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Aliens and religious beliefs.

an anarchist

Your local anarchist.
When I was a theist, I did not believe in aliens, as there were no mention of them in the Bible.
Tonight, I was looking up to the night sky as a possible deist, and for the first time I got excited at the thought that there were other life forms in the vast vast cosmos. From a deist POV, belief in the possibilities of aliens is completely reasonable I think.
I wonder if intelligent aliens have a conception of God(s).
Do you believe that intelligent life forms exist beyond Earth? How does your religious/spiritual beliefs affect your view on aliens?
 

SalixIncendium

अग्निविलोवनन्दः
Staff member
Premium Member
Do you believe that intelligent life forms exist beyond Earth?

I think it's arrogant to think that we are the only planet in this vast universe where life thrives. I don't know about "intelligent" life. Sometimes I question if we actually have intelligent life on Earth.

How does your religious/spiritual beliefs affect your view on aliens?

The two are entirely unrelated.
 

danieldemol

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
When I was a theist, I did not believe in aliens, as there were no mention of them in the Bible.
Tonight, I was looking up to the night sky as a possible deist, and for the first time I got excited at the thought that there were other life forms in the vast vast cosmos. From a deist POV, belief in the possibilities of aliens is completely reasonable I think.
I wonder if intelligent aliens have a conception of God(s).
Do you believe that intelligent life forms exist beyond Earth? How does your religious/spiritual beliefs affect your view on aliens?
I'm undecided if there are intelligent life forms beyond earth.
But I do hope there are friendly intelligent extra terrestrials who develop a means to reach out to us.

In my opinion.
 

Kenny

Face to face with my Father
Premium Member
When I was a theist, I did not believe in aliens, as there were no mention of them in the Bible.
Tonight, I was looking up to the night sky as a possible deist, and for the first time I got excited at the thought that there were other life forms in the vast vast cosmos. From a deist POV, belief in the possibilities of aliens is completely reasonable I think.
I wonder if intelligent aliens have a conception of God(s).
Do you believe that intelligent life forms exist beyond Earth? How does your religious/spiritual beliefs affect your view on aliens?
Of course there are "aliens". There are angels out there somewhere.

They definitely know God.

Now, if there are other forms of humanoids on other planets... I need Musk to get going so that I can share the love of God towards them. :D
 

Mock Turtle

Oh my, did I say that!
Premium Member
I just think it is beyond reason to imagine humans are the pinnacle of creation (so to speak), or that we are the only lifeforms, let alone intelligent ones. Just smacks of self-serving aggrandisement and rather typical of humans at this stage in our development. Common sense - that great arbiter of reason :oops: - seems to indicate WE ARE NOT ALONE. :D

Twas but a few decades ago that we discovered how common planets were, and moons, so until ALL are explored, I would hope we restrain our opinions as to where life exists, or doesn't. :oops:
 
When I was a theist, I did not believe in aliens, as there were no mention of them in the Bible.
Tonight, I was looking up to the night sky as a possible deist, and for the first time I got excited at the thought that there were other life forms in the vast vast cosmos. From a deist POV, belief in the possibilities of aliens is completely reasonable I think.
I wonder if intelligent aliens have a conception of God(s).
Do you believe that intelligent life forms exist beyond Earth? How does your religious/spiritual beliefs affect your view on aliens?
I mean how alien are we talking here?
It's one of those things where in science fiction and fantasy alien races tend to be fairly similar to humans but with things being the way they are they may be entirely alien to us in the sense that their morphology would just plain ol weird. Depending on how their minds work they might have a difficult time coming to the conclusion that an anthropomorphic god exists but it might not actually be that alien to them.

I think that most intelligent species would probably end up having a few things in common like a general need for group cohesion and communication. If they have a sex drive of any sort they might be just as weird as humans when it comes to things like fetishes and you might even have some who see the first humans they contact as desirable considering how many humans find odd things desirable.

Whether or not they have religion is difficult to say. I am fairly certain they wouldn't be christains or something like that. That would require beliefs that are far too specific but you could get something like animism, monism, etc. They could come to have similar mystical experiences like those that are experienced by mystics of just about any tradition.

How likely is it that there are other intelligent lifeforms out there? I mean the universe is so big it would be rather strange if there was no other intelligent life but it might be one of those things where we are actually some of the first intelligent life. Do ants count as intelligent life for instance? Some ant species farm, raid, recognize themselves and others and have somewhat complex societies but I know few people who would consider those intelligent life. My own religious beliefs are open to the idea of aliens and I would welcome them to my little meditation room with open arms.

