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Aliens and theism

Yerda

Veteran Member
I'm not obsessed with aliens, honest.

In the atheists and aliens thread I asked whether finding a civilisation that had prior knowledge and belief in Jesus would increase or decrease the likelihood that God exists.

Here I'm wondering, as I'm sure others have before, would the existence of aliens at all present a significant problem for people who believe the Jewish/Christian/Muslim texts are revealed/inspired by God?
 

Jayhawker Soule

-- untitled --
Premium Member
..., would the existence of aliens at all present a significant problem for people who believe the Jewish/Christian/Muslim texts are revealed/inspired by God?

No, and certainly not as big as the problem attendant to talk of "revealed/inspired by." I was inspired by my parents who, among other things, revealed to me both the Encyclopedia Britannica and Britannica Jr.
 

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
Speaking only for myself as an ex-Catholic, who was fairly devout, this presented a dilemma for me. Until I started seeing that Hindu philosophy made more sense to me. The philosophy that says that, while there is only one God, he/she/it has myriad names, forms, and ways of knowing and reaching.

The Abrahamic faiths have no such flexibility. They’ve painted themselves into a corner, immured themselves by the beliefs that the God of the Bible is the only way to see him.

For Christians specifically Jesus is the only way to reach God. That did not and still does not make sense to me at all. If there are other intelligent races or species in the universe, how could they possibly envision their God, savior, prophet, as a human when they probably never saw a human? Of course this assumes they are a theistic race.

The Abrahamics’ beliefs are their beliefs but I think it presents a dilemma their belief systems can’t resolve. The only thing that put these dilemmas aside as a Catholic was to parrot the Church and sweep such questions under the rug: “it’s a mystery of God”.
 

exchemist

Veteran Member
I'm not obsessed with aliens, honest.

In the atheists and aliens thread I asked whether finding a civilisation that had prior knowledge and belief in Jesus would increase or decrease the likelihood that God exists.

Here I'm wondering, as I'm sure others have before, would the existence of aliens at all present a significant problem for people who believe the Jewish/Christian/Muslim texts are revealed/inspired by God?
This may have come up before, but all this sort of thing was explored by C S Lewis, who was a committed Anglican. Essentially the answer is that neither is a problem - unless, I suppose, you are one of these narrow-minded bible-belt literalists, which he was far from being.

Certainly, nothing in Christianity rules out other sentient life elsewhere, nor does it rule out such life being visited by God-made-alien in just the same way as Jesus is God-made-Man. In fact the Narnia books explore exactly that, though in a magical rather than sci-fi setting. Aslan is obviously Christ, but in the form of a lion, as befits a world of talking animals. And in "Out of the Silent Planet", which is more sci-fi, Lewis explores the idea of an alien race that has not experienced the Fall.
 

sun rise

The world is on fire
Premium Member
This is a digression from the Abrahamic OP, but Meher Baba has indicated that aliens are among us (having reincarnated from other worlds).

There are 18,000 worlds in creation which are inhabited, some by human beings with 100% intelligence, others with lesser and varying degrees of it. But the value of our Earth, where mind and heart balance, is inestimable. For it is here and here alone that one can go through the process of involution and experience the Subtle and Mental spheres, here alone that God-realisation can be attained.

Thus it is that souls (jivatmas) from other inhabited worlds finally take birth on this earth for their emancipation, more so during the Avataric advent when the highest spiritual benefit is gained, and most so when the Avataric manifestation is greatest. Hence the present influx of population on earth is but the natural outcome of the rush of migration from other worlds, and the ones migrating from the worlds of highest intelligence are responsible for carrying science to the peak it has reached today.

Planets and Stars
 

Spirit of Light

Be who ever you want
I'm not obsessed with aliens, honest.

In the atheists and aliens thread I asked whether finding a civilisation that had prior knowledge and belief in Jesus would increase or decrease the likelihood that God exists.

Here I'm wondering, as I'm sure others have before, would the existence of aliens at all present a significant problem for people who believe the Jewish/Christian/Muslim texts are revealed/inspired by God?
No :)
 

Dan From Smithville

What's up Doc?
Staff member
Premium Member
I'm not obsessed with aliens, honest.

In the atheists and aliens thread I asked whether finding a civilisation that had prior knowledge and belief in Jesus would increase or decrease the likelihood that God exists.

Here I'm wondering, as I'm sure others have before, would the existence of aliens at all present a significant problem for people who believe the Jewish/Christian/Muslim texts are revealed/inspired by God?
People might make it a problem for all sorts of reasons. As groups we respond with fear of the novel with some consistency. Anything unknown and outside the tribe makes many of us uncomfortable.

I can't think of any reason that it should cause real problems with Abrahamic believers.

