Alien baptism okay by pope francis

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SAVINGRACE

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abc.net.au/news/2014-05-13/pope-offers-baptism-to-martians/5448548

He may have said in jest but you never know. 😉 We may not be alone in this universe. 😃

"The Pope said Christians cannot “close the door” on anyone who seeks baptism, even if they are “green men, with a long nose and big ears, like children draw,” he said at his daily mass on Monday.

“If tomorrow, for example, an expedition of Martians arrives and some of them come to us … and if one of them says: ‘Me, I want to be baptised!’, what would happen?” Francis said.

On baptism, Francis has stressed that it should not be refused to anyone, especially to children whose parents may be breaking Church rules, such as living together as an unmarried couple."
 
That would be the theologically accurate thing to do.

Since they are clearly living, they have a soul. A soul distinguished living matter from dead matter. All living things have a soul.

Since they were able to question, the soul would be, by definition, a rational one.

Since the question is one of actively and truely seeking Baptism, that can only be sought by Grace.

Ergo, the alien who asked that question would be one with a rational soul moved by Grace to seek Salvation.
 
Brendan said:
The Rite of Christian Initiation of Aliens can be shortened, or even eliminated, at the discretion of the pastor for just reasons.
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In case of transformer blow out Baptism may be performed
on adult aliens or children of married aliens and godaliens in
Good standing in danger of blast off as long as it is performed
by a previously baptized adult alien using the full
trinitarian formula. Must notify local parish immediately.
 
Lol @ anybody who pays attention to mainstream media these days.
 
Brendan said:
That would be the theologically accurate thing to do.

Since they are clearly living, they have a soul. A soul distinguished living matter from dead matter. All living things have a soul.

Since they were able to question, the soul would be, by definition, a rational one.

Since the question is one of actively and truely seeking Baptism, that can only be sought by Grace.

Ergo, the alien who asked that question would be one with a rational soul moved by Grace to seek Salvation.
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Would a not-organically-alive but questioning machine be able to receive baptism? Would an incredibly bright, talking chimpanzee be able to receive baptism? Did Jesus die for questioning machines and talking chimpanzees? Did he die for extraterrestrials?
 
Okay so the Church is clear on green men from other planets.

What about things with giant tentacles from other dimensions? 🤓
 
I don’t understand this. Rational or not, why would we assume that any given alien race is part of our economy of salvation? Christ assumed HUMAN flesh in order to redeem it. Our sacraments, our Church, is for the sons of Adam. The Son of God became a Son of man so that the sons of men might become sons of God. Little Green Men may have their own covenant with the Creator.
 
Brendan said:
That would be the theologically accurate thing to do.

Since they are clearly living, they have a soul. A soul distinguished living matter from dead matter. All living things have a soul.

Since they were able to question, the soul would be, by definition, a rational one.

Since the question is one of actively and truely seeking Baptism, that can only be sought by Grace.

Ergo, the alien who asked that question would be one with a rational soul moved by Grace to seek Salvation.
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That’s true. 👍
TheDoctor said:
Rite of Christian Initiation of Aliens?😃
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:rotfl::rotfl:
 
SAVINGRACE said:
abc.net.au/news/2014-05-13/pope-offers-baptism-to-martians/5448548

He may have said in jest but you never know. 😉 We may not be alone in this universe. 😃

"The Pope said Christians cannot “close the door” on anyone who seeks baptism, even if they are “green men, with a long nose and big ears, like children draw,” he said at his daily mass on Monday.

“If tomorrow, for example, an expedition of Martians arrives and some of them come to us … and if one of them says: ‘Me, I want to be baptised!’, what would happen?” Francis said.

On baptism, Francis has stressed that it should not be refused to anyone, especially to children whose parents may be breaking Church rules, such as living together as an unmarried couple."
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Sounds like he read the letters of St. John Paul.

I asked a theologian once, because the question came up during play of a role-playing game. He found it an intriguing question, and bounced it up “to the boss”… and, indeed, His Holiness said, in a hand-written note, that one must merely be a reasoning, intelligent being capable of understanding the sacraments.

It wasn’t a public revelation, but it definitely shows a continuity of thought.
 
Some time ago - long enough for me to have lost the citation - a Cardinal was asked about salvation for non-human life. He simply mused that God would have made it possible but we can’t assume necessarily that they would fall into sin the same way. He concluded that aliens would have a different Covenant.
Lost_Wanderer said:
What about things with giant tentacles from other dimensions? 🤓
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Whistling cephalopods cannot be saved. There is no salvation for Cthulhu.
SecretCatholic said:
Would a not-organically-alive but questioning machine be able to receive baptism?
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Negative. Sentience isn’t sufficient, but rather the need for a soul and the ability to have a relationship with the Creator such that one ceases to be a Creation alone and becomes a Son or Daughter to the Father. The machine would remain a creation of a created being.
SecretCatholic said:
Would an incredibly bright, talking chimpanzee be able to receive baptism?
No. Chiimpanzees have animal souls, not human souls. Chimpanzees cannot become Children of the Father because they aren’t created in the Image of God, and intelligence alone isn’t a metric for salvation. Consider that even humans with profound mental retardation may be Baptized. Rather, consider the capacity of a Chimpanzee to sin.
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No. These did not incur sin and do not need a Savior other than the general sense in which the fallen world in which these exist needs a Savior.
SecretCatholic said:
Did he die for extraterrestrials?
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If they are extended the Covenant, yes.
Brendan said:
That would be the theologically accurate thing to do.
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This is a really well-formulated answer but I disagree on a couple of points. You correctly point out that all livings things have a soul, but I have trouble at the point of a rational soul. I think it conflates the ability to reason abstractly with the ability to receive Grace. I don’t think we strictly say that an animal - possessing an animal soul but not a human soul - cannot think abstractly (indeed, we don’t know that our dogs aren’t doing calculus and our cats aren’t plotting to kill us), but rather that they do not have a human soul because they don’t have a capacity for moral reasoning or behavior, and therefore to sin. Nor do I think motivation to baptism is necessary or sufficient to prove the existence of what you call a rational soul - the desire for baptism is intrinsic to humanity but the outward evidence may be lacking (say in an infant), while an alien may seek baptism simply out of desire to fit in, rather than to have sins forgiven.

I would reason that, if an alien had a soul, it wouldn’t be a human soul but rather a particular soul that belongs to the alien and not to humans, and the alien would be under a Covenant separate from, but perhaps similar to, the Covenant God makes with His people on Earth.
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