Hypothetically speaking if it's confirmed that intelligent life on other planets exists, it's arrogance to determine in advance that we'd have souls and not the aliens, this is under the theory of the soul. Everything I say after this point is IF the soul, God, AND aliens do all exist as incontrovertible fact.

If all three of these things were confirmed to be somehow scientifically fact and the supernatural descended into natural and we then go by biblical wording we are told; God created man in his own image. It never specified on what planet. Theoretically if God or a Goddess (an intelligent force of creation) created all things in the universe logic dictates that such an entity as this creative force of creation would have made these other life forms too bearing the same spiritual essence that we hypothetically possess.

The existence of self-aware alien life should have no bearing on religion other than a few zealots using it as grounds for the anticipated sort of ignorance, arrogance, and xenophobia as to declare 'We have souls and you don't!' Hopefully the other race of beings wouldn't be so shallow or arrogantly narrow minded.

Simple logic dicates if God created us God created them otherwise how else could they come into existence? To claim they exist but God didn't make them would hand them over to The Devil's domain and or contradict the notion of an all knowing entity that created all.

The simple route of thinking would be God created us AND them. Otherwise you're just grasping at a superiority complex waiting to happen.

Suddenly I find myself thinking of the Walter Tevis novel, The Man who fell to Earth.

Give me a break. Mixing religion and science is very speculative. But here goes.

First, there is a big presumption that life does exist beyond our solar system. That is not certain. But let's assume it is true. According to Christian theology, only humans are specifically in need of salvation. There is no reason to assume other life forms need to be saved. They could be like the angels and serve God and not have ever sinned.

But as I said, this is all speculative. The Bible already states clearly there is other life (angels and demons) beyond humans, so finding life on another planet is interesting but does little to change Christian theology.

Correction up there. I meant to say Intelligent force of creation in paragraph 2, not creative force of creation. That's redundant. :-P

'Give me a break. Mixing religion and science is very speculative.'

You should try studying parapsychology. It's fun. You have to learn spiritualism and theoretical physics. I took a course in it about a year ago.

But I agree with you that it would not harm Christian theology. If God created all things in the universe God would have also created them. Imagine missionaries on other planets. Maybe they have their own version of religion.

I just hope human arrogance doesn't lead to some fanatics insisting (if such other wordly beings ever live among us) that we have souls and they don't. That could lead to nothing but an excuse for hatred and a new form of racism.

If we go by Christian belief 'God created man in his own image.' It never specified Earth man or Martian man.

Now I have David Bowie's life on Mars in my head.

The very first thing one has to take into consideration when talking about religion is that religion is not about truth or about wisdom, it is about culture.

There is no more truth in Judeo-Christian belifs than there were in those of the Romans, the Egyptians, the Aztecs, the Greeks, or the Mayans.

The reason why America has Christian churches, Jewish temples, and other similar places of worship is not because Judaism and Christianity offer the absolute truth, it's because the Spaniards came with their weapons and forced the native Americans of South and North America to turn their back on their beliefs and embrace their own.

Same goes for Torquemada and the Inquisition and King Richard the First with the Crusades in Europe.

In the end, it doesn't really matter one bit what Christianity thinks about life in other worlds because, no matter what that opinion is, it's moot as Christianity (and, in truth, no religion) has the answer to what happens when one dies.

The belief in salvation through Jesus is just that, a belief, not a fact.

Had things gone differently historically, we would have temples to Quetzalcoatl and Hercules instead of churches to Jesus.

Religion is about who had the bigger stick, not about who had the right answers. It was a matter of being forced to believe in what someone else thought was true, not in actually discovering the real truth.

MichaelSacal, I think the question is in regard to the hypothetical situation that

1. Christianity is confirmed as true.

2. The soul is definitely real as confirmed by the above statement.

3. Aliens of equal or superior to human intellect definitely exist.

This isn't about what you believe or don't believe or if a religion is wrong or right but about 'IF' Christianity is definitely true and 'IF' there are definitely self-aware alien lifeforms.

Why do people always ignore that part when replying to these sort of articles and turn it into an issue about personal belief?

I replied hypothetically with a naturally agnostic inclination.

This is Sci Fi ? We come here for news on moves,T.v. games and so on. This is not the forum to discuss Ideas Like God and aliens. There People who think that both fall into the realm of Sci Fi. I am not one I believe in both. I come here to find out about about new shows
and entertainment not things like would Jesus save E.T. which he would. So how about we get back to things like bring back Terminator SCC or a new Star Trek T.V. show and leave ideas like God and if theirs Aliens to others.

For pity's sake, C. S. Lewis tackled this one decades ago.

A) Maybe aliens don't need to be saved. (This was his assumption for the sake of his untitled science-fiction trilogy.)

B) Maybe they are saved in an entirely different way.

C) Maybe Jesus has been, is, or will be incarnate among them, too. (This was his assumption for the sake of the "Narnia" books.)

D) Maybe, in the long run, it's our duty to bring the Gospel to them. (Christianity has /always/ faced "the scandal of particularity"; outer space is only quantitatively different.)

What! There is no Cake! Oh GOD!

The article assumes that if aliens do exist they automatically need redemption. Maybe they didn't fall like man did or maybe they don't even have soul's at all.

Just read Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End

Er, Maco, if "this is not the forum to discuss Ideas Like God and aliens" then why are you discussing them here? I actually like this idea, since it would be nice to see a show like V or a movie like District 9 handle it. Why weren't there various religions in the D9 slums trying to help or convert or whatever the aliens?

Who is to actually say what a soul really is, its all speculation and faith. Maybe God is an alien... All i know is what i see, i don't need this so called "Faith" in my life, never have and never will. I will just sit back and laugh my ass off when everyone finds out it was a big hoax. Then again, if it true about a god then i'm safe because Jesus forgives all and will forgive me. hmm. win win here.

