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QUESTION Are you an atheist, but believe in aliens (as in extraterrestrials)?

Are such "belief systems" related? As there is no "proof" of either...

BobFenner 7 Jan 9
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5

I don't "believe" in any particular aliens, I'm just of the opinion that, in the whole wide universe, odds are there are likely others around somewhere. The difference with this and religion is that, unlike god, there is a precedent to extraterrestrial life; us. If we exist, than others could also; and we would be as extraterrestrial to them as they are to us

godef Level 7 Jan 9, 2018

What he said ^^^^ ??????????

@HeidiBC Just trying to put it in perspective... we exist, so why is it so improbable that others similar or not quite so similar to us also exist. Whereas with a supernatural creator, there is nothing to compare this to and determine whether it might exist.

Pardon the question marks. That was an accident ???????????? I completely agree with you. I’ve had this conversation with more people than I care to admit ????. I’ve found it incredibly arogant that mere humans , have some idea that WE are the end of the line , or top of the line for that matter. The tangible evidence of this incredibly vast universe, and the ones we can reasonably conclude exist outside of our capacity... is overwhelming. In my humble opinion of course. As far as supernatural.. to be honest , I find it a tad amusing. We have an immense ability to imagine things, particularly from an emotional point of view. I find that breeds this very arrogance unfortunately... it also breeds erroneous fear of the “unknown “.. I enjoy the very idea that there are mysteries... it’s fascinating.

Ok I see these dastardly “?” Are showing up mysteriously ???????????? any ideas?

@HeidiBC Maybe your ? is sticking? Or something to do at your end.

Really strange this question mark thing .... it’s not happening anywhere but on this site ???????????? maybe it’s “cosmic “? ??????

@HeidiBC Do DO do doo Do DO do doo

Just FYI , I’ve solved the mystery of the question marks , it’s when I try to use an emoji. Whatever will I do without them ? Haha .... such is life

3

I think it's likely there are life forms on other planets. I think it's unlikely they would be similar to us. The life on our own planet is so diverse and downright odd, like jellyfish, so life that evolved under completely different conditions may not even be carbon based, may not even have the same sensory tools, like eyes or nerves as we know them. Intelligence is difficult to measure, maybe they are intelligent in a completely different way. I doubt very much that there are humanoid shaped, intelligent aliens roaming the galaxy. Is it impossible? Certainly not.

I have wondered, given how many apparent stars, galaxies there are, the likelihood of rocky planets of what make up... and knowing a bit re how atoms can/do combine, interact. How many current, past, near future biological worlds there might be. Considering spectral data on the composition of suns... showing that they vary from ours, leads me to consider that there might well be other than Carbon "based" life... or just another mix of L, D Amino Acids, preponderance elsewhere. Further speculations include can life "go faster than the speed of life"... to "suitably" get about the vast space of the universe? Answers to these and much else; I have no idea.

3

I believe that there is life elsewhere in the universe. However, due to the constraints of the distance and the speed of light, it is very unlikely that we will or have ever been "visited". Consider that the nearest solar system to ours is "ONLY" four light years away, but the kicker is that with our fastest rockets using chemical (burning rocket fuel, etc.), it would take over 80,000 years to make that trip. So, unless FASTER than light speed is possible, no one is coming anytime soon or has EVER been here.

3

I believe that it is extremely likely that life exists elsewhere in the universe. Considering that there are many billions of stars just in our galaxy and many billions of planets and billions of galaxies then there are very likely billions of earth-like planets in the universe. Somewhere there almost must be life. And it would be reasonable that some of that life evolved into something intelligent.

Now, whether that life evolved to the point of having space travel capable of crossing many light years and reaching Earth is far less likely.

3

Don't see why one is tied up somehow to the other. Our truth right now among aliens is none found. It may take 1000-2000-3000 years before we show up in another planet or alien show up in this planet to end the question. And then again god may reveal tomorrow morning with all his glory. We don't have an answer to either question brother that is foolproof truth. If aliens or god showing up happen after my departure of this plane... I will care less since didn't happened on my time.

2

It makes more sense to me that there is life elsewhere in the universe than it does that any gods have ever existed. It seems rather arrogant to insist we're the only "intelligent" life forms.

2

I believe other life is completely possible. I fear I cannot word it as well as some of the comments already here,. I do not understand how the two topics correlate. Perhaps someone could expound for me? I think our universe is so vast, and we've only discovered a tiny portion of what exists..

