How does religion feel about aliens?

[Roland_Deschain]

So actually I am not debating with believers in this thread, but more or less just curious as to what they think as far as the matter goes. I am not aware if Christians or Catholics or the Jewish or W/E were taught to believe that there is no life outside Earth... or if they are taught that everything in the universe was built by god. So perhaps someone could enlighten me.

I might have forgotten, but does Genesis speak on god creating the world or the universe? Also I am curious as to what would happen if other lifeforms were discovered, perhaps that are even more intelligent. I know they say god made MAN in his image, but what about extra terrestrials, would they be subject under the same god and heaven in the eyes of worshipers?

Any information about how religion precieves life and intelligence outside our own would be cool. I mean is there contradictions with the bible or faith, and be honest if there are.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gliese_581_c < This is a link

This is all coming from a curious Augnostic point of view. My recent curiousity in this aspect comes from the discovery of the planet Gliese, which is potentially an earthlike planet that could indeed inhabit life. However in our lifetimes it is next to impossible we will travel there because our technology does not allow us. It IS however, one step closer to discovering life outside our own planet.

 

[Stoic Hero]

As far as my personal view, it really doesn't matter. If aliens exist, great. God created them. If they don't, great. It really doesn't matter, because since I know what's going to happen in the end, nothing surprises me on the way.

Generally speaking, I think Christians are taught that there are no aliens. But, again, it doesn't really matter. It'd be kind of cool if they were real, though. Unless they tried to come and enslave us, lol.

 

[ribbit]

Generally speaking, I think Christians are taught that there are no aliens. But, again, it doesn't really matter. It'd be kind of cool if they were real, though. Unless they tried to come and enslave us, lol.

I don't think they're taught that. There is, no doubt, nowhere in the bible where it says there is no extraterrestrial life, seeing as they still thought the world was flat and that the sky was heaven and weren't aware of space until sometime into AD.

I'd like to believe there are other life forms out there. I don't need my church telling me that there isn't without any logical proof. That's like them trying to say dinosaurs didn't exist when we've clearly found fossils of them

 

[Stoic Hero]

Remember, though, there isn't any logical proof of them either. So you're welcome to believe whatever you want. Just don't expect anyone to really take you seriously on the subject.

 

[ribbit]

Oh yeah, I know that I'm just saying we can't go saying there aren't any without proof that there isn't.

 

[Roland_Deschain]

Remember, though, there isn't any logical proof of them either. So you're welcome to believe whatever you want. Just don't expect anyone to really take you seriously on the subject.

Well to be fair with what Draklor was saying I think there is plenty of logical proof of dinosaurs. I means their is the bones and fossils of over a hundred different types of creatures from the jurassic period and the evidance of ago goes beyond a doubt that they are older than 6000 years.

And its much easier to "seriously" consider the subject of aliens when there is a living planet outside of our own galaxy.


However also in Stoics words, it is up to you to believe it. I mean the church says that you should believe in Jesus and god and Genesis with not much evidence besides your own faith and man written accounts that are also anchient in themselves.

 

[Ethics]

Would they look just like us, given we were created in His image? Or would both races be "close enough"s?

However, given the "infinite universe" concept, wouldn't it only be logical to assume there is life elsewhere? Infinite is awfully large for only a single planet to etch our an existence.

 

[asm]

Depends on the religion.


Certainly it'd dent some christian views, as mankind is generally depicted as a unique and special creation of god, that is manifested in god's image. That's hugely interpretational though, and people generally find ways to believe in the absurd regardless. The dinosaur thing is a good example of this. You either ignore what's presented, or adapt it to your pre-existing beliefs.

 

[Ohri-Jin]

The Pope/Vatican acknowledged the fact life on other planets is possible.


Also I posted a thread with a similair subject:
http://finalfantasyforums.net/showthread.php?t=49874

They have a really interesting theory about Ancient aliens and religion. Check out the documentary with Chariots of the Gods.

Really interesting. Scientology in a way, but not about the xenu thing or something or whatever scientologists believe in lmao.

 

[AerithG]

The bible never says anything about other life forms, nor does it say anything against them, so...based on that, I believe that there could be aliens, unicorns, nyan cats, you name it, there could be it. There are many galaxies in our universe, heck there could be many universes, you never know. So, there could very well be other humans, aliens, or whatever out there.

I was never 'taught' not to believe in Aliens. Never in my life have I been told, "Now Andrea...God only created what's on the Earth, y'see?" My mother has always been open to the idea of other life forms and taught me to be the same way.

Also asm:

'In God's image' does not mean that we necessarily look like God. That's a metaphorical phrase. It basically means that He made us as intelligent beings, like Him. I honestly don't think God really has a form, but that's honestly my thoughts, nothing proven.

 

[Richard B Riddick]

Religious folks are most likely to view aliens or intelligent extra-terrestrial life as a miracle. They understand there's far more to the world and life than what science can rationalize or observe.