Great, interstellar Jehova's Witnesses!

well heres some thoughts

religion is an invention of the human mind and im sure other species have gone through the same period of turbulence wherein through their own ignorances of the universe around them built a system of belief or faith

-- in regards to humans its fairly obvious what will happen
1. most hardcore shallow devottee's to almost any especially the christianic faiths will most likely commit suicide and that would prolly be a fairly significant part of the population prolly around 1,000,000-ish and prolly cap around there give or take

2. some will worship them believing them to be gods not just .. like joe the neighbor down the street
(this is presuming they didnt play a part previously as one of our gods a long freakin time ago ... *the species not a being)

3. the more educated may quiver in their boots but most would just sit and wait and see what happens

- currently and honestly due to these and a slew of other reasons pardoning some massive issue and even prolly in the event of a massive issue on board any sufficiently advanced species other than humans would be very unlikely to contact us at this technological point - we're tech hungry and anything they give us we're more likely to blow our selves or a portion of our species up n out with
soo unless a self destruct device malfunctions they'd be more likely to destroy their ship completely than let it fall to earth (unless of course it were a severally reduced tech ship to test us)

First off Catholism is not the end all definer of Christian Doctrine. Second there are Chirstian religions such as Mormons that teach that Jesus saved all mankind which included extraterrestials. Mormons happen to believe there are other people out there. I even found reference to an ancient Egyption belief that there are other worlds with different creatures but Man is the same everywhere. I assume aliens may be a problem for some versions of Christianity but certainly not for all.

I find it utter amazing that so many here make states about a religion they apparently know little of. Just because a guy gets on TV claiming to "heal and save" doesn't mean he has the slightest clue about what he's trying to sell. You can't base a religion on the words of those who use it to make money.

'This is Sci Fi ?'

Actually, Maco this is EXACTLY what Scifi is SUPPOSED to be about. It's questioning beliefs and scientific theories. It's debates and hypothoses. It's intellectual exploration. It's speculatiion.

THIS article and our conversations that followed... This is what scifi is supposed to be about. the 'IF' factor that the Scifi Channel used to use in their advertising. Questioning ideas about how and why we exist and what might happen. THAT is the nature of science fiction. If you don't think that's science fiction you REALLY don't get it.

PS. I am actually VERY proud of Scifi Wire to finally post an article that makes people question and think about things as opposed to 'Hot chicks of Starwars' ect...

Oh man where to start. Firstly to those who are angry at leaders of christianity for messing with a lot of people over the centuries, sorry, I can imagine how that kind of mis-representation can turn people off who may have been seeking faith. Secondly, christianity is suppose to be about following Christ and he was humble, ere go it's about humilty and being humble towards people and before God. It would be a very humbling thing to find out that life exist on other plantets. If God created the universe than I am sure he gave Jesus enough power to save everyone unless they don't need saving, but in Genisis it says when Adam and Eve sinned it shook the foundations of the universe so who knows.

I don't like C. S. Lewis's perspective. He's elitist about the human race. I figure humanity and 'original sin' IF such a thing was true, would affect all incarnations of mankind, regardless of planet of origin.

This is all speculation based on hypothetical scenarios. And to be honest If ind a certain religion, if taken literally, a lot more questionable than the notion of life on other worlds but this is a debate I really didn't want to step into.

Treat the question as the hypothetical 'if Christianity is true' and 'If intelligent aliens are real.'

Might be better to stop worrying about who will be saved and get busy saving ourselves...

What happened to the conversation about what would Jesus do...I think that he would welcome them to earth and offer them an apple.

Now we're talking scifi! Discussing science fiction versus religion. Of course, religion has been used in science fiction with varying degrees of success. We've probably all read some variant on "aliens were the original humans", but there are other great stories. "The 9 Billion Names of God", by A.C. Clarke, for instance, or "The Final Question"(?), by Isaac Asimov, to name two great stories.

I've always thought that if we ever encounter aliens, and it turns out that they, too, have been redeemed by Jesus (or Allah or Buddha or whoever), then I'd have to seriously reconsider my view on religion (as a totally man-made fiction made up to explain all the scary stuff, like thunder and lightning and earthquakes and sunrises, and later turned into organized religion by people who saw it as an opportunity to easily gain power over other people...) But until then: Cogito, Ergo Atheistus Sum. ;)

Never mind what Jesus would do. Far more importantly, what would Brian Boitano do?

Well said, Michael Sacal. Let's just the hope the aliens don't have the "bigger stick" -- or else we'll all end up worshiping Qu'larrk the Astro-Penguin at the point of a laser gun.

All hail Qu'larrk!!

What about Vampires, what would they do?! Haaaaaaaaaaaa!

One thing to consider is that if the aliens do not look like us, religous people will have to accept that God did not create life in the universe as religions ideology claims that man was created in the image of God.

What happens if the first alien that comes to Earth looks like ET, or like a Narn?

Forget salvation through Jesus. Their appearance alone will cause a ruckus.

Science has proven that it's willing to admit when it is wrong, but religion? not so much.

@The Platypus

They very well might have the bigger stick, but they may not.

It's also possible that aliens,, like the crew of the Enterprise, have a Prime Directive that prevents them from visiting Earth until we rid ourselves of such outdated concepts as religion, nationalities and borders on a map, prejudice, etc... in which case they may never come.

Does anyone have a Cookie? Maybe some popcorn?

All I have to do is get drunk, sit back and watch everyone go crazy.

I think Michael Sacal actually speaks the truth and it's something we should all remember. People have the potential to get so worked up about these arguments in religion it's worth remembering that religion is akin to fiction. It's just a fiction a lot of people need it seems. The kind of fiction people go to war over.

@Darken

Indeed.

Religion is likely to argue that if life exists in other planets that life is just like us, as, in their view, God created all life across the cosmos in his image.

The question at hand would be, would that life have been presented with the same "challenges" that God presented to life on this planet, starting with the apple?

