just because i think it will happen eventually - there are billions of stars. the cosmos is infinite. when it happens, what would your reaction be? the end of the world? a sign that god wants us to share his word with the newcomers? a sign that the earth and the people on it are not unique, thus affecting our view that man, made in god's image, is special? something else entirely?

i think this is an interesting question so i would appreciate any thoughts.

I wouldn’t be surprised at a future “announcement” of actual aliens.
They may even exist, but I believe they would be the apparent “gods” of old which started all the pagan religions.

It would cause many to question their beliefs, but it would only serve to strengthen mine.
“Aliens” are a deception.
Even the Pope seems to be “preparing” us to accept this deception.
<why am I not surprised?>

I know the God I serve, and I know the truth of His word.
We are told that a great delusion would come upon the world causing many to fall away from the faith.
This would only line up with the rest of the events making prophecy ready to be fulfilled.

Just the fact that these events are in line to happen, convinces me of the truth of Bible prophecy.

And then again, I have my own personal history of my relationship with Jesus, which would prevent me from abandoning my faith and running after some aliens.

Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming;
that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders,
and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.
For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false,
in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.
2Thesalonians 2:8-12

I have a friend who is convinced aliens will come and lead to the perfection of mankind - through some superior knowlege.
He's ready and eager to believe the lie and unwilling to rethink his position.
“It’s a cookbook!” – from an episode of The Twilight Zone: To Serve Man

I'd be interested primarily in what they know of Jesus and how they interact with Him. He created everything after all.

Alien lifeforms may exist; there may even be a planetoid populated entirely by politicians somewhere.

just because i think it will happen eventually - there are billions of stars. the cosmos is infinite. when it happens, what would your reaction be? the end of the world? a sign that god wants us to share his word with the newcomers? a sign that the earth and the people on it are not unique, thus affecting our view that man, made in god's image, is special? something else entirely?

i think this is an interesting question so i would appreciate any thoughts.

Tell you what. You show me...

1. A dead alien and his spaceship or
2. A live alien

...then we may have something to discuss.

The bible in no way supports the notiion of life on other planets. What is so difficult in thinking we are the only intelligent life ? Look at it this way - we have a HUGE backyard - enjoy Gods creation instead of looking for ways to debunk Him. I'm all for exploring this universe God created but don't waste time looking for something that doesn't exist. How about putting the energy to better use like - colonization, other forms of energy, exploration, etc.

would our finding intelligent life on other planets affect your beliefs?
just because i think it will happen eventually - there are billions of stars. the cosmos is infinite. when it happens, what would your reaction be? :hmm: This is interesting. You think of the universe like we think of God. "The cosmos is infinite." You attribute creative powers to the natural universe. You even extrapolate it all the way to intelligent life on other planets.

Distilled down to what it is, it is faith. You have faith that there isn't a God and that life and ultimately intelligent life just sprouts up naturally all through the cosmos. You believe this strongly even without ever seeing any evidence of any life at all anywhere in the universe except on Earth. You are probably ready to believe this even to your death, never actually getting to see the day of the "finding".

I don't think I can fault you though. In the world of science, water is synonomous with life. It simply must be. The presence of one means the presence of the other. For example, to find water on Mars is basically synonomous with finding ancient signs of life. Even without finding the evidence of ancient signs of life. Go figure. :dunno: Even some of the Mars Phoenix folks got so caught up in it that they termed the soil as "organic".

Anyway, we have discussed this here before. In essence, angels are created beings and they certainly could be termed intelligent. I don't think they can be classified as life as we define it though.

If intelligent life is present and is discovered, I guess I would want to see if they also believe in God, etc. It could prove to be interesting. However, at this point, I don't have any reason to check my beliefs against a blind faith of the existence of intelligent life elsewhere.

God Bless!

What I find interesting is the faith that folks find in believing in aliens, conspiracy theories, and anything that leaves out God. It's almost like we will go to extreme lengths to not believe in Him.

