Aliens are what you get when people who don’t believe in an all powerful, intergalactic being came to earth in the form of a man to save mankind are looking for an all powerful, intergalactic being to come to earth in the form of a man to save mankind.
Our fascination with unexplained aerial phenomena is an interesting story. The belief that they are piloted by beings from another galaxy is impossible science fiction. Whether life evolved on some other planet in some other galaxy is speculation based on probabilities, but, in the end, it’s irrelevant.
No massive sentient being could traverse the distances between galaxies in any conceivable time that would make the journey useful. The laws of physics are clear; this is impossible.
Those two ideas can coexist without conflict.
Man, I really like that!
Fair warning, FRiend - I’m definitely stealing that! :))
Atheist Stephen Hawking believed that intelligent alien life almost certainly exists.
However, he strongly warned humanity against actively trying to make contact or broadcast signals into space.
He famously cautioned that advanced extraterrestrial civilizations might be “nomadic conquerors” looking to plunder Earth for its resources.
He compared a potential encounter to Christopher Columbus arriving in the Americas.