Religion + Extraterrestrial Life

[BigBallinStalin]

Just finished watching Europe Report 2013 (good, low-budget sci-fi film), and a question came to mind:

How would a religion (specifically Christianity) explain extraterrestrial life*?


*From anything like bacteria/single-celled organisms to more complex beings (alien squids!).

[mrswdk]

God created them.

/thread

Where's my prize?

[BigBallinStalin]

Looking for Holy Book sauce--not mouthy claptrap.

NO PRIZE FOR YOU.

[2dimes]

One time a couple of decades ago a guy showed me some bible passages that had something about, "all the universe was witness.." Of something and told me that meant there is life on other planets. He died so I can't phone him. Sorry.

[BigBallinStalin]

Can't you get him on the phone via direct call to God? Isn't that how pray works or something?

[DoomYoshi]

Since Plato was baptised by Saint Augustine, we are allowed to use his writings as an extended form of bible.

Timmaeus specifically states that there must be extraterrestrials. Since God cannot create anything less than immortal, God created the gods to create the mortals. All forms of extraterrestrial life are therefore the gods.

[mrswdk]

My answer had been substantiated. God is always the answer.

[2dimes]

Can't you get him on the phone via direct call to God? Isn't that how pray works or something?

Yes and no. Mostly no I guess. I can maybe find the one about the guy that got to heaven and asked to go back to warn his buddy then God said, "No. Besides the guy would never believe you." Which basically suggests I can talk to him. He just can't answer.

[Lootifer]

Weirdly I just finished reading heart of the comet which also proposes similar questions.

Intereeeeeesting

[crispybits]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7399661.stm

The Vatican at least is open to the idea

[chang50]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7399661.stm

The Vatican at least is open to the idea

lol,asked about Galilleo a Vatican spokesman said,'mistakes were made'.None of us will live long enough to see them say they made mistakes with condoms and stem-cell research.Given enough time it might emerge they were right about very little

[_sabotage_]

Book of Enoch.

[ManBungalow]

What if Jesus was an alien?

He did descend from the heavens, after all.

[BigBallinStalin]

Weirdly I just finished reading heart of the comet which also proposes similar questions.

Intereeeeeesting

Why would they want to visit Comet Haley?

[BigBallinStalin]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7399661.stm

The Vatican at least is open to the idea

That's good, but if the Bible doesn't mention anything about aliens, then they shouldn't be around, right? (if we take the Bible seriously). You'd think the Bible/God would mention something this important.

[BigBallinStalin]

Book of Enoch.

The Book of Ewoch?


Where's all the aliens and the space adventures?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Enoch

???

[BigBallinStalin]

What if Jesus was an alien?

He did descend from the heavens, after all.

Blasphemy!

Or... blasphemy?

(I'm so confused!)

[2dimes]

What if Jesus was an alien?

He did descend from the heavens, after all.

In some ways of thinking that is kind of something many Christian church members and leaders loosely suggest, though not in the same sense as I imagine an extra terrestrial. I think of them as separate physical beings. Limited to physical bodies of some sort.

So I believe God is different from us and any aliens he created. He would also be different from all spirits including us and any aliens with souls.

The premiss is, God could not relate to us and understand what happens to us as we experience being physical humans on earth. Thus he had to enter a body as Jesus to gain understanding and empathy before he could judge our lives. Kind of like that movie with Jay and silent Bob.

Otherwise he would not be able to understand the effects of things like mortality and the fall of Adam and Eve on us.

There is one interesting implication that could possibly stem from that. If God who is far more knowledgable than me could not fully understand how powerfully lust effects me. How can I understand enough, to gain evidence of him I could share with others.

It might be like explaining photosynthesis to a toddler as they learn to talk. Even if they act like they understand and can recite the theory as taught to them, they can't understand it. Also we don't know if plants think or if they feel anything.

My cousin is an adamant atheist. He said in conversation once he believes there is probably aliens that would be superior to us much like we are to dogs. We would admire them like gods because they would know so much more than we could.

[chang50]

What if Jesus was an alien?

He did descend from the heavens, after all.

In some ways of thinking that is kind of something many Christian church members and leaders loosely suggest, though not in the same sense as I imagine an extra terrestrial. I think of them as separate physical beings. Limited to physical bodies of some sort.

So I believe God is different from us and any aliens he created. He would also be different from all spirits including us and any aliens with souls.

The premiss is, God could not relate to us and understand what happens to us as we experience being physical humans on earth. Thus he had to enter a body as Jesus to gain understanding and empathy before he could judge our lives. Kind of like that movie with Jay and silent Bob.

Otherwise he would not be able to understand the effects of things like mortality and the fall of Adam and Eve on us.

There is one interesting implication that could possibly stem from that. If God who is far more knowledgable than me could not fully understand how powerfully lust effects me. How can I understand enough, to gain evidence of him I could share with others.

It might be like explaining photosynthesis to a toddler as they learn to talk. Even if they act like they understand and can recite the theory as taught to them, they can't understand it. Also we don't know if plants think or if they feel anything.

My cousin is an adamant atheist. He said in conversation once he believes there is probably aliens that would be superior to us much like we are to dogs. We would admire them like gods because they would know so much more than we could.

Perhaps more like we are to insects,in which case we should hope they never arrive with their super-strength fly sprays

[KoolBak]

I agree with the scientific line of thought that, based on the actuality of the distances involved, the physics (as we understand them) of the possibility of travelling at a reasonable percentage of C, and the TIME involved since beings could possibly have been evolving, states we will NEVER be "visited" by aliens....

And as other life MUST exist.....I do believe that Christianity will acknowledge it but assert that, if they have attained sentience, they have no chance of going to Heaven...like cavemen and Dimey

[2dimes]

Personally I hope me, some cavemen and all dogs go to heaven.

Not all humans value or even like dogs. So if aliens get here, we could be in trouble either way wether we're like dogs or insects.

Look at all the nasty things some do to other humans never mind "lesser" animals.

[_sabotage_]

BBS,

Wikipedia is a poor source, please be more discerning.

[BigBallinStalin]

BBS,

Wikipedia is a poor source, please be more discerning.

It's better than three words and no source; please be more useful.

[2dimes]

I think Wikipedia sucks a bit. Like cewlbac not letting me in heaven but it is a good source of opinions.

[_sabotage_]

Would you care for a link to the book? If you intend to ask me for definitions or specifics in order to argue the ink and not the point, I will provide one.

In short, an immortal race came to earth with advanced technology and taught some of it to man so that he could then in turn use it to sustain the race. They are depicted as angels, which some believe the aliens to be. The odd shaped skulls found around the pyramid sites seem to offer some proof. The Smithsonian has a record of buying up giant remains and making them disappear from the public. The fact that we can't replicate the pyramids today suggests they had as advanced technology in specifics, such as the quarrying of the stone, and more advanced technology for its transport.

The Book of Enoch describes these beings as angels, or watchers.