Alien Life

[BryanH]

I've always thought that it is pretty egotistical of us to think that we are the only intelligent life out of all the endless universe! God created "The Heavens", so why do we just assume that he stopped with our measly little planet? He can create anything he wants, so there might be several other worlds that He created. He might not plan for us to ever meet, but that doesn't mean something isn't out there.

People who believe in the end of days surely aren't interested in finding out if there is any other life in the universe because there is no point in that. And that is one of the core principles of Christianity: the end of days. So if you live a life expecting the end of days which some say that is near... you get the point: what is your motivation to find out new things anyway? We are all going to die soon, right?

He might not plan for us to ever meet, but that doesn't mean something isn't out there.

That implies the lack of free will and we could of course start a long discussion that has already been addressed in many topics.
What is the point of speculating of something out there if you don't actually do something to know it exists?

I don't think it's egotistical, but rather realistic. Every solar system we've come across has characteristics that would inhibit life, especially an intelligent kind. Our solar system is so finely tuned. Even planets far away from us (like Jupiter) help Earth in ways we never would have thought of centuries ago.

The universe is so big that in terms of statistics/numbers/mathematics it is possible to meet the right conditions for intelligent life in other places as well.

And for anyone who really believes that our world has been visited by UFOs piloted by aliens from other planets, you need to read this powerful refutation of the physical impossibility of it:

http://www.reasons.org/physics/constant ... here-there

1) Real stuff: do you know that there is a project to colonize planet Mars by 2023? Of course, there won't a lot of people there, but just saying. Do you know that scientists have a theoretical plan to terra-format Mars that would take about 100-200 years? Our generation won't see it, but...

2) Physics theoretical only: traveling a huge distance is not impossible in theory: we just don't have the technology at the time being to make it happen.

here is a link with a basic explanation of how such a travel system would work: link

[Mitzy]

As a Christian I do not think there are aliens out there. God created us in his image and sent his only son to us to save us. I really do not think that God made another Earth like planet with people that have souls to send his only son to die again. It is possible he has a planet of just animals without souls but I do not think it is likely.

[Philip]

Most scientists theorize that the universe is about 13.73 billion years old. And in contrast, God has existed FOREVER! Clearly, from the time God began creating, He was AMAZINGLY, UNFATHOMABLY and PROLIFICALLY creative, having created such complexity and detail, countless worlds and galaxies, so many astoundingly interconnected processes, creatures and beings that scientists, atheists and believers ALIKE, stand in its AWE.

And so, what are we to believe that God did in that eternity BEFORE He began creating our universe? I don't think the Father, Son and Spirit were just sitting around playing a VERY long game of checkers. God is an active and creative God. Why would we think that He only exercised those attributes during His years of creating the universe and earth? That seems very silly, no? So, WHO KNOWS what God has done - both in the past or in some unseen galaxy, far, far away? We just don't know. But as we are human beings - or shall we admit - PROFESSIONAL NARCISSISTS, it's no wonder that we always tend to think that the universe HAS to be ONLY about us. Or that ours is the ONLY universe, or that it is the ONLY time, etc. God is far beyond any theoretical box we might want to put Him in. As, with God, ALL things are possible. And so who knows what else he's put out there - somewhere. Or NOT?

[Callisto]

I've always thought that it is pretty egotistical of us to think that we are the only intelligent life out of all the endless universe! God created "The Heavens", so why do we just assume that he stopped with our measly little planet? He can create anything he wants, so there might be several other worlds that He created. He might not plan for us to ever meet, but that doesn't mean something isn't out there.

People who believe in the end of days surely aren't interested in finding out if there is any other life in the universe because there is no point in that. And that is one of the core principles of Christianity: the end of days. So if you live a life expecting the end of days which some say that is near... you get the point: what is your motivation to find out new things anyway? We are all going to die soon, right?

He might not plan for us to ever meet, but that doesn't mean something isn't out there.

That implies the lack of free will and we could of course start a long discussion that has already been addressed in many topics.
What is the point of speculating of something out there if you don't actually do something to know it exists?

I don't think it's egotistical, but rather realistic. Every solar system we've come across has characteristics that would inhibit life, especially an intelligent kind. Our solar system is so finely tuned. Even planets far away from us (like Jupiter) help Earth in ways we never would have thought of centuries ago.

The universe is so big that in terms of statistics/numbers/mathematics it is possible to meet the right conditions for intelligent life in other places as well.

And for anyone who really believes that our world has been visited by UFOs piloted by aliens from other planets, you need to read this powerful refutation of the physical impossibility of it:

http://www.reasons.org/physics/constant ... here-there

1) Real stuff: do you know that there is a project to colonize planet Mars by 2023? Of course, there won't a lot of people there, but just saying. Do you know that scientists have a theoretical plan to terra-format Mars that would take about 100-200 years? Our generation won't see it, but...

