Is there anyone out there?!

[Easy Bakes 253]

Then you have The Babylon 5 Theory.

there are cycles the oldest races are so advanced they realize they best thing to do, to advance the more primitive races, is to leave.

[jjune4991 1]

Originally posted by: SkiGeek

Originally posted by: Micah

God only created life herequote>

Where does it say that in the Bible?quote>

He said that "a large amount of people believe that God only created life here".

As far as I know, there is no biblical basis for that belief.

But then, I know of no biblical basis for "the rapture" and lots of people believe that too.quote>

 

Revelations (the last book of the Bible) is about the rapture. it's very confusing, so a lot of it will not make sense. but in essense, it is the rapture.

[Micah 16]

He said that "a large amount of people believe that God only created life here".quote>

That doesn't make sense to me. There's absolutely nothing in the Bible that denies and accepts life elsewhere in the universe. Does this "large amount of people" reject life elsewhere because it sounds like 1950-alien nonsense or what?

Well, there actually is biblical basis for the rapture. It's mainly most of the events in Revelations. Revelations mentions a period where the dead will rise first and the true believers of Christ will follow after. That's the rapture. It's a word that sums up a great event. You could also call it the Second Coming.

I actually know some people who believe alien abductions and the rapture are the samething. They believe either the Bible told aliens would visit us or that alien abductions are misinterpreted and are actually angels/Jesus/etc. That "some people" is unfortunately distant family members.

[belfastuniguy 18]

That doesn't make sense to me. There's absolutely nothing in the Bible that denies and accepts life elsewhere in the universe. Does this "large amount of people" reject life elsewhere because it sounds like 1950-alien nonsense or what? quote>

I think what he was trying to say was that the majority of those that believe in creation as they are currently taught will ignore the view that life on earth was the replicated elsewhere in the universe. The Bible itself does not say it simply becuase the Bible was written by man in the relative dark ages when they all still believed the earth rotating around the sun and the idea of another planet like earth would have been just too horrendous a thought.

Lets all remember that God did not write the Bible, man did and so is subject to the restrictions of man at that time in history.

[sithlrd98 66]

Thank you Belfastuniguy...That is exactly what I was saying!

[Meg 368]

Every now and then, the Vatican says something I agree with. 

Alien life 'doesn't negate God's existence'

From correspondents in Vatican City

May 14, 2008 05:59am

THE search for extraterrestrial life does not contradict belief in God, the pope's chief astronomer said today, adding that some aliens may even be innocent of the original sin.

"As an astronomer I continue to believe that God is the creator of the universe," Jose Gabriel Funes said in the Vatican mouthpiece, the Osservatore Romano.

Even if "we don't currently have any proof... the hypothesis" of extraterrestrial life cannot be ruled out, said Father Funes, a Jesuit priest who directs the Vatican's observatory at Castel Gandolfo, near Rome.

"Just as there are a plethora of creatures on Earth, there could be others, equally intelligent, created by God," he said.

Original sin, which by Christian tradition occurred in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit of a particular tree, refers to the fallen state from which humans can be saved only by God's grace.

Asked about the difficult theological question, Father Funes said: "If other intelligent beings exist, it's not certain that they need redemption."

They could "have remained in full friendship with their creator" without committing the original sin, he said.

If not, extraterrestrials would benefit equally from the "incarnation," in which Jesus Christ, the Son of God, assumed earthlings' flesh, body and soul in order to redeem them, which Father Funes called "a unique event that cannot be repeated".quote>

[Easy Bakes 253]

Originally posted by: SkiGeek Every now and then, the Vatican says something I agree with. 

Alien life 'doesn't negate God's existence'

From correspondents in Vatican City

May 14, 2008 05:59am

THE search for extraterrestrial life does not contradict belief in God, the pope's chief astronomer said today, adding that some aliens may even be innocent of the original sin.

"As an astronomer I continue to believe that God is the creator of the universe," Jose Gabriel Funes said in the Vatican mouthpiece, the Osservatore Romano.

Even if "we don't currently have any proof... the hypothesis" of extraterrestrial life cannot be ruled out, said Father Funes, a Jesuit priest who directs the Vatican's observatory at Castel Gandolfo, near Rome.

"Just as there are a plethora of creatures on Earth, there could be others, equally intelligent, created by God," he said.