What about the beliefs of other religions? Are the extraterrestrials in other planets Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist?

Christianity is selfish enough to believe that life in other worlds is like them. After all, far as Judism is concerned God created the Earth - and ONLY the Earth - for them to exist on for 7,000 years, at which point this world will end and be replaced with a new one (shades of Jack Kirby here...). That can only mean that Judaism does not exist in other worlds as wouldn't the notion that God created more than one Earth for a chosen people negate the uniqueness of this Earth?

Of course, it is in Judaism's best interest to deny the existence of life in other worlds as such a notion is extremely detrimental to their belifs.

There's a reason you don't see Jews in space in fiction (other than in Mel Brooks movies). Jews can't afford (and no, that's not a pun) to die off world as it would prevent them from returning to life when the new world comes about.

Space travel, alien life, etc, is detrimental to the Jewish faith.

I'm not certain how Muslims feel about that, but, Chronicles of Riddick notwithstanding, I doubt that there can be more than one Mecca, specially on another planet.

Does that automatically mean that Christianity is the religion with the true answers? Of course not. It only means that, far as religions go, it's one that has been designed to be all-encompassing. After all, it's in Christianity's best interest to welcome everyone no matter where they come from, be it Africa, Australia, Alaska, or Vulcan.

Christianity is based on the idea of absorption of other cultures, not acceptance.

It may very well be that it will not matter what shape the aliens may come in, or what their belifs are. Christianity will force them to fit its dogma, and if they refuse it's just create another Torquemada, Cortez, and Richard Lionheart.

The reason this is not the place is it easy to say whatever over the net. But have that debate with someone in the room. See I don't believe I know there is a God, and he has a son Named Jesus and there was a time like so many on this site I did not believe. I was a atheist but now I know the truth. I know God is real I have seen him. Heard Him and I know Him. It is sad so many of you don't. Now all the mad people will blast me and tell me I am wrong to you I say so what. Get us all in a room with open minds hear what the other has to say not hiding behind a screen all work up with I am going to show you attitude. Who knows someone might get saved. So it is better to leave the real truth at the door and talk about fiction. See the truth is God is real Jesus is real with that the debate ends and nothing someone on a web page can say will ever change that. Indeed.

With over 200 recognized religions (Non cults) in the USA alone there would be a variety of responses to aliens. But as one of the worldwide big powerhouse religions the Roman Catholics response would be signification.

With that said the Catholic church is the largest 'flash forward' people out there - except in their belief you can't change the future. The end times are written, in the word of god, it WILL HAPPEN as written according to their belief structure. As no aliens are included in the end times then it doesn't really matter big picture wise :)

PS. captcha here sucks

@Impish

Then again, Christianity can choose to vilify alien life with claims like "the aliens are the horsemen of the apocalypse" or "the beast", and any other of nonense to fit their limited view of the world and the cosmos.

That way they can find a role for alien life in the bible. If they decide that the aliens are against them, they will attack them using their own ideology.

It is hubris to assume we are the only "intelligent" life form in a galaxy so large we cannot even begin to comprehend the size of. It is also hubris to assume we know anything of God's/Allah's/Buda's/Jehova's (or any higher power) feelings/thoughts about other forms of life. I'm sure some biblical scholar would argue that it is written in the bible we are His favorite. But, when it comes to that line of reasoning I remind myself the Good Book was written, or at least translated, by Man. There might, just might, be some bias in it.

I do in my heart believe there has to be some higher power. There are just too many miracles to pass off as chance. Each and every one of us is a good example of that. That being said, I choose to think that higher power is a benevolent, kind creature, not the fire and brimstone God of wrath from the bible. If I am right, then he would dig aliens, as much as he digs us.....

Interesting article and interesting post

I wasn't aware that the church burnt someone at the state for suggesting the existence of aliens.

Now a question for Mr. Mill: Given that this is a SciFi site, are you telling us that the Holy Bible is fiction?

That a pretty bold statement!

IF God exist as inteligent loving being, then this God did not create the life on this planet. Inteligent, loving being will not create a place where one life form feed on another.
Did God create Universe?. If E.T comes to this planet and start to eliminate a life forms, then the God did not create them or this God it is a one sick MF. If believing what the Bible said, God was the bigest mass murderer as that God inflict a flood and murder allmost all form of life except the choosen Noas.
I just hope that IF God exist it is not as the Bible portray. Have a fun.

@MCP-001

"the Holy Bible is fiction?"

Sure, why not?

Had things gone differently historically, instead of Passion of the Christ being a revered movie by Christians, it would be mindless entertainment like Clash of the Titans or Percy Jackson, while those two would be revered as historical fact and presented less like blockbuster movies with special effects and more like dogma, like Passion was.

What makes the Bible less fictional than the Egyptian Book of the Dead, or Greek scrolls?

Is it the words written on it, or the belief people associate with it?

It's all cultural, not factual.

You, or someone else who reads this post, will get offended by it, or catalogue me as being nuts not because your religion is right, but because you have been raised to believe that it is right.

Religion IS science fiction, so this article is appropriate.

I honestly do NOT want to cause controversy here, but SyFy created a controversy by using the perversion of an Eastern Orthodox Icon as the illustration for this article.

I know, those of you who are a) Not Orthodox Christians; b) Have something against Orthodox Christians; c) Think I'm off track here; or d) Think this is a harmless illustration, my objection will be heartily criticized.

But, as a Russian Orthodox Christian I, and all Orthodox Christians, find this image deeply insulting and blasphemous.

I am posting the web address for this article on as many Orthodox "lists" as I can find. You may very well hear from others who are more offended than I am.

Reader Michael Malloy
Columbus
(A "Reader" is a rank of clergy in the Russian Orthodox Church - obviously, I am a convert)

Well seeing as Jesus never existed I say who give a flying rats booty!

@peter

It's more like fantasy than science fiction. Where is the science in religion?

