Atheists: You believe in UFO's but not God?

First of all, not all atheists believe in aliens. Secondly, not all of the atheists that do believe in aliens believe that they are visiting earth. With that out of the way:

The idea behind aliens is far more simple than the idea of a god. The idea of a god breaks pretty much goes against all of the laws of physics and is paradoxical in nature (could god create a rock so big that even he could not lift it). Whereas the idea of aliens is organisms living on another planet orbiting another Sun.

We have already proven that life can and will spring up in the most unlikely of places. Organisms (known as extremophiles) for example, that live at the bottom of the ocean around black smokers which can survive extremely high temperatures and pressures and don't even require sunlight or oxygen to metabolise.

Then we have an organism known as the tardigrade, they are one of the most extreme multicellular organisms known to man.

Some can survive temperatures of close to absolute zero (−273 °C), temperatures as high as 151 °C, 1,000 times more radiation than other animals, and almost a decade without water. In September 2007, tardigrades were taken into low Earth orbit on the FOTON-M3 mission and for 10 days were exposed to the vacuum of space. After they were returned to Earth, it was discovered that many of them survived and laid eggs that hatched normally.

Then we have the sheer amount of planets in the universe. Obviously we cannot know for certain the exact number of planets in the universe, but our best estimates say that there are around 300 sextillion (3x10^23) stars in all the galaxies of the universe (interesting fact: If you started counting, say three numbers a second or 180 times a minute, it would require 317,000,000,000,000 years to count 300 sextillion.)

Let's for arguments sake say that most stars only have one planet orbiting them, which from our current observations is not true, then you have 300 sextillion planets (obviously). Then let us assume that the chance of life forming on a certain planet is extremely rare; 1 in 1 billion? 1 in 100 billion? 1 in 1 trillion? Using those odds then we could estimate that the theory of life forming in any given planet in the universe to be 3x10^14, 3x10^12 and 3x10^11 respectively.

Obviously the last two paragraphs are mere speculation, we cannot possibly begin to predict the odds of life forming on one planet because we only know that life has occurred on one.

I am an atheist, I don't believe for one second that there is an almighty god that created everything,, I am however open to the possibility that we have been visited in the past by Alien life forms who were then worshipped as 'gods' by our ancestors and that this is where the human fascination/belief with god(s) actually comes from. But even if this did not happen I still believe life exists elsewhere and that there is no almighty god.
The OP asks why an atheist would believe in Aliens but not god when there is no evidence of either?
Well, I fall into this category and I use common sense and nothing else to come to this conclusion.
To be the only place in the cosmos with life forms is in my eyes far more bizarre than someone believing in an almighty god. The sheer size of the universe (just what we see let alone what we cannot see) is too big to even comprehend. To then say this tiny spec of a planet called Earth which is teaming with life is unique and that NOTHING anywhere else in the cosmos is alive is in my opinion ludicrous.
You don't need to be Einstein or Hawkings to use common sense!!!
Not only do I believe that life exists elsewhere but I believe it is COMMON rather than rare in the universe.
I will go as far as to say that we will not only find life from outside this planet soon (within our lifetime) but that there is probably life however simple & primitive on most bodies in our own solar system let alone the rest of the cosmos.
When (and I say when not if) life is announced that is not of this planet watch all the religions bend their beliefs to accommodate this change so that their religion continues to be valid for it's followers.
Religions are a form of brainwashing just like a cult, it's just on a bigger scale and I will not believe or accept any of it.

do atheists believe in luck?

luck like when you fell out of the tree but didn't break your neck, luck?

or have anything happen that you couldn't explain? maybe not you but to a friend or family member?

or maybe atheists are people that just couldn't deal with things that were beyond their control?


really advanced aliens are actually easier to believe in than god for some.

aliens created the universe and all in it?

or did we just get pooped out by some cosmic screw up yet to be determined?

and we can think about this, why? why do you even have a choice to think about whether or not there is a god?

oh yeah, we are just a cruel joke of random atoms that just happened to give us self awareness.

eta; and this is the first time we got pooped out?

Originally posted by fooks

or maybe atheists are people that just couldn't deal with things that were beyond their control?

Errrr... it's not us atheists that go running to sky daddy for comfort, or overcome our fears of dying. We deal with the unkown in a rational, intelligent and considered manner. We don't proclaim "god did it". Did you actually have a point? Or perhaps you were looking for someone else to help reinforce your beliefs?