2

Liquid water was found on Mars, Enceladus is mostly ice, Titan has methane oceans - which is carbon and hydrogen, Europa has large quantities of ice. These are discoveries made only in our solar system. There are trillions of solar systems in the observable universe. I would be shocked if somehow we discovered that life doesn't exist anywhere else in the universe. With that said, I hold a neutral position on whether I believe aliens exist because there is not sufficient evidence but we do know the universe is rich with the building blocks of life. Think about what life is. In your gut there are more bacteria and parasites than all of the humans that have ever existed ever. If you are holding a pen, there are so many micro organisms that that pen is like a universe for them. I would be so shocked if life did not exist outside our planet.

Intelligent life is a whole different question.

2

There may currently be some form of life in our universe. Intelligent or not, advanced or not is unknown. Until there is proof it doesn't affect me one way or another. I certainly do not worry about it.

Betty Level 8 Jan 9, 2018
1

I love the show on the History channel called Ancient Aliens! I find it fascinating and I am open minded about the possibility. I have not had any experiences with extraterrestrials, but I used to watch Carl Sagan and believed it when he said that with all the stars in the universe there has to be other forms of life.

1

Despite my atheist credentials I see no reason why one cannot keep an open mind on this issue. Aliens are not gods or angels, but presumably beings or life form that might reach here. I do agree with the late great Carl Sagan that UFOism can be where science and religion intersect.He didn't mean that in a complimentary sense. He meant you have the impetus of religion, wondrous things coming down from above to be worshipped, and science meaning the universe. So the strictest application of evidence must apply, and please spare us the Steven Spielberg aliens crap. Some of the UFO people are far from crazies wearing aluminium hats to keep the Martian death rays of their head. They watch satellite feeds, and other sources carefully, are very well informed about events that might be misconstrued as aliens, look for explanations of things that are sighted, and use technology to closely examine material sent to them. My personal recommendation is Secure Team on YouTube. The guy impresses me with his work. He's heading towards 1.5 million subscribers. That's impressive.

1

Well, I am sure there is life in other places in the Universe, perhaps even in our galaxy.
Yet about the chances that some representatives of this life fly around in their flying saucers - this I somehow doubt (yet do not rule-out completely).

1

I don't understand the "but" in the sentence. An unfounded belief in a mythical God is one subject. The idea that we exist and the universe is as far as we know is infinite, therefore it is almost statistically certain that intelligent life exist somewhere else, is a different subject.

This being said I do not believe that saucer aliens travel across the universe because they have nothing more important to do than indulging their fascination with probing our rectums.

I agree about the probing reference. But the idea that they might be observing us, studying us, doesn't seem far fetched. After all, if we had the means that's what we would do, I think. Watch less developed planets. If that's true, then I suspect they've already decided that we are not going to "make it" and are watching to see which means of destruction we choose. It's only speculation.

@David1955 I too think it is possible. There may be a "prime directive" at play. There may also be a great danger of cross contamination of organisms that could play a bigger part than I imagine. If either is true our rectums are safe. The reason I made that reference is many take things too far....so I did to illustrate the absurdity.

@DavidLaDeau Oh yes, alien observation or existence is one thing, but alien abduction, well that's a whole other psychological mind field.

1

I don't think it's a case of 'believing' it's more of a case of a case of logic saying there must be!

1

I don't "believe in" anything. I KNOW that I know very little, and my sense capabilities are very limited, so I surmise that all manner of wild and wonderful things might exist that escape my notice. Using the observable world as a reference, I can calculate the likelihood of any posited wild or wonderful thing.

Anyone remember the gals from Heinlein--what were they called, "Witnesses"? A la "I can see that THIS SIDE of the house is painted white" or whatever the line was. That's me. I don't make pronouncements on stuff I can't see. Doesn't mean it's not there, just that I'm not qualified to say.

Intelligent extraterrestrial life? Eh, sure. Show me. Unicorns and faeries? Not interested.

1

There is life out there somewhere the chance it will get here you have better odds winning the lottery jackpot 17 times in a row.

1

i had a dream i was abducted by aliens told a friend about my dream and he now believes i was abducted and it wasnt a dream, its hard work sometimes

Odyn Level 4 Jan 9, 2018

Yeah, I dreamed I was reincarnated as a ham on rye once. Hold the mayo!

1

I would venture and say that I’m an atheist in respect to god, and an agnostic in respects to extraterrestrials. On Dawkin’s 1-7 scale I’m probably a 6.9 that he does not exist and a 3.5 that extraterrestrials exist.

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