Aliens the new god ?

[CarbonCopy]

In the past, people would say that everything is based on god, as they could not explain it in any other way. They made elaborate stories about god(s) and this created a sort of culture and identity of the people. God for people was a way to express their ambitions and desires as a society of controlling nature.

I see a parallel between that and the modern day notion on aliens. They have come to signify our fears as a technological race as well as our hopes of better tech and intergalactic travel. Also, many unexplained things are blamed on aliens. Just like the notion of God, aliens have seeped into our culture, and we are creating modern day myths such as chupacabra, little green men,etc.

 

My question is that are Aliens the new god, in the sense that we are placing our hopes and ambitions in them and creating myths about them, just like we did with God before.

 

NOTE : I am NOT asking whether God/Aliens exist. I am talking about how they have been/are being represented in our culture. Please do not debate if God/Aliens exist or not.

Edited March 30, 2013 by CarbonCopy

[ydoaPs]

For the History Chanel, sometimes.

[zapatos]

I see something very similar, but to me it seems as if aliens are for those who are rejecting the notion of god but cannot quite accept the notion that we are beholden to no one. God may seem too ridiculous, but Egyptians building pyramids by themselves seems unbelievable. Substitute aliens for god and you've found a happy medium that lets you deny god but still have an explanation for things you cannot understand.

 

I believe aliens for some people are simply baby steps for doing away with the notion of god.

Edited March 30, 2013 by zapatos

[kvraghavaiah]

Aliens do not have as much significance as God has in the society.

[Ophiolite]

Aliens do not have as much significance as God has in the society.

For some people this is simply untrue. The OP has a point, but is perhaps in danger of over-generalising. I suspect his observations apply to a minority of individuals, but apply they do.

[imatfaal]

For some people this is simply untrue. The OP has a point, but is perhaps in danger of over-generalising. I suspect his observations apply to a minority of individuals, but apply they do.

 

Agree - a form of non-specific spiritualism seems to fill a gap for another (intersecting) subset of the population.

[John Cuthber]

From ET's point of view, I'm an alien.

Does that make me a God?

[CarbonCopy]

From ET's point of view, I'm an alien.

Does that make me a God?

 

I am not talking about it from the alien's point of view. I am talking about it from OUR point of view, where our society seems to be more placing their aspirations and fears on this alien myth that we are constructing, much like how the ancient people did with what they called god.

It seems small, but, I feel that it is gaining momentum, because of all the movies, subculture and myths we are creating around these aliens. I mean they even have their own pilgrimage site, Roswell .

Maybe I am over-generalising, and this applies to few fanatical people only. I'm not sure, that is why I want to discuss this with you guys.

[pwagen]

Maybe I am over-generalising, and this applies to few fanatical people only.

This seems the most accurate for me. Where I'm from, we've mostly discarded the idea of a god, but we haven't exchanged it with aliens in any way. Sure, there are a few who claim to have seen aliens or been abducted, but they don't even have the numbers to be counted as a minority.

 

If anything, it seems to me we (where I live) have exchanged our gods for science, reason, and reality shows.

[SomethingToPonder]

I understand what the Op is trying to get across. It is a funny idea, Because it might not be as true now but with all the culture and stories that has seeped into our culture over the years, Maybe in a hundred years or so there would be a much similar comparison, sort of like, How religion is looked at now compared to in the dark ages.

No doubt science is probably becoming the most credible and explainable reason for things now. Im sure there have been many doing so for thousands of years and at the time they were the minority.

I hope we start funding science more and investing in our futures.