Do you beleive?

[FeatherDaemon1]

If one just studies the extremophile lifeforms that exist on earth now we can see the tremendous variety there is to life. Creatures exist in boiling water, the arctic, heavy water pressure, low oxygen, no oxygen, sulphur synthesis. You can't look at humans and assume that we are the only form life, intelligent life, can take.

The "habitable zones" of stars are not so small that it is impossible to find planets in orbit in them. Yes, there are necessary and helpful factors, but when you cross that with the trillions of stars out there that number of planets is still a huge number.

Just because they haven't landed on the lawn of the white house, yet, doesn't mean that they won't. If travel by wormhole is the way they get around Einstein then creating a wormhole, stable enough to use would require a massive amount of energy. They really would need to want to go where they are going.

Our earliest radio broadcasts are still pretty close to us, relatively speaking. Probably once our broadcasts hit them, and if they are listening, then maybe they'll visit.

Another thing to consider is that perhaps their radio signals passed us when we were still zug zugging Lana. They could be broadcasting via a technology we cant receive yet. If they're broadcasting FTL now then there is no way we can pick that up. If someone was broadcasting by microwave transmitter back when we were first hooking telegraph lines, we couldn't listen to that microwave transmission.

There's a ton of factors and thousand shades of gray.

 

[Timewarp]

No. Considering that we mostly treat aliens as creatures that want to destroy or eat us.

 

[Celtic_Emperor]

Made in His image says everything you need to know.

About humanity, yes. It would say to me that we are his favored creations.

I know how the term "arrogance" is being used here as a concept for a whole planet of people, so I neither take offense nor mean any by using it myself in response. As a Christian speaking to other professed Christians, I also find it somewhat arrogant to speak on God's behalf in the sense that people will dare to explain that there's more to life than God has told you, like the Bible is abbreviated. He covered the creation, He shows us exactly how to live while we're here, He explains the end and everything that will come after. Trying to fill in the gaps for Him is arrogant. If there were more out there, I think we'd know by now. And I'll stop here as I know it's taboo to talk about religion here.

I'm very careful to say "I think" or "my opinion" or "perhaps" or "it's possible that" when I speak on the matter. I speak of these things as possibilities, not absolutes. I believe in thinking that way and acting that way is not arrogance at all. In fact, it's the opposite. In the case of giving credit to God for things He may not have told us about, I'd only be glorifying Him more, whether I was wrong or not. The intent is in not trying to limit Him at all, based on the Bible alone and what it says. Rather, I'd also be giving Him credit for anything He did create that we do not know about. I'm big enough a Christian to admit that the Bible is a book for how humans need to live on earth. It's a book for us, through us, by God. It says nothing about any other existence out there, or at least doesn't go into any kind of detail. This doesn't mean it's being abbreviated at all, the Bible. This planet could just be one chapter of a larger book or record, and our Bible a volume in that book or record. Rather, it could be that God is intentionally omitting things on a need to know basis, because human knowledge of the universe, in any particular way, may not be necessary or may be forbidden. Similarly, we will never understand God's mysteries, and any other creation could be extremely complex to understand as well. Suffice to say, the creation story is told to us in a way that's relevant to us. You're right. It tells us what we need to do or how we should do them. Theres no need for God to go into detail about everything He created, though. If He did, in the Bible, and thats that, then I humbly accept that as His choice and as a truth and I would not contradict it. Either way, I'd be fine with it. I do not assume that the Bible is all there is to it, nor do I imagine as a fact that theres more. I leave that up to God, and whats important is that my trust and faith in Him is not diverted elsewhere. The same concept applies to you as well, and I'm happy to see you sticking to your guns on the matter.

I'm strong enough in my beliefs to believe that God has specific plans for us as a race, and that we're very dear to Him. It's not a trust I would betray by going elsewhere for answers to my existence. For me, it's already clear and straightforward enough.

However, I'm open-minded enough to entertain my free mind and thoughts and I'm sure that God has no problem with that. He created us with the capacity to be like that, so long as we keep our star gazing in check.

But the reality is, this is just everyone's opinion and thoughts on the subject. Only one being knows for sure.

Actually, I have testimony from friends of the family and my own family (who are religious and Christian themselves, by the way) on this matter of aliens and visitations, which sheds light on the subject, but I've refrained from ever talking about it when this subject comes up here because I do not wish to use this information and their personal experiences as leverage in a conversation. I know that seems convenient on my part, but theres little I can do about that. I still, however, try to remain impartial myself, since I, admittedly, have never had an alien encounter (to my knowledge). But, just like I have faith in God's existence and it's mystery, I have a belief or am open to a belief in anything that He created. Whether I believe those things or not is a case by case basis, and as far as He's concerned, they've nothing to do with my relationship with Him so I would be free to pursue those interests in a healthy manner, and one in which I am not lead astray.

