"Richard Alexander" <pooua@aol.com> wrote in message news:d8fbbe2d.0408111656.32e09a48@posting.google.com...

"Rob Dekker" <rob@verific.com> wrote in message news:<92oSc.5481$as5.3141@newssvr29.news.prodigy.com>...

[snip]

For example, this Universe has at least 50billion galaxies with
each at least 200billion stars, of which ours is only one.
I cannot 'believe' that we would be the only one. That for me is unimaginable.

Argument from Incredulity.

Only if you interpret the Scripure in one particular way.
Faith does not exclude critical thinking and probabilistic analysis, so
I see no 'incredulity' in my belief.

The scientist in me would state that the likelyhood of being
alone is statistically insignificant.

In order to determine the likelihood of something, one would have to
know the how something would happen in the first place, and how likely
it is that such things would happen. We don't have a working process
that would result in life originating from unliving chemicals
responding only to natural forces. We don't know of any event in which
life arises from such combinations.

From scientific point of view, quantum mechanics pretty much state that
anything can happen with a certain probability if you look at a small-enough scale.
The probability of life arising from a quantum effect is most likely very small,
but not zero. Only because we do not understand what life really is, and that
we currently cannot calculate this probabilty with any decent accuracy does not
mean that it does not exist. The probability exists, and is not ruled out by any
known law of physics.

From religious point of view, you can believe that we are the only one, or
you can believe that we are not. Either way, it does not affect you Faith.

My religious belief is that He would not put us in such a lonely place.

Adam and Eve were the only ones mentioned in Eden. The only reason we
have 6 billion people now is that Adam and Eve could reproduce, not
because God molded up a bunch more mud around the world.

That is only if you assume that Eden was on planet Earth a few thousand
years ago. I believe that it was given a name and place to make it understandable,
but Eden could very easily be interpreted as the early universe, in which case
offspring of Adam and Eve could easily be spread over the entire universe.