SETI's Challenge to Religion: Would encountering intelligence elsewhere in the universe be a problem for anthropocentric religions?

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This awkward conundrum was confronted head-on by theologians several centuries ago, resulting in a lively debate. Some advocated multiple incarnations scattered around the universe; others insisted that the Word was delivered to humans alone and that it is our cosmic destiny to spread it to other planets, even if the aliens are incomparably wiser than we are. At least one theologically minded scholar, William Whewell, Master of Trinity College Cambridge and the man who gave us the word “scientist,” cited the uniqueness of the Incarnation as an argument that aliens do not exist. As he wrote:
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“God has interposed in the history of mankind in a special and personal manner . . . [W]hat are we to suppose concerning the other worlds which science discloses to us? Is there a like scheme of salvation provided for all of them? Our view of the saviour of man will not allow us to suppose that there can be more than one saviour. And the saviour coming as a man to men is so essential a part of the scheme . . . that to endeavour to transfer it to other worlds and to imagine there something analogous as existing, is more repugnant to our feeling than to imagine those other worlds not to be provided with any divine scheme of salvation.”
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In our own time, most Christians are in denial about these difficulties. The few contemporary theologians who dare to pronounce on the subject usually shrug it aside with the comment that the existence of intelligent aliens would not pose a problem for Christianity. But it would pose a problem, and a huge one at that. The Church would do well to take it seriously and to fundamentally revise its salvation narrative ahead of any discovery. Unlike Darwin’s theory of evolution, the implications of which could be factored in slowly, over decades, evidence that we are not alone might come suddenly, at any time. If the eerie silence were abruptly broken, or even if astronomers merely spotted unmistakable signs of alien technology in another star system, the cosmic nature of life and mind would instantly be affirmed. No religion focused on one species and one planet could retain credibility.
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Whewell notwithstanding, the discovery of extra-terrestrial life would be no more earth-shattering than the confirmation of evolutionary theory.
 
The vatican has already spoken on this subject.

It would not pose a problem for Catholicism. There is a great leap of logic from:
  1. Aliens exist.
to:
  1. Catholicism is false.
Additionally, if intelligent lifeforms possessed the technology to get to this planet, then they would, out of necessity developed an advanced form of morality because they have not destroyed themselves and yet had the technology to do so. Evangelization of these advanced lifeforms would not pose much difficulty since the morality of Jesus Christ is the most advanced compilation ever conceived. If everyone followed the morality of the New Testament, we would effectively be living in a Utopia.
 
SedesDomi said:
Whewell notwithstanding, the discovery of extra-terrestrial life would be no more earth-shattering than the confirmation of evolutionary theory.
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I think the discovery of extraterrestial life would be quite earth-shattering, even to those that believe in life on other planets. But, I’m of the opinion that the incarnation is unique to humanity and if other life were found elsewhere it would be our duty as part of the Great Commission to spread the Gospel to those other planets.

ChadS
 
dostoyevskyfan said:
The vatican has already spoken on this subject.

It would not pose a problem for Catholicism. There is a great leap of logic from:
  1. Aliens exist.
to:
  1. Catholicism is false.
Additionally, if intelligent lifeforms possessed the technology to get to this planet, then they would, out of necessity developed an advanced form of morality because they have not destroyed themselves and yet had the technology to do so. Evangelization of these advanced lifeforms would not pose much difficulty since the morality of Jesus Christ is the most advanced compilation ever conceived. If everyone followed the morality of the New Testament, we would effectively be living in a Utopia.
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Hi dostoyevskyfan,
An excellent post. Would it be safe to surmise that those who ardently place great trust in SETI have an inadequate appreciation of the glorious challenge of Faith?
God Bless,
Colmcille.🙂
 
SedesDomi said:
Whewell notwithstanding, the discovery of extra-terrestrial life would be no more earth-shattering than the confirmation of evolutionary theory.
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what i think, is that it would proove the exstiance of God. remember athiests hold we [humans] are a mistake, well they also hold that the stastical probability of the rise of life on earth is so high as to seem infinite, well what, then, is the probability of it happening twice?
 