Who is Brian Boitano, and why should I care?

P.S.
"CAPTCHA" STINKS!

Everyone has over looked the stated above, the Mormans have got it right! My brothers and sisters find a LDS missionary and learn the gospal!

@Raiderfann66

You mean Battlestar Galactica got it right :P

Since there isn't a forum here other than these comments, I agree this is an appropriate place for it and kudos to Syfy for putting up a thought provoking serious science fiction question.
As far as the religious question is concerned, I would presume that God would have found some way to show Himself (Itself? the whole gender thing with an omnipotent being is rather silly and meaningful only in comfort in relating to something we really can't grasp) to any other alien intelligence and would not have created them simply to assign them to Hell or Oblivion or whatever without any chance at anything else. So I don't think it would be incompatible, although I am sure many more fundamental people wold think so.
But therin lies the bigger question that I think is more interesting and more directly science fiction. How will people react if presented with the issue? Many people would not have problems with it, I am sure. Still, I think there are lots of people that would and would use their religious beliefs to provide justification for violent xenophobia. This would be critically dangerous for all of us as they are likely to get us all killed.

What is Hell?

According to Wikipedia (I intended to use the Encyclopedia Britannica, but you have to sign in for a trial), "Gehenna, gehinnam, or gehinnom (Hebrew: גהנום, גהנם, Greek γεεννα) are words used in Jewish and Christian writings for the place where evil people go in the afterlife (see Hell). The name is derived from a geographical site in Jerusalem known as the Valley of Hinnom, one of the two principal valleys surrounding the Old City. "

Given that the concept, or at least the name, derives from a geological location on Earth, how, then, can aliens have a concept for such a thing as Hell as the Judeo/Christian theology understands it?

Sure, it's possible that extraterrestrials have a concept for the afterlife that may or may not involve punishment for "being sinful" but, then again, it's possible that they may not.

You also have to ask yourself, who defines the standard of what a sin is.

Is it a sin to be homosexual? The Judeo-Christian theology believes so. Can aliens be homoxexuals? What if the first alien race we make contact with has both male and female reproductive systems as we understand them, or they only have one or the other, or are neither? Does that make their existence a sin? Earth-based religion would have you believe so, but to them it would not be a sin.

If a Christian met an extraterrestrial couple in which both individuals were only make because their entire race is male, to the Christian that couple would be a sin in the eyes of God and therefor in need of salvation from Hell/Gehenna as his belief instructs him.. but to the aliens they simple are, there is nothing wrong about their existence, therefore they don't need saving because they have not commited a sin.

Basically what this boils down to is that, once first contact is made with an alien race, religion is screwed, and its opinion on salvation through faith in Jesus becomes irrelevant.

Old Man in Ohio: Isn't interesting, although you didn't call for the death of the writer, your comments sound a lot like those that fundamentalist Islamics made after Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses" came out. Fundamentalism is just another name for fanaticism in any religion and lets be honest here, if the aliens did come to Earth, the fanatics would see them as the legions of Satan. Tolerance is not a strong point among them.
From another point of view, maybe the aliens are waiting to contact us until we show the proper maturity as a species. You know by giving up believing in Fairy Tales, whether they are in the Bible, the Koran or the Qur'an.

Obviously the above should have read, "Isn't it interesting..."

Build and Conquer; Live Long and Prosper!

That's all i have to say

There's a Tom Cruise/L. Ron Hubbard joke in here somewhere I'm not quite finding. I tend to lean toward the "Biblical events and charachters were/are real things; probably advanced beings of another civilization, as seen through the eyes of primitive people and told as parables of an all powerful God". But then again, I liked "Contact", so what the hell do I know. MichaelSacal- If more people thought like you, there'd be a hell of a lot less war in the world.

If there are aliens, and I sincerely hope there are, since the universe is infinite, and it would be awefully lonely to live alone in an infinity, then of course Jesus saves aliens.

By definition, they are God's creations, and as such, are liable for salvation if they have souls, which, I for one, assume all advanced creatures do.

To assume that a diety that created the whole universe is only concerned with one tiny part of it is absurd.

Of course, there are those who would assume that the creator diety is the absurdity. Sigh.

Personally, believing in God isn't hard. Believing in no god is harder. And a lot lonelier. A lot less comfy. I prefer a comfy universe, don't you?

Primitive man definitely created religion to comfort his fears.

We are no longer primitive men... well, AS primiive as when religion was conceived.

This is really like Star Trek. The Federation will not make contact with races that are not mature enough to grasp the existence of beings from other worlds and concepts that defy their comprehension.

There's no reason to believe that if aliens exist they don't have similar rules.

Just think how easy it would have been for an advanced race of beings if they had visited Earth thousands of years ago to fool ancient man. If you or I were to travel to the past with a Bic lighter or a flashlight or a bush covered with asbestos and sterno and a speaker hidden in a rock, well lets just say it would not be hard to start a religion.

Also, as someone pointed out earlier, religion was created by man to control man. Christianity in particular was devised in my opinion by the Romans during the fall to hold onto power. Their military might gone, they had to resort to other means.
P.S. this is my favorite subject, kudos SyFy

@ whocares

Blasphemy! It's cookies not cake!

Thanks for bringing Patton Oswald in of the discussion

@Thundr

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. -- Arthur C. Clarke."

The only problem I have with alien visitations in the past is the question of why.

Why would aliens come here of all places in the universe, specially in the past to influence primitive man?

If we think of aliens as scientists and primitive man as a rat in a maze, the idea would be that the aliens/scientists are making the rat run through the maze/influencing the evolution of man for a purpose, an ultimate reason.

Did we fail the experiment and that is why the aliens no longer care what happens? Or have they gone from taking an active interest (i.e. posing as Gods, like those of any number of pantheons) to becoming passive observers?

What does that say of man destroying those ancient pantheons and replacing them with the "one true God"?