It reminds me of questions the author Peter Watts asked about consciousness in books like Blindsight. Suggesting in that book that consciousness is something along the lines of a parasite or a sort of random consequence of the way brains function. He talks more about this in the video I linked if anyone is interested. I personally don't think that is really the case but I do think plenty of evolutionary routes leave the door to consciousness open and that any intelligent alien could experience the same sort of mystic experiences I had. I'm not sure they would come to the same conclusion I did about them but that remains to be seen.

 

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
When I was a theist, I did not believe in aliens, as there were no mention of them in the Bible.
Tonight, I was looking up to the night sky as a possible deist, and for the first time I got excited at the thought that there were other life forms in the vast vast cosmos. From a deist POV, belief in the possibilities of aliens is completely reasonable I think.
I wonder if intelligent aliens have a conception of God(s).
Do you believe that intelligent life forms exist beyond Earth? How does your religious/spiritual beliefs affect your view on aliens?
Interesting.

If they actually existed, I would consider God and angels to be aliens.

I think the way you've drawn a mental line between them and "aliens" is how most Abrahamics do it, but I still find it interesting that you do.
 

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
I mean how alien are we talking here?

The variety of life here on earth is quite astounding and that all came from the same dna. I cannot imagine life on another planet being anything like, maybe some we would not even recognise as life.
 

Father Heathen

Veteran Member
Of course there are "aliens". There are angels out there somewhere.

They definitely know God.

Now, if there are other forms of humanoids on other planets... I need Musk to get going so that I can share the love of God towards them. :D

Or alien missionaries will land on earth to spread the message of Gorf, son of Targ, who snerged for your zinks, this saving you from eternal turglation.

Do you accept Gorf into your dorsal vessal?
 

cladking

Well-Known Member
I mean how alien are we talking here?
It's one of those things where in science fiction and fantasy alien races tend to be fairly similar to humans but with things being the way they are they may be entirely alien to us in the sense that their morphology would just plain ol weird. Depending on how their minds work they might have a difficult time coming to the conclusion that an anthropomorphic god exists but it might not actually be that alien to them.

I think that most intelligent species would probably end up having a few things in common like a general need for group cohesion and communication. If they have a sex drive of any sort they might be just as weird as humans when it comes to things like fetishes and you might even have some who see the first humans they contact as desirable considering how many humans find odd things desirable.

Whether or not they have religion is difficult to say. I am fairly certain they wouldn't be christains or something like that. That would require beliefs that are far too specific but you could get something like animism, monism, etc. They could come to have similar mystical experiences like those that are experienced by mystics of just about any tradition.

How likely is it that there are other intelligent lifeforms out there? I mean the universe is so big it would be rather strange if there was no other intelligent life but it might be one of those things where we are actually some of the first intelligent life. Do ants count as intelligent life for instance? Some ant species farm, raid, recognize themselves and others and have somewhat complex societies but I know few people who would consider those intelligent life. My own religious beliefs are open to the idea of aliens and I would welcome them to my little meditation room with open arms.

It reminds me of questions the author Peter Watts asked about consciousness in books like Blindsight. Suggesting in that book that consciousness is something along the lines of a parasite or a sort of random consequence of the way brains function. He talks more about this in the video I linked if anyone is interested. I personally don't think that is really the case but I do think plenty of evolutionary routes leave the door to consciousness open and that any intelligent alien could experience the same sort of mystic experiences I had. I'm not sure they would come to the same conclusion I did about them but that remains to be seen.


"We all know what it feels like because everyone is conscious".

We believe we know what consciousness is because we all experience thought which is unique to homo omnisciencis. All other life experiences consciousness directly and do not experience thought. Humans are programmed by modern language manifested as the brocas area.

All space faring aliens would probably be like us if it's true that only experimental science can lead to such ability and that nothing can evolve in space or with a biological need to traverse space. Since these assumptions seem highly probably it is safe to say any aliens that might have been encountered think a great deal like we do. They might not exude hubris like us however.
 

Father Heathen

Veteran Member
When I was a theist, I did not believe in aliens, as there were no mention of them in the Bible.
Tonight, I was looking up to the night sky as a possible deist, and for the first time I got excited at the thought that there were other life forms in the vast vast cosmos. From a deist POV, belief in the possibilities of aliens is completely reasonable I think.
I wonder if intelligent aliens have a conception of God(s).
Do you believe that intelligent life forms exist beyond Earth? How does your religious/spiritual beliefs affect your view on aliens?

There are trillions of galaxies, and ours alone contains approximately one hundred billion stars. I think the odds favor the chance of there being other life-baring planets out there.
 
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ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
Or alien missionaries will land on earth to spread the message of Gorf, son of Targ, who snerged for your zinks, this saving you from eternal turglation.

Do you accept Gorf into your dorsal vessal?


