The really significant number in any calculation of probability of extraterrestrial contact is the communicable lifespan. Most of the other estimates can be wildly out with no really significant effect on the outcome.

Here on earth we've been around as a technological species with radio etc for just over 100 years against the planet's lifetime of say 4.5bn years. If you assume that such a technological species will outbreed the resources of its home planet in say 200 years, the "thickness" of the expanding bubble of electromagnetic communication from it is only 200 light years thick. The chances of two such civilisations ever making contact are close to zero.

Myself, I think (I almost said "believe" <g>) that the fact no contact is made is quite an indication not of a lack of aliens but that we all destroy ourselves before any contact can be made. In other words, the universe is probably teeming with life - but all evolving at slightly different times and dying out shortly afterwards. LGM living for 1000 years 10000 light years away would only be detectable for that 1000 years and would have died out 9000 years ago!

Emo Philips - "When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realised that the Lord doesn't work that way so I stole one and asked Him to forgive me."

I also rather like - “If there is a God, atheism must seem to Him as less of an insult than religion.” Edmond de Goncourt

Brilliant!

Yes, I saw that. Utterly arrogant rubbish. It's that sort of thing that does give decent practising Christians a bad name I think.

The Bible suggests neither the existence or absence of intelligent life somewhere else in the Universe, whether now, in the past or the future.

However science suggests that if different intelligences exist, most are going to experience a fairly lonely existence.

If it were ever proven that another intelligent race existed (or had existed), it ought to make no difference to the faith of most Christians. Their relationship with God, whatever it might be, would not really be our business in the absence of any real contact.

Not all Christians see conflicts between faith and science.

Excellent and so true. Do what you live and if you have religion you will be forgiven no matter what.

Or they might have no interest in contact, to them contacting us might be like us having a conversation with a termite colony

Plus I think the first strong TV signal was from the Berlin Olympics so they first pictures they would get is Hitler going his thing, might put them off a little !

And Jesus taught the exact opposite of this. Mentioning a mini-911 in those times (18 people killed in a collapsing tower) Jesus said that no they were no better and no worse than anyone else. [Luke 13:4]. Elsewhere he taught that God's rain falls on the righteous and unrighteous equally.

It's hardly surprising the established religious leaders of the time wanted to suppress such a counter-cultural message.

Not the great German pre-war joke?

S

Yep - live like a baddie, sin loads, then repent & find god/ salvation on your deathbed and alls fine and dandy for eternity...

By God's standards all of us are "baddies and sin loads" (to a greater or lesser extent) and all are in need of forgiveness. And forgiveness is freely available on request.

More pertinent though is why someone who has no interest in trying to follow God in this life should have any particular plan to do so in the next?

You are assuming that by life I mean little green men with no hair. Life on other planets is just that, living organisms. Of what shape or form I know not. I refuse to believe that out of millions and millions of other worlds out there, there is not one that has something living on it.

Quite... I find it simply preposterous to think otherwise...

I think people are ultra arrogant to think we are the only life forms. Also, not to appreciate that humans only live in a certain "wavelength". I.e., certain sounds are above and below what we can hear and even our vision is restricted to certain wavelengths. If you Google you will find proof of other living entities on this planet captured with cameras that do not use our limited vision spectrum. Scary stuff but true.
We are certainly not alone on this planet - let alone others.
We are just too small-minded to appreciate that they may not exist on the same "wavelength".
Nothing to do with religion - probably!

Andrew

Fair point. I was talking hypothetically, that someone can live a very bad life without any remorse whatsoever, see the light and be saved for eternity whereas someones whose lived a life full of goodness doesn’t have entry to heaven because they’re a non believer. Surely if God did exists, if heaven exists, you’d be judged by your actions and intent, irrelevant to your belief of his existance – if I was god that’s what I’d do