Does it mean that one alien destroyed all others and assumed the position of God, or does it mean that man himself created God to replace the void left when the aliens stopped their influence and became passive observers?

Is that what they are observing, how man behaves when left to his own devices?

Did the Inquisition, the Crusades, the conquest of America, slavery of the Africans, and all other historical attrocities prove to them that man was not worth their attention?

@Micheal Sacal...umm, HELLO!! Anal probing is why we visit!!! Have you looked at the butts on our women? Well, probably not, but let me tell you. Not one of them is even close to Jessica Alba....come to think of it, GORT! lay in a course for Hollywood....

All one has to do is watch the Bill Moyers interview with Joseph Cambell intitled "The Power of Myth" and all the questions of the universe will answered. It will set anyone on a path to enlightenment.

ok my 2 pennies worth, i looked through most of the comments and have a couple things to say. this is an appropriate place to freely communicate this subject. you are in no way under coersion or threat either way no matter how u feel about the subject to either side. second, we are considering this from a terran point of view. what if god has populated the universe and has moved on, doing a lil johnny appleseed project seeding himself and his meaning of life in the hopes it will sprout and flourish? what if it hasnt everywhere? what if it has? what if...we are just molecules of god? a sum part of the greater? do we have answers? no we have speculation and faith. dream, my friends dream. the answers might be at our finger tips.

What if God is an alien scientis who travels around the universe creating life in search of the ultimate question to existence and man is just one of many such experiments?

Or what if man created God to avail his fears of the unknown?

"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth"

Watch this small clip and you will see what I mean.

http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/faith_and_spirituality/watch/v17348445sRzEyGZM

@Thundr

I've been reading Hero with A Thousand Faces. I'm up to chapter two. Good book.

@MichaelSacal

You are a gentleman and a scholar sir

I'll try a brief answer to the original question, which is of course a valid one, IMO.

What would Jesus do? My faith tells me He would love that which is "alien" to us because He created life.

I expected someone to trash me, but I don't even understand what this guy is trying to say:

"By prospero at 5:02 PM ON 11/14/09

Old Man in Ohio: Isn't interesting, although you didn't call for the death of the writer, your comments sound a lot like those that fundamentalist Islamics made after Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses" came out. Fundamentalism is just another name for fanaticism in any religion and lets be honest here, if the aliens did come to Earth, the fanatics would see them as the legions of Satan. Tolerance is not a strong point among them.

From another point of view, maybe the aliens are waiting to contact us until we show the proper maturity as a species. You know by giving up believing in Fairy Tales, whether they are in the Bible, the Koran or the Qur'an. "

You don't have to be insulting, but at your age it's probably considered normal behavior.

What does the "Queer'an" have to do with Orthodox Christianity? I see nothing wrong with being a fundamentalist Orthodox Christian. It simply means I take my faith seriously and I'm willing to stand up for it in light of criticism from those who have no clue as to what they are protesting.

I didn't call for anybody's head on a platter, I didn't suggest bodily harm to anyone. Why should anyone feel threatened by an honest expression of concern?

Just because certain people are religious extremists doesn't mean that anyone of another faith who takes his or her faith seriously is somehow dangerous to those who believe differently or not at all.

I simply said the image was an offensive portrayal of an Icon. That particular image has popped up on the Internet before and usually Orthodox Christians are upset by it. That doesn't mean Orthodox Christians will suddenly start strapping dynamite to their bodies and blow up totally innocent people!

Do I not have to right to express such things? After all, you all are free to mock religions of all kinds...well, most kinds, without fear of retribution.

The image is disturbing to me. It is offensive, from my point of view. Period.

Now, please, just continue your lives without fear that I - or any Orthodox Christian - will declare some kind of war against the creator of that stupid image.

P.S.

"CAPTCHA" REALLY, REALLY STINKS!

As a practicing "Mormon" with a fairly good understanding of doctrine, I can say confidently that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints generally believe that God did create "worlds without number" and that many of them are populated. We believe that the members of those populations are much like us and have similar challenges and understandings and are "saved" if they accept the available option of the salvation offered by Jesus Christ whom they know about. Some notable "Mormons" in SciFi are Glen Larsen (who created Battlestar Galactica) and Orson Scott Card (who wrote Ender's Game and related stories).

I think the answer to this question is quite obvious. Jesus was sent by God to Earth, to be born of a human mother, to preach to a human audience, and to die for the sins of humanity. The stories contained The Bible, Testaments Old and New, are above all a recounting of God's interactions with his human creations. Of course other worlds exist, and--quite literally--God only knows what their relationship with Him is. Whatever the case, only human beings attain salvation through Jesus Christ. Animals, either terrestrial or extraterrestrial, do not have the ability to tell right from wrong, and as such, do not need salvation.

The far more interesting question is what would Mohammad do. I know what many of his followers would do if SyFY portrayed him as an alien.

I think Jesus would probably be interested in saving these aliens if they were sinful creations of God like us humans. I agree that God is more human in Western faiths like Christianity, but God takes the form of man in the Bhagavadgita. I don't think Christianity is Earth-centric. It seems to pre-suppose that what happens outside our world in the eternal realm is what matters. Since the Bible was written before we thought in terms of planets, these aliens may not fall outside what the Bible defines as human. Man is created from the earth, yes, from dust, but he is more than a mere Earthling. He is created in the image of God. I think that process is more what comprises man than the sum of his parts.

OldManInOhio: Who is Brian Boitano, and why should I care?

I'm surprised you don't know! Perhaps this will help:

What would Brian Boitano do
If he was here right now?
He'd make a plan, and he'd follow through,
That's what Brian Boitano'd do!

When Brian Boitano was in the Olympics
Skating for the gold,
He two Salchows and a triple Lutz
Wearing a blindfold

When Brian Boitano was in the Alps
Fighting grizzly bears,
He used his magical fire breath
and saved the maidens fair

So what would Brian Boitano do
If he was here today?
I'm sure he'd kick an *ss or two,
That's what Brian Boitano'd do!

