Alien Life is Out There — Almost Definitely

Two SETI scientists seek funds from Congress.

Dan Werthimer, the director of SETI [Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence], has told the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology that the possibility of extraterrestrial microbial life is “close to 100 percent.” “In the last 50 years, evidence has steadily mounted that the components and conditions we believe necessary for life are common and perhaps ubiquitous in our galaxy,” Werthimer said in written testimony. “The possibility that life has arisen elsewhere, and perhaps evolved intelligence, is plausible and warrants scientific inquiry.”

Seth Shostak, another astronomer with SETI, also said the chances of finding life within the next 20 years are good “depending on the financing.”

Congress has held hearings on aliens before. In December, the Science House Committee held a two-hour hearing about the search for extraterrestrial life. 

When an inventor wants to sell a new invention, he will oversell it if necessary in order to get funding.  A TV hypester doing an infomercial will try to make his product sound like the greatest thing in the world in order to sell more of the product and make more money. So, what the SETI astronomers have done before the congressmen doesn’t seem any different. In fact, our April 29, 2011 post described how SETI had run out of money and was having to put the brakes on its program. Hence, SETI seems to be in desperate need for funds and is putting as positive a spin as possible on the chances of finding life in space.

In my opinion, SETI’s program should be financed by believers in extraterrestrials, not by the American taxpayer, just as churches are expected to finance their programs and not depend on government funding. The fact is, as things currently stand, there is zero evidence for alien life, except in the movies. SETI had been listening for signals from space for decades and heard absolutely nothing during that time to suggest a race of intelligent beings is living on some other planet. The most positive message about the possibility of life in space currently being promoted by astronomers is that some planets have been found which are not too close or too far from their stars for water to possibly exist there. That’s a long way though from having proof for intelligent aliens.

We are often told that Earth is just an average planet circling an average star, and humans are nothing special. The law of averages would then hold that evolution (if there were such a thing) must have been going on for much longer or at a faster rate on some other planets than it has on Earth. Therefore superior intelligences must exist elsewhere in space. So then, why don’t we let these super beings find us instead of spending our much needed financial resources to try to find them?

The only extraterrestrials Christians recognize are God and the angels. In His Word, God says nothing about creating life anywhere else in space. All we really need to know is that Jesus came down to our unique planet to save the inhabitants of Earth from our sins. This is why we call Jesus our Savior. We Christian believers repent of our sins and happily come to Jesus for forgiveness and the promise of salvation. Truthfully, we all do look forward to extraterrestrial life — in that wonderful future home called heaven.

Jesus once said: “My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:2-3).

Reference:  Dominique Mosbergen, “Aliens Are Almost Definitely Out There, SETI Astronomers Tell Congress,” The Huffington Post.

(Photo of Whirlpool Galaxy from NASA.)
  
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QUESTION OF THE DAY

Can a wind farm actually affect the weather?

Yes. Wind farms can warm and dry out the ground in the immediate vicinity. As wind farms become more widespread, they may have more unpredictable effects on a wider area. Because these machines remove energy from the wind, they have to have some effect on the weather.

Source: Marilyn vos Savant, “Ask Marilyn,” Parade (May 11, 2014)

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