You will of course accept Gorf into your dorsal vessal or suffer eternity and a day in screaming in the deepest molten pit of the evil Forg.
 

Sgt. Pepper

All you need is love.
Yes, I genuinely believe that there is intelligent life on other planets, and extraterrestrial beings have visited our planet in the past and present. First, I believe intelligent life from another planet visits Earth because I've had two first-hand UFO sightings myself in my lifetime, as I explained in another thread a few months ago. Secondly, I think it's very arrogant to believe that human beings are the only intelligent life throughout the entire vastness of outer space. It simply doesn't seem possible to me that we're all alone.

I believe that the U.S. government obviously knows more about the UFO phenomena than what top government officials are willing to disclose to the American people. That being said, I don't think that the "powers that be" within the U.S. federal government can indefinitely contain the plethora of video evidence and eyewitness accounts of the phenomena. Viable evidence of UFO sightings is coming from multiple locations across the country and from other countries around the world. A lot more eyes are on the skies.

I think that it's only a matter of time before the U.S. government's colossal dam of denial will crack right now in the middle and come crashing down on their heads. The mind-boggling tsunami waves of UFO evidence will then drown out their screams of protest and denial. Public interest in the UFO phenomenon has vastly increased, and there are more eyes on the skies these days.

Why has the U.S. Pentagon (top military and government officials) released a damning video like this one after seventy-five years of stubborn, outright denial that UFOs are real? Top U.S. government officials have spent over seven decades persistently denying that UFOs (and aliens) are real and discrediting anyone who dared to say otherwise. I'd like to know what their game is now.


Let's not forget about the 2006 O'Hare International Airport UFO sighting, which was witnessed by several people at the same time.


In conclusion, I'd like to mention The Ancient Aliens' episode, "Aliens and the Presidents." It reveals some interesting information about what past presidents (specifically Carter and Reagan) knew about UFOs and what the U.S. government knows about UFOs. By the way, there's also a 2020 documentary called The Phenomenon (Amazon Prime) that I recommend watching, as well.


NASA 'cuts live feed from international space station' after mysterious object appears on camera

* Videos of the unknown object captured on the ISS camera are available in the article.*

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A 5000 Year Old Aboriginal Cave Painting of The “Wandjina.” Known As ‘The Sky Beings’

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Polymath257

Think & Care
Staff member
Premium Member
I see it as very likely that life is common in the universe. The basic materials are abundant and well distributed.

The problem is that most life is going to be at the level of bacteria. Remember that of the 4.5 billion years life has existed on Earth, only the last .7 billion has life as complicated as a worm. And technological life has only been around 10,000 years (if you include agriculture) or 120 years (if you include radio).

I am far less convinced that intelligent life exists elsewhere in our galaxy or nearby galaxies. If nothing else, the Fermi paradox suggests that there are barriers to life getting to the stage of interstellar travel.
 

cladking

Well-Known Member

We experience consciousness up to ten seconds after it occurs. (paraphrase from video)

This guy has a far better handle on the nature of consciousness than anyone else IMO even though he is missing it by a country mile. He is far more insightful than anything I've seen about "consciousness" and I seek it out.

Until he understands that only humans think then he can't understand that only humans mistake thought for consciousness. An oak tree experiences consciousness directly just like all other living things.

Unfortunately for us we also mistake thought for intelligence as might any space faring aliens.
 

cladking

Well-Known Member
The problem is that most life is going to be at the level of bacteria. Remember that of the 4.5 billion years life has existed on Earth, only the last .7 billion has life as complicated as a worm. And technological life has only been around 10,000 years (if you include agriculture) or 120 years (if you include radio).

I am far less convinced that intelligent life exists elsewhere in our galaxy or nearby galaxies. If nothing else, the Fermi paradox suggests that there are barriers to life getting to the stage of interstellar travel.

It is very likely though that life arrived on earth from germs that got here from space which would imply that life is very abundant in the universe. The fact that oak trees and humans have so much shared genes strongly suggests that life may never have originated on earth at all. Once conditions became anything close to creating life it was seeded from outside and life turned the planet into what it is.
 

Polymath257

Think & Care
Staff member
Premium Member
It is very likely though that life arrived on earth from germs that got here from space which would imply that life is very abundant in the universe. The fact that oak trees and humans have so much shared genes strongly suggests that life may never have originated on earth at all. Once conditions became anything close to creating life it was seeded from outside and life turned the planet into what it is.

The shared genes are to be expected from shared ancestry. Both humans and oak trees are multicellular organisms. Such organisms are a comparatively recent phenomenon on Earth. Most of the life on Earth during the last 3.8 billion years has been single celled.
 
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