There is a question that fascinates me since I thought about it the first time. “Do aliens exist?” My fascination is not with the answer. I must admit I don’t really think about life in outer space. It is rather with the question itself. At a first glance it seems to be a simple yes/no question. But actually “no” is not a possible answer. For that we would have to know the entire universe. Every single molecule on every star, planet, comet, asteroid, and every speck of dust out there. The answer “yes” on the other hand needs proof that some form of alien life exists. (The difference between life in general and what people mean when they say “alien” might still cause some discussion.) Until we meet aliens the only option is “I don’t know.” So it is a yes/no question but only “yes” and “I don’t know” are possible answers.

At this point it is imperative that I distinguish between the question “Do aliens exist?” and “Do you believe in aliens?” The difference is obvious but still worth pointing out. While the first question addresses a general truth the latter looks for personal opinion. The first only knows two possible answers the latter can be answered to everyones heart’s content.

If you go to your favorite coffee shop and ask a random costumer “Do aliens exist?” it is still quite probable that he or she will start answering the question “Do you believe in aliens?” But why is that? I think it lies in the cold nature of the original question and the fact that we just don’t like to admit that we don’t know something. Asking about or believe on the other hand makes us think about our hopes and dreams. (I have never asked a random stranger if aliens exist or if he or she believes in aliens. It sounds like a fun question to ask though.)

Recently I realized that I know a second question of the same kind. “Does God exist?” And for the same reasons it only has two possible answers. “Yes” and “I don’t know.” A lot in this case is based on the definition of the word “God”, ok, but it is still the same type of question with the same possible answers. It becomes even more tricky because a god could be able to choose not to interact with the universe. In that case knowing everything would not even allow the answer “no”. This is where I see a dilemma in the atheistic point if view.

For a possible solution the alien question comes in handy. I must admit that I would not just answer with “I don’t know.” My answer would rather be “I don’t know, but I’m living my life as if there where no aliens.” So, sure I don’t know if alien lifeforms exist but the possibility that they do does not alter my way of life. That is mainly because I think the probability of mankind meeting aliens until I pass away is to small to be significant. And that is basically a form of atheism I can understand. An “I don’t believe in God because I don’t see a way to prove his existence, so I just live like there is no God”-atheism. But due to the problem shown above I don’t think a “There is no God. Period.” attitude is helpful. (The next higher level and therefore even less helpful is “There is no God and everybody who even remotely thinks otherwise is plain stupid.”)

I do however understand people who have a certain picture in mind when they talk about God and don’t want that kind of god. A god who’s only goal in life is to punish and destroy the wicked for example. Man, I would totally hate a god like that. But even if a god like that exists my feelings towards him or her would not change the fact. But this is another topic altogether. It is not about the mere existence of God but rather of what I think God is like and if I would like a god like that around. And now we can talk.

Every now and then a few of Jehovah’s witnesses get lost and end up in our house. And even though we have essential differences in our convictions I often like chatting with them. The reason for that was summed up by one of the ladies this way: “It is good to challenge your believes once in a while.” And I absolutely agree with her. Through our conversations I not only discovered that we have different opinions but I was able to check for myself if I might be the one who is wrong. I was no longer able to live with vague ideas, they had to become very specific. So when it comes to the differences between them and me now I have a quite clear understanding of their believes of my believes and why I consider mine the better. (In all that I have to point out that I have a very high respect for Jehovah’s witnesses and especially their bravery to go around taking to people about God. Man, I would love to be that bold.)  My point in this is hers exactly: It is good to challenge your believes once in a while.

So when we can agree that the non-existence of God is improvable we can start talking about the pictures that come to mind when we hear the word “god”. Let us challenge our believes and stop masking our believes about his or her existence with pseudo convictions and facts like “Science proved that there is no god.” (Which is by the way nonsense.) Let us ask questions like “Why do you want to live your life as if there were no God?” Let us stop being vague and start being specific. Then and only then we will be able to have an honest conversation about God. Everybody has a personal story why he or she thinks of God in a certain way. And each of these stories is worth listening to. So let’s start talking about God but even more let’s start listening.