Theological implications extra-terrestrial life

OrdinaryClay · #1 16th June 2009, 05:19 PM

Assuming a completely naturalistic flow of events (no miraculous intervention by God) from the singularity to intelligent life, many people, not all mind you, believe intelligent life is inevitable and common. I would be interested in hearing whether you believe in the existence of extra-terrestrial life and if so what you think the theological implications are?

Hi, Since I'm new to the forums I'll quickly mention I do believe in an old earth. I'm a strong believer in science and a devout Christian. This coincidence does not cause me any crisis of faith. I'm not trying to pose a setup question or anything. I'm genuinely interested in your thoughts. I personally believe we are the sole species in all of the universe that God has created in His image. Yes, I'm aware of the immensity of the universe. I'm not a scientific neophyte.

I have rational, if not popular, reasons for believing this.

Dark_Lite · #2 16th June 2009, 08:31 PM

There's got to be something out there somewhere. I wouldn't be all that surprised (though I would admittedly be in awe) if we found non-intelligent life in this solar system on bodies like Europa or Titan, or maybe even fossils on Mars.

I also wouldn't be all that surprised (though admittedly in greater awe) if we discovered other intelligent life somewhere in the universe. What that implies theologically, I don't know. They could be life forms who had their own version of Jesus, or maybe they didn't. I think there's far more questions that would need to be answered before even getting to religion. Heh.

The Bible says man was created in God's image. It is, however, very silent on the idea of life on other planets. I'm guessing that's because the Hebrews didn't have the scientific capacity to even bother considering that thought. The Bible focuses on the events of the universe, but it is centered around humanity. It's too narrow of a focus to make a good call in this area.

Chesterton · #3 16th June 2009, 08:51 PM

I don't really see how finding life on another planet would be much different from finding a previously unknown critter in one of our oceans, or different from when Europeans found a previously unknown type of folk in the Western Hemisphere. I don't see how there'd be theological implications.

OrdinaryClay · #4 16th June 2009, 11:52 PM

I was assuming life that was intelligent, self aware and possessed a theory of mind.

I would think the most important question for them would be the same as it is for us. What is your relationship with the Creator. I could think of no more important subject. As I said, though, I personally don't believe they exist.

Darkness27 · #5 17th June 2009, 03:52 AM

Intelligent life is most likely very rare, but to say that we are the only intelligent life out there seems a little narcissistic to me.

If the life we find is not intelligent than I would treat it (theologically) as if it was a new species found on Earth.

If we do find intelligent life it would be interesting to see what, if any, theology or philosophy that they have. But ultimately I think that the bible, and many other theologies, tell us how to get to heaven, and how to live good lives, not how the universe itself goes. And by taking the underlying principles of many religions and comparing it to the aliens, I think we would find many similarities. While I am a Christian and believe that Jesus is God's one and only son, the bible and Jesus never talked about life outside our planet, and I don't see why Jesus, or some other redeemer couldn't have saved them as well.

OrdinaryClay · #6 17th June 2009, 11:47 AM

Originally Posted by Darkness27

Intelligent life is most likely very rare, but to say that we are the only intelligent life out there seems a little narcissistic to me.

I don't consider it narcissistic because I don't impute any sense of superiority or specialness (outside of God's choice to save us) from it.

If we do find intelligent life it would be interesting to see what, if any, theology or philosophy that they have.

Why wouldn't they have theology?

While I am a Christian and believe that Jesus is God's one and only son, the bible and Jesus never talked about life outside our planet, and I don't see why Jesus, or some other redeemer couldn't have saved them as well.

I agree the Bible is silent here. I also believe God could have sent His Son to redeem them as well.

MattLangley · #7 17th June 2009, 05:20 PM

The more and more they study chimpanzees the more they see them exhibiting human-like emotions (though sometimes in a slightly different way, which is why it takes time to study this)... I believe that our religions are our response to the divine. I believe the divine (call it God if you will) permeates all existence. I do believe there are other intelligent life out there (the more we learn about our universe the more likely we learn it is) and I think they would have there own response to the divine, probably a lot like ours in some ways.

OrdinaryClay · #8 18th June 2009, 08:46 AM

Originally Posted by MattLangley

The more and more they study chimpanzees the more they see them exhibiting human-like emotions (though sometimes in a slightly different way, which is why it takes time to study this)...

I'm not sure what your point here is. Animal behavior is interesting, yes agreed, but are you suggesting something more?

I believe that our religions are our response to the divine. I believe the divine (call it God if you will) permeates all existence. I do believe there are other intelligent life out there (the more we learn about our universe the more likely we learn it is) and I think they would have there own response to the divine, probably a lot like ours in some ways.

I don't understand your definition of divine. Are you a deist?

In fact, as our understanding increases the evidence is pointing to intelligent life being less likely then once believed. This trend is continuing.

Dark_Lite · #9 18th June 2009, 09:11 AM

Originally Posted by OrdinaryClay

In fact, as our understanding increases the evidence is pointing to intelligent life being less likely then once believed. This trend is continuing.

And why would you say that? The number of extrasolar planets discovered is only going up, and they are even starting to discover Earth-like planets. It's hard enough to detect gas giants orbiting other stars, so it's even harder to detect smaller rocky planets.

All of this is within a small section of our own galaxy. We don't possess the technology to see any fine details in other galaxies, but we can assume that there would be a similar number of extrasolar planets in those galaxies based on their size.

OrdinaryClay · #10 18th June 2009, 09:41 AM

Originally Posted by Dark_Lite

And why would you say that? The number of extrasolar planets discovered is only going up, and they are even starting to discover Earth-like planets. It's hard enough to detect gas giants orbiting other stars, so it's even harder to detect smaller rocky planets.

All of this is within a small section of our own galaxy. We don't possess the technology to see any fine details in other galaxies, but we can assume that there would be a similar number of extrasolar planets in those galaxies based on their size.

The probable existence of planets has always been factored into the optimistic view of the likelihood of intelligent life. So this should not really surprise us. No one doubts, or ever has doubted, the existence of planets outside our solar system. The better understanding we are gaining is in the detailed factors and conditions needed for intelligent life and this has been pointing inexorably toward lower probabilities. For example, we can believe with confidence that galactic areas with dense star formation would be sterile. This is just one of many examples.