Aliens and religious beliefs.

[pearl]

I think the big question is 'will they be friendly?' Steven Hawking doesn't believe so. "If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans,"
It would be much better for humans to keep a low profile, he says. There's a good chance we don't want aliens to come calling, Hawking says, because they very likely wouldn't be the cuddly, ET types we hope for.

Don't Tell The Aliens We're Here, Stephen Hawking Says; They Might Not Be Friendly : The Two-Way : NPR

 

[Father Heathen]

That was quite good!

But, of course, the battle of the gods agains God has always been around

You have gods like Zeus and Thor who commanded thunder and lightning, vs. Jehovah whose schtick was...dying?

 

[rational experiences]

If humans quantify a name then obviously they have. About a subject they studied as just the human.

Life on earth owns so many variant types of lifeforms itself not human already.

As we don't know why give it a name?

 

[Kenny]

You have gods like Zeus and Thor who commanded thunder and lightning, vs. Jehovah whose schtick was...dying?

Matt 28: 3
New Living Translation
His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow.

You can make light of him if you want... I wouldn't.

 

[Father Heathen]

Matt 28: 3
New Living Translation
His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow.

You can make light of him if you want... I wouldn't.

I'm not worried; no real god would be an oversensitive snowflake with a fragile ego.

 

[Kenny]

I'm not worried; no real god would be an oversensitive snowflake with a fragile ego.

You are a free-will spiritual agent... your life!

 

[gnostic]

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 think the probability is high there are life out there in some other star systems from either our own Milky Way or other galaxies.

What I don’t think is true, are the stories of aliens traveling here, to abduct or study humans or experiment on humans, or to invade Earth. These are just stories to either money, or people suffering some sorts of delusions.

Take our space missions as examples. Voyager 1 & Voyager 2, are the most distant man-made crafts, to go beyond our Solar System to interstellar space (the boundary is the heliopause, which they have crossed in 2012).

Both Voyagers have been operating for nearly 45 years. Voyager 1 has traveled 23.3 billion km, which is 155.8 AU (astronomical units), which is ONLY 0.00246 light-year. That’s no where near 1 light-year!

The distance between sun and the closest star, Proxima Centauri, is about 4.2465 light-year. Neither Voyagers are travelling in that direction...but supposed, hypothetically Voyager 1 was heading towards Proxima Centauri. It would have taken over 73,000 years to travel 4.2 light-year, at its current speed of 17.5 km/s.

17.5 km/s may not sound fast, but the fastest jet, Lockheed SR-71 Blackhead can only managed 0.9 km/s (or 3500 km/h).

So Voyager 1 is moving faster than any other craft, but it will not last for 73,000 years. In fact, Voyager 1 is predicted to lose all power by 2025, meaning it will stop sending signals back to Earth.

Considering how long it will take to travel even 1 light-year, eg at 17km/s like that on Voyager 1, over 17,000 years, manned interstellar space travel don’t seem likely for us...and I don’t see aliens doing any better.

Plus spacecraft capable of travelling at speed of light or faster, are science fiction.

Yes, it would shorter travel time, but that’s light, not manned spacecraft. No machine built by humans could match speed of light.

As I said, Voyager 1 is currently travelling at speed of 17 km/s. To put it perspective light travel at speed of 300,000 km/s. We are no where near matching this speed, and I highly doubt aliens could built ships to ravel at speed of light.

As I said, interstellar space travel is very interesting, but any thought of reaching another star is science fiction. And no machine can travel can achieve speed of light.

I doubt that even if there were aliens out there would spend tens of thousands of years space travelling to reach even their closest star system.

And as to intergalactic space travel? I don’t think so. Even at light speed it will take over 2 million years to reach the reach of Andromeda Galaxy, our nearest large spiral galaxy neighbour.

 

[robocop (actually)]

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?

Oh man I don't know where to begin?!

The word cloud in the Bible might mean UFO. I really am not sure.

I have seen dozens of UFOs, but it might have been the military trying to help me help Barack Obama get elected. I heard on TV him say, "Yes, I am a Raelian." That phrase in the Raelian book means he would try really hard for a long time to be a Raelian.

I was very schizophrenic this whole time.

 

[TransmutingSoul]

Do you believe that intelligent life forms exist beyond Earth? How does your religious/spiritual beliefs affect your view on aliens?

Baha'u'llah has confirmed life on other planets and the Writings also confirm there are other creatures that can know and Love the One God of all creation.

Regards Tony

 

[Viker]

Yes. I believe in the probability of aliens. I believe it impossible we could be alone in the universe. I don't believe aliens have visited or have had direct contact. Aliens could be anything from single cell organisms to complex organisms such as us. I really don't know.

 

[Father Heathen]

You are a free-will spiritual agent... your life!

Would god not be a being of pure love and pure logic? If so, anything devoid of compassion or reason cannot be of god.
Why would god give us the ability to think critically only for us to forgo it's use?
Real gods aren't beholden to the temples and tomes of self-appointed middlemen.

 

[Subduction Zone]

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.*

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

I do not know about everything that you posted, but the first three UFO's are just everyday objects that were misinterpreted. That can happen with cutting edge technology. From my understanding just about every example brought up has been explained.

"I don't know what could have done this" is never evidence for aliens.

 

[Subduction Zone]

As to accounts in holy books since there is no way to know what the person was describing and even if it actually happened those are not really evidence either.

Personally I am fairly sure that there is other intelligent life somewhere in the universe. But traveling in the universe is another matter. Right now it looks as if interstellar travel is going to always be impossible. The odds are the we are stuck here and any aliens are stuck where their home planet is.

 

[Clara Tea]

If there is/was/will be no life beyond earth, that includes intelligent life then the universe is an awfully big waste of space.

