What would happen to religion/ faith if.........

[Dave RP]

1. Confirmed proof of unintelligent life on a planet other than earth was discovered?

2. Confirmed proof of intelligent life, able to communicate with us was discovered on another planet?

If you were a Christian would this shake your faith, given the only life mentioned in the Bible was on earth?

 

[Eudaimonist]

1. Confirmed proof of unintelligent life on a planet other than earth was discovered?

2. Confirmed proof of intelligent life, able to communicate with us was discovered on another planet?

Nothing would happen except possibly for rationalizations of religious dogma, and of course (for 2.) efforts to convert the heathens.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[Quid est Veritas?]

Not at all. Completely irrelevant to the dispensation God has with man if other life or intellegences exist. No tenet of Christianity would be impacted or even need be altered at all.

An interesting book I read long ago was a Case of Conscience by James Blish which had a Jesuit priest visit a world with no concept of God but perfect innate morality.
It ended with him excorcising the world just as it is blown up due to realpolitik so that one is unsure if it maybe wasn't the excorcism's doing.

Another good work is Perelanda of CS Lewis. This explores our fallen world interacting with unfallen ones.

The Catholic Church has actually published guidelines of how to interact with alien life - first and foremost to try and ascertain if they have souls and secondly if they are fallen or still in a state of Grace.

 

[Albion]

1. Confirmed proof of unintelligent life on a planet other than earth was discovered?

IMHO, this wouldn't have much of an impact with Christians. We take for granted that there is water on other planets, and I think this would be seen in a similar way.

2. Confirmed proof of intelligent life, able to communicate with us was discovered on another planet

If you were a Christian would this shake your faith, given the only life mentioned in the Bible was on earth?

Honestly, I don't think it would challenge the credibility of the faith very much. Most of us would say the same thing as we say right now when people ask why X or Y is not in the Bible although we think it is a truth--the Bible is something revealed to Man by God for a purpose and does not include everything that can be known. It reveals what is essential to us as regards our lives and relationship to our Creator. It doesn't give suggestions on cake baking, but that's not its purpose.

 

[Resha Caner]

FWIW this interaction has already occurred. In 1492 when Columbus encountered intelligent alien life on the planet America (and, yes, it was very much viewed that way), the church had a discussion about it. There is a series of papal bulls in which it was agreed those in the Americas were human beings with all the attendant rights: Sublimis Deus, Veritas Ipsa, etc. Those decrees weren't followed, but theologically it set the standard.

There is also a work of fiction (Summa Elvetica) where a human emissary is sent by the church to determine if Elves have souls. It incorporates many of the same political inconveniences, whereby declaring them to have souls made it hard to carry out a war against them, enslave them, and steal all their property. People find reasons nonetheless.

 

[Chesterton]

In the 4th century, the Church came up with language in the creed still used today:

We believe...in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God...Begotten of the Father before all worlds,...
​

Arguably, that may be the only thing Christianity really has to say about the possibility, but the very acknowledgment of the possibility shows that there would not be anything in the mere fact of other life that would shake anyone's faith.

 

[Noxot]

1. Confirmed proof of unintelligent life on a planet other than earth was discovered?

2. Confirmed proof of intelligent life, able to communicate with us was discovered on another planet?

If you were a Christian would this shake your faith, given the only life mentioned in the Bible was on earth?

I would be happy that something exciting is happening in the world. I would be a bit concerned for the interactions we might have if sin reigns in any of the parties. unintelligent life on another planet would be nice too but not as awesome as intelligent life because with intelligent life we could maybe communicate and maybe even have fellowship.

it does not shake my faith at all because my faith is in reality and when i look around I find it is not limited to one little place we call earth.

 

[Noxot]

Nothing would happen except possibly for rationalizations of religious dogma, and of course (for 2.) efforts to convert the heathens.


eudaimonia,

Mark

haha so being rational is a bad thing eh?

but yeah 'converting heathens' is certainly one of my biggest concerns that humans would attempt. what if humans tried to force the aliens to believe in government if they happened to have already grown past that? it is very disturbing. or what if humans tried to convert a non-economic based alien race into capitalist? good lord have mercy upon them all. or what if they tried to teach that Father God sacrificed his Son to appease his ego for all the evils we committed against him? those are all very frightening evils.

