A Simple Question...or 3!

[Ryantology]

DO YOU WANT TO BELIEVE IN GOD?

ABSOLUTELY UNLIKELY

...or is [proof] the main thing holding you back?

It is, but that is such a silly little thing to get worked up over.

Do you believe that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe?

I believe it is very likely that intelligent life exists somewhere in the universe.

Why would you think there is intelligent life somewhere else?

a) intelligent life exists on Earth, b) there are so many potential planets out there that the odds favor ours not being unique, and c) there have been billions of years for life to form on most of them.

Wouldn't it be a "belief" that someone exists w/o seeing proof?

Now, I do believe that there is life out there, and that is a measure of faith. Thing is, it is a measure of faith which is born from reason, and it is not something I would kill someone else over. I know you're trying to equate both 'beliefs', but there's a fundamental difference: Believing in God means that not only do you have to believe impossible things, but you have to ignore almost everything science has taught us for the last 400 years. Believing in intelligent extraterrestrial life requires that one believe that earthlike conditions exist on more than one of the billions of of trillions of quadrillions of planets (a cautious estimate) in the visible universe. There is nothing about this which sounds unlikely, much less impossible.

Also, wouldn't it be possible for this unproven intelligent life to be 100's of billions of years superior to us? And actual hide from us 40,000 year old infants?

Absolutely it would be. What is your point?