ETs and loss of faith

Here is today's Breakpoint commentary by Chuck Colson: "The Cosmic Drama: Does It Include ET?" In it he points out, following Benjamin Walker, that belief in extraterrestrial life began more than two millennia ago with the epicurean materialists who sought to rid the world of transcendent religion. Writes Colson:

Today we’re witnessing a huge resurgence of interest in extraterrestrials. As was the case two thousand years ago, those who reject belief in God are at the forefront of the search for Little Green Men. Some people spend their whole lives trying to prove something is “out there.”

Colson's analysis rings true. Some months ago I wrote of my agnostic grandfather, who could not manage to embrace the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for his sins, but flirted with a variety of eccentric beliefs, including the presence near or on earth of UFOs and extraterrestrials. In some people the search for intelligent life beyond earth does seem to take on the dimensions of a spiritual quest.