George Wald wrote in (1954) that "Most modern biologists, having reviewed with satisfaction the downfall of the spontaneous generation hypothesis, yet unwilling to accept the alternative belief in special creation, are left with nothing. I think a scientist has no choice but to approach the origin of life through a hypothesis of spontaneous generation." Scientific American, 190, No. 2, 44-53

So even if the evidence suggests no other way for life to be created except by special creation, they will not believe it because it implies a creator, and that of course implies that I'm not the master of my soul.

Francis Crick developed the theory of Directed Panspermia: no kidding, this is what it is called. The theory states that the first living cell must have been transported to earth from another planet outside the solar system. - He won a Nobel Prize

The alien discussion just moves the creation discussion back to an area that the Bible does not go into specifically. The scientific argument has the luxury of claiming time and lack of resources to find evidence as the main thrust of this argument. In otherwords, I'm right cause you can't prove I'm wrong.

The question might as well be, would your belief system change if you found out that the Bible was really written in 1925 and Jesus was a cartoon character. The question is from a different world view and is not reconcilable with the christian world view.

But...They're great bad guys in cheap B flick sci-fi movies, and for that reason we should keep them around...

There are over 23 minute variants found on earth necessary for a planet to sustain life as we know it. It has been calculated that the probability of any other planet having even 10 of these variables present is 10 to the 106th power. In other words, imposible.

Not at all. Are we really that arrogant to think God only created earth, and only for us, for that matter? If we believe in an infinite God who is all-powerful, why wouldn't there be life on other planets, in other universes, in other forms?

Read "Perelandra" by C.S. Lewis sometime. Interesting book. :)

God said he man man in his image. However, no where in the bible is it stated that man or this planet is his only creation.

Hello QuestionAuthority,




1. A dead alien and his spaceship or
2. A live alien

I don`t even know if it was real, but what I guess is that yes there are beings, created by God but who never fell as our human race.

In the Scriptures there is not much about it.

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. Psalm 8:1 ESV

In youtube, once I watch a part of a black & white video of the supposed Roswell event, it was an autopsy of a strange being, It looked real.

But right It also could be fallen angels trying to take of our time in which we are to get ready for Heaven, thus avoiding, hindering and turning away our mind/thoughts from the present truth to earthy matters.

Go well

I would rather like it if there were aliens, aslong as they dont steal my chocolate that is....

If ure beliefs are strong, it shouldnt really bother you.

i appreciate all the different thoughts on this. i was afraid this was some sort of board where everyone had to 'tow the party line' so to speak.

i'm not some alien groupie who claims to have been examined or whatever. i've never seen anything that makes me think there MUST be aliens. but when you do the simple math it just begs the conclusion that out of the 70,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 or so stars (I read that NASA once estimated the number of stars in the zillions - not even a real number).

what would it mean if these beings had no knoweldge of god? i mean, what is the chance they would belong to a religion based on the supposed death of god in the flesh on a distant world thousands of years ago?

I have heard from several preachers talking on the end of times; that will be one of the excuses.

what will be one of the excuses? i don't understand your comment

i appreciate all the different thoughts on this. i was afraid this was some sort of board where everyone had to 'tow the party line' so to speak.

i'm not some alien groupie who claims to have been examined or whatever. i've never seen anything that makes me think there MUST be aliens. but when you do the simple math it just begs the conclusion that out of the 70,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 or so stars (I read that NASA once estimated the number of stars in the zillions - not even a real number).

what would it mean if these beings had no knoweldge of god? i mean, what is the chance they would belong to a religion based on the supposed death of god in the flesh on a distant world thousands of years ago?

Well, broadening it out, what about the multiverse hypotheses such as Hugh Everett's 'many worlds interpretation' and its relation to quantum mechanics? Not alien life somewhere else in this universe, but in a parallel universe? Jesus came to us as a human to die in our place; if other verses were somehow damaged/corrupted by non-humans, maybe He would relate to them in a different way? Just throwing out ideas here.