When Brian Boitano travelled through time
To the year 3010,
He fought the evil robot king
And saved us all again

And when Brian Boitano built the pyramids,
He beat up Kubla Khan,
'Cause Brian Boitano doesn't take sh*t from anybody!

No, Brian! Those chicken wings are really spicy! Don't eat those!

I've never seen a man eat so many chicken wings!
I've never seen a man eat so many chicken wings!
I've never seen a man eat so many chicken wings!
I've never seen a man eat so many chicken wings!
I've never seen a man eat so many chicken wings!
I've never seen a man eat so many chicken wings!
I've never seen a man eat so many chicken wings!

Brian Boitano was born
On the planet of Kryluck
He came to earth to save us all
From war and death and stuff!

Hi de lo de hi de lay!
Brian Boitano's here!
So round up all your lasses,
And tell them to have no fear!

Say, come over here my honey,
And you're gonna take off my pants,
And I'm gonna make dirty love to you,
'Cause that's what Brian Boitano'd do!
'Cause that's what Brian Boitano'd do!

"The article assumes that if aliens do exist they automatically need redemption. Maybe they didn't fall like man did...."

This is precisely the premise explored in CS Lewis' attempt at Christian science fiction: OUT OF THE SILENT PLANET. He had no difficulty fitting the idea of aliens into his Christian worldview and I don't think it presents any serious problem for Christian theology (if they can dismiss the far more substantive problem of evil they can easily accomodate aliens into their theological systems).

Oh. So Brian Boitano is an athlete. Thank you. I take it he's quite a good one too. Good for him.

Why should anyone care what he would do if confronted by an alien?

Simply asking...

P.S. "CAPTCHA" REALLY, REALLY, REALLY STINKS!

P.S. -

Was that a poem about Boitano? Am I supposed to be familiar with it?

Again, simply asking.

P.S. "CAPTCHA" REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY STINKS!!!

@Micheal Sacal
Quote: You mean Battlestar Galactica got it right :P

Back again this morning, I can't get enough of these postings.

I think that Babylon 5 got it righter. With the view of the Vorlons that everyone had. All of the different races saw Kosh, when he flew up to save Sheridan as a different vision, a vision of there own belief system. If there is a singular omnipotent being or a race of them, they would have to come to the different planets in a way for them to understand. Try to explain to an Inuit about a burning bush when all they see is ice and snow. Also, no one has mentioned Intelligent Design yet, oops, I just did hehehe!

A better question might be: if Jesus existed, what would aliens do?

Well, we now know that OldManInOhio has no sense of humor or sarcasm.

I really think that having a grasp of basic cultural concepts such as South Park should be required before someone's allowed to venture out on the interweb to post comments on blogs.

Either that, or we've been expertly trolled.

What if on each planet in the universe where there is sentient life as we understand it there is a Christ/Messiah/Son of God sent to help those sentient beings with their sins_

A Jesus Christ Corps.

Oldmaninohio: sorry if I insulted you, I was not trying to do so. What was the insulting part however? Saying your words sounded like those of an Islamic fundamentalist? Saying fundamentalism is destructive? I specifically mentioned that you hadn't threatened violence. However, the idea of censorship, is wrong no matter who practices it. You prove yourself to be just like the fundamentalists Islamics by calling their holy book the "queer'an". I can promise you that the phrase is much more intolerant than the picture you have so much trouble with. Intolerance leads to violence.

Whats amazing to me is how some don't recognize in themselves what they hate in others.

Oh jut for the record, I'm 50 years old.

Prospero - I wouldn't be at all surprised how easily we could become friends if we could only talk one on one instead of relying on snips from posts to evaluate each other.

You're right about my outlook on Muslims. I have made friends with a few, and one at a time they can be very charming and nice. I worry about what they have done historically and some continue to do today. This little forum is not the right place for detailed discussion on this matter. Just please understand I have friends who suffered under Muslim presence in their former home countries. Once they become the majority population they impose their own religious laws and those who are not Muslim are in serious danger.

Just some things to remember:

Never forget: Moscow; Beslan 2004
Kosovo: 1999, 2004
New York City: September 11, 2001
Armenian Holocaust in Turkey: 1915-1917
Smyrna: September 9, 1922
http://www.hri.org/docs/Horton/hb-title.html

ALIENS COME TO EARTH.

JESUS AS A MAN OF GOD IS DEBUNKED AS FAKE.

EARTHLINGS GO NUTS KNOWING RELIGION IS FALSE.

JESUS IS REALY A GREEN ALIEN.

Why Green?

Well in a nutshell we can send men to the moon and back but still cant explain the complexities of the human brain. We can explore the depths of our seas and our solar system, but still really don't know how lightning works here on our blue world. There more mysteries in the Universe the are still undiscovered than there are grains of sand on all the beaches on our world alone. Just ponder!

The Bible does answer all of this debate. The Catholic Church has a long history of distorting and even concealing what the Bible says, so their statements on the matter should not be held as definitive.

The Bible says that God created the heavens and the Earth and put living souls, including humans, upon it. After a time, the first humans were misled by a powerful spirit creature (an angel) who had been assigned to watch over them and committed the original sin of disobedience. From that act, all humans born on Earth inherited the curses of sin and death and needed the redeemer that God promised as soon as the act had taken place.

The Bible also says that the original tempter, Satan, was eventually confined to the vicinity of the Earth and that his dominion over us would mark the Last Days. It identifies the primary issue between Satan, God, and Man as universal sovereignty - God's right to rule over his creations.

With that issue unresolved until after the Millenium, God probably (and this is speculation as the Bible is absolutely silent on the subject) would have held off on creating other corporeal life on other planets until such a lengthy trial would be rendered unnecessary ever again by the outcome on Earth.