As a person who claims religion, I already believe in aliens to a certain extent.

I've gone camping and looked up at a starry sky and seen lights moving I couldn't explain. I know others who have said the same. I have friends I consider extremely trustworthy and reliable who claim to have seen UFO's. There may be a substantial amount of evidence. US government agencies & governments of other countries disclose that possibility to a degree.

Aliens existing wouldn't affect me in the slightest.

 

[Will Graham]

Remember, though, there isn't any logical proof of them either. So you're welcome to believe whatever you want. Just don't expect anyone to really take you seriously on the subject.

Wait, are you talking about God or aliens?


Well none of the religions encompass Alien life forms at all, or even mention them as far as I know. So according to most faiths then, there aren't any. So presumably, non-existent aliens wouldn't appear in the very much existent Heaven/Valhalla/Paradise

 

[Will Graham]

Every person on the face of the Earth who has faith in a God has more reason--and yes--even fact to believe that there is a God than believing that there is alien life forms waiting out in the far off galaxies.

Atheist expect us--the followers--to believe that the universe was just... switched on out of nowhere and boom! everything came from nothing. How is that any less plausible than a God starting everything?

So... with that comment about "there not being any logical proof for aliens" that you flipped around to God... I hope you realize that there is ONE logical reason for there being a God.

Our existence--and no, by "our" I do not mean humans or even Earth for that matter--I am merely talking about the sole fact that the universe even exists in the first place.

I'll only do half tonight, I have a sore tummy

I am going under the assumption you believe in evolution and are not a young Earth creationist, I am fairly certain I am right in saying that

That is no proof that there is a God, not even a little bit. Maybe the Universe is eternal and has always existed, constantly cycling Big Bangs and Crunches

Now even if we assume that the Universe was started by a creator, that is no grounds to assume it is the Abrahamic God. He could have just set up the laws of Physics and pissed off as soon as he initiated the Big Bang. The only evidence we have for any 'personal' God is due to ancient books. Considering all ancient texts on the subject of a deity are more or less as factual as the others, you should either believe in them all or none at all. None contain more 'evidence' for their God then the others

Those images are laughable, you could interpret them as anything you wanted

 

[Will Graham]

Well no they aren't, from those images you have posted

(^A Dogū figurine from Japan (dated 1000–400 BCE). Ancient astronaut theorists suggest that these may represent extraterrestrial visitors.)

(^Ancient paintings from Val Camonica, Italy are believed to depict forgotten deities; ancient astronaut proponents claim these pictures resemble modern day astronauts despite being painted ca. 10,000 BC.)

Scientists don't say that, people who believe in ancient astronauts say that. Also science can have many opposing views on a topic

Well if we use pure logic, a creator is no more logical than anything else

If a creator started the universe, then

A] He/she always existed

B] Appeared from nothing/created him or herself

C] Something created them, which was in turn created by another, cycle as necessary

Now why is a creator exempt from these limits, but not the Universe itself

If there is theoretically a creator that always existed, why couldn't the universe have always existed sans a creator

If a creator came from nothing and made the universe, why couldn't the universe just come from nothing itself


C] just leads back to A] or B]

I'm making a mockery of physics here, but the basic idea works I think

Aliens are more a matter of probability, if something created the big bang and then just let what happened happen. It would mean life spontaneously occurred. In which case we can calculate rough odds of the same having happened on another planet (at least for human like aliens)

If the Abrahamic God is the creator, then he would have surely mentioned a species to rival or exceed us in the Bible. So I think a belief in the Abrahamic God and Aliens isn't very compatible

 

[Dionysos]

(I do get to the religious aspect, honest.)

The Abydos hieroglyphics are often commented upon in relation to this subject, but only people that theorise on the internet ever take it seriously. I don't know if there are any Egyptologists or scientists who have given it serious thought as representing alien craft. I think it is agreed that what we see there are actually combinations of hieroglyphics (which had been carved on top of one another to replace the one beneath), and that this eroded so to make them all look as if they were joined together, and this happens to look like helicopters, airplanes and submarines. I doubt academics have commented much on it. They’d be laughed out of their field if they did too.

The same goes for the other alien theories in connection with Egypt: the pyramids, Akhenaten, their astronomic proficiency, the nature of their gods as having animal heads. These are all open to people saying "They must have met aliens, have learned from them, and are trying their best to depict them!"

The idea that in ancient times people were too primitive to have imaginations, understanding, or that they were much more passive I think is unfair.

Similar stories relate to the other objects and pictures posted, and countless others. There is not much about the Dogu figurine to really suggest space travel or aliens.

Similarly Pakal the Great's flying machine could just be Pakal reclining on a very complicated and fanciful (as is the style of Mesoamerican art) chair. Even if it was suggesting that it could fly, then perhaps that is all it was suggesting. Man's dream of flight to the heavens is eons old. Even rocket and capsule type machines like Pakal’s ‘thing’ have been thought up long before the rockets and shuttles that actually took man into space.

