Alien

"Writing in the Vatican newspaper, the astronomer, Father Gabriel Funes, said intelligent beings created by God could exist in outer space." - BBC. I agree with Father Gabriel here; we should not rule out the possibility of the existence of aliens.

I do not want to sit in a dimly lit basement, one of a circle of socially-inept, un-shaven and un-showered men, discussing every imaginable topic relating to aliens. Hours spent speculating upon the liklehood of extra-terrestrial life has no attraction to me. Disputes over various species of aliens, and what they would do if they came here are meaningless, because virtually nothing is known about the subject. However I do want to point out that we should not quickly deny the existence of something we are so unsure about.

To categorically state that aliens do not and cannot exist is to limit God's power (which is limitless).

It was in 330BC that Aristotle provided observational evidence for the spherical Earth. Until then, most of the world lived in blissful ignorance of just how spherical their planet Earth was. And it was not until 1543 that Copernicus's book, "On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres" was published that the concept that the Earth was not the center of the Universe began to be accepted.

At various stages throughout history, people have stood back and said "we've arrived". It is claimed that in 1899, Commissioner of the U.S. Patent Office Charles H. Duell said "everything that can be invented has been invented".

Let me finish by saying that I do not care whether aliens exist or not. I would dissuade people, especially children from too many hours spent, huddled under the duvet holding the Alien Mysteries book with cold, shivering and sweaty hands, pondering the *irrefutable* cases set before them with set jaw.

"We should not even discuss the possibility of aliens", some have said. Well, if this argument was used on Captain James Cook, it certainly didn't stop him from sailing half-way round the World, sailing un-chartered seas in a search for "The Great Southern Continent", and finding New Zealand (and Australia).

I see nothing inherently wrong in probing the depths of Space in search of alien creatures with whom we can communicate and trade with. The billions of tax-payer's dollars being used to fund such enterprises, however, is an entirely different issue! It is a pre-occupation with the idea of aliens and UFOs that we need to avoid.

Kiwi band Goldenhorse has a nice song called Alien.

Update (17 May): Jono responds with a strong argument against the possibility of the existence of Aliens. Click here to read his article.