Religion and extraterrestrial life

Rationalist

Rationalist

Hail Voltaire
I think it is likely that we will discover some form of extraterrestrial life within the next 100 years. What are the implications for religious fundamentalism when such a discovery is made? Will it be the final nail in the coffin?
 
Voltaire said:
I think it is likely that we will discover some form of extraterrestrial life within the next 100 years. What are the implications for religious fundamentalism when such a discovery is made? Will it be the final nail in the coffin?
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Wasn't there an article just recently about the fact that they believe they found microbial life from tests recalculated from the first Martian probes?
 
Damocles said:
Wasn't there an article just recently about the fact that they believe they found microbial life from tests recalculated from the first Martian probes?
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Yeah, that's what got me thinking about this particular subject tonight. I sent the link to a few of my fundie friends and didn't receive any response.

I suppose they'll just do what they always do: deny reality. Or if intelligent life is discovered, they'll just claim that they're demons or something.
 
Voltaire said:
Yeah, that's what got me thinking about this particular subject tonight. I sent the link to a few of my fundie friends and didn't receive any response.

I suppose they'll just do what they always do: deny reality. Or if intelligent life is discovered, they'll just claim that they're demons or something.
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Or they won't care because it isn't intelligent and therefore not in the "image of God"... It would make God's second commandment (to name all living things) a bit more difficult.
 
Voltaire said:
I think it is likely that we will discover some form of extraterrestrial life within the next 100 years. What are the implications for religious fundamentalism when such a discovery is made? Will it be the final nail in the coffin?
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Take your premise a step further, and what the implications would be, if we discovered such extraterrestrials, and they also worship a higher power like us? What IF... that distinctive aspect of similarity, is the very reason we encountered first contact? Will THAT be the final nail in the coffin to Atheism?
 
Voltaire said:
I think it is likely that we will discover some form of extraterrestrial life within the next 100 years. What are the implications for religious fundamentalism when such a discovery is made? Will it be the final nail in the coffin?
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depends.....what if they have the same god?......
 
PostmodernProphet said:
depends.....what if they have the same god?......
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If they worship the Christian god, we'd have evidence for his existence. However, I highly doubt that would be the case. Tell me, what would your reaction be if they are atheists, and if they've never heard of the Christian god?
 
Voltaire said:
If they worship the Christian god, we'd have evidence for his existence. However, I highly doubt that would be the case. Tell me, what would your reaction be if they are atheists, and if they've never heard of the Christian god?
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probably the same as I have toward the atheists here......
 
PostmodernProphet said:
probably the same as I have toward the atheists here......
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If we encountered extraterrestrial life that has never heard of the Christian god, and accepts natural processes as the means by which life originated, that would not change your opinion of the Christian religion in the least? It would have no impact on your faith whatsoever? I would think that if a god created life on a multitude of worlds, he would inform each of them of his existence on an equal basis.
 
He didn't bother to inform us of the existance of life on distant continents, but he should have informed us that Kevin Spacy would be visiting Earth all the way from K-PAX. Is that right?
 
Voltaire said:
If we encountered extraterrestrial life that has never heard of the Christian god, and accepts natural processes as the means by which life originated, that would not change your opinion of the Christian religion in the least? It would have no impact on your faith whatsoever? I would think that if a god created life on a multitude of worlds, he would inform each of them of his existence on an equal basis.
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you make many assumptions.......if we encounter an alien that doesn't believe in the same creating deity that we do, he may simply be another atheist....after all, you don't believe in the same creating deity that I do and that isn't evidence he doesn't exist....after all, the available options range from "they are in direct communication with a creating deity who is not the one worshiped in Christianity" through "they are minions of the creating deity worshiped in Christianity"....or maybe you'll be right and they're more "shit just happening"........meeting them could change lots of games, yours included......

maybe we're the experiment and they're the control group......maybe we're the control group and they're the experiment......maybe they didn't need saving because they never sinned......maybe he created them in your image instead of his.......(there's an interesting thought).......
 
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PostmodernProphet said:
you make many assumptions.......if we encounter an alien that doesn't believe in the same creating deity that we do, he may simply be another atheist....after all, you don't believe in the same creating deity that I do and that isn't evidence he doesn't exist....after all, the available options range from "they are in direct communication with a creating deity who is not the one worshiped in Christianity" through "they are minions of the creating deity worshiped in Christianity"....or maybe you'll be right and they're more "shit just happening"........meeting them could change lots of games, yours included......
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If they believe in another deity it will make me reconsider the beliefs of the Latter Day Saints ;)
 
be that as it may, it is more likely that you and I will both be dead before either the end of humanity or the first encounter with an alien being.....thus, you're first proof that either I am right or you are will come a moment or two after you die, when you'll either hear "PMP tried to tell you" or you'll never hear anything again.......
 
PostmodernProphet said:
be that as it may, it is more likely that you and I will both be dead before either the end of humanity or the first encounter with an alien being.....thus, you're first proof that either I am right or you are will come a moment or two after you die, when you'll either hear "PMP tried to tell you" or you'll never hear anything again.......
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My dad's army buddy had one and I believe him, he is not the type to make things up.
 
Rana said:
Oh, yeah, Scientology, I will have to flip a coin.
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Well, the Scientologists have Tom Cruise, and the Mormons don't have anyone near as cool, no disrespect to Misseurs Romney and Huntsman. Even us Catholics have Jim Caviezel (Mel is not trending well these days, whereas Jim is clean-cut and even has a new TV show).
 
Voltaire said:
If we encountered extraterrestrial life that has never heard of the Christian god, and accepts natural processes as the means by which life originated, that would not change your opinion of the Christian religion in the least? It would have no impact on your faith whatsoever? I would think that if a god created life on a multitude of worlds, he would inform each of them of his existence on an equal basis.
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But I thought our lives here on Earth were all about choice.

Could another race have chosen a more science based path and merely forgotten that portion of their past?
 
ZappasGuitar said:
But I thought our lives here on Earth were all about choice.
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I don't think our lives are about anything. We're an accident; therefore, life is meaningless.

Could another race have chosen a more science based path and merely forgotten that portion of their past?
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Perhaps. However, if Christianity were true, I don't thing Yahweh would look too kindly on a species that has entirely rejected and forgotten about him. This is the same god that, according to the Bible, got pissed off and drowned a billion people.
 
Voltaire said:
I don't think our lives are about anything. We're an accident; therefore, life is meaningless.



Perhaps. However, if Christianity were true, I don't thing Yahweh would look too kindly on a species that has entirely rejected and forgotten about him. This is the same god that, according to the Bible, got pissed off and drowned a billion people.
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really?.....was that from the previous census?......how do you know there were more than 20,000?.......
 
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