Another popular one is the Japanese folk-tale ‘The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter’ which includes travel to the moon in a craft of sorts.

As I stated in Ohri's thread though, these ideas do make interesting science-fiction and I do personally find the topic fascinating. I just do not believe that there is any evidence for ancient aliens. All I see is how old a lot of ideas we have are.

Then there is the idea of science fiction in general, which does go back to antiquity. Lucian’s satire True History (or True Story, etc) includes a war between the people of the sun and the people of the moon. Homer refers to Hephaestus’ automated tripods and animate golden statues. Likewise in myth, Talos was another animate statue and could be taken as a robot-type thing if we wanted to push our modern schema onto an ancient culture.

These reflect human psychology, anxiety, and imagination above anything else. Some of the same themes that we use today for science fiction are very, very old. Interestingly, this is later mirrored by modern science-fiction's references to ancient civilisations, stories, gods and locations.


Interestingly, people in science fiction sometimes put forward the idea that our gods were alien visitors, and that our ancestors did not understand them and so made them deities.

And this brings the topic back to the religious topic at hand… I do not think that aliens or religion are really incompatible. Religious texts were written by man, translated by man, and are read by man. Man does not know if aliens exist. Man did not know what dinosaurs were until the 19th Century (they may have discovered fossils beforehand, but they would have attributed them to the bones of dragons and mythical creatures, even heroes). That aliens are not mentioned in the Bible reflects how man did not (and still doesn’t) know about the existence of aliens. Alternatively, they did, and aliens are in fact angels, or supernatural entities of sorts.

If God does exist, and he is all-knowing, then he would know about aliens. Even if he does directly communicate with certain people, he probably hasn’t had a reason to mention life on other planets during epiphanies. In fact he’d possibly regard travelling to the heavens as a bad thing and a result of human pride and ambition, and would want to keep us on this planet.

I do not know if any gods or aliens exist. I hope that they do, as that would make life more interesting. They are not incompatible to me, but I am not religious in a sense, so my opinions do not matter here.

 

[Sheechiibii]

Remember, though, there isn't any logical proof of them either. So you're welcome to believe whatever you want. Just don't expect anyone to really take you seriously on the subject.

How can you say that people shouldn't be expected to take someone seriously if they believe in life somewhere else in the universe? The universe is a very large place, I think it's more logical to believe that there is more life out there than it is to believe we are the only life out there. Also, you believe in God, which there is also no logical proof for, so could the same not be said about you (don't expect anyone to take you seriously)?

- not trying to attack you or anything, just wondering where you're coming from with this statement.

Xx..xX

 

[Dionysos]

That's where you're wrong though.

Hebrews 1:2 "Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;"

Hebrews 11:3 "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word(command) of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. "

Might this just be a translation thing? It's often dangerous to put too much power and emphasis on English translations. Other translations of that passage either have it as world (single), universe, or even ages. It suggests to me to be a bit of a catch-all for anything that exists, so I'm not saying that it couldn't be taken to suggest that God created other planets other than the Earth (worlds suggests to us ones that are inhabitable), but I don't think it was meant in that way here. Even if it is to be translated as worlds, it may perhaps be taken more as realms (like earth, sea, sky - the three major divisions of our planet).

But if it can be taken to refer to other worlds, and that is what people like to take from it, then that's cool too. If it is acts as involving everything then it would do.

 

[Ohri-Jin]

Im obsessed with ancient aliens tbh. Interpretations might be wrong, however from every religion, written books, paintings etc. there are many resemblances. Every type of race has depictions of sky ppl from way back. Beings from the sky. In ancient times how would you describe beings tht were able to fly? Give them wings and call them angels. Many objects were found tht resemble space suits, aircrafts etc. Paintings of strange beings etc. Even davinci who wasobsessed with human anatomy drew strange looking ppl. One
archeologist found hundreds odd objects tht are thousands years old. Its called forbidden archeology (BOOK)

How can so many different type of ppl draw and depict oddities tht have so much resemblance with eachother?
Not to mention strange monuments etc.

Much isnt explained by scientists... They either cant or wont.

I stay openminded whatsoever. What if. Nothing is for certain.

 

[Will Graham]

Well assuming God exists and he did create everything, and that aliens exist too. I am not disputing the fact that God would have made them. What would strike me as odd if aliens and God existed is that God or Jesus never mentioned them to us.

Ohri-Jin, what sources are you getting this information from? The book you mentioned was widely discredited for ignoring basic archeology

 

[coffeecup]

Religion's been able to accommodate for scientific discoveries like dinosaurs and evolution. I'm sure if we discover aliens, they'll be able to do another sleight of hand to explain it away. So to put it shortly, I don't think religion feels threatened by aliens. Modern religious interpretations can be pretty resilient to new scientific discoveries.