Finding an alien species and its effects on religion

[Zolar V]

What would happen to the religions of the world if we were to find extra terrestrial life on other planets?

[Sisyphus]

I think that depends on the religion. For example, The Catholic Church, surprisingly, is actually rather open to the idea:

 

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0802629.htm

[insane_alien]

well, until they find out that they've never heard of this god guy.

[Zolar V]

well, until they find out that they've never heard of this god guy.

 

lol, what if they have records of living for some hundreds of thousands of years?

 

im sure christianity would fall apart, expecially if they could prove thier existance. what of Muslim and other relgions then?

[insane_alien]

if they have records then the religions will deny them, like they so always do until its to late to save any pretence that they were being sane about it.

[Klaplunk]

I doubt other life-forms exist; and if they do they won't be much differen't to us. They may have differen't DNA structure, maybe quad-chromosomes, but that's not changing much - other life will still follow the same rules we do. Expanding over two halves, a center and an exterior, a top and a bottom, and a front and back. As we're never going to be able to travel a light year, the belief in other life is just as skeptical as the 'taught religion'.

[Moontanman]

Unless they are of the YEC bent and think the Earth is the end all be all of creation I can't see how they would have any problem with it. Give them a whole new group of beings to proselytize (when I read that word I always think of prostitution for some reason ) of course if the aliens have their own Religion and God or Gods then things might bet a little weird

[Klaplunk]

Yes, and they may also have alien cattle who are taught to interpret God wrong; wouldn't that be nice. You guys would fit in perfectly, sitting around the fire, laughing about how stupid the idea of God is. If only the aliens sat IN the fire, that way you may find a cure for your cancer.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

Yes, and they may also have alien cattle who are taught to interpret God wrong; wouldn't that be nice. You guys would fit in perfectly, sitting around the fire, laughing about how stupid the idea of God is. If only the aliens sat IN the fire, that way you may find a cure for your cancer.

 

What planet do you come from, where mocking other people's cancer is an acceptable debate tactic?

 

If you insist on mocking other members this way for much longer, you will no longer have access to SFN.

[Klaplunk]

Deary me, it seems as though you don't understand the concept of 'cancer'. It's okay for him to mock religons though right? I see the fairness in that. If he did that to my face in real life, it would be more than his cancer I would be mocking.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

The actions of others do not justify your own actions. "But someone else might've broken the rules!" gives you no license to do the same yourself.

 

There is, incidentally, a difference between jokingly mocking and deliberately insulting.

 

If you want to argue further, do it in PM. Let's not drag this thread off-topic.

[Klaplunk]

Religion, in my eyes and in many other peoples eyes is not a joke.

[Moontanman]

Religion, in my eyes and in many other peoples eyes is not a joke.

 

 

I agree, Religion is a Cancer eating away at the soul of humanity..... far to serious to be a joke....

Edited July 23, 2010 by Moontanman

[Klaplunk]

You know what? Fuck it,

Carry on

[Moontanman]

You know what? Fuck it,

Carry on

 

 

I have no problem with God, it's his fan club that pisses me off...

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

Could we move back to the topic, please?

[Moontanman]

I think the main problem would be if it is intelligent life, I see no problem with just finding, life YEC might disagree, but intelligent life especially if it was greatly superior to our own civilization might be a problem if their religion didn't agree with ours or was some how totally opposite what the major religions of the earth believe.

[jimmydasaint]

Deary me, it seems as though you don't understand the concept of 'cancer'. It's okay for him to mock religons though right? I see the fairness in that. If he did that to my face in real life, it would be more than his cancer I would be mocking.

 

Philosophy/religion forum rules:

Never make it personal.

Disagreements about beliefs should never be in the form of attacks on the believers. This isn't a place to air grievances. Civility and respect towards other members are needed here even more than elsewhere on SFN, even when you disagree.

Disagreements about beliefs should never be interpreted as attacks on the believers, even when they are. If you can't handle having your beliefs questioned, you don't belong here. If you feel insulted, that does not excuse you from rule 1.a.

 

Klaplunk, I am a believer but I think that I follow the guidelines of this Forum. I treat people in the Forum in the same way that I would treat a visitor to my home - with respect. You seem to believe that, to gain respect for your views, you treat others with disdain and contempt. I think you are breaking the rules of engagement in a religion sub forum. How many people are you going to win over with your attitude? Calm down!

 

Back to the thread. If there are aliens found then a fair and just God would pass his message on to them through an alien 'prophet' or 'apostle'. It is the responsibility of God to pass Its message on in order to guide those who wish to be guided. In short, A universal God would ensure that his message was passed on to all planets with sentient life, as soon as they become sentient. This means that the Adam and Eve story can be read as allegory and metaphor for the first sentient beings (IMHO) and may become a universal leitmotif for the development of consciousness.