And to turn your argument round, what if these beings did have a knowledge of God? How would it affect your worldview personally?

just because i think it will happen eventually - there are billions of stars. the cosmos is infinite. when it happens, what would your reaction be? the end of the world? a sign that god wants us to share his word with the newcomers? a sign that the earth and the people on it are not unique, thus affecting our view that man, made in god's image, is special? something else entirely?

i think this is an interesting question so i would appreciate any thoughts.

Who says the cosmos are infinite?

Who says the cosmos are infinite?

what scientist or organization are you aware of that says otherwise?

Well, broadening it out, what about the multiverse hypotheses such as Hugh Everett's 'many worlds interpretation' and its relation to quantum mechanics? Not alien life somewhere else in this universe, but in a parallel universe? Jesus came to us as a human to die in our place; if other verses were somehow damaged/corrupted by non-humans, maybe He would relate to them in a different way? Just throwing out ideas here.

And to turn your argument round, what if these beings did have a knowledge of God? How would it affect your worldview personally?

you're right - it works both ways. if the aliens came to earth and say, 'hey we're christians too' that would be very impressive, especially if they had not previously communicated with earthlings (that sounds funny typing that). i mean, if they got their knowledge from a different source (god himself? or another messenger?) that would be huge. either way it would probably be the biggest story in history.

The jury is out on whether the universe is finite or infinite. It hasn't been proved scientifically either way.

You may find this link interesting... it posits a "soccer ball" shaped universe.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/10/1008_031008_finiteuniverse.html

The jury is out on whether the universe is finite or infinite. It hasn't been proved scientifically either way.

You may find this link interesting... it posits a "soccer ball" shaped universe.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/10/1008_031008_finiteuniverse.html

fascinating study - i had never read that before. i need to resubscribe to national geographic

It's worth it, if only for the photographs. :D

just because i think it will happen eventually - there are billions of stars. the cosmos is infinite. when it happens, what would your reaction be? the end of the world? a sign that god wants us to share his word with the newcomers? a sign that the earth and the people on it are not unique, thus affecting our view that man, made in god's image, is special? something else entirely?

i think this is an interesting question so i would appreciate any thoughts.
If we found life on other planets and regardless of whether they believe in God (although if it were a whole other race, you would think they would have multiple belief systems like we do on Earth, but who knows) it wouldn't affect my beliefs at all because I have seen too many instances that prove God's existence and are too many to be explained away as random occurrence or luck. If we did find aliens and the didn't know of God, I would share the Gospel and God's truth with them because they would be his creations too. I don't see why it would be impossible for there to be life on other planets because God is all-powerful and if he wanted to create life on another planet he could. No where in the Bible does it address this either way so I have to just be content knowing that I don't know for sure, but if it did occur it would be God controlled too.

Right On, Dani -- you are totally correct.:D

Come on, folks, surely you have read somewhere where it says, "God created the heavens and the earth".

If there is life elsewhere, it is there because God put it there . . .

just because i think it will happen eventually - there are billions of stars. the cosmos is infinite. when it happens, what would your reaction be? the end of the world? a sign that god wants us to share his word with the newcomers? a sign that the earth and the people on it are not unique, thus affecting our view that man, made in god's image, is special? something else entirely?

i think this is an interesting question so i would appreciate any thoughts.

I believe there is life out there. The universe is too big of a space for non life to be out there. If we found it, my reaction would of course be fear, as is anything that we don't understand. Most humans react with fear to something because they spook easily, yet I'm sure I would try to understand them. Would god want us to share his word with the newcomers? I'm sure he would, but at the same time, I think to prosteletize would make us seem like a very arrogant race, so we must show our humanity, the good side so they can ask questions so that we may share. AND ...would it affect my view on beings made in God's image? No, they may look very much like us for all we know, but at the same time, the question would be in the Bible, God says let us make man in our own image- man itself- man being humanity so that would lead one to believe that a human like creature was made by a being similar to that of God, and if the beings did not look like man- they are still our equals, because what prevents us from thinking- that the Lord himself has other beings- the angels perhaps that look deferently then what we know of ourselves?

