I would guess there was life on Mars at some point.
I believe in God, and as a result believe the universe should be loaded with life.
I also think that if extra-terrestrials ever visited the earth, humans would take them for angels or demons.

My own views wouldn't change at all. In my world view we inhabit a vast universe with more habitable planets than it is possible to imagine, many of which contain life and some of which are bound to contain intelligent life. The only matter of any doubt is the density of this life. Sadly, whether a few organisms exist on Mars or not won't answer that in any meaningful way.

Now, the reverse situation would be much more impactful. If humanity managed to create a way of quickly travelling between the stars and found, after thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of exploration missions not a single world with life... That would really be a shock to my world view and entire philosophy on life.

I just love the way we're using our sciences and technology to explore the universe. I get excited about the potential of the two one kilometre square radio telescope arrays currently under construction, one in Africa and the other in Western Australia

The possibility that we'd find no life anywhere else in the universe is a really interesting idea indeed!

I agree it would be quite shocking and would probably cause many to doubt their world views.

@MajorMitchell: Yes, the Square Kilometer Array is a fascinating project -- I really hope it secures the final funding it needs for the construction to get under away asap.

As someone who believes in God, I find no reason to bat an eyelid over life on other planets. Scientifically, I expect it. I don't particularly see how this would challenge someone's faith.

To follow Oct's line of thought though, if there were no life anywhere in the universe except here would be quite extraordinary. It certainly wouldn't change my views a bit either, though perhaps that wouldn't be true for everyone.

When God was putting life on earth, some of the magic slipped between his fingers. Because of this we should expect to find more life on planets nearer to the earth than those further away.
Therefore if we find fond life on Mars but have not found it on any other planet then it will be further evidence of the existance of God.
I am talking about the main god here, the Middle Eastern one. I think all other gods are just made up.

The existence of life on other planets is not something that would concern me in term of my faith. Every time man has stepped out to explore his surroundings he has "discovered" other people. What would interest me would be their culture and values. Have creatures evolved on entirely different worlds developed similar values or is there way of thinking entirely different. That for me would have greater implications for my faith.

What if they haven't reached that state yet?

Which God?

Also @CA finding life and finding culture are two very different prospects.

I would be surprised if any culture we did come across didn't follow the same rules we see on earth for systems. Like systems where 'individuals' are not free but controlled by chemical signals (al-la ants colonies/ bee hives) systems where 'individuals' are policed for inappropriate behaviour and put down if they deviate from norms (like cells in a body) etc. We have hundreds of such systems (though your value system may make it harder to see them) in a huge variety.

I don't see how aliens could be that much different. (Except in methods - like maybe they use photons instead of chemical signals...)

I'm going to be very disappointed if we're alone in the universe.

@Steephie
“What if they haven't reached that state yet?”
I’m not sure where you’re going with that. If it hasn’t reached the state to develop religion or philosophy than it probably wouldn’t have much bearing on my worldview.

“Which God?”
From the OP, I presumed everyone would be speaking about his/her own.

“Finding life and finding culture are two very different prospects.”
That’s true, unless we are speaking about bacterial cultures 

“I would be surprised if any culture we did come across didn't follow the same rules we see on earth for systems.”
I am not sure why. Our systems reflect our environments to a great degree. An abundance of resources have been shown to cause quadrupedal apes to adapt by walking on two legs so they can carry more. Residence of different worlds would have to adapt to quite different environments.

“Like systems where 'individuals' are not free but controlled by chemical signals (al-la ants colonies/ bee hives)”
Well sure, hive species have long shown up in Science fiction as some of the most formidable adversaries. The Borg (of Roddenberry’s “Star Trek TNG”), The Bugs (of Heinlein’s “Starship Troopers”), and The Formics (of Card’s “Ender’s Game”) all show deadly efficiency in battle and show us that having a community of individuals could be woefully ill prepared to take on a community that acts instinctively as one. Card goes farther in showing that a mistake in the estimation of another race’s sentience can have horrific consequences for both the judged and the judge.
The next time you pull weeds from your garden, remember it’s a genocide from the weed’s perspective.
“systems where 'individuals' are policed for inappropriate behaviour and put down if they deviate from norms (like cells in a body) etc.” Likewise there are hundreds of dystopias in literature as well. Not actually what you were referring too, I know, but that was the first thing that came to mind in response.

“We have hundreds of such systems”
Sure and I don’t discount them at all. I’m not sure what I wrote that made you assume the opposite. That’s precisely what I was talking about. Yet, I disagree, that the systems would necessarily be the same. I am certainly not aware of the biology surrounding sure systems. I am thinking along the same lines of Carl Sagan when he famously addressed the science fiction idea of sex with aliens. “You’d have better luck mating with a petunia, at least you evolved on the same planet with it.” It seems that he's suggesting that vastly different environment could result in vastly different systems.

as long as they have webdiplomacy on this alien planet...

Variant idea..

" It seems that he's suggesting that vastly different environment could result in vastly different systems. "

Yes, they have the same underlying physics, you get the same sorts of restrictions and successful strategies, even if you are not working in the same chemistry...

If God created life on other planets then we'd be informed of that in the Bible or Koran

No, that argument wouldn't work. Why would God reveal information about everything he created in the Bible? He didn't even reveal everything about the world we live on...

And the gross inaccuracies and contradictions in both those books containing "his truth"... are they there for his amusement ? or ours?

You seem to want things both ways according to your ideological needs, when required they contain the complete truth, but when that's inconvenient, well he left a few things out.
A "heads up" about the sources of water borne disease such as cholera might have been useful to the human race that God purportedly created and loves

Oh I am not saying the Bible is the truth. You may be a bit confused here. I give no opinion as to the veracity of the holy book.

Water-borne diseases such as cholera, that God designed. Don't forget that part. God wanted people to die of cholera.

It's a tiresome debate and not really the focus of this thread, an example is the question
"Is the Bible / Koran a perfect or imperfect version of God's word ?"
Now I always say imperfect because imperfect humans are the "translators". of those visionary dreams etc, eg God spoke to person x and person x is relating God's word to us and does so in an imperfect human way
It aso seems I have a talent for killing a thread, hope I haven't done it here

Apologies for being a bit harsh Mr G
Love your work Jamiet99uk

Dying is rather important, and every living creature on earth seems to have adopted it as a vital element to the success of the species. There are a few plants that seem to keep going until something kills them, but as they've been living longer than science has existed observations are imperfect.

Would be great to discover a world where life never evolved the ability to die of old age. I wonder if it's even possible for intelligent immortals to evolve...

Perhaps the way that an intelligent species evolves to immortality is the leaving the physical existence in the 4 dimensional reality we know concept.
( 3 dimensions of space and time being the 4th )
They evolve to beings that can exist in those extra dimensions physicists are theorizing about, and can visit us without is being aware of their presence

Damn typo's...... should be....
.....visit us without us being aware....

Personally I'm not interested in immortality for myself, I think it would be rather ghastly, particularly if it was stuck here in this mortal, breathing world.There's two elderly ladies, my mother and an aunt to whom I am bound in duty and love, but once they've shuffled of to heaven, then I have no great desire to hang about in this brave new world

Thanks Octavious for taking this thread in a new direction