Does alien life exist somewhere in the universe? Could be. I have no idea. And to be honest, I don't find this question to be all that interesting. Why? "Alien life" could refer to little more than single-cell organisms on a remote planet. Does sentient life exist somewhere in the universe? That is a more interesting question, but it still only takes us so far. The answer to this question might have little relevance to us.
What we'd like to know is whether sentient alien life has visited our planet from theirs. Has this happened during our lifetimes? If so, does our government know about it and are hiding it from us? Are aliens still visiting? Are any of the abduction stories accurate? If aliens have not visited, are they likely to do so in our lifetimes? These questions seem far more relevant.
Do these questions and their varying relevance remind you of anything? How about gods? People have spilled blood over the question of whether gods exist. How relevant is that question? Suppose gods do exist out there somewhere. We will assume that they are sentient. But that still doesn't mean they affect our lives in any way. Like aliens, gods might not even be aware of us. And if they were aware, they could be indifferent. They could be off doing their own thing. Impersonal gods like this don't seem relevant to us. Who would care if they exist?
We want to know whether gods have been and still are playing a role in our daily lives. We don't care whether they know about us and are paying attention. We care whether they are interacting with us. Are they doing things that impact us? That's what we care about. Well, that and whatever they might have in store for us and our loved ones after we die.
Alien life might exist. Sentient alien life might exist too. Sentient aliens could have visited our planet and still be doing so. They might have build every one of our monoliths and have a long track record of abducting humans. Our government could know all about them and still be concealing it from us. Assuming you don't believe 100% of this, what would it take for you to do so? I'll venture a guess that it would take evidence. You are a reasonable person. If there was enough evidence, you'd believe this.
Sentient gods might exist too. They might know of us, care about us, and involve themselves in our affairs. They might work magic by request so that our favorite sports teams win or we find that parking spot. They might have plans for us after we die. If you aren't yet convinced of 100% of this, what would it take for you to believe? Would you need evidence? Or could you believe because somebody told you to "have faith" or because doing so makes you feel good?
I'd need evidence for alien visitors and involved gods. Without it, I find that it makes more sense to live my life as if these things didn't exist. They might exist. That isn't the point. Then what is the point? I see little reason to believe in them until I have enough evidence to support a rational belief.
