Do Gods and Messiahs also rule over aliens?

[Jon]

I assume that a deity covers the entire cosmos, unless I have misunderstood. Given that, are they also therefore the rulers of aliens and yet to be born lifeforms? If the earth is only 7,000 years old, does it mean that ecosystems further away than 7,000 light years are exempt from this rule, operating under different laws? [Edit: On re-reading, my argument was missing a vital piece. Creationism believes the world is not that old, as I understand it. "Let there be light!" So the earth (and light) were formed at the same time.]

Do the Gods only influence organic lifeforms or also artificial intelligence?

(If you do not believe in the Gods, then perhaps you can just treat this as a hypothetical thought experiment.)

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Since I am known to be atheist, I think you can deduce my answer.

However, may I refer you to an EXCELLENT bit of fiction on this topic? James K Blish (now deceased, I believe) wrote a book titled A Case of Conscience that DEEPLY explores this topic. It is to my mind a masterful work written with such skill and balance that your own beliefs will color your interpretation of the final denouement. It is probably out of print now but if you could find an anthology from the 1980s (I think) you might find it. Or it might be in a library if you are lucky.

His premise is that in the future, Mankind has learned the tricks of star travel. We still have religion at this time, and a particular race of aliens has been discovered who strain the faith of the Jesuit priest who is the primary protagonist of this story. There is a race who behaves in an absolutely moral society but they are totally atheistic. The problem is that a moral society without God violates the Manichaean Heresy (if I recall it correctly). This society CAN'T exist if the Bible is correct. The story isn't about space travel but rather is about the conflict of faith that this triggers in the priest. will leave to interested readers to find this novel.