SEARCH FOR EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE
Recent decades have witnessed the emergence of a unique field of research: ‘Listening for life in space.’ Behind this quest is the idea that similar living beings might be found in other locations in the vast universe as are on Earth. For some people, a significant reason for space travel is to meet with such supposed life forms. They have such faith in this hypothesis that they have given it a unique name—‘extraterrestrial life.’
Big antennas called ‘radio ears’ have been set up in parts of America and other ‘developed’ Western countries. These machines send signals into space, and sensitive instruments are always ready to listen to any signals from above. In the pages of Time Magazine (March 21, 1983), an insightful commentary was shared, stating:
“If you are there, please call your friends.”
The existence of life and consciousness on Earth is a highly exceptional phenomenon in the universe. Because this life and consciousness have not brought themselves into being, their existence necessarily demands a source for them—which can only be God. The fact is that man’s existence is evidence of God’s existence.
Strangely, people are ready to believe in the possible existence of ‘extraterrestrial life’ on some hypothetical planet but decline to accept the presence of the extra-human Source of all life, including human life, on earth—the One Creator—God.
The Search for ‘Alien Life’
Stephen Hawking, an avowed atheist, was a famous British scientist. After a detailed study, he stated that there must be some intelligent life beyond the Earth, which he termed ‘alien life.’
Hawking suggested that extraterrestrials are almost certain to exist. Hawking’s logic on aliens was simple: “The universe has around 100 billion galaxies, each containing hundreds of millions of stars. In such an enormous realm, Earth is unlikely to be the only planet where life exists. Hawking remarked, ‘To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational.’” (The Times of India, New Delhi, April 26, 2010, p. 17)
The first thing that the phenomenon of intelligent beings on Earth proves is that this phenomenon is an exception. Now, what is the explanation for this exception? Atheists like Hawking might deem the hypothesis of evolution to be the basis for explaining the presence of intelligent beings on Earth. But it is much more appropriate to explain this based on intervention by the Creator because modern scientific evidence indicates it. And when this intervention is accepted, the existence of the Creator, who alone could have done this, gets proven automatically.
In present times, many realities about the universe have been discovered. These are clear evidence that points to the existence of the Creator, but in line with their worldview, atheistic-minded people declared them to be the result of some hypothetical evolutionary process. This, however, is baseless speculation, as science itself has proved.
The Search for ‘Extraterrestrial Intelligence’
As explained above, there is much talk of ‘extraterrestrial intelligence’ in scientific circles these days. Among the things scientists are trying to discover, one is what is termed ‘alien civilizations.’ Besides the human civilization on Earth, is there one or more civilizations elsewhere in space, perhaps established by some non-human entities?
Some people speculate that there could be other ‘technical civilizations’ elsewhere in the universe similar to the human civilization on Earth, established by ‘aliens.’ One reason for this speculation is that some people have claimed to have found indications of extraterrestrial intelligence in the universe. If these are indeed what these people think they are, it ought to have strengthened faith in God, but the mindset of those who deny God is such that it is ready to believe in the existence of some hypothetical extraterrestrial intelligence of unseen ‘aliens’ but hesitates at accepting the existence of God.
Some astronomers have claimed that in our galaxy, there are 10 billion stars that, like the solar system, have a planetary system. In their opinion, the existence of life is as possible there as is on Earth, although, so far, not one planet has been discovered where life forms as on Earth are present. Searches for radio signals or optical flashes from other star systems that might indicate the presence of extraterrestrial intelligence have so far proved fruitless. The following is an excerpt from an article on ‘extraterrestrial intelligence’ in Encyclopedia Britannica.
“Hypothetical extraterrestrial life capable of thinking, purposeful activity... more than 3,000 extrasolar planets have been detected... These efforts suggest that there could be many worlds in which life, and occasionally intelligent life, might arise. Searches for radio signals or optical flashes from other star systems that would indicate the presence of extraterrestrial intelligence have so far proved fruitless.”
www.britannica.com/science/extraterrestrial-intelligence#ref283898 [retrieved: 4th April 2020]
The caravan of humanity’s scientific discoveries is progressing at great speed. Science has reached a level of intelligence beyond that of humans, an extra-human intelligence. If one day it discovers that this extra-human intelligence is so unique in its nature that, rather than considering it to be akin to a human being, it would be more appropriate to call it ‘God,’ there would be nothing surprising about it in the least.