I hope humans would not corrupted them nor they us.

 

[Eudaimonist]

haha so being rational is a bad thing eh?

I don't know where you are getting that from.

but yeah 'converting heathens' is certainly one of my biggest concerns that humans would attempt. what if humans tried to force the aliens to believe in government if they happened to have already grown past that?

If they have "grown past that", then we should be able to recognize that. Certainly, libertarians would.

or what if humans tried to convert a non-economic based alien race into capitalist?

Sounds awesome to me. I'll keep that in mind the next time I meet such a species. But I already have my hands full trying to convert homo sapiens to capitalism.

or what if they tried to teach that Father God sacrificed his Son to appease his ego for all the evils we committed against him?

That does sound like a problem.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

... - first and foremost to try and ascertain if they have souls and secondly if they are fallen or still in a state of Grace.

How would they do this?

 

[JackRT]

Nothing would happen except possibly for rationalizations of religious dogma, and of course (for 2.) efforts to convert the heathens.


eudaimonia,

Mark

Don't forget their efforts to convert us.

 

[Quid est Veritas?]

How would they do this?

No idea. I assume sentience and civilisation would be enough to assume souls and I guess if they do things we consider wrong they would be fallen?
I'll look for the actual catholic protocol and get back to you.

 

[JackRT]

In the 15th and 16th centuries a series of papal bulls defined what has come to be known as the "doctrine of discovery" In essence this said that if a Christian explorer should find a country with no Christians then he had the right to claim that country for his sovereign. If the natives resisted conversion then it was acceptable to make war on them and enslave them. In a US supreme court decision almost 2 centuries ago this doctrine was written into US law and formed the backbone of the attempted genocide of the Indians.

What if our hypothetical aliens have a superior technology and invoke their own doctrine of discovery on the heathen and savage inhabitants of this planet?

 

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

No idea. I assume sentience and civilisation would be enough to assume souls and I guess if they do things we consider wrong they would be fallen?
I'll look for the actual catholic protocol and get back to you.

Thanks.

 

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

What if our hypothetical aliens have a superior technology and invoke their own doctrine of discovery on the heathen and savage inhabitants of this planet?

I, for one, welcome our new alien overlords...

 

[Quid est Veritas?]

How would they do this?

Intelligence and Civilisation is not enough for a soul, according to the Vatican Observatory.
We must investigate their culture to see if something akin to theology exists and whether they have belief in life after death or survival of a part of self, but its not very clear.

Secondly to see if Fallen or not again depends on whether they have a system of morality in place and then to juxtapose it to our own.

Its from Catholic Belief and the search for Extra-Terrestial life, written by Br. Consolmagno SJ of the Vatican Observatory.
Its purposefully left very vague and he mostly says we shall sort out the little problems when and if we meet Aliens.

 

[bhsmte]

1. Confirmed proof of unintelligent life on a planet other than earth was discovered?

2. Confirmed proof of intelligent life, able to communicate with us was discovered on another planet?

If you were a Christian would this shake your faith, given the only life mentioned in the Bible was on earth?

It would depend on the person. Some folks may lose their faith, some would deny the evidence and others would accept the evidence and shoehorn the new knowledge into their faith belief.

 

[Eudaimonist]

Don't forget their efforts to convert us.

They have just as much of a chance at having the true religion as we do.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[Noxot]

I don't know where you are getting that from.

I was messing around with words. I know what you mean when you said "rationalize" but to be rational about doctrine is sanity, it is not "making things up". would you rather that we put a gun to your head instead of using our own head?

 

[HitchSlap]

I was messing around with words. I know what you mean when you said "rationalize" but to be rational about doctrine is sanity, it is not "making things up". would you rather that we put a gun to your head instead of using our own head?

We've used our head; it's why we're atheist.