My grandmother was looking for her glasses for quite a while and had become quite upset. When I tried to speak to her about it, she was short with me and told me either to help her find them, or to leave her alone so that she could do so in peace. The problem was that she was already wearing them, and every time I said "gramma" she would tell me to be quiet. Eventually she looked at me and noticed that I was pointing at the glasses on her face. Sometimes we look for something that is already right in front of us, but we are "blinded" by things that keep us from seeing what we are looking for.
Another article in the news recently was reminding us that the late Stephen Hawking was positive that there was "intelligent life" in outer space, and that eventually we would be able to contact this life. He also usually said that the initial contact would not go well but I never read enough to figure out why he said that. Hawking wanted to look for that intelligent life because, according to him, it is arrogant to imagine that humans are the only intelligent species in existence. I actually agree with him. It is arrogant to imagine that humans are all that there is; that is why I believe in God. The fact that Hawking denied the existence of God shows that he was not as smart as he liked to think, nor was he as objective as many claimed he was, and though he had a lot of head knowledge, he did not do very well at examing Creation (for it all speaks about its Creator).
Of course there is intelligent life "out there". Otherwise, there is no way to explain how we got "here". The difference between Hawking's expectations of that intelligence, and my expectations of that intelligence is primarily the fact that mankind already contacted that "intelligent life" a long time ago (or should I say we were contacted by it?). In case it is not already obvious, it happened on the day God created Adam and Eve, for the greatest "intelligent life" that exists "out there" is, of course, God Himself. There are some other "intelligent life forms" out there as well, which are properly called, the angels, the cherubim and seraphim, and all the other heavenly beings. They also are intelligent beings that are not from this Earth (and very well may have contributed to some of the so-called UFO sightings!).
Although I do not know Hawking's personal beliefs (other than his statement that he was an atheist [and I do mean "was" for he is no longer such]), his search for his scientific view of life "out there" was an apparent rejection of the real Life "out there" (Who is also the "Way" and the "Truth"). Hawking's claim of humble wisdom in declaring that there had to be extraterrestrial beings is actually an attempt to avoid the fact that he is gravely mistaken. His view of "intelligent life" is still limited to a "this-worldly" creation (for even if there are sentient beings that are from another planet, then they too were created by God). He, therefore, has not found a genuine humility in acknowledging intelligent life that is beyond this world (for denying one's Creator is truly the height of arrogance!).
To be perfectly clear, I like science fiction stories; there is a certain fun to the creatively imaginary parts of them. Yet, science fiction is just that: fiction. Science fact says that there must be a God for nothing could exist without a proper cause. The problem today, however, is that it appears that there is more "fiction" in science than "fact". The search for aliens (in whatever form someone imagines them to exist) is misguided if it is not subject to the Creator Himself. Therefore, Hawking is both correct and incorrect. We will all one day come into face to face contact with that "intelligent life" that is "out there" and, he is also right that it may not go very well (at least for some). He is incorrect, though, because that Life, and that contact that we will all have, is nothing like what Hawking once expected it was going to be. Best to acknowledge that Life now, before it is too late.
