Extraterrestrial life involves the hypothesis that life could exist outside of the earth. The life that is existent outside of earth is viewed not to have started on earth. Essentially, it is the proposition that there is the probability that life exists outside the earth space. Astrobiology is the science that studies life beyond the earth. The existence of life beyond the earth could take simple forms such as prokaryotes while others could even be more advanced than the humans who inhabit the earth. From the beginning of the 20 th century, scientists have investigated the existence of life beyond the earth. Methods used for research has included the use of telescopic and specimen information to the use of radios to search for communication signals.
The field of science fiction has been impacted the most by the studies relating to extraterrestrial life 1 . Works of fiction have proposed various theories in trying to understand the concepts around extraterrestrial life. The theories propose a wide range of possibilities that could be linked to the existence of life beyond the earth. As a result of the various works of fiction, the public has lately been hugely involved in the topic surrounding the issues of life beyond the earth. One topic that has received widespread attention is the attempts to start communications with extraterrestrial intelligence. Theorists believe that when contact is made with the outside world, then the position of the earth might be given away. When the extraterrestrial life discovers the position of the earth, it could lead to the earth being attacked by a group of unknown people. Therefore, the manner of communication has gone on to spark a lot of conflict in the way that scientists should go about their experimentation. There is a general urge for caution in attempts to alert the creatures outside of the earth of the existence of the planet.
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The history of unidentified flying objects could be traced to Kenneth Arnold who reported to have seen flying saucers from the mid-1940s 2 . After the confession by Kenneth Arnold, other people also came out to highlight their experiences of having seen flying UFOs. However, it was George Adamski who made contact with UFOs in the modern era. On November 20, 1952, claimed to have been visited by another being from planet Venus. As a result of that, Adamski started saying that he was the selected person to deliver messages from the aliens to the human race. Adamski then went ahead to attract a following of the people that were interested in knowing further about aliens 3 . The International Get Acquainted Club was formed by a group of people who wanted to learn further about aliens. Later on, followers of Adamski formed many other such groups to recruit people and later led to the formation of UFO religion. Since the 1950’s a lot of leaders of such groups claimed to have been visited by aliens from other planets. The leaders even told their followers that they had travelled to other planets and seen how the human races on earth were still lagging in terms of civilization.
The theosophical society and UFO religions have been found to have connections. The underlying reason for the connection between UFO and theosophical thought being the features of the aliens are usually almost identical. However, with advancement, Eastern religious beliefs such as karma and reincarnation have been incorporated into UFO religions 4 . Sanat Kumara and Sananda are a good illustration of theosophical beliefs and that of the UFO religion. The formation of the UFO religion has similarities with the way that religions such as Christianity and Buddhism were formed. In all cases, there was a communication with an extraterrestrial being who lived beyond the earth. The contact was made with only one being who was on the earth and the individual in contact as the reference point with the followers. The ability to learn things outside of the earth was the main attraction.
The UFO groups propose that the human race is still backward in their ways of life. The traditional religion takes for granted the existence of life beyond the earth, which is contrary to what the UFO belief proposes 5 . The UFO thought believes that the human race inhabiting the earth is still far behind and need the help of the aliens to advance in various areas. However, the UFO theorists provide little knowledge about the origin of planet earth. The theory that has been advanced by the UFO theorists is that the humans on earth came into existence as a result of the manipulation of DNA by the aliens who understood DNA manipulations from an early age. Chariots of the Gods by Erich von Daniken was a book published in 1969 that had already proposed the idea that humans on earth were as a result of the manipulation of DNA by aliens who created them and then left the earth. UFO religion insists that maintaining contact with the aliens is the only way to the improvement of the human race and salvation. Human problems such as those of the environment, nuclear weapons, and self-destruction could only be mitigated by seeking aliens. The ideal goal advanced by UFO religion is that the way for the human race to be saved was through seeking more contact with the aliens 6 . The aliens would easily provide solutions to human problems that could destroy the earth. The human race on earth could only get to evolve even better through looking up to the aliens for help.