In true Bible theology, therefore, there is no room for space aliens - yet.

PS - Captcha is really broken here. There should be a way to get a new picture to try, and for the visually impaired to hear the key.

This is a fairly simple query that even I, an athiest/agnost given the day of the week, can figure out. My apologies to any bitter creationists but Darwin applies to culture. You adapt or you die. To their credit the Christian churches have been very good at adapting throughout the centuries. Shellfish, meat on Fridays, then aliens.

The milieu of christianity, the dogmatic aspects, might change but because of belief [and alcoholism, lookin @ you born-agains!] I'm sure Christians will/would be fine. So long as they focus on Jesus Christ as the center, as a human man who communed with God, The All, The Divine Eternal, or Grand Architect of the Universe - it will be around so long as someone preaches his supposed teachings.

Thundr wrote: "Why green?"

I concur. Everyone who ever watched an episode of the Muppets knows its not easy being green!

BLAH, I amz avoidinz dis converzation abnd gobbin backn to myz planetz.

IF Jesus exist and I will encounter E.T, my recommendation to them would be "run for your life and do not come back". This is a savage planet with savage religions.

Geez what a dilema. Should we concentrate on finding a cure for the diseases wiping out the human population, the economy, the fighting in the Middle East - or worry about whether Jesus would save aliens. I would be more concerned about the aliens not considering us the lowest form of life in the universe and wiping us out.

Uh...guys, Jesus existed. Josephus wrote about him. Whether or not he was the son of God or just a really nice guy who did some fine charity work is up to your personal interpretation. But you can't deny he was an actual person (well, I suppose you can, but you'd be wrong).

And as to what Muhammad would do, I refer to my earlier answer. Muhammad was a Prophet sent to Man, not to Martian.

em there's no such thing as aliens yes? That's on TV!

Jesus came from to be a human being so he could save human beings. and God never mentioned other races when he spoke of his creation in the Bible so from a christian believer's POV no aliens, no conflict. But the theory makes V brilliant!

Jesus was the first celebrity.

The man had no chance. From birth he was surrounded by people who worshiped him as the son of God and, thus, his education and nurture reflected that.

He was molded into being what people around him wanted him to be. The scripture written about Jesus is propaganda designed to sell that idea.

Had Mary, on her dead bed, admitted that she slept with some guy, such an Earth-shattering revelation would never see print as it would go against the image of Jesus that his followers had built based on her initial claim.

If the Times thinks asking what would Christians do if aliens exist is a serious debate we need to have, they have way too much time on their hands... not to mention questionable journalistic priorities.

You can't disprove faith by science. When there's a giant spaceship hovering over New York, then we can start seriously discussing this issue. Until then, this debate is no different than fanboys arguing over whether Star Trek or Star Wars is better.

Of course one interesting notion is what would the aliens have in terms of thier religion. What if upon thier arrival on Earth, instead of "Take us to your leaders." we heard, "Greetings Earthlings, have you heard the good news, Jesus is risen!" Wouldn't that seem to put the final stamp on the argument of His divinity?

Just a thought, of course if religion is wholy cultural without any universality to it, then thier religion would be severely differenty from our own and might go just as far as putting the final nail in Christianity's coffin as well.

I believe that not only spiritually but physically we are created in God's image. That said our bodies could be designed specifically for our planet, other species would be created to flourish on thier respective planets, but how wild if they did come to Earth and looked just like us.

Seems like thier existence could offer more substantial proof to the existence of God, and even if they were dissimilar to us, it would still give us the opportunity to excercise faith without absolute proof.

There is also the possibility that Jesus was an alien-human hybrid. Think about it...

Virgin birth - Mary caught up in the spirit gets prego, abudcted at night, and implanted.

Child grows with amazing intellect and unusual healing abilities.

After Frankensteinesque persecution, Jesus is martyred, then resurected, or simply cannot be killed.

After "resurection" Jesus is hauled away into the heavens in a tractor beam of light!

voila!

@w0lfm4n

That's an idea I've seen before, the notion that aliens, due to their outer wordly nature, are closer to God.

What happens if they don't worship a fictional character and look down on mankind for believing in God?

One thing that will inmediately separate man from extraterrestrial is the schism between science and faith.

Science is a constant throughout the universe, meaning that, in order for extraterrestrial to have space fairing vehicles like star ships, they need to conquer the same obstacles scientist face here on Earth (i.e. fuel, food, comfort, bodily functions, etc, etc).

It has been said that, were it not for the Dark Ages, humanity would have already colonized the moon and other planets in our solar system.

An extraterrestrial race that possesses star ships must have, therefore, not experienced anything similar to the Dark Ages, or, at best, come out of it much better than we did.

Other issues to take into account is that within that schism between science and faith is the Christian belief of burying the body in the soil and the Jewish belief that Earth will end in 7,000 years and the dead will rise.

In order for extraterrestrials to willingly undertake the kind of trip necessary for them to come from their world to ours, they need to either not have similar beliefs or have conquered their fears, meaning that their faith, if they have any, will not be like ours.

Ultimately, one must remember the true meaning of the word ALIEN, which is not used to denote a being from outer space, it is used to denote something or someone who is different than us.

Marco Polo was as alien to the Chinese as Columbus was to the Natives, and what was it about those cultures that made them alien from each other?

It was their BELIEFS, their CULTURES.

Columbus belived in the one true God, while the Natives believed in a pantheon of Gods.

For extraterrestrials to trully be alien, they cannot have a system of beliefs that comes remotely to being like ours, otherwise they'll just be humans from another world.

The idea that the only life in the universe is human, is ignorant.

@w0lfm4n

I thought it was Elvis that was the alien that went back to his home world :P

What if religioun is endemic to only primatve cultures and only the ones that reject the concept continue to advance and flourish? What if the ones that self destruct are the ones that continue to hold what madison said was "the most destructive and primitive man made institution ever constructed"? Maybe this is all moot and only the species that finally get it survive?