I studied this question pretty in depth. These were some of my conclusions (and, yeah, maybe they’re completely wrong) …
  1. If a race of rational animals that are not descended from Adam and Eve exist, then they do not possess the original sin of Adam.
  2. If a race of rational animals not descended from Adam exist, then they either …
a. Are not offered a life of grace … i.e. the best they can hope for is a life of ideal pagan virtue, where the highest possible afterlife is perfect natural happiness but not the beatific vision. (this would be equivalent to Limbo)

b. Are offered a life of grace and may be unfallen even now.

c. Are offered a life of grace but may be fallen, in which case a separate Incarnation of God is necessary, since the Incarnation and Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ redeems only humans that have descended from Adam (i.e. who have the original sin inherited from Adam).
  1. Aliens who have been redeemed by their particular Incarnate Savior would have their own separate Church (with possible other sacraments) and Divine Revelation that could differ quite considerably from that of the Catholic Church. Thus, such aliens could not become Catholic (in the sense of becoming a member of the Body of Christ in full communion with the Pope of the human Catholic Church).
  2. There would be no way for a Catholic (without a special private revelation) to know whether the aliens have a true religion or not (i.e. no way to figure out which supposed historical alien figure is the true Incarnation of one of the Persons of the Trinity), because the data provided in the public revelation of the Catholic Church does not address the issue.
  3. The only real conundrum (that I see) is about Mary, the Mother of God (particularly, of Jesus). Would additional Incarnations of God result in multiple Queens of Heaven? It seems this would incongruous. On the other hand, why can’t there be multiple Queens of Heaven? Why is God just limited to one spouse?
Well, those are my crazy conclusions and cogitations on this matter. Think what you will of them.
 
This reminds me of Lewis’ “Space Trilogy”. It has been many, many years since I’ve read them, but I seem to recall there was an intelligent race on another planet that had never experienced a Fall.

Also reminds me of a Frazetta painting I quite like (WARNING: This painting is of an alien being, crucified. To me, personally, it speaks of the universality, literally, of God’s love. Some Christians, however, do interpret it differently and find it offensive, so please be forewarned before you click!)

If there are other races in the universe that have souls, and have fallen - is it unorthodox to think that the Word could incarnate to save them too, as he did us? Not sure what the theology of that would be, but - I hesitate to put limits on what Jesus could do if He wanted. 🙂
 
Recently, I watched the movie ‘Contact’ (1997) on DVD. It was a risible piece of film-making, IMO.
Yet, if this is the sort of “message” that can be gleaned from the annals of SETI, is it any wonder that the subject is cherished by geeky teens?
God Bless,
Colmcille.🙂
 
VetA said:
what i think, is that it would proove the exstiance of God. remember athiests hold we [humans] are a mistake,
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Ths simplistic error of a simple theist…
well they also hold that the stastical probability of the rise of life on earth is so high as to seem infinite, well what, then, is the probability of it happening twice?
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Discovery of alien life would not harm evolutionary theory one iota; indeed, it would provide a fantastic opportunity to discover even more evidence to support the theory! Not that any more evidence is needed, of course.
 
Would encountering intelligence elsewhere in the universe be a problem for anthropocentric religions?
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Theistic religions are not anthropocentric but ratiocentric. They regard reality as rational rather than irrational.
God has interposed in the history of mankind in a special and personal manner . . . [W]hat are we to suppose concerning the other worlds which science discloses to us?
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Any suppositions we make about other worlds are based on ignorance. We could not have have conceived of the Incarnation on this earth, let alone elsewhere! The power of divine love is not limited by our limited intelligence and imagination…
No religion focused on one species and one planet could retain credibility.
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Christianity is certainly not focused on one species because it regards all living beings as God’s creatures. “But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it…”
Whewell notwithstanding, the discovery of extra-terrestrial life would be no more earth-shattering than the confirmation of evolutionary theory.
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It would simply confirm the fact that moral and spiritual truths are universal and not manmade fictions!
 
