Hi everyone,
I'm not sure this is the best place to begin this thread... it relates somewhat to questions of the age of the earth/life in the universe, so this is probably the place.
Anyway, I have been thinking about a few issues lately, related mostly to the age of the earth, the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe, and the uniqueness of Christianity.
Anyway, I have a few questions that I'd like to throw out here for discussion.
1. What do people believe about the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe?
2. If there is intelligent life elsewhere, then this will have implications for theories of the atonement. Does the death of Jesus on earth pay for the sins of aliens too? Or perhaps, did God become incarnate on other planets, not just earth?
3. I think the idea that God may have "incarnated" on other planets is an intriguing idea - but which raises some important concerns. For example, I assume most here believe in an old earth. Could it be possible, in prehistoric times, hundreds of thousands to millions of years ago (i.e. before recorded history), that our ancient ancestors could have been visited by Christ in the flesh, much as we have been in relatively modern times. Did ancient civilisations long destroyed experience the manifestation of the Saviour?
If we acknowledge the possibility that Christ can appear more than once at different locations in the universe, could it not also be possible that Christ may have appeared at different times in our own (pre)history as well?
I know this is very speculative, but it makes me wonder.
Michael
I'm not sure this is the best place to begin this thread... it relates somewhat to questions of the age of the earth/life in the universe, so this is probably the place.
Anyway, I have been thinking about a few issues lately, related mostly to the age of the earth, the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe, and the uniqueness of Christianity.
Anyway, I have a few questions that I'd like to throw out here for discussion.
1. What do people believe about the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe?
2. If there is intelligent life elsewhere, then this will have implications for theories of the atonement. Does the death of Jesus on earth pay for the sins of aliens too? Or perhaps, did God become incarnate on other planets, not just earth?
3. I think the idea that God may have "incarnated" on other planets is an intriguing idea - but which raises some important concerns. For example, I assume most here believe in an old earth. Could it be possible, in prehistoric times, hundreds of thousands to millions of years ago (i.e. before recorded history), that our ancient ancestors could have been visited by Christ in the flesh, much as we have been in relatively modern times. Did ancient civilisations long destroyed experience the manifestation of the Saviour?
If we acknowledge the possibility that Christ can appear more than once at different locations in the universe, could it not also be possible that Christ may have appeared at different times in our own (pre)history as well?
I know this is very speculative, but it makes me wonder.
Michael
