Ever since I fell in love with Star Wars as a little kid, I’ve wondered whether there is alien life somewhere out there in our universe. These movies opened up for me the concept of “a galaxy far, far away” where humans and other sentient life forms coexisted and traveled between planets. As a kid, that prospect seemed wonderful, and the possibility of extraterrestrial life has been something that I have continued to wonder about every time I look at the night sky. If you’ve ever sat around a campfire with me, you will probably have been asked for your thoughts on extraterrestrial life.
While the world of alien sightings and UFO reports is predictably filled with crazies and weirdos, I think this is a question that should be taken seriously. After all, in a universe as old and vast as ours, I think it is very likely that there could be planets that are currently sustaining life.
Over the last week, this question has been poking at me, once again. I watched the Netflix documentary Bob Lazar: Area 51 and Flying Saucers, and then listened to Bob Lazar’s two and a half hour interview on the Joe Rogan podcast. Bob Lazar claims to be a former US Navy employed physicist who worked at the Nevada Test Site in Area 51 as part of a team that was tasked with reverse engineering technology from alien spacecraft that the government is keeping hidden out there. He first told his story in 1989 and has not changed his story since, despite being subjected to several lie detector tests, intensely cross examined on numerous occasions, and even maintaining his story under oath in court.
Bob Lazar’s story is incredible because it’s surprisingly believable. He doesn’t come across as crazy, like most people who claim to have had UFO encounters. He makes a compelling enough case that I simply had to admit to myself that I cannot say definitively that he is making it all up. I just don’t know.
I realize that by making that statement, it inevitably sounds to some people like I’ve entered the world of tin-foil hats, deep-state conspiracies, and won’t be vaccinating my yet-unborn kids. Be that as it may, I still think that what it all comes down to is whether or not one believes it is possible for intelligent extraterrestrial life to exist and to come into contact with us. If the answer is no, then that settles the question. If the answer is yes or maybe, then we have to approach these sorts of stories with some measure of openness.
I personally don’t see any reason to rule out that there are sentient beings inhabiting other planets. From a scientific perspective, it doesn’t seem unlikely at all that there are planets out there that are capable of sustaining life. Theologically, I don’t see any reason to discount the possibility that God created life on other planets and is in relationship to them. If they do exist, I also don’t think it is impossible that they have developed technology that could allow them to travel through space and perhaps visit earth.
Again, I don’t think we should believe most stories of extraterrestrial encounters. Most of them are clearly fabricated or the result of drugs and/or mental illness. All I’m saying is I don’t think we should automatically dismiss the possibility, even as we evaluate every claim with a very healthy dose of skepticism
TECHIE'S SCRIBBLING 