. That wasn’t always the case. Some of the best minds of the last twenty-five centuries in Western civilization have grappled with this mystery.

In Extraterrestrial Intelligence and the Catholic Faith, best-selling author Paul Thigpen begins with a fascinating historical survey of the public conversation about ETI, tracing the thought of prominent Catholics and others. Well-known figures such as Plato, Saint John Chrysostom, René Descartes, Isaac Newton, Benjamin Franklin, Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange, and C. S. Lewis all speculated about the possibilities of life beyond our planet. Even Catholic saints and blesseds spoke of ETI, such as Pope Saint. John Paul II, Saint (Padre) Pio of Pietrelcina, and Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich. In light of this history, readers will discover answers to these questions:How do Scripture and Catholic teaching shed light on this topic?

• Are alleged encounters with ETI simply a form of demonic deception?
• Is belief in ETI compatible with the Catholic Church’s teaching?
• What might be the spiritual and moral status of ETI, and what relationship might they have to Jesus Christ?
• Would the confirmed existence of ETI undermine the Christian faith, as some have claimed?
• How can thinking about ETI deepen our faith and enhance our understanding of the Church’s teaching about God and His creation?

Still more, a concluding appendix addresses the related issue of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and the speculation surrounding them.

Recent developments in astrophysics, technology, and UFO-related disclosures by the Pentagon have reawakened the public discussion about ETI. Extraterrestrial Intelligence and the Catholic Faith is a thorough guide to navigating the conversation from a faithful Catholic perspective.

• Language: English
• Publisher: TAN Books
• Release date: Jun 29, 2022
• ISBN: 9781505129151

Reviews for Extraterrestrial Intelligence and the Catholic Faith

[GILBERT MICHELINI · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Praise God for the timing of this book. I have been recently reading several accounts of ETI and wondering how their existence would affect the Church's teaching. In the first part of the book, the author presents the history of conversation concerning ETI from ancient Greece until today. In the second part, the author presents his personal theology of our response to ETI.
Overall, a good and informative read. My only complaint is it seems that the directors changed halfway through the first part of the audiobook. From there, the narrator attempts to use a different voice for each of the quoted sources. While the narrator has impressive voice skills, I found this back-and-forth distracting. Good in dialog but not in a non-fiction work.