Life on other Planets

[Flavius_Aetius]

Hello, I was in my Sociology class a few days back and during a speech we had to prepare one of the topics would be about Space Exploration (Con). Now this speech was not suppose to be controversial; however the person who was chosen for this topic was a Nihilist kind of Atheist who decided to take a jab at Organized Religion with this harmless topic.

So what was ended up being said was that If it was shown that another sediant life existed in the Universe that it would prove God does not Exist; of course the other three or so Atheist in class were giving the speaker great applause-everyone else clapped as did I only out of politeness.

To myself I tried thinking why this would be so; and my answer would probably be that if another sediant life existed in a unreachable distance then it would prove that our Earth and all the life created on it would just be a random occurance which took billions of years in the making. In fact all you’d really need would be some complex ecosystem on another planet because then you can say “If the Universe was devised by God then why would he create other life on a seperate planet that we would never come in contact, or interact with?”

It does make sense in persepctive; reason would show that random occurance of life on another planet would explain it better than ‘just cause God wanted too’, and life on other planets has a Vast Universe with possibly billions of other planets and billions of years to hide behind which only adds to my confusion.

So does anyone care to help me with this problem I’m having?

 

[malachi3]

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts are higher than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:9
Just cause God wanted to explains it for me, but I am a person of faith and believe he could have created as many worlds as He wanted. How can the athiests prove He didn’t?. I just don’t understand how finding other sentient life in the universe actually proves that we are a random occurence, but I’m simple. Good luck.

 

[Socrates4Jesus]

Hello, I was in my Sociology class a few days back and during a speech we had to prepare one of the topics would be about Space Exploration (Con). Now this speech was not suppose to be controversial; however the person who was chosen for this topic was a Nihilist kind of Atheist who decided to take a jab at Organized Religion with this harmless topic.

So what was ended up being said was that If it was shown that another sediant life existed in the Universe that it would prove God does not Exist; of course the other three or so Atheist in class were giving the speaker great applause-everyone else clapped as did I only out of politeness.

To myself I tried thinking why this would be so; and my answer would probably be that if another sediant life existed in a unreachable distance then it would prove that our Earth and all the life created on it would just be a random occurance which took billions of years in the making. In fact all you’d really need would be some complex ecosystem on another planet because then you can say “If the Universe was devised by God then why would he create other life on a seperate planet that we would never come in contact, or interact with?”

It does make sense in persepctive; reason would show that random occurance of life on another planet would explain it better than ‘just cause God wanted too’, and life on other planets has a Vast Universe with possibly billions of other planets and billions of years to hide behind which only adds to my confusion.

So does anyone care to help me with this problem I’m having?

The theory that there was life on other planets makes it easier for some to swallow the theory that life on earth began on another planet. However, it’s a diversion, for it does not solve the issue of there being no scientific evidence supporting life being produced by random chance plus time. Science deals with observable evidence. It’s a scientific fact that no animate creatures have ever been made out of inanimate chemicals in a laboratory. The idea that something living was produced from something not living is not good science. In fact, it’s not even good science fiction! Don’t you think?

That being said, i see no problem with God creating sentient beings on other planets and offering Himself in the same sentient form as those beings to be a sacrifice for their sins. Why not have a thousand worlds where Christ (or whatever name the beings on those worlds give Him) died to pay the price for their sins, too? That would not invalidate or diminish what Christ sacrificed on our world for you and me. Would it?

 

[PadraigPearce]

So life occurring randomly in two separate places in the universe makes God’s existence less likely? I think that makes his existence twice as likely

 

[buffalo]

No home in the galactic outer suburbs

TALK about location, location, location. If the sun had been born near the edge of the galaxy, chances are neither the Earth nor life would have arisen. That’s the implication of the first search for planet-forming discs on the Milky Way’s outskirts.
The stars on the fringes of our galaxy have little oxygen, silicon or iron - chief ingredients of Earth-like planets - so astronomers have long doubted that life could exist there. Now they have solid evidence for their pessimism. Chikako Yasui and Naoto Kobayashi at the University of Tokyo, Japan, and colleagues observed two extremely young star clusters in Cassiopeia 62,000 light years from the Milky Way’s centre - over twice as far out as the sun - in a cloud of gas and dust named Digel Cloud 2.

more…

 

[DOShea]

How does having another life form in the universe disprove God?

I’m not seeing the logical connection here.

It might be somewhat discomforting for your classmate to know that the best time estimate to travel to our closest star neighbor, land on an orbiting planet, obtain a sample, and return it to Earth is on the order of 16,000 years. And that’s IF we could build a ship that could last that long, store enough fuel, food, replacement parts, and have enough volunteers to live their lives in space confined to a ship for 3 times the number of generations traced back to Adam. And assuming they could live in deep space.

So I wouldn’t count on finding that 2nd life form anytime soon. But it would make a sensational headline in 18,009 wouldn’t it?

