I don’t try to join religious/spiritual issues with science.
Current science can’t seem to get over the idea that ‘mind’ is a product of the physical brain. I guess you could call me a dualist.
In my view, you can’t separate religious or spiritual issues from science, not if we are to remain whole. To try otherwise is why we are prepared to mutilate children in the name of transgenderism and why we think it’s a great idea to create a singularity between man an machine to become borg or why we are allowing AI to gather the resources to eventually murder us.
We are meant to be whole, with proper religion giving the guidelines as to the limitations that we should operate under.
Since I believe that there is a last deception to come, I cannot separate the idea that a spaceship coming down, with a federation president inside, wouldn’t be part of that deception.
I’m not against the idea of meeting alien species, but my position is that should happen after the coming of the Messiah. Before that, it’s probably wiser that we don’t entertain it.