Would Intelligent Aliens Undermine God?

reply to post by Gorman91


I admit I have never seen that Deuteronomy scripture and will definitely remember that! It's quite interesting.

Originally posted by ignorant_ape
how would " inteligent aliens " undermine god ?

not a trick question - i am really curious as to how the existance of an inteligent EBE is going to undermine god - if any one believes it will - please set out why

i am an atheist - but i am adamant that that no scripture used by any major religion on earth actually states :

" earth is the only source of life "

or any similar absolute statement

there are many passages that are INTERPRETED as evidence that there are aliens - but no where is it stated - yes there are , or no there are not

Perhaps the title would be more clear if it went something like "If aliens, more advanced than us, believed in God or knew god because of their technological savvy, would they undermine him?"

And you are correct I think. I personally do not know of any specific passage when it involves religion that relates to Extra Terrestrials in the sense that we know or perceive them.

However, it is still possible that in some religions they are mentioned but are perceived differently than us, explained different than us and therefore hard to understand, from our perspective, just exactly what the hell that passage is really talking about, which is our source of speculation. Still we don't know for sure but speculation is healthy, I think.

Ultimately we could be contacted and aliens could ask us "What is this religious philosophy you have all adopted that involves believing in some invisible deity and force or forces surrounding it?" or they could in some way relate. Speculation, pure speculation.

Hi there

Great thread with some interesting reading matter.

IMO we are alone and as Louis Giglio said " if the stars and the universe was just a host to life then it is too big and other life elsewhere would be plausible but if God made the heavens/ Universe to show how big He is then is just about the right size".

I must agree with this idea. The Bible says the Lord our God hold the universe in the palm of his hands and thus in so saying the awesome size of thee known universe only gives us a glimpse of His majesty and glory..

Only my opinion.

Originally posted by vor78
I'm not sure how it would undermine anything. As a Christian, I believe that God created not just this world but everything that exists in this universe. Who am I to limit God and say that we're the only life there is? Nothing in the Bible eliminates the possibility. There are about 3,000 stars visible to the human eye, millions more through a small telescope and that doesn't even scratch the surface of what's out there. If you can accept that fact, the possibilities seem limitless from there.

I applaud you for this stance - and, while what you are saying is of course true ("Nothing in the Bible eliminates the possibility") NO Christian ANYwhere, up to less than a decade ago would acknowledge the fact that there were any intelligent lifeforms other than human anywhere else in the universe - my, how times have changed.... quickly.

I believe that some religions could be undermined by the discovery of intelligent alien life, but only due to their arrogance. Spirituality, however, would not be undermined, as aliens would still have to account for their creation....better yet, the creation of the universe and the evolution of life throughout the universe.

reply to post by SquirrelNutz


I agree, but only to a point. The various denominations will not officially acknowledge it, but you'd be surprised what some individual church members will tell you of their own beliefs if they trust you. I was raised Southern Baptist, and I can tell you, belief in alien life, while not something spoken of openly, is more prevalent than you may think.

[edit on 28-4-2010 by vor78]

Extraterrestrial life would not undermine God. Enough things already do that job quite well. But if you choose to believe in some deity, there is nothing beyond the realm of possibility that "god" created all life, or even, as the Theists believe, that "god" simply made the universe and it's laws, and let what would happen happen.

Originally posted by igor_ats

Originally posted by Soylent Green Is People
It should not undermine anything

It does if you believe in the bible as the word of God.

If what the bible says is undermined, it only follows that religion (Christianity in this case) is too.

I'm not that familiar with the literal phrasings of the Bible, so please be a little more specific here for my benefit...

...what exactly does the Bible say that precludes the existence of other intelligent life in the universe? -- perhaps intelligent life created by the God of Bible.

From my knowledge of the Bible (which I admit is limited compared to people who "study" the Bible), it is possible to interpret the Bible as saying that God could have created alien races on other planets along with the Human race here on Earth.

Are you saying there is no way to interpret it like this?

What will all the Atheist do if those-not-of-this-planet all beleive in God?

