A New Drake Equation?

[nebula]

Mathematically derived evidence is dependent on unattainable precision.

The conclusions presented are specious, at best.

SAT maniac loose on the Board!

Run!!!!

[MorningGlory]

Mathematically derived evidence is dependent on unattainable precision.

The conclusions presented are specious, at best.

SAT maniac loose on the Board!

Run!!!!

Yikes! Where did THEY come from??

[Fez]

OK I thought I could put it away, but it is time to put my tinfoil hat back on. You know, the one that stops the aliens from reading my mind

[MorningGlory]

But I am asking you. What woud be the point? God made the universe enormous. Why would he leave it devoid of life? Does that really seem to make any sense? Isn't it logical that if he created all that realestate he intended to fill it with life? Also, on what scriptural grounds would you rule out life existing elsewhere?

Not being God, I can't rule it out. Just as you, not being God, can't decipher His plan for the universe.

ii) How do you explain that a single planet took five days to make but the entire universe with its billions of galaxies took only a single day?

Who says it did?

It is not logical, MorningGlory. This is a very big clue that that something is wrong with the text. It tells you that you are looking at this the wrong way.

It's a very big clue to me that you are working overtime to discredit the Bible...and getting nowhere!

If the ancient authors of Genesis thought that Earth was the largest object in creation then scripture would make sense. In their minds Earth would then take longer to make. This is a clue for us that the ancient Jews had the same concept of the universe as did the other ancient peoples of their time. There are other clues in the Bible that indicate this is how the biblical authors thought.

Sorry, Hitchey, your rationale doesn't compute; you're speculating. Scripture isn't going to make sense to you, my friend; you don't believe in God.

[MorningGlory]

OK I thought I could put it away, but it is time to put my tinfoil hat back on. You know, the one that stops the aliens from reading my mind

Careful fez; I've heard that those don't always work!

[Gauntlet]

This is the 21st century version of geocentrism. Once upon a time, mankind the earth was literally the centre of the universe.

Gauntlet, on what grounds would you make this claim about the probability of extraterestial life existing?

The apparent size/age of the universe. Is it finite or infinite?

[MorningGlory]

OK I thought I could put it away, but it is time to put my tinfoil hat back on. You know, the one that stops the aliens from reading my mind

Fez, I find a tripple layer of foil works best. Also, make sure the shiny side faces outward. In that manner the hat better reflects their penatrating thought waves.

Oh no! Not another one! I hear there's tin foil hat factory that belongs to one of Worthy's members. You might check into a new, improved one.

[nebula]

Not being God, I can't rule... out [life elsewhere]. Just as you, not being God, can't decipher His plan for the universe.

I only see that the universe is populated with billions of galaxies. I ask myself what point would there be in making them if not to fill them with life?

Why limit yourself to "life"?

I'm serious. Since we are talking about a Being who created black holes and muons and who knows what all we haven't discovered yet . . . what if He has things up His sleeve we haven't even been able to fathom yet?

Most people here seem opposed to the idea of God creating life elsewhere. Why is that? Do people not like the idea that they may not be alone in God's affection or is there a scriptural basis for this bias against extraterrestrial life?

I personally am not opposed to life outside of our planet. But yes there is that unknown of how to make sense of other life with Redemption.

But please don't believe the reluctance is about fear, OK? It's like the majority of scientists who rejected the claim that Homo floresiensis was a part of the human ancestry chain - without doing any studies themselves, their reaction was that it doesn't fit with their understanding of human evolution, and so the theory was fought against. You can argue the details all you want about how it's not the same, but the bottom line is that it is the same principle.

[nebula]

I am not sure what the current age of the known universe is thought to be. Probably Nebula could give an answer.

The current thought I believe is about 13 billion years.

[sysvr4]

Mathematically derived evidence is dependent on unattainable precision.

The conclusions presented are specious, at best.

I think I agree, but that aside, what do you think in general about the likelihood of life existing elsewhere?

My response is in haste, however...

The probability of existence of extraterrestrial life is dependent upon our presumptions regarding infinity.