2) Physics theoretical only: traveling a huge distance is not impossible in theory: we just don't have the technology at the time being to make it happen.

here is a link with a basic explanation of how such a travel system would work: link

I'm already familiar with the concept of warp drives. I do not think it's feasible even with future technology - we don't even understand the universe completely, why would we think we could travel in it in such a way? Also, the physicist in the video is Lawrence Krauss, who can't even define what "nothing" is. But I digress. He's asserting that "space does what it wants" when clearly it follows set-out laws of physics. Yes, it can expand and contract, but that doesn't mean that we can manipulate that. Even if we COULD, you must take into account that space is NOT empty. There is debris and much out there. Try to shield your ship from a marble-sized rock travelling at 30,000 MPH or however fast it's "flying". Even if you aren't actually moving, other objects are. Not to mention the radiation. I just don't see it happening, even if we did put a colony on Mars or the Moon - it's highly doubtful we'd ever get to Andromeda or any other system. We are quite literally stuck here. And why leave? Our solar system is a grand place, so finely-tuned for us. We ought to try to take care of Earth. All we would do is move to another planet (assuming we could ever get there, breathe or live there) and spread our sinfulness there, too. We can't even stop fighting each other HERE.

[BryanH]

He's asserting that "space does what it wants" when clearly it follows set-out laws of physics. Yes, it can expand and contract, but that doesn't mean that we can manipulate that. Even if we COULD, you must take into account that space is NOT empty. There is debris and much out there. Try to shield your ship from a marble-sized rock travelling at 30,000 MPH or however fast it's "flying". Even if you aren't actually moving, other objects are. Not to mention the radiation. I just don't see it happening, even if we did put a colony on Mars or the Moon - it's highly doubtful we'd ever get to Andromeda or any other system. We are quite literally stuck here. And why leave? Our solar system is a grand place, so finely-tuned for us. We ought to try to take care of Earth. All we would do is move to another planet (assuming we could ever get there, breathe or live there) and spread our sinfulness there, too. We can't even stop fighting each other HERE.

1) I just said that in theory it is possible to build a warp drive, but at the moment we still have to deal with a lot of technological issues. You just repeated what I said but only elaborated it more. I know the problems of building a warp drive.

2) You have chosen to take a position which I have to be honest with you and say that it is destructive and against progress: the fact that you think that something is impossible doesn't actually mean it's impossible (just as a reminder: don't forget the times when the church was accusing people of heresy and murdering them because they were thinking about progress and how things are different from what the church wanted to preach). Lots of people think just like you and to be honest I don't understand why. You don't want to see anything else besides your tiny box called Earth/Solar System/Galaxy. You choose to think small. That is your choice. I prefer thinking outside the box.

3)We are quite literally stuck here. And why leave? Our solar system is a grand place, so finely-tuned for us. We ought to try to take care of Earth. All we would do is move to another planet (assuming we could ever get there, breathe or live there) and spread our sinfulness there, too. We can't even stop fighting each other HERE.

You are quite literally stuck here (figurate speech). I am not stuck here and many other people are not stuck here. They are actually doing something about changing that.
As I said in another topic: Christian people think of the end of the days which some say it's near. When you have such ideas going backwards and forwards through your head, you couldn't care less about traveling to another place in this universe. You just wait for Jesus to come and save you. Good luck!!

Why leave? I don't know? Why stay?

[RickD]

It just seems to me, that space travel is unrealistic.
http://www.reasons.org/articles/only-in ... ace-travel

[Philip]

Let's just say that any alien knowing our nature and of how "well" things are going on our planet sure doesn't want us to come THERE. Talking about "there goes the neighborhood." Sheesh!

[RickD]

Let's just say that any alien knowing our nature and of how "well" things are going on our planet sure doesn't want us to come THERE. Talking about "there goes the neighborhood." Sheesh!

There goes the neighborhood is correct. We would probably find something of value, and destroy their planet, for the love of money. Just like "Avatar", the true story.

[BryanH]

It just seems to me, that space travel is unrealistic.

[Some people said] It's impossible to fly, but today we do that.
[Some people said] It's impossible to get to the moon, yet today we have already done that.
[Some people said] It's impossible to travel to other planets, but there are already plans to colonize planet Mars.
[Some people say] It's impossible to travel huge distances in space and reach other civilizations... Yet to be seen....

[Danieltwotwenty]

It just seems to me, that space travel is unrealistic.

[Some people said] It's impossible to fly, but today we do that.
[Some people said] It's impossible to get to the moon, yet today we have already done that.
[Some people said] It's impossible to travel to other planets, but there are already plans to colonize planet Mars.
[Some people say] It's impossible to travel huge distances in space and reach other civilizations... Yet to be seen....

