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When we discover aliens

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Interbane

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When we discover aliens

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How will Earth's religions come to terms with the discovery? Will Islam accept the findings whereas Christianity rejects them? Or vice versa? What will the rationalizations be? Is there scripture that will be quoted, showing that the bibles predicted alien life? Will new religions pop up, worshipping some newer higher power as it pertains to alien life?

We're on the verge of finding traces of life I believe. Sometime in the next couple of decades.
In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move.” - Douglas Adams
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ant

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Re: When we discover aliens

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Interbane wrote:How will Earth's religions come to terms with the discovery? Will Islam accept the findings whereas Christianity rejects them? Or vice versa? What will the rationalizations be? Is there scripture that will be quoted, showing that the bibles predicted alien life? Will new religions pop up, worshipping some newer higher power as it pertains to alien life?

We're on the verge of finding traces of life I believe. Sometime in the next couple of decades.
Yeah, what if the aliens come with a belief in a creator of the universe.
Will you pull out your copy of Darwin and hit them over the head with it?

You're probably assuming First Contact will be with a cosmic civilization filled with Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennnetts, and Sam Harris types.
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Interbane

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Re: When we discover aliens

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Yeah, what if the aliens come with a belief in a creator of the universe.
Will you pull out your copy of Darwin and hit them over the head with it?
I highly doubt any life we discover will be intelligent.
You're probably assuming First Contact will be with a cosmic civilization filled with Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennnetts, and Sam Harris types.
Your assumption isn't even in the ballpark.
In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move.” - Douglas Adams
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ant

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Re: When we discover aliens

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I highly doubt any life we discover will be intelligent.
Sheer conjecture.

"We discover"?
What about "it" discovering us first?

You probably highly doubt that as well.

Youre probably of the opinion that WE stand the best chance to discover THEM because "WE'VE pretty much evolved enough"

A. P.
Last edited by ant on Fri Mar 14, 2014 12:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: When we discover aliens

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I doubt we're very close to finding new life on Mars, Europa, or electronic signals for example. However, we might be close to finding it on earth within meteors or a second tree of life, a shadow biosphere. Finding even microbial life would undercut the notion of humans as a special crown of creation.

If intelligent aliens find us and force humans to worship their diety, I doubt that would prove much unless it was The True One. :P
Last edited by LanDroid on Fri Mar 14, 2014 12:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Chris OConnor

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Re: When we discover aliens

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Ant, you love argument just for the drama. Interbane asked an intriguing question and immediately your response is adversarial and hostile and of a mocking nature. Can't you for once just respond to what is being asked and participate in the discussion in a friendly fashion? Instead you continuously say "you probably" believe this and that. Why not stick with what Interbane actually said as opposed to telling us what he "probably" is trying to say but is too inarticulate to actually say?
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ant

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Re: When we discover aliens

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Chris OConnor wrote:Ant, you love argument just for the drama. Interbane asked an intriguing question and immediately your response is adversarial and hostile and of a mocking nature. Can't you for once just respond to what is being asked and participate in the discussion in a friendly fashion? Instead you continuously say "you probably" believe this and that. Why not stick with what Interbane actually said as opposed to telling us what he "probably" is trying to say but is too inarticulate to actually say?

Okay
Thanks
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ant

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Re: When we discover aliens

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LanDroid wrote:I doubt we're very close to finding new life on Mars, Europa, or electronic signals for example. However, we might be close to finding it on earth within meteors or a second tree of life, a shadow biosphere. Finding even microbial life would undercut the notion of humans as a special crown of creation.

If intelligent aliens find us and force humans to worship their diety, I doubt that would prove much unless it was The True One. :P
What if we forced them to accept Darwinian evolution as universally true? Or took them to one of our courts of law?

Anyway, it's an interesting question and one I've heard many times before.

I'd think certain literalist segments of religion would scramble to find something to continue to anchor their literalism.

As to more progressive religious thought, I'd say it would not matter.
Last edited by ant on Fri Mar 14, 2014 12:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: When we discover aliens

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Interbane wrote:Is there scripture that will be quoted, showing that the bibles predicted alien life? Will new religions pop up, worshipping some newer higher power as it pertains to alien life?
It seems reasonable that we will indeed discover life on other worlds at some point in the near future. By "near" I mean in the next 50 years or so. And it also seems pretty logical to assume that what we discover will be very very simple lifeforms. Just look at the age of our planet and how long it took simple life to evolve to the complexity we have today. Complexity came very slowly over time but it blossomed exponentially during the Cambrian explosion. When we find life the odds are it will not also be looking for us. This doesn't mean that there isn't life out there looking for other life, just like we are, but it makes sense that the life we find first will be simple...just because most worlds that harbor life probably harbor simple life.

With that said how will the religious people of the world respond to the discovery that our planet isn't so unique? One approach we may see is the claim that Genesis never said that the Creator didn't also create other worlds concurrently. No matter what is discovered believers will twist reality and ignore the facts so that they can go on clinging to their delusion.
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Re: When we discover aliens

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What if the green men found us and with their advanced technology provided unequivocal scientific PROOF that their deity exists? Now THAT would be entertaining.

And now. For no reason whatsoever:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WNrx2jq184
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