Life on other planets: if life on other planets is found--especially if that life is more advanced than humans--what will that do to religions who insist that they were made in God's image? Will they still think that humans were special? If that life is radically different physically, are they in God's image, too? With evidence to the contrary right in their face, will they continue as they do now, insisting theirs is the only "true" religion?
Or will they rationalize that there is more than one "true" God? I doubt this outcome, but it would be entertaining to watch the contortions they would go through in order to justify that statement.
I think the first scenario is the more likely, and that's pretty darn depressing....it would just give them a larger platform so they could proselytize, try to convert, and start wars on an interplanetary scale (if they are able to).
Christian apologists will always fabricate ridiculous stories to explain away biblical inaccuracies. If the sheep have managed to defy reality in the face of all of the biblical nonsense that has already been debunked, they will continue to in the future.
The discovery of extraterrestrial life may enlighten some xtians, but the majority will retreat deeper into cognitive dissonance.
Christians and other religions have always been confronted with irrefutable scientific evidence that their beliefs are completely unrealistic, and in most cases, impossible. They always find a way to justify it with out regard to facts! I can't say how they would justify it, but I'm sure they would.
Never underestimate the power of denial...and the power of Christians to bullshit about their god.
The church survived such startling revelations as finding out the earth wasn't the center of the solar system, and that our solar system system is only one part of the Milky Way, etc. Religious leaders just change their story to accommodate the new information, once they can't refute it. Their main goal is to continue to control their worshipers in order to gain money and power.
But Christians are Christians because they are afraid of burning in hell. Fear and guilt are the motivators of "faith," which is why people continue to attend Catholic churches, for instance, despite rampant priesthood pedeophilia.
Let's begin by admitting that with the vast number of galaxies, solar systems within each Galaxy, and planets within each solar system there is a high likelihood that there is intelligent life Somewhere Out There. Our mistake, is in believing that all life form must be carbon based. We have no way of knowing all that awaits in the farthest reaches of the universe.
Further to your point, the religious are not going to give up their beliefs over the discovery of so
me alien life forms.
They'll go straight to confirmation bias like they always do. Just like some say science was given to us by god and that the creation story is bunk, so god must've made evolution happen.
More importantly, What will "gods other children" think of us.
@sloryd I would hope so.
Sure it would mess with their minds (if they have one).
I think that if there is life on other planets that is smarter than we human beings, I bet their going to do their darndest to stay hidden from us. I would if I were them.
Aside from the levity of my comment, I do believe that there is life on other planets. Perhaps not like we are, but other forms of sentient beings. Our universe is too large to not have something out there. We cannot be so arrogant to think we are the only ones.
If life was found, who knows what it would do to the religious. I think christianity would be blown out of the water. Questions like "is the death of Jesus just for the sins of the humans on earth, or does it cover non-Terra life?
Absolutely.
If there are aliens that are more advanced than us, I'm sure they have probes in our solar system to keep an eye on us...
They would probably want to kill them, seeing thm as evil because of course they wouldn't be in god's image so therefore they must be of the devil.
i think that it will take a long time to accept life out there for the religious at heart. I'm a little more believing that there will be some form of zenophobia, or whatever it is called for any aliens. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I sometimes wonder if aliens have already visited many of times and decided humankind is still to primitive and zenphobic to accept aliens. Who knows though.
That's a possibility.
Hell, people can't stop being racist or sexist.
I don't see humanity being very welcoming if and when the day comes for contact.
If it hasn't already happen of course.
I think they would call the aliens demons or the devil's work or something like that.
There is already a theory, spread by religious people no doubt, that aliens are actually interdimensional demons.
The most likely reaction, after the initial demons crap, will be a morphing to make things fit just as they have done throughout history -- all of them.
Hahaha! Good point.
I would say it changes nothing. Firstly, The chances are we that when we do discover life elsewhere, it will probably be not what we consider to be intelligent life, Therefore we are still special in their eyes. Secondly, even if we did find intelligent life, They would just say that there is nothing in the bible (or which ever religious text) which prevents god from creating life elsewhere in the universe, and thirdly, there is already an overwhelming amount of evidence to suggest that there is nothing beyond a natural universe as we know it, and yet these people are far more concerned with ignoring evidence, reason and logic anyway
Watch Ancient Aliens and read The Book of Enoch. They put it all together in a form that makes sense. The bible will make sense after you know how to interpret it. Religious people want to take it too literally. I believe that some of what they were describing was advanced technology. This should sound so radical if you know that ancient Hindu writings also describe advanced technology.
For instance, we know it is physically impossible for Noah to have put two of every species on the ark. However, the story is significant or it wouldn't have been written. It most likely was a DNA bank.
Another...... Jonah could not have possibly been swallowed by a whale and come back 3 days later to tell about it. It most likely was not a whale but was a submersible.
My take on the Jesus story is that he was not a man who ever existed. We are to ascend to the Christ consciousness. Its a loving mentality. Again, the story is significant but is only a representation.
The bible is fascinating after one learns to read and interpret it.