Intelligent Life Contradicts the Trinity?

[Geremia]

What do traditional Catholics think about intelligent life elsewhere in the universe? That intelligent life besides humans might exist seems to contradict God, Who “said: Let us make man to our image and likeness” (Genesis 1:26). How many images and likenesses could there be of Him, even though He is infinite? How many different kinds of “men,” not just “intelligent life,” could there be? If not more than one, this would resolve the Fermi paradox immediately.

For background, read this article by the Vatican Observatory astronomer Fr. Funes: “The Extraterrestrial is My Brother.”

 

[Ghosty]

Traditionally the expression “image and likeness” refers to humans having spiritual, intellectual souls. This would mean that any other lifeforms that were “like us” in this regard (including angels) would also possess the “image and likeness” of God.

Another traditional understanding is that “image” refers to what I mentioned above, while “likeness” refers to our participation in Divine Life by Grace. So all humans have the image, but only those with Sanctifying Grace have the likeness to a greater or lesser extent.

So, in answer to your question, there could be as many “image and likeness” life forms as there were intelligent races with Divine Grace.

Peace and God bless!

 

[JDaniel]

Traditionally the expression “image and likeness” refers to humans having spiritual, intellectual souls. This would mean that any other lifeforms that were “like us” in this regard (including angels) would also possess the “image and likeness” of God.

Another traditional understanding is that “image” refers to what I mentioned above, while “likeness” refers to our participation in Divine Life by Grace. So all humans have the image, but only those with Sanctifying Grace have the likeness to a greater or lesser extent.

So, in answer to your question, there could be as many “image and likeness” life forms as there were intelligent races with Divine Grace.

Peace and God bless!

Hi Ghosty:

I have a question for you: where did you find that “traditional” concept that “image and likeness” referred to “spiritual, intellectual souls”?

God bless,
JD

 

[Lujack]

Hi Ghosty:

I have a question for you: where did you find that “traditional” concept that “image and likeness” referred to “spiritual, intellectual souls”?

God bless,
JD

It is the only possible concept. If God is ineffable, we can’t look like him. The only way we can resemble Him is in our ability to think and reason.

 

[JDaniel]

What do traditional Catholics think about intelligent life elsewhere in the universe? That intelligent life besides humans might exist seems to contradict God, Who “said: Let us make man to our image and likeness” (Genesis 1:26). How many images and likenesses could there be of Him, even though He is infinite? How many different kinds of “men,” not just “intelligent life,” could there be? If not more than one, this would resolve the Fermi paradox immediately.

For background, read this article by the Vatican Observatory astronomer Fr. Funes: “The Extraterrestrial is My Brother.”

Hi Geremia:

I am sometimes very slow, so, please don’t shoot me when I ask, “In what way would the discovery of extraterrestrial life forms contradict the Trinity?”

God bless,
JD

 

[teachccd]

Do we even know that intelligent life exists outside if this earth?

 

[Lujack]

Do we even know that intelligent life exists outside if this earth?

We don’t. However, if you happen to be a deist or an atheist, there is no other possibility. If the universe is infinite, then anything that has a chance of happening, will happen. Even if a planet with the right conditions for intelligent life happened only one out of every one billion planets, there would still be countless species of aliens out there.

 

[JDaniel]

We don’t. However, if you happen to be a deist or an atheist, there is no other possibility. If the universe is infinite, then anything that has a chance of happening, will happen. Even if a planet with the right conditions for intelligent life happened only one out of every one billion planets, there would still be countless species of aliens out there.

Well, the universe is not “infinite”, but, it has been in existence for at least 13 billion years or so. According the the calculations of one famous astronomer, whose name I can’t remember, we should have been visited by extraterrestrials many times by now. Strangely enough, it would appear that we haven’t. We may well be it; all there is of intelligent life in the universe.

But, I still don’t know why the discovery of another lifeform would contradict the Trinity?

God bless,
JD

 

[Sam_Maloney]

Hi Ghosty:

I have a question for you: where did you find that “traditional” concept that “image and likeness” referred to “spiritual, intellectual souls”?

God bless,
JD

Sorry to butt in, but if this ‘image and likeness’ reffered merely to the physical, then a thalidomide victim or an amputee wouldn’t have a soul, because they wouldn’t be in ‘God’s Image’.

 

[Fran65]

I really like Ghosty’s reply. It makes a lot of sense. Otherwise we would be in the ridiculous situation implied by Sam of “Well is God 5ft 9 or 6ft 3? Is he fat or thin? Black or white? Blue eyes or brown?”

God’s image, for me, would imply spiritually (eternal) and intellectually (including free will).

