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Manorfire · 12-23-2006, 09:59 AM

If an intelligent life form from another planet were to land on Earth, how would it affect religous folks? Imagine ET showing up in a shuttlecraft, would Chistians, for example, conclude that all that stuff in Genesis didn't happen? Discounting the whole "God was a Spaceman" theory, does Christian, and other religious dogma, depend on humans being alone in the universe?

For me, I don't think it would negate God exactly, but it would surely contradict parts of the Bible. As far as the Bible goes, this is not a big deal, since it contradicts itself here and there anyway. I expect that Christianity would just find some other way of interpreting its passages. Didn't Jesus mention having other flocks to tend? That could mean on other worlds, couldn't it?

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but except for some poetic passages in Job, the Bible has practically nothing to say about the universe beyond Earth's atmosphere. It doesn't say Extra Terrestrials exist, it doesn't say they don't. If they do, religious folk could just say that God made us and them. I'm not so aware of other religion's philosophy...how might they account for Aliens?

Religion's biggest quandary may be deciding whether ETs have souls. If so, would this dictate that they'd been borne into original sin and in need of religion to 'save' them? Wouldn't this have required Jesus or whoever to have completed an interplanetary tour of the cosmos, dying on every world where life had developed? That would suck - think of the commuting alone...

In theory, an entity capable of doing the whole Genesis-style-creation-thing would be able to create as many sentient species as she/he/it saw fit. However, if such an entity existed and scattered sentient species across universes, then why keep it a secret for umpteen-thousand years? Why is it not prominent in any religion or their scriptures? (Yep, I am dismissing scientology).

So, to confirm the question is this: what would happen to religion if ET came to our planet? Perhaps we'll all become indoctorined into their alien religion(s)?

12-23-2006, 09:59 AM	#1 (permalink)
Manorfire Upright Location: England	Would ET negate God? If an intelligent life form from another planet were to land on Earth, how would it affect religous folks? Imagine ET showing up in a shuttlecraft, would Chistians, for example, conclude that all that stuff in Genesis didn't happen? Discounting the whole "God was a Spaceman" theory, does Christian, and other religious dogma, depend on humans being alone in the universe? For me, I don't think it would negate God exactly, but it would surely contradict parts of the Bible. As far as the Bible goes, this is not a big deal, since it contradicts itself here and there anyway. I expect that Christianity would just find some other way of interpreting its passages. Didn't Jesus mention having other flocks to tend? That could mean on other worlds, couldn't it? Please correct me if I'm wrong, but except for some poetic passages in Job, the Bible has practically nothing to say about the universe beyond Earth's atmosphere. It doesn't say Extra Terrestrials exist, it doesn't say they don't. If they do, religious folk could just say that God made us and them. I'm not so aware of other religion's philosophy...how might they account for Aliens? Religion's biggest quandary may be deciding whether ETs have souls. If so, would this dictate that they'd been borne into original sin and in need of religion to 'save' them? Wouldn't this have required Jesus or whoever to have completed an interplanetary tour of the cosmos, dying on every world where life had developed? That would suck - think of the commuting alone... In theory, an entity capable of doing the whole Genesis-style-creation-thing would be able to create as many sentient species as she/he/it saw fit. However, if such an entity existed and scattered sentient species across universes, then why keep it a secret for umpteen-thousand years? Why is it not prominent in any religion or their scriptures? (Yep, I am dismissing scientology). So, to confirm the question is this: what would happen to religion if ET came to our planet? Perhaps we'll all become indoctorined into their alien religion(s)?