This applies to me, to you, and to everyone.

 

[Celtic_Emperor]

"In Him, all things are possible."

In my belief, that's a broad stroke. I've seen people ditch cancer overnight and witnessed what I consider miracles. It's entirely possible there are others. The question was "do I believe" there are? Not really. If there are, is it a perfect world or did Satan seek to infiltrate it as well? Did God send another alien savior? Do they not have souls?

I guess that's all possible that there's another species out there living in a sinless paradise. That doesn't make it likely, but possible under the "all things".

Plus... with me being the center of the universe, I'd think I could see it from here.

I believe all things have the potential to be corrupted and turned away from the Creator. Aliens would have just as much free choice as we do. I don't believe they need a savior, in the way we need Christ, since their situations and societies on their worlds may be different and their ability to commune with God may be completely different and so being "redeemed", as it were, may be accomplished through other means. This would be especially true if they're at a higher form of evolution than we are and are capable of far greater telepathic and mental communication.

It's suggested, by abductees and the aliens themselves, that there is a divide in the alien races. Many people report being abducted merely to be talked with and told about the situation, and then many are treated like lab rats and have experiments performed on them. Many in the UFO community believe that the benevolent aliens are the reason we haven't been invaded already and haven't seen aliens in public, that they're keeping the others of their own kind or other species at bay. Likewise, people who go through the more traumatic abductions are told by the malevolent ones that if they can't invade, then they'll assimilate and replace us eventually by creating hybrids and weaken us by tampering with our genetics. Because there are supposedly only a couple benevolent races helping us, out of the thirteen different ones we've supposedly had contact with, it's believed by many to be a downhill battle.

Whether Satan has anything to do with it is unknown, but I would imagine that because God transcends time and space, that the devil has the ability to extend his reach as well. People find this preposterous to comprehend or believe at first, especially religious people, but thats because, again, they are thinking of life in small terms, as it relates to this single planet and how the Bible only revolves around it rather than including the universe. We think about human things and human affairs and how God interacts with that, so we discount things that are otherworldly by default, completely omitting the possibility that God has set parameters with other life as well, and that they have the potential to be just as chaotic and screwed up as we are (by their/our own hands, of course).

 

[Hungarian21]

I think deep down we all believe that there are others. Hell, I've been sure my sisters their leader in world domination, so of course I believe! 😛

 

[Celtic_Emperor]

Uh... okay.

Before I bow out of this ridiculous engagement, I have to say I find it humorous that the assumption is always that every other alien species would be radically more advanced than us and earthlings would be the retarded vulnerable runts of the universe. I also find it telling that the theories being formulated here - and across the globe, I'm sure - fall within the guidelines of what our beloved science fiction writers have been putting out for decades. I can't even take this seriously. I'm closing this thread...

I have not assumed that they are all advanced, for the record. In fact, it would make sense how some of them may be superior to the others while others are far weaker, the way the U.S is superior to other nations for various reasons other than mere military might. Some aliens may have more or less at their disposal, whether its natural or artificial, and much the same is true for us. It would make sense then, to believe that only alien races that felt they could compete and wage wars actually would, and like the U.S, they would be the ones at the forefront and the ones that would stand out.

Finally, since you're wanting to end this between you and I, I'd like to make one final point that what I've said so far is from reports from abductees, but since you are not believing this, it may as well be right out of a science fiction novel. And, I must admit, I could write a better story myself, if that were the case.

 

[Celtic_Emperor]

Not you personally, Vlad. No offense. I feel dumb for acting in this thread at all.

LOL! You should have thought about that BEFORE you posted, then! :laughing:

 

[Celtic_Emperor]

Should I be worried for you? That sounds obsessive compulsive. 😛

 

[Celtic_Emperor]

Don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya, then. 😛

 

[MistressValerie1]

To the best of my knowledge, scientific evidence shows that "alien abductions" are illusions caused by sleep paralysis and other hallucinatory events. Further, abduction tales are often elicited only after hypnotic suggestion, which is notoriously unreliable.

Links: http://www.csicop.org/si/9805/abduction.html
http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/2005/09.22/11-alien.html

People who claim they were abducted by aliens are not crazy, says psychologist Susan Clancy. But they are victims of bad dreams and a lively imagination.

 

[Celtic_Emperor]

Yeah, I've heard those explainations before. I believe they're accurate for many of the cases, simply given that many take place at night, in bed, and when the person is in a state of rest where they are both slipping into a dream state, yet are still experiencing things very lucidly.

I generally dislike quotes like the one you post, though. They're always quick to acknowledge a person is not crazy, but that they're imagining it and need help. Not enough help that they need medication, but just enough that they may need therapy. It's like being supportive and patronizing at the same time. Although, being a quack means having to separate your personal feelings from your professional findings and they should not be faulted for that.