We are not alone

I think God, in his wisdom, has kept us well separated until we are mature and intelligent enough to deal with one another rationally, reasonably, and peacefully.

Excellent point, and one I haven't heard discussed. I agree that God would not limit his creative indevours to one lonely planet. Whether they could possibly look like us is debatable, although it is exciting to believe that they do. Perhaps the human race isn't ready to meet ET which explains why nothing else in our solar system is condusive to sustaining life as we know it. If we did make contact, could we handle it? (See the movie/read the book Contact by Carl Sagan.) It's out there; we just can't see it yet.

Which brings me to another question: Should the government continue to fund NASA or has the program run it's course? The space shuttle is outdated. Do we spend billions to replace it with a new form of space transport? Perhaps we should stop all manned space travel?