I believe there is life out there. The universe is too big of a space for non life to be out there. If we found it, my reaction would of course be fear, as is anything that we don't understand. Most humans react with fear to something because they spook easily, yet I'm sure I would try to understand them. Would god want us to share his word with the newcomers? I'm sure he would, but at the same time, I think to prosteletize would make us seem like a very arrogant race, so we must show our humanity, the good side so they can ask questions so that we may share. AND ...would it affect my view on beings made in God's image? No, they may look very much like us for all we know, but at the same time, the question would be in the Bible, God says let us make man in our own image- man itself- man being humanity so that would lead one to believe that a human like creature was made by a being similar to that of God, and if the beings did not look like man- they are still our equals, because what prevents us from thinking- that the Lord himself has other beings- the angels perhaps that look deferently then what we know of ourselves?

but at what point would you treat them as 'equals?' i mean, on earth its easy. there are people and then everything else is an 'animal' (with no soul, i guess)

but what about beings from another galaxy? would you treat them as other 'people' or soul-less 'animals' or would you just make up your mind when you saw them? at what point would the being be a 'person' made in god's image?

and wouldn't you think that if god made beings on other planets that either 1) jesus would have previously visited them, or 2) the aliens would have to meet us before the end of time, because if not, the aliens would be doomed to be sent to hell with no knowledge of god??

but at what point would you treat them as 'equals?' i mean, on earth its easy. there are people and then everything else is an 'animal' (with no soul, i guess)

but what about beings from another galaxy? would you treat them as other 'people' or soul-less 'animals' or would you just make up your mind when you saw them? at what point would the being be a 'person' made in god's image?

The point is moot, we haven't met them - they could turn out to be either.



and wouldn't you think that if god made beings on other planets that either 1) jesus would have previously visited them, or 2) the aliens would have to meet us before the end of time, because if not, the aliens would be doomed to be sent to hell with no knowledge of god??

That would be the pertinent question - how do they view God?

Before I worry about whether or not intelligent life on another planet would affect my faith, FIRST we need to find intelligent life on THIS planet. :B

The point is moot, we haven't met them - they could turn out to be either.



That would be the pertinent question - how do they view God?


no offense, but i thought i presented a pretty deep philosopical question that you just brushed off as moot. on earth everything is 'man' or 'animal'....but what happens when we encounter new beings? how do we determine what being has a 'soul' that renders them worthy of being saved and having rights?

Before I worry about whether or not intelligent life on another planet would affect my faith, FIRST we need to find intelligent life on THIS planet. :B

i have plenty of smart friends! i assume you do too. let's give people more credit.

no offense, but i thought i presented a pretty deep philosopical question that you just brushed off as moot. on earth everything is 'man' or 'animal'....but what happens when we encounter new beings? how do we determine what being has a 'soul' that renders them worthy of being saved and having rights?

As I said - the pertinent question is how do they view God? Who said they needed saving? Those questions answer the former question of what we would (or should) consider them to be - "animal" or something more. I'm fairly confident that being able to answer the question would render them above animal.

i have plenty of smart friends! i assume you do too. let's give people more credit.I suspect Luke's humor is showing through a bit. :)

just because i think it will happen eventually - there are billions of stars. the cosmos is infinite. when it happens, what would your reaction be? the end of the world? a sign that god wants us to share his word with the newcomers? a sign that the earth and the people on it are not unique, thus affecting our view that man, made in god's image, is special? something else entirely?

i think this is an interesting question so i would appreciate any thoughts.