Woah. This thread took off. Holy Cow!

I have not had a chance to view all of the posts from after I attended the soup kitchen last night.

I will add that I posed the same question to some of the less fortunate people and they gave me some fascinating answers. Many of them blamed God for this misfortune. However, after I asked them a few more questions I dived into the UFO and Alien aspect. Without hesitation or a bat of an eyelid, 99% of them all believed in UFO's and Alien life forms!

Fascinating! A few of them even went into their first hand accounts of seeing UFO's and "communicating with them", on the streets at night! Crazy? Probably. But what if they aren't?

Now, the believing in God thing. Many of them answered like you guys did. "God - Aliens? What's the difference?"

Pretty cool eh?

Oh, I will read all the posts so I can answer as many as possible.

Atheism contains "theism" because it pertains solely to the belief in a deity. It essentially means "non theist." One can be "non theist" while still holding other beliefs not pertaining to a god or gods. There is no requirement that an atheist not believe in anything else other than deities, if that is their choice.

Whether this is logical if the individual rationale for atheism is skepticism or denial is a separate argument. Personally, I choose to respect everyone's personal beliefs, whether they be religious, atheist, agnostic, or other. But I can see how some would argue against the irrationality of denying the existence of one possibility due to lack of irrefutable proof while choosing to believe in something else which, while perhaps supported by arguably compelling evidence, still lacks irrefutable proof in its own right.

I personally distinguish between skepticism and denial. For me, true skepticism requires a level of agnosticism when it comes to the existence of a deity or deities, simply because we can't prove the negative that "god or gods do not exist." We can say only that we can find no proof that "god or gods do exist," and as such we are not persuaded to believe. We "don't know" so we "don't believe." I distinguish this from pure atheism, personally, which is more along the lines of "I just don't believe." Thus, by my own personal philosophical standards at least, saying "god or gods do not exist" without proving it first is not skepticism but rather denial or even pseudo-skepticism, much like saying "ETs do not exist and have never visited Earth" without proving it. I can only say that I have seen no proof that "ETs exist and have visited Earth."

Personally, I am an agnostic skeptic. Agnostic in crude terminology means, "not knowing." I believe in the freedom and openness to declare that "I don't know." Because I don't.

reply to post by fooks

do atheists believe in luck?

If you are a gambler you do.

Look, I am an athiest. I do not believe in a higher being breathing life into the nostrils story.........I do not believe in ghosts(but I am open to an energy of some sort somehow)........I believe conscience is you. When you die your brain can no longer percieve the outside world. Hence dead...No feelings, no memories, no fairy tales...

I believe thatthe religous folks are still trying their damdest to clasp at the old false assumtions of our ancestors...It is ok to say maybe they were not educated enough to know what an eclipse was.......We are, it is time to move on..........

Jesus is supposed to come back for over 2000 years.....Has it happened? How many people are killed each year because of some religous rhetoric and beliefs? God told me to do it..........Our people have god on our side....2000 years is a fair enough amount of time to say, you had your chance......

Let's give science 2000 years and total control like religion has had, and let's see where we are then......We are only a few hundred years in the modern age.....Hmmm what will 1500 more years of electricity bring?

Get over yourselves and stop pretending to make yourselves look superior because you all believe in a superstition......

This post is a little more than I wanted to type. It is all over the place and there is alot more that I want to say. But I need to smoke....... I do not mean this in a hateful way. I am just sayin...

Get off of the Atheist.

UFO means unidentified flying object, not aliens.

Anyone who says they dont believe in UFO's believes they can identify anything they see flying in the sky with 100 percent accuracy. Which essentially means they are lying to themselves.

Cheers

Originally posted by NeverApologize
reply to post by juleol

 

Sorry. Science has not proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Read the wording please.

Also, most atheists I have scene post on this website are the first to attack "silly religions!", but will claim they saw a flying craft... Just an observation.

People see UFO's all the time. When was the last time you saw jesus?

reply to post by NeverApologize


I am sitting here wondering why you are asking these questions...why do you want to know?

-Does it make sense for a bible loving christian like yourself to be asking questions that are not in the bible?
-Would Jesus question gentiles why they believe in this and not that?

Let me ask you, Did Jesus claim he was extra-terrestrial and not of this world?