Not to mention that someday on the long journey there would come an Aearthiest who would doubt there was any such thing as Earth. It’s just made up to make space travellers feel like they once had a home.

 

[edwest2]

It wouldn’t surprise me if some Mars explorer dug under the ground and found life. There’s life in Antarctica, so why not Mars? As far as sentient beings, why not? They wouldn’t have to be like us. I’m sure God is very creative.

Peace,
Ed

 

[ljubim]

That being said, i see no problem with God creating sentient beings on other planets and offering Himself in the same sentient form as those beings to be a sacrifice for their sins. Why not have a thousand worlds where Christ (or whatever name the beings on those worlds give Him) died to pay the price for their sins, too? That would not invalidate or diminish what Christ sacrificed on our world for you and me. Would it?

I love this idea I can imagine future people going to an alien planet and coming back in total shock because the “aliens” look similar to us and also have a Church and follow Christ Wouldn’t that be awesome? I like to think of it as in the Chronicles of Narnia… in heaven there were different ‘mountains’ which were just the places for each different world to hang out if they felt like it. And all of them had the same kind of story as our world and Narnia and all of that.

But really, God does what He wants. And we will never understand Him. It seems like atheists have most success arguing with fundamentalist creationists than with the Church.

 

[Flavius_Aetius]

I thank you all for the comments; everyone of you have been a great help! To be honest I turned to my mother with this question and she basically gave me the same answer as everyone here.

I hope next time I can be a better Catholic and allow truth to reign supreme; Its a drawn out process but as I mentioned in a few other recent threads I’m getting closer to making God the center of my life again.

 

[Des]

It might be somewhat discomforting for your classmate to know that the best time estimate to travel to our closest star neighbour, land on an orbiting planet, obtain a sample, and return it to Earth is on the order of 16,000 years. And that’s IF we could build a ship that could last that long, store enough fuel, food, replacement parts, and have enough volunteers to live their lives in space confined to a ship for 3 times the number of generations traced back to Adam. And assuming they could live in deep space.

I’m sure though they’ve already considered wormholes which are basically shortcuts around the Universe. Only theory of course but it would still be rather silly to limit oneself to mere fossil fuel engines in the future. And if you can boost your speed to the speed of light, then the nearest star is only about 4.5 years away. There are problems with this too so I’ve heard but still food for thought.

So I wouldn’t count on finding that 2nd life form anytime soon. But it would make a sensational headline in 18,009 wouldn’t it?

Personally, I think they’ve found us already. Far too many credible witness accounts out there. However, if they were all farmers with a lazy eye named ‘Billy-bob’ then I may have to rethink this.

What I find amazing is that these Atheists believe in an infinite matter but no chance of an infinite God. After all, if you go far enough back, even if you believe life from somewhere else created us, they all had to originate from somewhere. And a big bang from nothingness doesn’t make sense unless God is behind it all or as they believe, there’s matter out there that always existed forever and ever and ever and ever.

 

[durhamfire]

next time some one asks about aliens on other planets let them know that animals dont have souls but are still smart. so whos to say that aliens cant be smart and with out a soul. they cant prove you wrong.

 

[jpy15026]

That being said, i see no problem with God creating sentient beings on other planets and offering Himself in the same sentient form as those beings to be a sacrifice for their sins. Why not have a thousand worlds where Christ (or whatever name the beings on those worlds give Him) died to pay the price for their sins, too? That would not invalidate or diminish what Christ sacrificed on our world for you and me. Would it?

Hmmmm…

Genesis 1:11-28
11 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it.” And so it happened: 12 the earth brought forth every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it. God saw how good it was. 13 Evening came, and morning followed—the third day.

14 Then God said: “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky, to separate day from night. Let them mark the fixed times, the days and the years, 15 and serve as luminaries in the dome of the sky, to shed light upon the earth.” And so it happened: 16 God made the two great lights, the greater one to govern the day, and the lesser one to govern the night; and he made the stars. 17 God set them in the dome of the sky, to shed light upon the earth,18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw how good it was. 19 Evening came, and morning followed—the fourth day.

20 Then God said, “Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures, and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky.” And so it happened: 21 God created the great sea monsters and all kinds of swimming creatures with which the water teems, and all kinds of winged birds. God saw how good it was, 22 and God blessed them, saying, “Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas; and let the birds multiply on the earth.” 23 Evening came, and morning followed—the fifth day.

24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living creatures: cattle, creeping things, and wild animals of all kinds.” And so it happened: 25 God made all kinds of wild animals, all kinds of cattle, and all kinds of creeping things of the earth. God saw how good it was. 26 Then God said: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground.” 27 God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them, saying: “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that move on the earth.”
.

 

[Des]

Why would Christ have to die for every one of His creations with an eternal soul? After all, He did’t die for the Angels who are also His creations but will share eternal life with the Holy Trinity.

