I have just watched a TV programme, in the series Issues of Faith, entitled UFO- ALIEN-RELIGION.

It made me realize that though people call religion spiritual and science materialistic, it is just the reverse.

Religion begins with the spiritual as reality and then looks for material confirmation of its tenets.
Science begins with the material as reality and searches for an understanding of the mystery of life.

The Issues of Faith programme, which set about interpreting religious texts in terms of science fiction, was trying to give material reality to angels, demons, miracles and transfigurations by interpreting them as aliens, ufos, and transportation through space (as in beam me up Scotty).

They had Hindu, Muslim, Christian, African and Jewish religious authorities giving credence to the existence of God through their willingness to accept the existence of extraterritorial life. They gave me the impression that they regarded themselves as progressive, libertarian thinkers because they could encompass aliens as spiritual beings and were aware of parallel universes. But, as far as I was concerned, they were simply using a new analogy to justify the metaphors in their religious texts and repudiate evolution. Religious authorities believe in a finite truth.

I do not believe in fairy tales though I do recognise their value in helping us make sense of our lives. I prefer the scientific discoveries about human existence. Scientists examine material evidence that we can all see, in their attempts to discover the beginnings of life. They accept life as a mystery and continue to search for answers and in their search they come up with the technology that turns ordinary human beings into space travellers. Theirs is an expanding truth because it allows for challenges..