If there is/was/will be no life beyond earth, that includes intelligent life then the universe is an awfully big waste of space.

Kids ask "what are mosquitos for?" They think that God made everything for our benefit (egocentric....it's all about us).

If the universe is there to hold life, and it only holds life in one tiny part, it seems that it is useless (for our purposes). But, the universe might not have been created for us. Maybe the goal isn't to have a place for life to exist (or a place for life to start to exist)? Maybe the universe merely exists, and the rest (contains life) is coincidental?

By the way....we are made of meat. Mosquitos drink blood in living creatures. Could it be that we were made to be food for mosquitos?

 

[Clara Tea]

As to accounts in holy books since there is no way to know what the person was describing and even if it actually happened those are not really evidence either.

Personally I am fairly sure that there is other intelligent life somewhere in the universe. But traveling in the universe is another matter. Right now it looks as if interstellar travel is going to always be impossible. The odds are the we are stuck here and any aliens are stuck where their home planet is.

One would think that it would take a long time to travel lightyears. But, because time dilates at high speeds, it wouldn't take long for the traveler.

Perhaps a spaceship could be constructed to pick up bits of matter in space as it goes? That way, it wouldn't take much fuel.

 

[Clara Tea]

It's irrelevant to my beliefs. If intelligent species on other planets exist, than God probably reached out to them (or we can share the Gospel with them if we encounter them). But they don't seem to be there, at least not that we can see so far.

If they didn't crucify Christ when Christ visited their planet, maybe Christ accomplished more things there, and maybe Christ wanted to hang out with them for a while? That might explain God's absence on earth (doesn't answer prayers of cancer patients).

 

[Subduction Zone]

One would think that it would take a long time to travel lightyears. But, because time dilates at high speeds, it wouldn't take long for the traveler.

Perhaps a spaceship could be constructed to pick up bits of matter in space as it goes? That way, it wouldn't take much fuel.

One of the big problems is going to be radiation. Shielding would slow the craft. And we do not even know if it would be possible to pick up fuel on the way. If they could not then fuel is a very limiting factor. Without a way to pick up fuel the craft would almost certainly never get even close to relativistic velocities. And the big big problem for me when it comes to interstellar travel is radiation. Both from interior sources and exterior sources.

Who knows? It might be possible, but we do not know how it could be right now.

 

[gnostic]

One would think that it would take a long time to travel lightyears. But, because time dilates at high speeds, it wouldn't take long for the traveler.

Perhaps a spaceship could be constructed to pick up bits of matter in space as it goes? That way, it wouldn't take much fuel.

Where do you find fuel while travelling in space?

In manned space travel. Then there are matter of other resources need to keep people alive in long distance travel:

• Food
• Water
• Air
• Heat

You would be expending power and fuel to generate heat and pump air and filter carbon dioxide in life support.

The only reasons why Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 lasted as long as they did (over 44 years), is because it unmanned crafts, so the crafts don’t require any on the list, therefore don’t use as much as power or fuel these list.

Beside that many of the instruments in these unmanned probes, require the opposite of heat. Some instruments are so sensitive that they were functions unless they kept cool.

We certainly cannot design and built ships to travel at the speed of light, therefore hypothetically it would take tens of thousands of years to even reach a planet orbiting around Proxima Centauri, the nearest star.

The only things that can travel at light speed, is light itself, and space (eg expansion of the universe).

The same rules and limitations would applied to any alien advanced enough to build crafts for space travel.

Time dilation is only really possible if we can get near to the speed of light, and nothing in our technology, is capable of achieving 300,000 kilometres per second.

Voyager 1 can only manage speed of 17 km/s, and it is currently the fastest moving object, but this is old technology, plus the power source would be completely depleted by 2025.

And if interstellar travel isn’t probable, then intergalactic travel is nothing more than fairytale.

While I fascinated of space travel and like sci-fi stories, I am just being realistic...so I am a guy who see glass of drink, who don’t care if it is half full or half empty, a drink is a drink.

 

[Kenny]

Would god not be a being of pure love and pure logic? If so, anything devoid of compassion or reason cannot be of god.
Why would god give us the ability to think critically only for us to forgo it's use?
Real gods aren't beholden to the temples and tomes of self-appointed middlemen.

Pure love doesn't translate into "whatever I want". Pure logic in reference to compassion doesn't mean "close your eyes and believe that the decisions of the heart is irrelevant". Thinking critically isn't understood that your critical thinking is always right.

There is no self-appointed middleman with my God.

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

Do you believe that intelligent life forms exist beyond Earth?

I wouldn't say that I "believe" that.
Because "to believe" means to accept as true / accurate.
And unless we actually encounter / find such aliens, I'm not comfortable with committing myself to such a level of certainty.

Instead, I'll say that (any) life forms existing beyond earth is very likely and very plausible.
Intelligent life on the other hand... it's certainly possible and perhaps likely.

Intelligent life (as we define it) evolved on this planet so why couldn't it evolve on some other planet?
On the other hand, it took a ridiculous amount of time from the conception of life all the way to our "intelligent" form. About 3.8 billion years. And there's also only 1 species that qualifies after all that time. A handful of species if we are also going to count species like Homo Erectus, who were also into tool making and perhaps even primitive forms of trading with other tribes.

So who knows.... I think it's plausible. I also think that in the great scheme of things, it's rather rare also.
If we use earth as a blueprint (which isn't very representative as we have only ONE example to go by), then chances are rather ENORMOUS that if we find a planet with life on it, that that life won't be intelligent. Or even only multi-celullar.

The vast majority of life we would encounter out there, would be single celled (again: if we go by earth as a blueprint)

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

As an atheist: not.