I can, however, imagine the new cloth of conspiracy theories that crop up with first contact.
 

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
This is a digression from the Abrahamic OP, but Meher Baba has indicated that aliens are among us (having reincarnated from other worlds).

There are 18,000 worlds in creation which are inhabited, some by human beings with 100% intelligence, others with lesser and varying degrees of it. But the value of our Earth, where mind and heart balance, is inestimable. For it is here and here alone that one can go through the process of involution and experience the Subtle and Mental spheres, here alone that God-realisation can be attained.

Thus it is that souls (jivatmas) from other inhabited worlds finally take birth on this earth for their emancipation, more so during the Avataric advent when the highest spiritual benefit is gained, and most so when the Avataric manifestation is greatest. Hence the present influx of population on earth is but the natural outcome of the rush of migration from other worlds, and the ones migrating from the worlds of highest intelligence are responsible for carrying science to the peak it has reached today.

Planets and Stars

There’s an enumeration of different species that Hinduism recognizes. Among them are 8,000,000 human species. Say again? There are several words in Sanskrit with the root māna- for human: mānava, mānavīya, mānuṣyaka (having a human body... humanoid?) In fairness it could refer to a soul which has been born into a human body. I suspect that the 8,000,000 human species refers to 8,000,000 humanoid species. How and why would ancient Indians come up with or know this?

I was always skeptical of this but I see some compelling thoughts and ideas.

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Kooky

Freedom from Sanity
What I find sad in these discussions is that people automatically assume that sentient aliens would necessarily mean sentient human-like aliens. Personally, I would find it a lot more interesting to ponder the spiritual implications of, say, a species of sentient jellyfish with a significant Christian or Muslim community among them.

For example, I could see trilobozoic aliens being endlessly fascinated by the implications of the Trinity, which may speak to them on a level infinitely more profound and sensible than to us.
 

SigurdReginson

Grēne Mann
Premium Member
It doesn't seem to be a problem for any religious people I know, nor was it a problem for me when I was Christian. What makes us think that we'd be the only expression of god's creativity?
 

amorphous_constellation

Well-Known Member
No, and certainly not as big as the problem attendant to talk of "revealed/inspired by." I was inspired by my parents who, among other things, revealed to me both the Encyclopedia Britannica and Britannica Jr.

Arguably, if all the world religions were founded (read revealed / or inspired by) by aliens, then why would they need to make that explicitly known to the commons? So in that sense, they wouldn't see it as a problem, at least for them (and by extension, for us). They would just be radiating influence in their subtle, alien style.
 

Jayhawker Soule

-- untitled --
Premium Member
Arguably, if all the world religions were founded (read revealed / or inspired by) by aliens, then why would they need to make that explicitly known to the commons? So in that sense, they wouldn't see it as a problem, at least for them (and by extension, for us). They would just be radiating influence in their subtle, alien style.
I honestly have no clue what you think you said or why you chose to direct it at me.
 

JoshuaTree

Flowers are red?
This may have come up before, but all this sort of thing was explored by C S Lewis, who was a committed Anglican. Essentially the answer is that neither is a problem - unless, I suppose, you are one of these narrow-minded bible-belt literalists, which he was far from being.

Certainly, nothing in Christianity rules out other sentient life elsewhere, nor does it rule out such life being visited by God-made-alien in just the same way as Jesus is God-made-Man. In fact the Narnia books explore exactly that, though in a magical rather than sci-fi setting. Aslan is obviously Christ, but in the form of a lion, as befits a world of talking animals. And in "Out of the Silent Planet", which is more sci-fi, Lewis explores the idea of an alien race that has not experienced the Fall.

Not a problem so long as space aliens don't think they have a soul, right? ;)
 

exchemist

Veteran Member
Not a problem so long as space aliens don't think they have a soul, right? ;)
Why should they not have a soul?

Nothing in Christianity claims the human race is exclusive in the whole universe. The bible was written about the situation on Earth, by people with no conception of a greater habitable cosmos. So it can't tell us anything directly about that. But if we apply the ideas, then it is quite possible that alien races may also be made in God's image, with souls and a relationship with God similar to what the bible describes for humanity. Why not? That's what C S Lewis explores in some of his novels.
 

JoshuaTree

Flowers are red?
Why should they not have a soul?

Nothing in Christianity claims the human race is exclusive in the whole universe. The bible was written about the situation on Earth, by people with no conception of a greater habitable cosmos. So it can't tell us anything directly about that. But if we apply the ideas, then it is quite possible that alien races may also be made in God's image, with souls and a relationship with God similar to what the bible describes for humanity. Why not? That's what C S Lewis explores in some of his novels.

Why don't animals have souls?
 
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