The proof of life beyond the earth has elicited a lot of controversies over the years. The lack of proper evidence to prove the existence of alien life has been used as a means to dispute the existence of UFO. The very few sightings have not properly been recorded. Additionally, the failure of various prophecies by prophets of UFO religion such as Chen Tao’s admission that God was going to speak the human race over the television has not aided in further adding to the belief in religion. There are almost only twenty groups that still exist today. Furthermore, the choice to commit suicide by a group of Heaven’s Gate group’s followers to commit suicide showed how dangerous the religion could become. The thinking that extraterrestrial beings attack on earth is unavoidable is another thought about life beyond the earth that has been told. The theorists believe that at some point, the creatures that created the earth will ultimately return to capture what belongs to them. Since they created the humans on earth, the return of aliens would be justified according to the UFO religious thought.
Life beyond earth has been proposed as yet another religion in UFO understanding. The ministers who are people who have made contact with the aliens claim that life exists beyond the earth. However, the UFO religion attempts to use science to justify and explain their understanding of religion 7 . The traditional religion places a lot of emphasis on how the earth came to existence. UFO looks at the way that the human beings came to inhabit the earth without looking at how the earth was created 8 . Scientific data that speculates that there might be extraterrestrial life beyond the earth such as sightings, radio communications, and telescopic technology has been the driving force for the development of UFO religion. The main focus is on the ability of human beings on earth to seek the aliens because they could offer solutions to problems that the human race on earth have failed to solve.
In conclusion, extraterrestrial life beyond earth is not a definite thing. A lot of debate has arisen over the existence of life beyond earth. Scientific work continues to be done to ensure that a definite solution is found. Presently, there has been the emergence of the UFO religion that attempts to explain the human race in terms of their ability to relate with the aliens. Various contact persons have come forth to explain the experiences that they have had with aliens outside of the earth. However, the inability of the contact persons to fully convince their various audiences that they are in a position to connect with the aliens has led to only a few sections of the human race following the ideology. There is no definite proof of extraterrestrial life beyond the earth due to lack of enough evidence since the research methods present cannot fully account for the explanations as advanced by the contact persons.
Bibliography
Mack, John, Abduction Study Conference, David Pritchard, & Andrea Pritchard. Alien Discussions: Proceedings of the Abduction Study Conference Held at M.I.T . Cambridge, Ma. North Cambridge Pr, 1995.
Appelle, Stuart. “Ufology and Academia.” In UFOs & Abductions: Challenging the Borders of Knowledge edited by David M. Jacobs. University Press of Kansas, 2000. Pp 7-30
Brake, Mark. Alien Life Imagined: Communicating the Science and Culture of Astrobiology . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013.
Denzler, Brenda. “A Short History of Alien Encounters.” In The Lure of the Edge: Scientific Passions, Religious Beliefs, and the Pursuit of UFOs . University of California Press, 2003. Pp 34-66.
Denzler, Brenda. “A Short History of the UFO myth.” In The Lure of the Edge: Scientific Passions, Religious Beliefs, and the Pursuit of UFOs . University of California Press, 2003. Pp 1-33.
Saliba, John A. “UFO Religions.” In Encyclopedia of Religion, 2nd Edition , Edited by Lindsay Jones; Mircea Eliade; & Charles J Adams. Macmillan Reference USA.
Vakoch, Douglas. Astrobiology, History, and Society: Life Beyond Earth and the Impact of Discovery . Berlin: Springer Science & Business Media, 2013.
1 Stuart Appelle, “Ufology and Academia,” in UFOs & Abductions: Challenging the Borders of Knowledge Edited by David M. Jacobs, ( University Press of Kansas, 2000)
2 John Mack, Abduction Study Conference, David Pritchard, & Andrea Pritchard, Alien Discussions: Proceedings of the Abduction Study Conference Held at M.I.T., (Cambridge, Ma. North Cambridge Pr, 1995)
3 Brenda Denzler, “A Short History of the UFO myth,” in The Lure of the Edge: Scientific Passions, Religious Beliefs, and the Pursuit of UFOs , (University of California Press, 2003) pp 1-33.
4 John A. Saliba, “UFO Religions” In Encyclopedia of Religion, 2nd Edition , (Macmillan Reference USA).
5 Douglas Vakoch, Astrobiology, History, and Society: Life Beyond Earth and the Impact of Discovery , (Berlin: Springer Science & Business Media, 2013).
6 Saliba, UFO Religions.
7 Mark Brake, Alien Life Imagined: Communicating the Science and Culture of Astrobiology , (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013).
8 Brenda Denzler, “A Short History of Alien Encounters,” In The Lure of the Edge: Scientific Passions, Religious Beliefs, and the Pursuit of UFOs (University of California Press, 2003), Pp 34-66.