Originally posted by Aeons
What will all the Atheist do if those-not-of-this-planet all beleive in God?

Nothing? Because that doesn't prove the existence of god.

Now if every alien race believes in Jesus Christ, then you have something interesting. Though it's quite a possibility there are religious beliefs in alien races, after all, religion is our earliest attempts to understand the laws of nature, I'd imagine the same thing would go for these alien races.

Originally posted by WolfofWar

Originally posted by Aeons
What will all the Atheist do if those-not-of-this-planet all beleive in God?

Nothing? Because that doesn't prove the existence of god.

Now if every alien race believes in Jesus Christ, then you have something interesting. Though it's quite a possibility there are religious beliefs in alien races, after all, religion is our earliest attempts to understand the laws of nature, I'd imagine the same thing would go for these alien races.

Sure it would. Entire groups of people in the Athiests are convinced that the No-God scenario is linked to more intelligent decisions and logic processes.

If all others in the universe have God(s) or a higher power, and worse if they are more "advanced" than we are, it would seriously undermine a lynch pin of what draws people to Atheism.

It would certainly have an impact.

reply to post by Crossfate


We use the word alien associated with UFOs. We have no evidence that UFOs are craft and that they contain physical intelligences. If they contain physical intelligences most humans think that they are ETs. No evidence for this but claiming that ETs exist is a worldwide phenomenon entertained by the mentally-conditioned and the fantasy-prone. The rest of us simply wonder and make no positive pronouncements because we depend on irrefutable evidence and, so far, there's none. We can't deny the reality of UFOs but that's as far as any responsible person can go.

However, since I'm an educated atheist and know that all religions are man-made, there isn't one chance in hell(!) that any intelligence associated with UFOs is going to please the religious because their intelligence should show them the past history of the earth and its humans and will see how religions were started not by some mythical god(s) but by stronger-minded humans to control weaker-minded humans. THAT is what the intelligences will deal with if they ever decide to get involved with us. The religious will definitely not be happy and will probably act religious by condemning the intelligence as sent by satan!

Anyway, I'm hoping that the intelligences will be as I've described and will spare us atheists while they rid the earth of religious fleas!


[edit on 28-4-2010 by The Shrike]

Originally posted by Aeons

Originally posted by WolfofWar

Originally posted by Aeons
What will all the Atheist do if those-not-of-this-planet all beleive in God?

Nothing? Because that doesn't prove the existence of god.

Now if every alien race believes in Jesus Christ, then you have something interesting. Though it's quite a possibility there are religious beliefs in alien races, after all, religion is our earliest attempts to understand the laws of nature, I'd imagine the same thing would go for these alien races.

Sure it would. Entire groups of people in the Athiests are convinced that the No-God scenario is linked to more intelligent decisions and logic processes.

If all others in the universe have God(s) or a higher power, and worse if they are more "advanced" than we are, it would seriously undermine a lynch pin of what draws people to Atheism.

It would certainly have an impact.

We also believe that alien races would be benevolent and altruistic. These are just assumptions we made. Just because a person is intelligent doesn't mean they can't believe in a religious belief. This assumption has merit, granted, because it is based on the statistical trends of the last 100 years. In western worlds, the decline of religious beliefs are concurrent with the increase of general IQ levels as tested. This is more causality then anything though, as there are far too many factors to take into account that can drastically change what it is we are looking at in that factoid. So any atheist that believes that an alien race that is more intelligent then us would HAVE TO have no religious beliefs is operating under a false premise. That being said, most atheists and non-religious types (myself included) hold to the standards of scientific study and evidence. They would not be swayed any more then the devout religious of the world would be swayed by aliens.

Would Intelligent Aliens Undermine God?

As AlreadyGone stated, it should reinforce the idea of God. Or let us think more of God not as a being watching over humans, but as a creative force behind not only our universe but all universes and whatever is beyond that.

Also, Intelligent Aliens would certainly have pondered the same question of a creator and would give us humans a different perspective on the subject. Maybe not necessarily more depth, but an alternate view for sure.