John 8v23
But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.

Originally posted by NeverApologize
Hello everyone! I have been doing some thinking lately. Also, a little bit of discussion among co-workers. The topic is as the post title suggests: If you don't believe in God because you can't see him, or believe him to be a tangible object, how come you believe in Aliens and UFO's?

Has science proven that Extra Terrestrials exist beyond a reasonable doubt? Have you met an alien or seen a UFO, that can be proven?

Doesn't an atheist basically believe that there is no higher power because there is no proof, in short?

My questions are simple. How come you have no issue in believing that there are aliens visiting us, yet, you cannot believe there is a God that watches over us and creates everything?

Neither have solid proof, correct? So, you are essentially going against your core beliefs right? "No proof, no existence", right?

For information about myself and my spin on the subject, I am a Christian by faith but also a believer in UFO's. Neither have I felt, or touched, but I believe in them. What is your reasoning on the subject at hand?

Are you a close minded individual? Or are you open to the possibility that the god you believe in, from all the stories in the bible, is infact a being from another world, but the ancient used the word "god" cause they had a very limited vocabulary?

Cause that's the most likely and logical scenerio.

Aliens, UFOs, Believers, Non-Believers, Athiests, Agnostics, Christians???

The whole purpose of this thread seems to be an attempt by a supposed Christian to challenge an athiest to a war of words. A real Christian has a much higher calling than this.

Hello Atheists!

Assume we discover all the laws of physics and can therefore predict everything that will happen with 100% certainty as is the dream of physicists.

I am referring to the theory that we calculate it all from the "big bang" is that not fate? and evidence of a plan or predetermined future?

Does not a magic spaghetti wizard, as many of you like to refer to the roman catholic god, represent fate the same as the above?

Would that mean that god is embodied in the "laws of nature"? I know way to abstract for many to comprehend . . .

Strictly speaking to the material world as many scientists and atheists talk up that all thought is just chemical reactions in the brain. Then the thoughts of all individual can be predicted and determined once we figure out how.

Sorry for the poor wording, looking forward to the answers (if any lol)

Aliens are demons, Christians should be wise of the alien deception.

Originally posted by MasterGemini
Hello Atheists!

Assume we discover all the laws of physics and can therefore predict everything that will happen with 100% certainty as is the dream of physicists.

Wrong. Quantum mechanics totally rules out that possibility. Epic Fail.

Incidently, the laws of nature don't make people write on stone tablets...

theres more evidence that aliens are among us not like god that doesnt show his face or his actions.

its easy to just pray to someone and go to church for something but as i will alwys say " RELIGION IS ALL BS"


im one of those peope who believe in aliens more then god or jesus or religion
heres my fav pic of religon and aliens

Originally posted by WhatAliens

Originally posted by MasterGemini
Hello Atheists!

Assume we discover all the laws of physics and can therefore predict everything that will happen with 100% certainty as is the dream of physicists.

No it's not. Quantum mechanics totally rules out that possibility. Epic Fail.

Incidently, the laws of nature don't make people write on stone tablets...

edit on 31-7-2011 by WhatAliens because: (no reason given)

Epic fail. you are talking about objects needing to be measured? How about you elaborate instead of your nice little one liners.

Not on stone tablets? How about typing on the internet or writing on paper?
please bring physics and quantum into one theory and make it work without changing all the parameters for every measurement.
You can't. Epic fail lol acting like you know everything.

Again please explain further.

"God" is a metaphysical concept.

"UFO"/"Aliens" are a physical possibility/hypothesis.

No comparison.

Originally posted by MasterGemini

Epic fail. you are talking about objects needing to be measured? How about you elaborate instead of your nice little one liners.

To predict the future, one would need to precisely measure the past and the present (where has it been, where is it now, where is it going). So no, I didn't fail.

Originally posted by WhatAliens

Originally posted by MasterGemini

Epic fail. you are talking about objects needing to be measured? How about you elaborate instead of your nice little one liners.

To predict the future, one would need to precisely measure the past and the present (where has it been, where is it now, where is it going). So no, I didn't fail.

Yes I said assume we figure it all out.

Then you replied with an incomplete theory and claimed it an epic fail.

Quantum theory is just that a theory, like organized religion. NO DIFFERENCE. Now once it has been all figured out come back to me with that.

Until then read the first word I typed. Assume. . . . you know what that means right?