All we are meant know for now is He died for us on earth.

 

[cassini]

Hello, I was in my Sociology class a few days back and during a speech we had to prepare one of the topics would be about Space Exploration (Con). Now this speech was not suppose to be controversial; however the person who was chosen for this topic was a Nihilist kind of Atheist who decided to take a jab at Organized Religion with this harmless topic.

So what was ended up being said was that If it was shown that another sediant life existed in the Universe that it would prove God does not Exist; of course the other three or so Atheist in class were giving the speaker great applause-everyone else clapped as did I only out of politeness.

To myself I tried thinking why this would be so; and my answer would probably be that if another sediant life existed in a unreachable distance then it would prove that our Earth and all the life created on it would just be a random occurance which took billions of years in the making. In fact all you’d really need would be some complex ecosystem on another planet because then you can say “If the Universe was devised by God then why would he create other life on a seperate planet that we would never come in contact, or interact with?”

It does make sense in persepctive; reason would show that random occurance of life on another planet would explain it better than ‘just cause God wanted too’, and life on other planets has a Vast Universe with possibly billions of other planets and billions of years to hide behind which only adds to my confusion.

So does anyone care to help me with this problem I’m having?

Good post Flavius.

First of all you could ask your friend if the existance of life on earth alone WOULD indicate the existence of a God for him. Only in that context would his question have any credibility.

The reason I say this is because of its opposite (which makes your classmates suggestion a good one), I as a Catholic of the scholastic kind would doubt my belief in God if any life were found outside the earth, especially intelligent life. The fact that there is none supports my faith in God and my religion. So far, 6,000 years into scientific searching, not one iota of evidence has been found that shows life. This includes many years of radio searching the universe for a blink of a signal that would not be a natural phenomenon. these searches were abandoned years ago. At this rate the life on earth alone dogmatists have little to fear.

For your information - not for your classmate as he rejects such faith - I base by opinion on the theology of St Thomas. He said the Scriptures indicate only one world, a life inhabited earth at the centre of the universe. We also know that the universe was created for man. We know the two intellectual creatures, angels and men were given tests of obedience to God. In both cases there were failures. In man’s case it necessitated a redeemer, the Second Person of the Triune God, Jesus Christ - THE ONLY_BEGOTTEN SON OF THE FATHER. We all know the fundamentals of Catholic belief.

Now as a Catholic I would have to ponder on the test of a third or more intelligent creatures. Who would redeem them? The speculation becomes so bizarre within the context of the Catholic faith that it beggars belief.

Accordingly, I reject evolutionism and its product, the possibility of life elsewhere.

 

[buffalo]

Scientists: Earth May Exist in Giant Cosmic Bubble

** If the notion of dark energy sounds improbable, get ready for an even more outlandish suggestion.**
Earth may be trapped in an abnormal bubble of space-time that is particularly devoid of matter.
Scientists say this condition could account for the apparent acceleration of the universe’s expansion, for which dark energy currently is the leading explanation.
Dark energy is the name given to the hypothetical force that could be drawing all the stuff in the universe outward at an ever-increasing rate.

more…

 

[DOShea]

“Let the earth bring forth vegetation…"

Note it does not say “earth alone.” I don’t think we should Lutherize it. These Scriptures describe God’s relationship to earth and man. They don’t mention any other, so why put that restriction in place?

 

[jpy15026]

Note it does not say “earth alone.” I don’t think we should Lutherize it. These Scriptures describe God’s relationship to earth and man. They don’t mention any other, so why put that restriction in place?

Genesis 2:1-4 (RSV)
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all his work which he had done in creation. 4 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created. In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,

.

 

[Socrates4Jesus]

I love this idea I can imagine future people going to an alien planet and coming back in total shock because the “aliens” look similar to us and also have a Church and follow Christ Wouldn’t that be awesome? I like to think of it as in the Chronicles of Narnia… in heaven there were different ‘mountains’ which were just the places for each different world to hang out if they felt like it. And all of them had the same kind of story as our world and Narnia and all of that.

But really, God does what He wants. And we will never understand Him. It seems like atheists have most success arguing with fundamentalist creationists than with the Church.

I think the science-fiction-loving community could use a good religious author, don’t you? Such an author could explore all those what-if questions that make us wonder, and entertain us, too!

 

[Bluegoat]

C.S. Lewis writes a bit about the religious implications of alien life in the essay Religion and Rocketry. He wonders about whether it would be possible that intelligent aliens could be un-fallen, and whether we would be able to recognize it or if we would try to save them.

 

[catholic1seeks]

If you think of the Universe as one big Earth, then there’s really no problem. God made animals and plants for the benefit of humans, so why not expand this idea to the entire Universe? Man is the focus of God’s creation. Think of the whole Universe as one big play ground.