Edited July 23, 2010 by jimmydasaint

[Klaplunk]

 

Klaplunk, I am a believer but I think that I follow the guidelines of this Forum. I treat people in the Forum in the same way that I would treat a visitor to my home - with respect. You seem to believe that, to gain respect for your views, you treat others with disdain and contempt. I think you are breaking the rules of engagement in a religion sub forum. How many people are you going to win over with your attitude? Calm down!

 

Religion isn't a joke, and I didn't know it was okay to treat it like one. I do now - I'm calm as always, just going to ignore this section for a little while. If you believe in God, and you see crap like that, surely you feel offended? If you don't then I guess I'm just differen't.

[John Cuthber]

Just for the record, I'd like to quote kaplunk here.

"You know what? Fuck it,

Carry on "

 

Anyway, it didn't trouble religion much when it turned out that the earth isn't the centre of the universe; they tried to pretend it wasn't true; then they tried to pretend the never thought it mattered.

 

It didn't bother them much when someone discovered the moons of other planets; they did exactly the same.

 

When someone first discovered microbes they ran through roughly the same process.

 

 

It's good to know that, this time, they are ahead of the game and have accepted the inevitable before it happened.

 

Incidentally, re. "As we're never going to be able to travel a light year, the belief in other life is just as skeptical as the 'taught religion'. "

I have never been to America, but I believe it exists. We don't need to turn up on the alien's doorstep to prove they exits; a 'phone call would do.

[Mr Skeptic]

I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.

John 10:16

 

If you look carefully, religion already has references to alien life, or to whatever new developments might happen. Whatever new developments there may be, they are simply more evidence for whatever religion you happen to believe in, because if you look closely and with unshakable faith, there's some sort of reference to it.

[Moontanman]

So we are going to end up proselytizing the universe? I'm not kidding and this time no disrespect at all for God, but if you run it out to it's logical conclusion that's what's being said. Then again it depends on what their religion is to some extent doesn't it? If the aliens are "Planet" worshipers kind of like the pagans and neo-pagans. Combine that with hi-tech and a yearning to proselytize and you get a holy war we couldn't win. Much like what the Europeans did to the North American or Western Hemisphere natives, instead of Catholicism and destroying any trace of the other religions and converting the natives it could be them doing it to us!

[Zolar V]

 

 

Back to the thread. If there are aliens found then a fair and just God would pass his message on to them through an alien 'prophet' or 'apostle'. It is the responsibility of God to pass Its message on in order to guide those who wish to be guided. In short, A universal God would ensure that his message was passed on to all planets with sentient life, as soon as they become sentient. This means that the Adam and Eve story can be read as allegory and metaphor for the first sentient beings (IMHO) and may become a universal leitmotif for the development of consciousness.

 

Nice input.

Going by what you said, "A universal God would ensure that his creations would know him." seems to be a fairly accurate statement on the basis of the fundamental ideology of the bible. But i would then question, what if the alien species knew nothing about our christian God? what if they had no gods? or what if they had an alternate intelligent species that seeded their species?

[jimmydasaint]

Nice input.

Going by what you said, "A universal God would ensure that his creations would know him." seems to be a fairly accurate statement on the basis of the fundamental ideology of the bible. But i would then question, what if the alien species knew nothing about our christian God? what if they had no gods? or what if they had an alternate intelligent species that seeded their species?

 

OK, this is my opinion, based on my logic. If an alien civilisation had not reached a certain stage of development. For example, if they were 'ape'-like or similar, then there would be no point in a Revelation to them. However, if they have reached the stage of Adam and Eve (if the story is considered as allegory and not fact) then a Revelation would have to reach them in order for judgement to take place. A just God, in my view, can only judge those who are aware of moral right and wrong. If an alternate intelligent species seeded a new colony and the colony was sentient, I see no reason why a Revelation would not be given to them. It all depends on how you imagine God. If you imagine a God that intervenes and tinkers with Its Creation then I cannot see the logic in it. However, if you see an absolute intelligence that can create space-time itself and also atoms, then, philosophically It must be different from Its creation. Matter cannot create matter.

 

Following on from this, I view God as an Absolute Intelligence that set the parameters for the Universe, knowing what would happen, then set Its Metaphysical Laws to deal with the checks and balances needed by the sentient beings spawned by the evolutionary process. It appeals to my logic.

[Moontanman]

So every one is assuming their God is the same as our Judeo/Christian/Muslim God? No one considers the chance they might worship a completely different way? Not to mention want to impress that religion on us much the same way we have forced our religion on other less powerful peoples?