Original sin, which by Christian tradition occurred in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit of a particular tree, refers to the fallen state from which humans can be saved only by God's grace.

Asked about the difficult theological question, Father Funes said: "If other intelligent beings exist, it's not certain that they need redemption."

They could "have remained in full friendship with their creator" without committing the original sin, he said.

If not, extraterrestrials would benefit equally from the "incarnation," in which Jesus Christ, the Son of God, assumed earthlings' flesh, body and soul in order to redeem them, which Father Funes called "a unique event that cannot be repeated".quote>

quote>

 

he must have read this book

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Case_of_Conscience

[Voar Tok 4]

I wonder what they would say if they found any aliens out there.

Vatican: It's OK to believe in aliens

By ARIEL DAVID, Associated Press Writer Tue May 13, 4:07 PM ET

VATICAN CITY - Believing that the universe may contain alien life does not contradict a faith in God, the Vatican's chief astronomer said in an interview published Tuesday.

The Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, was quoted as saying the vastness of the universe means it is possible there could be other forms of life outside Earth, even intelligent ones.

"How can we rule out that life may have developed elsewhere?" Funes said. "Just as we consider earthly creatures as 'a brother,' and 'sister,' why should we not talk about an 'extraterrestrial brother'? It would still be part of creation."

In the interview by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Funes said that such a notion "doesn't contradict our faith" because aliens would still be God's creatures. Ruling out the existence of aliens would be like "putting limits" on God's creative freedom, he said.

The interview, headlined "The extraterrestrial is my brother," covered a variety of topics including the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and science, and the theological implications of the existence of alien life.

Funes said science, especially astronomy, does not contradict religion, touching on a theme of Pope Benedict XVI, who has made exploring the relationship between faith and reason a key aspect of his papacy.

The Bible "is not a science book," Funes said, adding that he believes the Big Bang theory is the most "reasonable" explanation for the creation of the universe. The theory says the universe began billions of years ago in the explosion of a single, super-dense point that contained all matter.

[Odainsaker 2,136]

I think it may have been an episode from the "Ray Bradbury Theater" "The New Twilight Zone" where a exploratory spaceship from Earth discovers a desolated planet whose extinct civilization had been wiped out when the nearby star went supernova. After running some calculations, the shipboard chaplain is horrified to discover that the ancient nova would have taken place near the estimated date of Jesus's birth and would have been seen by viewers in Earth's ancient Persia as positioned over Israel and particularly Bethlehem when coming from the east following the trade routes. As the crew express their skepticism while diligently documenting the alien ruins, the shipboard priest plunges into a crisis of faith as he tries to reconcile God's extermination of another advanced race in order to shine brief light for the Three Wise Men on the birth of Christianity's Savior on Earth. It was a fascinating story.

(EDIT:  Omigosh, many thanks Easy Bakes for the correction!  I was a mere kid when I watched it and never could find that episode again or its proper author reference.  Thanks to their similar productions values and themes, in memory I have blended the Twilight Zone, Ray Bradbury, Tales From the Darkside, and even the Martian Chronicles into one amorphous rerun mass of 70's sci-fi childhood television.  That, and I always leaned towards Asimov, hehe.  For the curious, this is Arthur C. Clarke's brilliant short story The Star online.  Thanks again!)

[Easy Bakes 253]

It was called The Star by Arthur C. Clark

good lord i read a lot.....

[Barbarossa 51]

.

  Edited September 7, 2012 by Barbarossa  

[Voar Tok 4]

Just as an FYI, Barbarossa, I said that quote you have, not EasyBakes. I'm not trying to pick at nits, but it can get kind of weird when people are addressing each other over things they didn't even say.

[SimRabbit 48]

This sounds crazy but a group of astronomers sent an email to aliens and it is expected to be replid soon. Link

I don't know if it's a joke.

[Meg 368]

Reminds me of the plaque Nasa sent out

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_plaque

[patriots_1228 51]

SimRabbit:

Kind of scary, but better than the alternative - after five whiskies: "Hey alien dudes, here on Earth we are all nudist. Some of us are giants with big tits. Others are giants with tiny penises. Fishes like to suntan on the beach. Turn the page to see us drunk. Kanpai!"quote>

HAHA

[Patricius Maximus 236]

I believe that there is alien life out there, that it is common, and that we will contact them either here on Earth or out in interstellar space.

