how come I did not get any answer to this question by religious people?

Question

Considering the fact that the universe is so vast it is much more likely that we are not the only form of life in the universe. SOWhat kind of impact would the discovery of extraterrestrial life have on religions? why do religious people have not asnwered to this question yet? I posted it twice and deleted it twice , waiting for an answer.

i am not talking about crop circles, YOU need to understand the question.

in response to daniel: You really think to be the only one in the universe? look up this statistic

1) The number of galaxies. An estimated 50 billion galaxies are visible with modern telescopes and the total number in the universe must surely exceed this number by a huge factor, but we will be conservative and simply double it. That's 100,000,000,000 galaxies in the universe.

2) The number of stars in an average galaxy. As many as hundreds of billions in each galaxy.

Lets call it just 100 billion.

That's 100,000,000,000 stars per galaxy.

3)The number of stars in the universe.

So the total number of stars in the universe is roughly 100 billion x 100 billion.

That's 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars, 10 thousand, billion, billion. Properly known as 10 sextillion. And that's a very conservative estimate.

4) The number of stars that have planetary systems. The original extra-solar system planet hunting technology dictated that a star needed

dictated that a star needed to be to close to us for a planet to be detected, usually by the stars 'wobble'. Better technology that allows us to measure the dimming of a stars brightness when a planet crosses its disk has now revolutionised planet hunting and new planets are being discovered at an ever increasing rate. So far (August 2003) around 100 have been discovered so we have very little data to work on for this estimate. Even so, most cosmologists believe that planetary formation around a star is quite common place. For the sake of argument let us say it's not and rate it at only one in a million and only one planet in each system, as we want a conservative estimate, not an exaggerated one. That calculation results in:

10,000,000,000,000,000 planets in the universe. Ten million, billion, as a conservative estimate.

5) The number planets capable of supporting life. Let's assume that this is very rare among planets and rate it at only one in a million. Simple division result

10,000,000,000 planets in the universe capable of producing life. Ten billion

Answer 1

Crop circles are a hoax, and so are people's "home movies" of them. And so are people's "abduction" stories. Tall tales get told on TV for 15 minutes of fame.

Answer 2

Probably because the proposition of extraterresterial life poses no significant problem to Christianity specifically. Why would it? Nowhere in the Christian Scriptures are we told that God has revealed to us everything about his creation. So if it happened to be the case that God has scattered races of beings throughout the universe...so what. If the Bible contained the words, "Planet earth is the only system on which God created life", and later extraterrestrial life was discovered, that would be a significant problem for the reliability of the Bible. You haven't received any responses because your question lacks argumentative force, it is simply not interesting.

But what I do find interesting about your question is what it says about your scepticism. Your objection seems to be based only on the hypothetical. "What if..." Surely you have some more substantive objections than hypthetical UFO scenarios. If not, you must understand how people can come to the conclusion your scepticism is not due to a genuine intellectual obstacle but a moral preference. You do not believe because you prefer a morally neutral universe, because you dont want to believe, not because you are wrestling with genuine, significant intellectual objections. I dont know if that's actually the case but...what other conclusion is there?

Answer 3

There's this songwriter named Larry Norman who put it very well:

"If there's life on other planets
I'm sure that He must know,
And He's been there once already,
And has died to save their souls..."

Bro, I have so much to do here, that worrying about who and what lives on another planet in a galaxy far far away is like, totally at the bottom of my "to do" list. I don't feel threatened or concerned by the thought that there may be other people out there somewhere. It just isn't important.
If someone actually discovers a real live, viable, credible person from another planet, cool! As soon as you have incontrovertable proof, let me know.

Answer 4

Sorry, I didn't see this question before. I'm Christian, and I do believe in life outside of our planet. A lot of people might say that their religion would dramatically change. I personally have a hard time believing, that God created just one little planet that inhibits living things. As big as the universe is, there has to be life somewhere else out there.

Answer 5

There are three types of religion. True religion, false religion and the offshoot of both; that is to say "We are in it for the money" and will support any belief that produces cash.

Which answers are you going to believe and how would you tell the difference?

You have a question of pure speculation; a non-question which might be argued by two inmates of a mental instuition seeking an emotional fix. Thought I'd join the other inmates on the funny farm tonight.

Answer 6

It would not have any impact at all on what I believe. There is no mention, none that I can discern anyway, of extraterrestrial life in the Bible, but that does not mean it is not out there . I tend not to believe in that direction but have not closed out the possibility. Either way , other life does not change or cause me to question who Jesus is and it does not change or cause me to question that God is my creator, and that His word is true. There is a reason that extraterrestrials are not in the Bible, either they don't exist or it is not my concern at this time and I completely trust God, what I need to know I know and what is none of my business is just that.
How come you did not get an answer- well, I never saw this question until just now.
It does not scare me or cause me doubt, I fail to see why it would cause anyone doubt. What we need to know is in the Bible but that does not mean every single aspect of our universe is described there - there are possibilities but nothing I need to worry about or even waste my time on- there is enough here on this planet and in front of me to keep me busy, learning and growing until I die- if aliens visit, I will have discernment and what I need to deal with it as it comes.

Answer 7

First time I have though about this, but think it would make people rethink a lot of their thoughts about the bible. Have seen
a lot of just plain nonsense in the bible. Really believed the bible all my life but as I have gotten older seen a lot of it is plain BS, case in point when it states man has an extra rib, after checking into this found this is not true. When I see some lies it makes me wonder how many more. For me If I knew for sure the discovery of extraterrestrial life would make me even more sceptically about the bible.

Answer 8

SO What kind of impact would the discovery of extraterrestrial life have on religions?

I think that the discovery of such existence would make most people question their own beliefs/religions.

Each religion belief in different aspects of things that are considered unnatural.
From islam point of view, we beleived that we are not the only creation of Allah (God). Besides Angels etc , there are jiins(other beings). And these beings also have their own beliefs etc.
I wont go into more details explaining about them but just to tell u yah there are other besides us.

Answer 9

I am a Christian, and I belive that yes there is life on other planets, planets that we have yet to know about however. I think of it this way, God is never ending and we know that we were created in his image, so wouldn't that mean he too once had a body. And if so then there was a GOD before him and life before us, and spirits and planets with humans also created in God's image. And one so powerful has made it possible for there to be room for all the spirits waiting to recieve bodies, there are more spirits then there is room on the planet so yeah. I believe there is. And sorry I rambled on

Answer 10

perhaps it's because their universe is so very small they can't imagine anyone but themselves and God in it. heck! they don't even want any other humans in it but those that think as they do. if they can't accept variations in their own species they surely could not deal with even the idea of someone so different as an extraterrestrial being. i mean ... what if it's not Christian?
but you'd think it'd be easier for religious folks to conceive of such things. after all their religions are based on powerful beings from the sky., Ezekiel's Wheel, angels, strange creatures and chariots flying through the air. the Rapture sounds like a transportation device in operation.

i fancy there might be off world intelligences and perhaps they've even visited Earth and all the religious myths are stories of their influences on the evolution of the human psyche. it's a fun thought.

Answer 11

According to the Holy Quran, There does exist 'Extrateresstrial life' but not in the sense that u c in films or TV. It is not even as imagined by the Science. Hence, Even if science discovers the 'Presence of extrateresstrial life' at somepoint of time after 100 / 1000 or more years, it will be according Allah (S.W.T.) will only!