User:Marskell/Religion and Extraterrestrial life

The attitudes of the world's religions towards the possible existence of extraterrestrial life have included both rejection and cautious acceptance. Where it exists at all in religious works, descriptions of other worlds and off-Earth life is often oblique or generalized, and thus easily disputed. In the Christian West, religious debate over extraterrestrials has centered on the supposedly unique status of the Earth within God's creation and consideration of his creative omnipotence.

Judaism
Authors of ancient Jewish sources also considered extraterrestrial life. The Talmud states that there are at least 18,000 other worlds, but provides little elaboration on the nature of the worlds and on whether they are physical or spiritual. Based on this, however, the medieval exposition "Sefer HaB'rit" posits that extraterrestrial creatures exist but that they have no free will (and are thus equivalent to animal life). It adds that human beings should not expect creatures from another world to resemble earthly life, any more than sea creatures resemble land animals.

Hinduism
Hindu beliefs of endlessly repeated cycles of life have led to descriptions of multiple worlds in existence and their mutual contacts ( Sanskrit word Sampark means 'contact' as in Mahasamparka = the great contact). However the relevance of such descriptions have to be evaluated in the context of understanding of geography and science at those times.

Islam
Within Islam, the statement of the Qur'an "All praise belongs to God, Lord of all the worlds" indicates multiple universal bodies and maybe even multiple universes that may indicate extraterrestrial and even extradimensional life. Surat Al-Jinn also mentioned a statement from a Jinn regarding the current status and ability of his group in the heavens. A more direct reference from Quran is presented by Mirza Tahir Ahmad as a proof that life on other planets may exist according to Quran. In his book, Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge & Truth, he quotes verse 42:30 "And among His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and of whatever living creatures (da'bbah) He has spread forth in both..."; according to this verse there is a possibility of life in heavens. According to the same verse "And He has the power to gather them together (jam-'i-him) when He will so please"; there is a chance of close encounter in the future.