If we do not find any alien life in the galaxy, it will be the most shocking revelation since Humans first looked up at the night sky. The probability is so slim for not finding life that it would be profound.

We will see them, sooner or later, we will contact them.

[hym 358]

Well, finding alien life is one thing, but as was mentioned earlier in the thread, some big brains like Hawking and B. Gentry Lee don't anticipate ever finding intelligent life, arguing that the statistical probabilities are too slim.

[Easy Bakes 253]

Speaking of finding things.

Sunday another lander will land on Mars. On the ice cap to dig for water.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/mission/index.html

[Hamish 1,370]

Well, I suppose this isn't the most reliable source, Being a comedy show, but it makes you think.

This page

Because, If you take the god side and say that we were created, wouldn't the "Aliens" therefore look like us? because we are made in gods image.

[Micah 16]

Some interpret "in God's image" two ways. Some take it literal to mean we look like God. Others believe the Bible meant that we were created in his principles and thought process until the Fall occured.

[Shadow_prophet 91]

To speak it from an Islamic point of view, it is stated that there are other alien life forms out there in the universe, however we will not meet them. At least that is what I learned. Just putting my 2 cents in this discussion.

I believe it's a hadith.

[Micah 16]

Well, the Bible does mention mysterious signs in the sky. Could this be other life? Who knows.

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: Micah

Well, the Bible does mention mysterious signs in the sky. Could this be other life? Who knows.quote>

True.  Like Ezekiel, for instance?

[Micah 16]

Not sure about Ezekiel, but it's mentioned in Isaiah 34:4 (Armies in the sky).

Ezekiel says something about eclipses... is that what you're talking about?

[saltandsauce 0]

there is life out there but probably just dull, boring, germs

[GMT 389]

I keep it like they said in the movie Contact with jodie foster:

if earth is the only planet where life can be found, it'll be a hell of a lot of wasted space

[socalwu 0]

Originally posted by: TheKakistocracy Where are these planets?

Last time I checked no scientist was able to find a planet that held all of the earth-like qualities.

Are these "theoretically" inhabital planets you are talking about?

Anyways the universe is finite and we are living in a gravitational timewell. Don't believe me? Google it.quote>

 

Actually, someone had found an planet that looks like earth right out of the solar system. Accept the ground is brown but there still is blue. Like blue and brown. It was discovered last year.

[Something_started 5]

their is also still mars which probably doesn't have any life (yet, when some will migrate). i would like to think that someday we *humans* would like to make contact with aliens. but yet what would we do with them? what would they do with us? what would either cultures think? are we ready? and, if the rapture is supposed to happen any time soon or ever would that take any part with them. what if Satan created life elsewhere and made them (many words and actions i will not anticipate here, but you can probably imagine) and to try and kill us? and shoot, what if god has a brother and his brother decided to make some aliens over in some galaxy elsewhere and choose them to be dominant over their planets life too? we just don't know, we wont know for a very long time probably at that.

[Something_started 5]

their is also still mars which probably doesn't have any life (yet, when some will migrate). i would like to think that someday we *humans* would like to make contact with aliens. but yet what would we do with them? what would they do with us? what would either cultures think? are we ready? and, if the rapture is supposed to happen any time soon or ever would that take any part with them. what if Satan created life elsewhere and made them (many words and actions i will not anticipate here, but you can probably imagine) and to try and kill us? and shoot, what if god has a brother and his brother decided to make some aliens over in some galaxy elsewhere and choose them to be dominant over their planets life too? we just don't know, we wont know for a very long time probably at that.

[Boggy1 45]

Well the chances of life having lived (or living?) on Mars just shot up by a few hundred percent with the discovery of ice water, and soil that is packed-full of nutrients and minerals. If we can find these essential elements for *our* sort of life on a planet in the same solar system as Earth; then the chances of life being present (hell the chances of life being so common as to be mind-boggling) is so huge that it's pretty silly to think otherwise.

Something_started: An alien culture is probably going to be so utterly incomprehensible to ours (remember; they are after all "aliens", and so have spent their few million of years evolving, evolving into something that I doubt is similar to anything we could imagine. Both biologically and culturally) that there will likely be very little common ground.