Areopagite said:
  1. Aliens who have been redeemed by their particular Incarnate Savior would have their own separate Church (with possible other sacraments) and Divine Revelation that could differ quite considerably from that of the Catholic Church. Thus, such aliens could not become Catholic (in the sense of becoming a member of the Body of Christ in full communion with the Pope of the human Catholic Church).
  2. There would be no way for a Catholic (without a special private revelation) to know whether the aliens have a true religion or not (i.e. no way to figure out which supposed historical alien figure is the true Incarnation of one of the Persons of the Trinity), because the data provided in the public revelation of the Catholic Church does not address the issue.
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I think your post was well thought out and raised some interesting points.

I do think though that you missed the point on your numbers 3 & 4. I can imagine aliens having their own Church and perhaps their own incarnate savior but if it originated from the same God we worship then only the externals should be different. The core teachings and moral code should be identical since we believe God doesn’t or can’t change then why would he have a different set of morals and values for us and one for a civilization a hundred light years away?

I think the Catholic Church would have the moral authority to determine what teachings are true and what potentially aren’t of the aliens. We believe the Church has authority here on earth to do the very same thing. It wouldn’t take a private revelation to determine any such thing either. I mean right now private revelations don’t hold any particular authority over believers so why would one then become the arbitrator of what is true in the alien religion?

If aliens exist or not the role of the Catholic Church would remain the same. They would be needed to make decisions on the veracity of the moral code and teachings in the alien religion.

ChadS
 
From a theological/philisophical, and scientific standpoint, I would be extremely surprised to find intelligent life, endowed with a supernatural soul, elsewhere in the universe.
  1. It is my understanding that mankind is the epitomy of God’s material creation. Certainly the book of Genesis leads one to think this way. It is what I was taught as a youngster. There are many theological arguments for this in my opinion.
  2. The size of the universe and the vast number of stars/planets seems immaterial to the discussion. From a scientific point of view, it appears that the likihood of the characteristics of the earth needed support intelligent life is extremely small.
    From a non-scientific point-of-view, our extremely small size seems to make no difference. God being outside of the universe and being infinite, any size is almost equivilent to Him. When looking at infinitety, 1 is not significantly smaller than 1 million.
  3. Areopagit gave a pretty good analysis, but it is flawed in one important point. There could not have been more than one incarnation. We know the nature of Jesus, God and Man. This is an absolute belief of our faith. It is not God and Man and 15 other life forms.
  4. As stated in point 2, from a scientific viewpoint, I have no trouble believing in only 1 planet with intelligent life. But suppose I am wrong, then all of the sudden the size of the universe would matter. I would have a big problem in believing in only 2 or 10 or some other small number. In other words, if there is more than one, there is a lot more than one. That being the case, point 3 becomes even more problematic, much more. Hence, I have a big problem with my supposition.
  5. I suppose there could be intelligent life, not endowed with supernatural souls, but this seems strange, does it not?
If, by off-chance, I find out I am wrong, would it lead to a crisis of faith? I hope not. But I really do not think I am wrong.
 
Lol you people are silly. Not in the sense that aliens dont exist, but in the sense that if they do, through the infinity of the Divine they would already have their own paradigms of Divinity and more than likely are far more advanced than a christian view of morality and spirituality which is apparent in the fact that they would have had the technology to destroy themselves, but havent.

Do you really think that a further enlightened race of beings wouldent have had the same religious conundrums that we face now, but have been able to move past it into something greater? They would instantly be able to see certain religious systems for what they are and yet still look to us with love and compassion. Like a parent to a child trying to learn.

Most likely, they would see the christian faith and agree with it from a paradigm of the Infinity of Divinity, the same way they would view all human paths towards a greater relationship with Divinity. In fact they would probably be able to help humanity further understand its own faiths.