@Michael Sacal

My comment was to illustrate that if there were similarities it would seemingly validate Christianity (or whatever earthly religion the extra terrestrials religion might resemble). If there were no similarities, it would be used as an opportunity to exercise faith (believe in the absence of proof, or believe when there is proof to the contrary). As Douglas Adams pointed out without faith God dies in a puff of logic.

Science is a constant, but our understanding of it is always shifting from Newtonian physics to Einsteinian, to Quantum etc. To beleive that an Alien race never experienced the Dark Ages for them to be superior is to assume the developed at the same time we did. It stands to reason that there are species in the universe vastly older, and vaslty younger than our own. The further down the time line we go the more insignificant the few hundred years of the Dark Ages becomes.

Allowing my imagination to run wild, I can see the possibilities of Aliens being ascended having already undergone thier "resurection" allowing them to make the long trek across the stars. Maybe that is the requisite for us to really get out there. Probly not but I can see it.

It's also been pointed out by Michael Crichton that "Science was so busy asking if it could do something, that it never stopped to ask if it actually should."

Science is the How of the universe, Religion, Faith, or Philosophy is the Why. The two are not mutually exclusive.

@MichaelSacal,

My intention wasn't to slam anyone.

I'm also not going to get into the 'My God is better than your God"-argument.

At least 2,000 years of history shows us where that always leads.

I thought that this was an interesting topic that was brought up (albeit an old one, Panspermia Theory has been discussed for sometime now) and has certainly generated a considerable amount of discussion so far, much of it good in my opinion.

Kudos to Mr. Mill for a good article.

Have any of you checked out The Urantia Book? That is a totally serious, odd merging of SciFi and Christianity into a pseudo-sci-fi religion.

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

Now i dont know if some one else has already said this, but Jesus died to redeem all of creation, not just man. Man has corrupted every aspect of exisitance and the earth, from the air that we breath (smog in L.A.) to the oceans and the Dolphins.

Has anyone else read Marvel's Supreme Power series from a few years ago by Babylon 5's JMS?

Basically, the story starts with a couple who finds an alien baby that the government takes from them and raises into their idea of what the perfect American hero should be like.

In due time, the baby grows up into Hyperion/Mark Milton, who believes in all the propaganda the government has fed him about America, himself, etc, and the evil governments of the world (i.e. Iran, China, etc).

As I was reading this just now, I couldn't help but think of this particular discussion about Jesus and ask, how is Jesus different from Hyperion?

It be one thing if Jesus had been born with the ability to reason and speak and proclaimed from birth that he was the son of God and had come to Earth to redeem the sinful, but he wasn't, he was born as a normal baby who found himself in an extraordinary circumstance, which is parents and followers (i.e. Three Wise Men) who believed that he was the messiah.

From there, like with Hyperion, Jesus was raised/nurtured to believe in what his parents and followers believed about him, and like the government did with Hyperion for benefit of selling his All-American image to the public, Jesus' followers (i.e. his apostles) wrote tales of his virtue and miracles in order to convince others of what they believed in, that he was the messiah/Christ son of God, tales which we call Book of Matthew, or Book of this, Book of that, etc.

What if Jesus was an average man who had 12 publicists that wrote stories that made him reflect the image of him that they wanted others to see, and when he died they enhanced that image with suggestions that he died for his follower's sins and he'll come back to life?

"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth"

Any extraterrestrials who visit Earth will be by default much smarter than us (which would be evidenced by their star ships), therefore that is exactly how they are likely to see it.

How quickly we forget that the greats of Science fiction have already addressed this. After you have read C.S.Lewis's Out the Silent Panet Trilogy; The cronicles of Narnia; and, Stranger in a Strange Land by robert Heinlein. Just to name a few. Oh, add the Martian Cronicles by Ray bradbury. Need I go on. Infinite Love in Infinite Diversity. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. remeber it is about how you treat others. i.e. your salvation not theirs.

And since Christmas will soon be here; Rember the angel said, "Fera Not. For behold I bring you tidings of great joy. Which shall be for all mankind..." in otherwors, "Don't Worry! Be happy!"

Jesus Saves anyone his FATHER asks him too!
Gods Grace is (Truly) for everyone, and everything!
http://twitter.com/CropCircleKing

As an Orthodox Christian priest, and a big sci-fi nut, I thought I would throw in my two cents. In John’s Gospel, it states that “…God so loved the world that He gave his only Son… (John 3:16 RSV). The word “world” in the original Greek is “kosmos.” A better translation would be that “…God so loved the cosmos that He gave his only Son.” In Eastern Orthodox Christianity, the Incarnation, the Life, and the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ have cosmic significance. The biblical story tells us that humanity caused the Fall that plunged all of creation into sin, chaos, and death. In this cosmic drama, we have to consider the concept that in this huge and fantastic universe there is most likely other intelligent life. The Christ event was intended to save them, too. So what about alien intelligences elsewhere – are they damned because they don’t yet have the Gospel? No. God – in Orthodox Christianity - doesn’t work that way. It is highly likely that whatever religion those beings have, if truly inspired by the Holy Spirit, would foretell their knowledge of Christ. For example, the Native Americans of Alaska were looking for “bearded men” who would come and fulfill their religion. When the Russian Orthodox monks (bearded men) came to Alaska, the Native peoples converted to Christianity (that’s the super simplified story). So, it is highly likely that an alien culture would be seeking the planet whose religion fulfills their prophecies; thus, it would be possible to imagine Kang, bishop of Chronos, or St. Sarek, first martyr of Vulcan. I know in an earlier post that an Orthodox Christian was outraged over the icon of the alien. It’s not blasphemous, it’s possible…for with God, all things are possible.

Why won't my comment post?

uhh you all are missing it. Jesus and our many dieties actually are aliens. Just read and the facts all point to this fact.