What would happen if sentient extra terrestrial life had been discovered?

Question

Would humanity try to accept them as a natural part of our universe, or would we try to destroy them because they disprove the existence of God for some reason (like in the movie Contact)?

Answer 1

That would be so cool. It's hard to imagine how wonderful that will be. I just hope that if it's us doing the "finding" that we will have gotten over our species-centric kick and that we don't treat our fellow cosmic travellers with the disdain that Europeans treated the Americans, Asians and Africans in the past. I also hope that if we're the ones that are "discovered" that the discoverers are more like we want to be than like we are.

About the other part of your question concerning the survival or non-survival of religious concepts as a result of extra terrestrial sentient life having been discovered:
Any belief that cannot stand the light of truth and fact cannot and should not stand.

Answer 2

If they come here, we won't have a choice - they'll either remove humanity as the rampant virus it is, or they'll try to teach us and improve us. To get here in the first place, their technology would be far superior to ours.

By the time man is capable of inter-stellar travel, I'd hope we have the wisdom to do the same with other life forms we find.

And no, this neither proves or disproves the existence of a god; though it would certainly dent the fundamentalist christian doctrine. Fortunately, Christianity is a minority religion, and the fundamentalists are a minority within that minority, so it's not a huge issue if aliens reveal once and for all the origins of the universe and other issues we struggle with.

Answer 3

Oh wow! If alien life were ever proven to exist and not be deniable, those who are religious would have to accept it and it would I'm sure change the perspective on religion and many religious people's views. Just the same, if God made a personal, definitive, undeniable appearance, the non-religious would have to accept it and it would change their perspective on life. There are theories based on biblical stories that "God" is in fact a non-human, extraterrestrial, alien being. If you can even accept the idea of aliens existing, the outlandish biblical stories make a surprising amount of sense. Kinda creepy.

Answer 4

you can neither prove nor disprove the existence of god. aliens have no bearing on this. humanity failed in 1938 with the war of the worlds reading. too many people cannot handle the possibility of other life. what an ego this race has. we would likely blow ourselves up.

Answer 5

How do they disprove the existence of God? If He created us, why couldn't He have created them?

And people call Christians close minded.

Answer 6

People would have to accept it. There would be no choice. Like if God ever appeared before all those foolish christians... I'd love to entertain an alien at the supper table, it would make my day.

Answer 7

We'll probably know the answer to that within the next 20 - to - 30 years, as SETI brings millions of additional channels on-line.

Answer 8

it would rule out the possibility of a god.

its possible the religious would try to do somehting to them...but i think the existence of aliens would pretty much prove there isnt a god to everyone.

of course some idiots would still beleive. it would at minimum prove the bible false.

Answer 9

Both.... Some would accept and others would react out of fear.

The real question is what would such a being do when they encounter us? (That is assuming that aliens aren't already visiting and/or among us.)

Answer 10

I don't think the general public would be told about it and even if we were there would instantly be legislation put into effect on how best to tax them and make a profit.