[Some people say] God is impossible
[Some people say] God can't come here in human form
[Some people say] Jesus couldn't rise from the dead
[Some people say] etc.... etc...

[FlawedIntellect]

It just seems to me, that space travel is unrealistic.

[Some people said] It's impossible to fly, but today we do that.
[Some people said] It's impossible to get to the moon, yet today we have already done that.
[Some people said] It's impossible to travel to other planets, but there are already plans to colonize planet Mars.
[Some people say] It's impossible to travel huge distances in space and reach other civilizations... Yet to be seen....

What is theoretically possible may not be literally possible. If anything, one should be VERY careful in assuming that just because there were naysayers that the naysayers are always wrong.

Yes, there are numerous examples of technology that was thought to be impossible and yet are possible today. The thing is, though, there are probably countless other forgotten examples of when the naysayers were right.

It appears, so far, to be pretty impossible. It might not actually be impossible, as it's too early to tell, some could say, but granted, seeing some of the arguments on here against the warp drive and long-distance space travel in general seem to show that there are numerous complications that need to be dealt with.

It's unlikely that the future will turn out to be like Star Trek. (While I find the series and its sequel series to be quite entertaining, the atheistic utopian overtones of some episodes can be rather frustrating, as well as some of the religious jabs and the original series' instances of blatant sexism. But still, the show as a whole can be rather entertaining.)

It's an entertaining show, but well, it doesn't quite feel like the future, but rather more like a dream.

Even so, traveling across the universe by technological means seems rather implausible. Plus the arguments about the dangers of such travel are quite convincing to me.

[Reactionary]

Belief in aliens is like religion to the nonreligious. Someone once said to me, "You must be nuts if you don't believe in aliens. Uneducated, bigoted, closed-minded, blah, blah, blah... The probability that life arised somewhere else in this vast universe is practically 1." Funny, we don't know how life arised at all, but we know the probabilities. Yet, belief in God is "irrational".

At this point, there is no reason to believe that extraterrestrial life is tampering with our Earth. We have no evidence for it, it's just a product of naturalistic evolutionary presuppositions. For those who claim that aliens created us, well, that doesn't answer who created those aliens in the first place. They are, however, quick to question who created God, not wanting to realize that it's an objection that can easily be answered by anyone familiar with apologetics. But that's another story...

[BryanH]

Even so, traveling across the universe by technological means seems rather implausible. Plus the arguments about the dangers of such travel are quite convincing to me.

There are dangers of flying a rocket into space because of the type of fuel it uses... I guess we shouldn't do that either. It's pretty convincing to me.

We shouldn't also use nuclear technology because it's dangerous... Pretty obvious, wouldn't you say?

there are probably countless other forgotten examples of when the naysayers were right.

Like what?

[PaulSacramento]

Look at it this way:
The Wright brothers "flew" in 1903 and 66 years later Man lands on the moon.
We already have space flight, we just don't have interplanetary flight because of the cost issue.
Honestly, with world governments strapped for cash on the necessities of life, I don't want them spending money on the "extras".
I think it should get privatized.

[FlawedIntellect]

Even so, traveling across the universe by technological means seems rather implausible. Plus the arguments about the dangers of such travel are quite convincing to me.

There are dangers of flying a rocket into space because of the type of fuel it uses... I guess we shouldn't do that either. It's pretty convincing to me.

We shouldn't also use nuclear technology because it's dangerous... Pretty obvious, wouldn't you say?

there are probably countless other forgotten examples of when the naysayers were right.

Like what?

Pardon me for baseless speculation. As per arguing, "Like what?" I'm sure you can find the answers if you search. I'm pretty lazy...

In regards to the dangers of flying rockets into space or nuclear technology, I'm not saying that we should just drop that due to the dangers.

If anything, though, there's a difference between idiotic danger and danger that can be damage-controlled. In regards to nuclear technology, yes, it is dangerous. We shouldn't use nuclear warheads (which are nuclear technology) due to the threat of global extermination from nuclear warfare. We can use nuclear power plants, though, and we have safety regulations to prevent the damage from going further. We have means of cooling down a reactor if it overheats. (Carbon Rods serve this purpose, for example.)
We also have special clothing/covering that can reduce exposure to nuclear radiation.

If anything, on the question of nuclear technology, there's more than one type. There's warfare weapons, and there's power sources. There's also medical tools.

As per space travel in limited steps (like landing on the moon or deploying probes and satellites to gather data), we already can manage some of that.

Pardon me for not bringing evidence to the table to back up my point. I'm just tired and making guesses.
In short, I'm not a scientist or even a skilled philosopher.