First, a bit of background:
I was recently in a discussion about the possibility of life outside of Earth, on distant planets with two Jehovah's Witness friends of mine. Both seemed skeptical. Logic says that if the Universe is infinitely expanding, and THERE IS a Creator/Intelligent Being behind all of this, then why stop with just life on one planet? Why would an eternal God not create an abundance of life on other planets? Surely, if James Cameron and George Lucas can dream up new planets and new life forms, the Almighty of The Universe can!
I began to speculate with these two that perhaps life had existed for eons on other planets in the Universe, and so God didn't destroy humans because he is aware of our potential. Perhaps there is a parallel race of humans/intelligent life that did not disobey his command?
I find it odd that both of these men refused to entertain the idea, especially since it does not conflict with The Bible. Just because The Bible doesn't mention it, doesn't mean it isn't true -- like many other things The Bible doesn't mention (i.e. The Dinosaurs).
Both argued that the Earth would be of the upmost importance to God because this is where the issue of Universal Soverignty is being settled.
Now on to my main point:
I find it interesting that this catch phrase is thrown around by Jehovah's Witnesses SO MUCH. The words Universe or Universal are not even in The Bible. The idea of Universal Soverignty a la the Job account is totally fabricated by the organization. The Bible does not say that this is the direct reason that humanity continues to suffer. It's only a guess, AT BEST.
I had never really thought about it until now, but found it funny that a discussion about alien life would lead me to such a conclusion. If you had asked me a year ago, I would have probably bet on the fact that the words "Universal Soverignty" were written somewhere in The Bible.
Thoughts?