<p>I read today that the chief astronomer at the Vatican (why does the Vatican need a chief astronomer?!?!) has perhaps sought to pre-empt the religious earthquake that would result from the discovery of intelligent life out there, by coming up with this idea that it's entirely possible that God created our "extraterrestrial brothers in Christ", too. Among other things, he reminded us that we should not "limit God's creative freedom". As a Christian, even I think that's a pretty convenient and shaky way of rationalizing and retconning.</p>
<p>am I missing something here, or wouldn't there be a pretty troublesome mess if we make first contact with aliens? i'm certain that they would have their own nifty religions as well. more and more people would ask "hey, have i been sucking up to the right god? oh noooos!". it'd be amusing if we really do fulfill Star Trek's prophecy and storyline and find that there're thousands of other alien races out there. did God really create all of them? why didn't He at least make a footnote about them in the Bible? </p>
<p>one troublesome thing is that God "created us in His own likeness". Whoa there. I'm sure God doesn't look like E.T or some random green goo. And if God did create us (I'd assume "us" includes everyone in the universe) in His own likeness, then he didn't create all the other alien races... and OMG POOMP EVOLUTION IS PROVEN! Unless of course, our Bible isn't the "universal" truth and is meant for human reading only.</p>
<p>i think about it and its scary sometimes. i'm conflicted. i'm one of those who believe in God and aliens.</p>
<p>You make a very good point! Maybe the bible or holy books from all religions are purely from a humanistic POV, adn meant for humans. We may never know unless "they" tell us or something.</p>
<p>Personally, I am a semi-religious person but still choose to believe that we are absolutely NOT the only ones. I think that'd be kinda arrogant of us to think we are completely superior and the only great form of life, ya know/ It's hard to prove it, BUT, unlike trying to prove God, you most likely can see these types.
So. I don't know.</p>
<p>But I also believe in God and aliens. It's ok! Maybe aliens are God. Who knows. It's hard to know That'd probably be THE coolest thing if that were true! :)</p>
<p>He supposedly created animals, and they look nothing like us. Don't see how alien DNA (or equivalent) would be any different.</p>
<p>I, personally, am kind of impartial to any religion at the moment, but I don't see any reason why the Christian God, if he created life on Earth, couldn't have created all life in the universe, just in different shapes and sizes. Who knows, maybe all extra-terrestrial life out there DOES look like us.</p>
<p>Catholicism = believers in Evolution.
source: 14 years of Catholic school.</p>
<p>i'd sit back and laugh and watch the fundamentalists chew their fingers off if such a meeting were to ever occur. i can't really even speculate what would happen, but it'd be funny guaranteed.</p>
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i'm certain that they would have their own nifty religions as well. more and more people would ask "hey, have i been sucking up to the right god? oh noooos!".
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<p>There are already hundreds of religions in existence and people still don't bother asking themselves this.</p>
<p>The discovery of extraterrestrial intelligence would probably at least be enough to move religion into a minority role instead of the majority role it has now, I would hope. I doubt religion would go away even if we found intelligence out there, as seen by the quote provided from the vatican astronomer. </p>
<p>I would also think that the discovery of extraterrestrial intelligence would also unite mankind unlike ever before; either that or cause mass turmoil resulting from people who are unable to comprehend not being the only intelligent species in the universe.</p>
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There are already hundreds of religions in existence and people still don't bother asking themselves this.
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<p>i know that too, but the hundreds of other religions on Earth are extremely small in comparison and won't make the average Christian lose sleep over them. it's very easy to dismiss them as mere aberrations - stray sheep, if you will - when you're part of the great majority. Also, Abrahamic religions like Christianity, Islam etc currently own our world and at least Christians can feel like they're in the majority anyway. we're extremely used to the status quo and to feeling that well, there is a God, He created all humans, just that some have strayed down other wrong Earthly religions. It feels different coming from other worlds - millions, billions of other probably highly-advanced aliens worshipping in even larger religions of their own. If God didn't create the intelligent extraterrestrials, then who did? they couldn't have been created by another god - there's only one God. they can't have evolved from simple chemicals - then it disproves Creationism. the only explanation acceptable to us Christians is that God created aliens, too.</p>
<p>regarding how perhaps aliens may just be considered yet another type of animal created by God: there's a problem with that. do they go to Heaven then? don't tell me that God created many other races of sentient beings not "in His likeness" but with every bit of free will and self-awareness as humans, just to let them perish like animals, without eternal life? I believe there's only one God - and if the sole God in the entire universe won't let sentient aliens go to the one and only Heaven... that sounds like a pretty cruel God to me. maybe God did create aliens and does allow them to go to Heaven... that sounds like a pretty big deal to me. why didn't He tell us?</p>
<p>"The discovery of extraterrestrial intelligence would probably at least be enough to move religion into a minority role instead of the majority role it has now, I would hope."</p>
<p>The demise of religion has been predicted again and again, and it never happens. This would be no different.</p>
<p>I see it differently. I think the discovery of other forms of life might make people (at least some) more religious than they already are.</p>
<p>Besides, the whole premise of religion is that there is a higher power, who is way beyond our understanding and ability to comprehend. So the people who truly believe that would just think you're arrogant to say the discovery of otherworldly life would disprove God. To them it would prove God IMO.</p>
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Sheed I don't quite get what you mean but I have a feeling its something interesting :P
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<p>Islam does not reject the possibility of Extraterrestrial intelligence...I could go on but im not going to for now..i might later on when i have time!</p>
<p>If somebody has been raised since childhood under a certain set of beliefs and people whom they respect/trust encourage that belief system, it is incredibly difficult for them to abandon that belief system. This is a universal fact of human psychology; it's what allows us to have stable social norms and cultural values over many generations. It's also why, to the dismay of teenaged atheists everywhere, declaring religion to be a myth doesn't make Mom & Dad toss their Bible out and renounce their faith. </p>
<p>That and the simple fact that if you're religious, you probably believe in a transcended, omnipotent deity. So any possible thing that could be discovered is proof of the crazy things God does with his power, not proof that he doesn't exist.</p>
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If somebody has been raised since childhood under a certain set of beliefs and people whom they respect/trust encourage that belief system, it is incredibly difficult for them to abandon that belief system. This is a universal fact of human psychology; it's what allows us to have stable social norms and cultural values over many generations. It's also why, to the dismay of teenaged atheists everywhere, declaring religion to be a myth doesn't make Mom & Dad toss their Bible out and renounce their faith.
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<p>It'll still be interesting to see how Mom & Dad would react to and interpret the momentous discovery of intelligent alien life. Their more open-minded and innocent kids, though, would probably be the ones pestering them for an explanation; it might become as taboo as sex in the list of uncomfortable/unwanted topics between parents and kids. I hope parents don't give birds-and-bees answers.</p>
<p>Yes, most already-religious people probably would trust their pastors and church elders' rationalizations rather than listen to scientists. The Vatican astronomer has already offered the first of potentially many rationalizations - that of God's creative power - but that obviously brings about many complex problems and Biblical inadequacies to be sorted out. It'll thus take one or two generations of decline in church/mosque attendance before religion loses its importance. I both dread and look forward to that day of discovery.</p>