Wisdom occupies me enough to fill my days thinking on 'what is', and doesn't allow me to spend time on thinking about 'what if'.

um thanks for that. but i think one of the major issues here is that most of us (christians and atheists alike) tend to think of humans as 'special,' even unique. i'm not sure why. christians would say only humans have souls i guess. as a non christian, i'm not sure what i think separates humans from other beings. chimps and gorillas are so smart, feel pain, learn things, and think on such high levels that they act in revenge against others. i mean, what gives humans rights while chimps wouldn't have any?

but at what point would you treat them as 'equals?' i mean, on earth its easy. there are people and then everything else is an 'animal' (with no soul, i guess)

but what about beings from another galaxy? would you treat them as other 'people' or soul-less 'animals' or would you just make up your mind when you saw them? at what point would the being be a 'person' made in god's image?

and wouldn't you think that if god made beings on other planets that either 1) jesus would have previously visited them, or 2) the aliens would have to meet us before the end of time, because if not, the aliens would be doomed to be sent to hell with no knowledge of god??

Well First of all Ezekial Ch 1 I believe speaks of a UFO and with people in it. For a guy who only saw an ox cart the guy did a pretty good job in descriptions. But then you bring up a good point: At what point do we treat them as equals?

ANd I made an error with this answer because mankind can't even treat mankind fully as equals yet. But then you have man and animals- but God still created everything, even the universe so whether or not an animal or an alien has a soul is irrelevant, because they are still God's creation and he still loves it - even though he doesn't always love what people or beings DO. LOL

I truely think- that it is biblical that there is life out there but really it's one of those things, everything would be determined once they showed themselves to us (again) on a worldwide basis. So really until we have that bit of information, we cannot make an informed or logical decision. Plus it would also be relevent to see their intentions etc. But as with people and nature- they can be friends, or enemies. Good or bad. And really even animals- serve a purpose and many men do not see them as equals but who are we to decide if they are equals or not since they have no way to communicate to us what they do know etc? (Just a side tangent...)

Now to answer your questions:
1) I don't see why Jesus wouldn't have previously visited them. He is certainly capable of doing such a thing quite easily. I mean we're talking about God here.

2) God is a completely and totally fair God. He would not doom an alien or any of his creation to hell, unless they had a fair chance and he would let them make up their own mind.

I think you are mistaking a lot here that God is this either doomsday being that is just out to kill people or things just for the pure fun of it, or this lovey dovey being that is all about spreading love and happiness. When in fact, really God is pretty logical and he's not going to take sides. He lets his creation (be it man or alien) take the sides: (For God or Not for God) and then in the end he basically tells you look, i gave you your chance, you made your choice, you made your bed now you got to lay in it.

So I suspect, if that's what God does to mankind, what makes the aliens any different then us?

Well First of all Ezekial Ch 1 I believe speaks of a UFO and with people in it. For a guy who only saw an ox cart the guy did a pretty good job in descriptions. But then you bring up a good point: At what point do we treat them as equals?

ANd I made an error with this answer because mankind can't even treat mankind fully as equals yet. But then you have man and animals- but God still created everything, even the universe so whether or not an animal or an alien has a soul is irrelevant, because they are still God's creation and he still loves it - even though he doesn't always love what people or beings DO. LOL

I truely think- that it is biblical that there is life out there but really it's one of those things, everything would be determined once they showed themselves to us (again) on a worldwide basis. So really until we have that bit of information, we cannot make an informed or logical decision. Plus it would also be relevent to see their intentions etc. But as with people and nature- they can be friends, or enemies. Good or bad. And really even animals- serve a purpose and many men do not see them as equals but who are we to decide if they are equals or not since they have no way to communicate to us what they do know etc? (Just a side tangent...)

Now to answer your questions:
1) I don't see why Jesus wouldn't have previously visited them. He is certainly capable of doing such a thing quite easily. I mean we're talking about God here.

2) God is a completely and totally fair God. He would not doom an alien or any of his creation to hell, unless they had a fair chance and he would let them make up their own mind.

I think you are mistaking a lot here that God is this either doomsday being that is just out to kill people or things just for the pure fun of it, or this lovey dovey being that is all about spreading love and happiness. When in fact, really God is pretty logical and he's not going to take sides. He lets his creation (be it man or alien) take the sides: (For God or Not for God) and then in the end he basically tells you look, i gave you your chance, you made your choice, you made your bed now you got to lay in it.