I too would be interested in a Vatican statement or similar.

 

[Geremia]

where did you find that “traditional” concept that “image and likeness” referred to “spiritual, intellectual souls”?

Take a look at this from St. Thomas Aquinas’s (Prima Pars, Q. 93, A. 9)Summa Theologica.

 

[Geremia]

I am sometimes very slow, so, please don’t shoot me when I ask, “In what way would the discovery of extraterrestrial life forms contradict the Trinity?”

If extraterrestrials exist and they are, like humans, made in the image and likeness of God, many absurd questions arise:

• What if the Second Person of the Trinity were not human?
• Why does Mary, the Mother of God, have a human body?
• Why was Christ incarnated as a human?
• Was Christ incarnated as another intelligent creature on another planet, too?
• Do extraterrestrials need to be baptized Catholic?

 

[Geremia]

This is relevant to this thread: (Prima Pars, Q. 93, A. 2)Summa Theologica

 

[JDaniel]

Take a look at this from St. Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologica (Prima Pars, Q. 93, A. 9).

Hello, Geremia:

Very interesting indeed! I consider myself a Thomist, but, somehow, I missed this years ago. I found this, referring to Man made in God’s "image:

Reply to Objection 2. The First-Born of creatures is the perfect Image of God, reflecting perfectly that of which He is the Image, and so He is said to be the “Image,” and never “to the image.” But man is said to be both “image” by reason of the likeness; and “to the image” by reason of the imperfect likeness. And since the perfect likeness to God cannot be except in an identical nature, the Image of God exists in His first-born Son; as the image of the king is in his son, who is of the same nature as himself: whereas it exists in man as in an alien nature, as the image of the king is in a silver coin, as Augustine says explains in De decem Chordis (Serm. ix, al, xcvi, De Tempore). - New Advent Summa

This would seem to say that, rendered as Jesus Christ, we are the (perfect) likeness of God, but, of an alien nature and as distinct as a real king is from a coin with his image impressed upon it… And, we are not an exact duplicate being distinct, as one egg is not a duplicate of another egg. They are both completely separate, but in imperfect likeness to each other.

In other words, we would have all of the essences of a likeness of God, including eternal soul, reason, stature, looks, etc. - if I am understanding St. Thomas’ argument correctly, but not as a copy.

God bless,
JD

 

[Ghosty]

In other words, we would have all of the essences of a likeness of God, including eternal soul, reason, stature, looks, etc. - if I am understanding St. Thomas’ argument correctly, but not as a copy.

I think you’re on the right track. Since the Divine Nature is not physical, and since we are not Divine Persons of the Trinity, our “likeness” to God can only be analogical in the manner of a heated piece of metal being “like fire” because it glows and produces heat itself.

Any intelligent, living thing could possess this “likeness”, just as many different kinds of metal could produce the same “likeness to fire”.

As for the need for Christ, and Christ being human, there are a couple things to keep in mind. One, Christ was Incarnate because of the Fall; if other intelligent species didn’t Fall, they wouldn’t need a Savior. Another consideration is that it may not be only human nature specifically that is saved by the Incarnation, but any intelligent, physical life; the “category” that Christ saves might extend beyond human nature to all species that are “like” us in being physical and intelligent. Finally, God is not limited to sharing Himself by physical Incarnation; the angels also share in the Divine Life, despite God never Incarnating as an angel.

Peace and God bless!

 

[gavanhe]

Snip…Snip…
As for the need for Christ, and Christ being human, there are a couple things to keep in mind. One, Christ was Incarnate because of the Fall; if other intelligent species didn’t Fall, they wouldn’t need a Savior. Another consideration is that it may not be only human nature specifically that is saved by the Incarnation, but any intelligent, physical life; the “category” that Christ saves might extend beyond human nature to all species that are “like” us in being physical and intelligent. Finally, God is not limited to sharing Himself by physical Incarnation; the angels also share in the Divine Life, despite God never Incarnating as an angel.

Peace and God bless!

Excellent post, there should in theory be no impediment to extra terrestrial life. There is no conflict with the trinity.
On another level I personally feel that our situation is unique in the cosmos due to the fine tuning involved.
Gerry

 

[Geremia]

I really like Ghosty’s reply. It makes a lot of sense. Otherwise we would be in the ridiculous situation implied by Sam of “Well is God 5ft 9 or 6ft 3? Is he fat or thin? Black or white? Blue eyes or brown?”

True, God is a spirit.

 

[Geremia]

On another level I personally feel that our situation is unique in the cosmos due to the fine tuning involved.

“Fine tuning” sounds like the anthropic principle.