Galaxy May Be Full of "Earths" and Alien Life

Some years back I had an e-mail debate with a faculty member at Pat Robertson's Regent University in response to something idiotic he had said in a local newspaper article. In the course of the debate we got around the issue of whether or not the Christianist view that the literal interpretation of the Bible with all its human frailties and cultural and historical limitations applied to the entire universe or whether perhaps instead adjustments might be required to account for life on other planets, etc. This supposed academic was adamant that the Bible applied literally everywhere and at all times. I can only imagine how this man and similar flat earth Neanderthals will react to news being reported by CNN that scientists suggests there could be hundreds, even thousands, of intelligent civilizations in the Milky Way galaxy. Personally, I do not put the concept of God in a small box and, therefore, do not see where the basic Christian message of the Gospels - love of God and love of neighbor - is irreconcilable with intelligent life on other planets. Biblical literalism on the other hand simple falls apart and is irreconcilable. No doubt the extreme Christianists will label such scientific claims as the "work of the devil." Here are some story highlights:

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As NASA prepares to hunt for Earth-like planets in our corner of the Milky Way galaxy, there's new buzz that "Star Trek's" vision of a universe full of life may not be that far-fetched. . . . scientists are offering fresh insights into the possible existence of inhabited worlds and intelligent civilizations in space.

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There may be 100 billion Earth-like planets in the Milky Way, or one for every sun-type star in the galaxy, said Alan Boss, an astronomer with the Carnegie Institution . . . Other scientists are taking another approach: an analysis that suggests there could be hundreds, even thousands, of intelligent civilizations in the Milky Way Galaxy.

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NASA is hoping to find much more habitable worlds with the help of the upcoming Kepler mission. The spacecraft, set to be launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida next week, will search for Earth-size planets in our part of the galaxy.

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Finding intelligent life is a very different matter. For all the speculation about the possibility of other civilizations in the universe, the question remains: If the rise of life on Earth isn't unique and aliens are common, why haven't they shown up or contacted us? The contradiction was famously summed up by the physicist Enrico Fermi in 1950 in what became known as the Fermi paradox: "Where is everybody?" The answer may be the vastness of time and space, scientists explained.

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Even if intelligent civilizations did exist at the same time, they probably would be be separated by tens of thousands of light years, Forgan said. If aliens have just switched on their transmitter to communicate, it could take us hundreds of centuries to receive their message, he added. As for interstellar travel, the huge distances virtually rule out any extraterrestrial visitors.