Friday, November 16, 2018

Would the Discovery of Extraterrestrial Life Clash with God-Belief?


A friend of mine commented that if the space object Oumuamua now whizzing through our solar system were proven to be a probe from a civilization in another star system as had at one point been speculated, that discovery could be the impetus for humanity  to unite in world peace-- "Or else" (sic).

I don't think that such unity would happen even if the object had been proven to be sent from another world. Here's why. If life, especially  more intelligent forms than we humans, in fact exists on other planets, this would (rightfully) cast widespread doubt on theism's view of man as the highest form of life, ("created in God's image") and perhaps cast doubt on the very existence of a supreme being itself as well. However, ultra-religious God-believers might then  become ultra-defensive and resistant to these findings to the point of claiming that they are a conspiracy against the very core of their beliefs and doctrines. This desperation in turn may cause them to riot and wreak havoc throughout the civilized world.

Maybe that sounds far fetched, but consider this:  When world peace and the brotherhood of man were first idealized after WWII, the major obstacles to such harmony were political and economic in nature, e.g. the struggle  between the communist and the non communist countries (basically East vs. West).  At that time, religious  extremism which now exists on an almost global scale was not even a blip on the radar, let alone the force that has since expanded into a source of hatred and disunity  within and among various nations of the world.

Well, the cold war ended, but due to religion-based intolerance, world peace and unification are more elusive than ever.  A  confirmation of extraterrestrial life may indeed be necessary for humanity to start considering the implications for our future and for the meaning of life itself as we've come to understand it, inasmuch as our illusion that we are the sole inhabitants in the universe would be shattered.

And as for the actual  likelihood itself of life on other worlds,. consider that astronomers  had long predicted existence of other solar systems before that theory was finally confirmed in the 1990's when the first exoplanet was discovered. Since then, thousands more have been detected, and and as telescopes continue to improve beyond what was once thought to be their performance limit only a few decades ago, still thousands more such worlds will likely be found. So the stage for the actual discovery of life beyond Earth  has been set.

But as long as god-belief  remains a dominant force in so many parts of the world, then proof of extraterrestrial life alone will likely not be sufficient for man to achieve a positive reordering of our existential priorities. And as one of the many prospective ''or else'' deterrents  to our advancement, the hindrance of theism may well be a daunting barrier against the realization of the  significance of finding life beyond Earth  and of its potential to  write the next chapter in the story of  humankind.