This one comes up occasionally and I picked it because it’s sort of topical right now. Recently, I’ve seen a couple of articles where scientists are suggesting possible hints of life on other planets, though other scientists expressed doubt. Also, reports of possible UFO sightings seem to be on the rise as well. You may also have heard of the SETI Project (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). The project began in 1959 looking for radio signals from space which would possibly indicate intelligent life. It’s just in our nature to be curious about such things. But, for some reason, the idea of life being discovered beyond earth in the future worries some Christians as if that will somehow challenge the story of creation in the Bible. So, let’s begin by saying that the Bible is silent on whether or not God created life elsewhere. And given the vast size of the known universe it would surprise me if God only blessed earth with life, but it certainly could be only us. Second, we need to keep in mind what the main purpose of the Bible is. God didn’t give us the Bible to satisfy our curiosity, though we often wish otherwise. Sometimes the Bible just doesn’t tell us everything we want to know about certain things--When and how did Mary and Joseph die? Where is the Ark of the Covenant? How old is the earth? What happened to the dinosaurs? When is Jesus coming back? And so on. On the other hand, the main purpose of the Bible is to reveal our Creator and to show us how to be in a right relationship with Him. And it teaches us how we ought to live our lives. It is primarily God’s plan to save us and to give us a guide for faith, morality and spiritual growth. Those are the main things the Bible presents and it has been said “The main things are plain things.” Currently we have no compelling evidence that there is extraterrestrial life, but that is not evidence that such life does not exist. I believe it was the scholar William Lane Craig that said, “Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence” The only way anyone could say with certainty that there isn’t life beyond us is to know everything that there is to know about the universe. And we don’t possess such knowledge. Interestingly though, the same is true for the atheist who says that God does not exist. In order for them to say with certainty that God does not exist they also would have to have complete knowledge of the universe. You might lovingly and gently remind them of that should it ever come up.  I hope that this encourages you that whether or not life exists beyond earth, it has no bearing at all on the truth of the Christian faith.