Originally posted by Crossfate

Are we alone in the universe? Or, given the vast numbers of stars and planets, is the universe teeming with intelligent life? The search is intensifying, and what if that electrifying first contact comes? How would it impact human society? How would it affect religion?

I for one think disclosure or contact will radically change peoples perspectives in regards to religion and God because of their traditions and upbringing. I also think it would change most of them in a good way along with informing people that there's a bigger picture at hand, not just our tiny greed driven planet.

Given that you have stated you belief or comprehension based upon what you have been exposed to from child birth until adulthood one perhaps should begin to question why an organization is in existence for the sole purpose to keep and odd 200 million in the darkness regarding a foreign entity.

In short, we are obviously not alone based on statistics when considering the cosmos, so why would a futile carbon based entity with a life span under 100 years consider itself a guideline of what is reality and what is fantasy.

Does this mode of thinking feel out of the box, not for me and a selective group.


[edit on 28-4-2010 by tristar]

reply to post by WolfofWar


Oh, I in no way assume that alien species are kindhearted.

The examples we have to base or views on are limited to this planet. And what we find here should give people serious pause as to how likely conflict is the lynch pin of advancement.

reply to post by SquirrelNutz


But isn't that good and, essentially, makes you wrong? What better religion is there then the one that admits it is not right, and is just the best best based on the teachings of their Christ.

The simple fact is that religion itself would be transformed in alien visitation. But it would hardly end.


Also it is very likely that these gods of old are not aliens. If they were, then they would not be gods. Whatever they are, if they are millions of years and eons old, by that time they would have merged into one species. Also the simple fact is that machine > body. They would also by that time be much like HG Well's Martians. Just big brains with appendages needed to work their tools. No need for anything else. The fear such creatures would give early man would make religion something very very different. Now you could also argue about holograms to make them look human. But again, why do that when you're so powerful? Just do your research, delete their memory, and leave, untouching the local culture. Indeed, we all might have been checked up by them yesterday, and no one would recall it.

You see you have a problem with your theory. You're either powerful enough to be called God and thus make your self 100% invisible, or not existing at all. And if they did want us to remember them, why? Why make so many gods? We would ultimately end up with one. Humanity always seeks centralization by nature. Why bother with so many. Far more stable to make us believe in one.

[edit on 29-4-2010 by Gorman91]

I've just had a thought.

What if we evolve into sentinent beings after death? This almost explains the feelings of deja vu that we experience now and again.

What if the sentinent beings we have become, are in fact, the aliens?

That's really spooky. Anybody agree with me? I think this may be worth exploring.

"Undermine God? " to answer the OP's question; No, for the majority of believers using the interpretation of the dictionary word:

"to weaken or cause to collapse by removing underlying support, as by digging away or eroding the foundation."

Change certain people's relationships? Absolutely, some would
see any new alien presence as a new religion, some would commit
suicide thinking it was the end of the world, most would would probably accept same but remain skeptical, until the aliens "proved themselves", and others would indicate that demons
have arrived and taken over the earth, and start resistance movements to erradicate the alien's presence on earth.

I found it interesting reading in one of the chapters of the Dulce Report (acknowledge controversy on this subject) that a father,
upon seeing his young son being abducted, and about to be
taken aboard a ufo, yelled out to the aliens: " Let my son go
now, or I will have my God strike your ship down!" which upon hearing same they let his son go. True story, who knows?











[edit on 29-4-2010 by manta78]

Originally posted by manta78
"Undermine God? " to answer the OP's question; No, for the majority of believers using the interpretation of the dictionary word:

"to weaken or cause to collapse by removing underlying support, as by digging away or eroding the foundation."

Do you think all the Biblical "truths" - creation, Adam and Eve, will be confirmed by visiting Aliens?

If those biblical truths are proven false, how is that not undermining the bible? I am not asking if some nutters will still believe in God no matter what or conveniently claim everything in the bible is just a metaphor, i'm simply asking if those biblical truths being proven false is not undermining the bible.