So I suspect, if that's what God does to mankind, what makes the aliens any different then us?


its too bad i don't know you in RL - i think we could have some interesting talks. and yes i think you're right - if you beleive in god, you would have to believe he would give the 'aliens' a chance, whether it be by a direct visit by jesus or by encountering christians on earth, to accept him and be saved. i actually proposed those as the two logical choices if one believes in the christian god.

but i think it comes back to the whole 'soul' thing. humans purportedly have souls that will live forever, one way or the other. nothing i've read in the bible would apply that to animals. humans are immortal, while animals die and become dust. the soul is the difference

but if you are like me and don't believe in this 'soul' stuff, then what makes us so much better than animals? don't you think, given enough time, that gorillas could evolve to become more like us? is there some magical line you have to cross to obtain 'human rights?' again, i know i am all over the place and i apologize for that.

its too bad i don't know you in RL - i think we could have some interesting talks. and yes i think you're right - if you beleive in god, you would have to believe he would give the 'aliens' a chance, whether it be by a direct visit by jesus or by encountering christians on earth, to accept him and be saved. i actually proposed those as the two logical choices if one believes in the christian god.

but i think it comes back to the whole 'soul' thing. humans purportedly have souls that will live forever, one way or the other. nothing i've read in the bible would apply that to animals. humans are immortal, while animals die and become dust. the soul is the difference

but if you are like me and don't believe in this 'soul' stuff, then what makes us so much better than animals? don't you think, given enough time, that gorillas could evolve to become more like us? is there some magical line you have to cross to obtain 'human rights?' again, i know i am all over the place and i apologize for that.

Yes, I think we would have some good conversations as well! :)
This is my thought on animals and the human soul-humans have a natural instinct to survive, animals have this same instinct. I think that all creatures have a soul because they were created by God. In Isaiah (i'll have to look up the address) it says something about the Lion laying down with the lamb, so that would make me think that both creatures would have to be in heaven when it all ends.

Now- what makes us so much better then the animals? Well this is how I think of it- Entitlement. Humans are faster, more dangerous, etc. We pretty much populated etc and took over. Survival of the fittest. Because we were able to begin domination, figuring out how to plant stuff etc and use animals as our work creatures/food etc- that somehow gave us the entitlement that we're better then all of creation.

The magical line to gain human rights is to defeat humanity. It's shown all over the world in the animal kingdom- the King of the Jungle the Lion and the Cheetah etc.

And do I think that a gorilla could evolve? Well, I personally- and this is speaking as a scientist here- think that given the time etc, and with animals- being as intelligent as they are, yes they could have the ability to do things as a human would- but I do not think they would be human, they would be gorillas because they are of a different species. They could however act human, react like humans etc and maybe in time if we really wanted to be optomistic, in a couple of thousands of years do the jobs that humans have the capability of. But- They would still be gorillas because of the genetic makeup they have.

HTHS

I suspect Luke's humor is showing through a bit. :)Yep. :yes:

If Martians showed up tomorrow it would certainly give me reason to question my faith in Jesus and The Bible. There are things that come up daily that cause me to do the same thing...it's all part of growing as a Christian.

I believe the question you are trying to ask is; would I still believe in Jesus if it were proven that the gospel is not true and that the desciples made the story up? My answer would be 'NO', of course not.

Now, lets say the Martians never do show up, and the masses continue trying to prove the Gospel wrong and continue to fail miserably at every attempt, would you then consider putting your faith in Christ?:hmm:

As I said - the pertinent question is how do they view God? Who said they needed saving? Those questions answer the former question of what we would (or should) consider them to be - "animal" or something more. I'm fairly confident that being able to answer the question would render them above animal.

I would say that aliens, if they truly exist, do need saving because from various accounts I've read of peoples' experiences with them indicates that they lie at times. They've told people there is no God. We all evolved. They are coming to "save us" (being our messiah instead of Jesus). Sounds like a fallen race to me. :2cents: