God vs. Aliens

[Another brick in the wall]

Some of the aspects UFO people ascribe to aliens are similar to the aspects many religions attribute to god(s): superhuman abilities, concern for the well-being of man, home in the sky, etc.

Ironically, most religious folk dismiss the concept of intelligent life visiting earth. So my question is: what makes the religious story more credible than the UFO story?

[Tenspace]

Not many parents indoctrinate their children into UFOlogy.

Ten

[DMofD&D]

Aliens can be proved. We're looking for E.T.s now in fact. But supernatural thing seems kinda unlikely

[Acromnion]

In good humor, how do we know we aren't some zit ridden alien kid's science project. kind like advanced sims. lol

[Tulkas]

Its an interesting question, i mean it is almost more plausible, given our knowledge of the universe, its age, and its 'potential', that we as a species were born because of some higher more intelligent E.T. race instead of some supreme diety.

Certainly god is no MORE plausible than the E.T. Theory--

[DMofD&D]

I disagree. Something as complex as the universe is far to complex for any amount of intelligence to design. Look at string theory. It says that the universe is merely stretched string in another higher dimensional universe.

[Tulkas]

Oh, im not talking about designing the universe, just us as a species.

[Lurker]

I'm open to the possibilities of aliens existing in some yet to be discovered distant place. Do we have evidence that aliens visited earth? I think a review of the facts rules an earthly visit out. This is why I dismiss the possibility of aliens (at this time).

1) The nearest life-friendly planet (like earth) is about 50 light years away
2) A space ship can travel but a tiny fraction of the speed of light given all the space debris that is will surely hit
3) The length of time required to make the trip makes it impossible (crew dies, no food, no fuel, damage ship, etc)

[DMofD&D]

@Tulkas: Hmmm... Now i'm not so sure. I suppose it's possible that a higher lifeform designed a computer that designed us. After all, we have computers today that design robots and build them. I still don't think any amount of intell could design us without automated help though.
@lurker: Those three conditions apply to our current technology. We have no idea what technology the aliens have. I feel certain that there are other lifeforms in the universe. They may or may not be intelligent.

[Another brick in the wall]

There's a lot of reasoning by analogy going on here. Superficially, there are many similarities between a living thing and man-made object: design, complexity, function and so forth. But there's a world of a difference between hunks of metal and molecules. Chemical reactions aren't random. It's completely possible for a self-replicating molecule to arise on its own. When you wash your hands, you'll notice that round soap bubbles form all own their own. This is because a sphere is the most stable arrangment of the soap molecules. All things in nature have a tendency toward stability, which can have organizing effects.

[Lurker]

@lurker: Those three conditions apply to our current technology. We have no idea what technology the aliens have. I feel certain that there are other lifeforms in the universe. They may or may not be intelligent.
If you're going to allow non-existent super technology into the picture then I guess they can just transport themselves directly to earth, fly their ships at warp 10 speed with front shields raised and boldly go where no man has gone before. *cue theme music*

[Biofreak]

If you're going to allow non-existent super technology into the picture then I guess they can just transport themselves directly to earth, fly their ships at warp 10 speed with front shields raised and boldly go where no man has gone before. *cue theme music*
How do you know super thechnology doesn't exist? Like I said, we have no idea what "they" have. I could be wrong and I have no way to prove my hypothesis. We have no reason to think it true but we should leave our minds open to the possibility anyway.

[Lurker]

How do you know super thechnology doesn't exist? Like I said, we have no idea what "they" have. I could be wrong and I have no way to prove my hypothesis. We have no reason to think it true but we should leave our minds open to the possibility anyway.
I realize you're young, but this kind of thinking allows for anything to be possible which means the question of aliens is answered before you even ask it. I'm open to learning all kinds of things and one day we may discover a way to fly at warp 10 or transport our bodies from one place to the next, but for now the reality of physics says we can't do that.

[Another brick in the wall]

The only way long-distance space travel could work is if there was some kind of suspended animation technology. Space travel at even the speed of light would be basically a one-way trip, because more time would pass on earth than would pass for the person travelling. Mechanical life forms would be the ideal space explorers: they don't need air, food, water; they can remain dormant for long periods; they don't get sick or tired or lonely.

[Raiden936]

again, this only applies to our current knowledge in science

[Tulkas]

How do you know super thechnology doesn't exist? Like I said, we have no idea what "they" have. I could be wrong and I have no way to prove my hypothesis. We have no reason to think it true but we should leave our minds open to the possibility anyway.
I realize you're young, but this kind of thinking allows for anything to be possible which means the question of aliens is answered before you even ask it. I'm open to learning all kinds of things and one day we may discover a way to fly at warp 10 or transport our bodies from one place to the next, but for now the reality of physics says we can't do that.
Lets say that a group of people similar to us, is having a philisophical debate, over transportation all over the world. This is before electricity, fossil fuels, ect. They say what if we discover some new energy, so much more powerful than fire, to fuel us across these lands. One person may say exactly what you just have said...But in actuality, wether the future technology is plausible or not, it must be included in watever small % it has in occuring. You rule it out for this argument, when it cannot be...

[peepnklown]

Aliens gave me the power to build a machine that can create gods.

[mud]

What makes religion more credible than UFOlogy?-Nothing.They're both the same psychological mechanism(in my opinion).What's that? I don't know.It must be god! -or- What's that? I don't know.It must be aliens!

[Amazonis]

I beleive that it is likely (if not probable) that alien life exists within the universe. However, the chances of it being inteligent life are next to nothing, and the chances of it visiting earth in UFO's is practically zero. UFO's are a myth, and the most popular form (circular) would be a very impracticle shape anyway. But even UFO's have more likelyhood of existing that any god.