Though through their own wisdom on the subject of morality and spirituality, i doubt any form of alien life like this would show themselves until humanity was ready to meet them and co exist peacefully under Divinity, which probably wont happen until we already do this here on earth.
 
I’ve heard this challenge before. Would aliens prove that the Bible, and all faiths that depend on it (Judaism, Christianity and to a certain extent, Islam) be proven wrong because God never mentioned aliens in the Bible, even during creation.

The short answer is no, it won’t prove the Bible false. The message of Sacred Scripture as well as Sacred Tradition and all the teachings of the prophets and Jesus is for our salvation. What concern is it to our salvation if we know there is life out there? For all we know only we are the ones who are fallen and these aliens are in perfect communion with God.
 
I’ve read Lewis’ Space Trilogy, too, and have a few problems with his ideas, although he did try to think the thing through quite carefully.

As I see it, any rational being is either for or against God. In our world those who are against him take many philosophies to heart to try to explain God away or negate his authority or just plain dodge the issue. If other sentient beings are on other planets and they too fell from grace, I imagine they’d have the same struggle. I do not believe that they would have a different incarnation, because God became fully God and fully man in Christ. That cannot be repeated or Jesus wouldn’t be fully God and fully man but a demi-god.

I rather imagine that any test any other sentient beings may have gone through, ala Eden and Adam and Eve, would be quite different from our own with different outcomes depending on their special natures. For example, the angels made their decision to serve God or not and that was that. They live in the eternal now, so it could not be otherwise. There may be beings that exist in both time and the eternal now–a concept we can’t imagine because we are so limited by being finite beings living within the confines of time. For such beings temptation might be quite unlike our own, therefore their fallen state might also be quite different. Whatever it might be, assuming such a thing were possible, God’s way of “curing” them might also mean another, different type of self-giving on God’s part.

Our problem here isn’t whether or not other sentient beings might exist, but rather our limited understanding of God’s creation and what he might create elsewhere. Since he is infinite, his creation can be anything he would like to make it, so long as it wouldn’t violate his nature. We wouldn’t be the ones to judge other beings–God alone could do that. There aren’t Klingons or Romulans or Vulcans out there, people. What there is God alone knows at this point in time. We may never, in this life, get to know them. It may be only when God creates a new heaven and a new earth that we will be granted the privilege of meeting others created in the image of God. We’ll just have to wait to see.
 
Soulewolf said:
Lol you people are silly. Not in the sense that aliens dont exist, but in the sense that if they do, through the infinity of the Divine they would already have their own paradigms of Divinity and more than likely are far more advanced than a christian view of morality and spirituality which is apparent in the fact that they would have had the technology to destroy themselves, but havent.

Do you really think that a further enlightened race of beings wouldent have had the same religious conundrums that we face now, but have been able to move past it into something greater? They would instantly be able to see certain religious systems for what they are and yet still look to us with love and compassion. Like a parent to a child trying to learn.

Most likely, they would see the christian faith and agree with it from a paradigm of the Infinity of Divinity, the same way they would view all human paths towards a greater relationship with Divinity. In fact they would probably be able to help humanity further understand its own faiths.

Though through their own wisdom on the subject of morality and spirituality, i doubt any form of alien life like this would show themselves until humanity was ready to meet them and co exist peacefully under Divinity, which probably wont happen until we already do this here on earth.
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What do you base your idealistic view of other intelligent life on? Why would they be so morally superior to us?
 
ConstantineTG said:
The short answer is no, it won’t prove the Bible false. The message of Sacred Scripture as well as Sacred Tradition and all the teachings of the prophets and Jesus is for our salvation. What concern is it to our salvation if we know there is life out there? For all we know only we are the ones who are fallen and these aliens are in perfect communion with God.
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The last sentence seems to be the one possibility that doesn’t contain some contradictions for me. There is still that scientific issue of “extermely small odds” which seems to make it unlikely in my mind.
 
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