Jesus Christ, Extraterrestrial? If life is found on other planets, does Christianity come unraveled?

Patheos ^ | 06/29/2011 | Curtis Chang and Jennifer Wiseman

[RecoveringPaulisto]

Just because God doesn’t mention something doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Do you not believe that modern medicine exists because God didn’t reveal it in Scripture?

However, there is enough in the positives affirmed in the Bible to know extraterrestrials do not exist by virtue of them being contradictory to Scriptural truths.

[fishtank]

No aliens. Google “Fermi’s paradox”.

[doc1019]

One of the primary premises of the Bible is to explain how to be saved, not how to be cured of any disease otherwise the Bible would be a lot bigger than it is. LOL! I believe that if there were beings on some other planet somewhere in His universe, he would have mentioned it, at least in passing.

I love these discussions; I learn much about how people think.

[shiva]

if we found extraterrestrial life it would actually make a mockery of our Christian faith,

I don't see why since they would be the Angels God created before man.

[RecoveringPaulisto]

I also believe He would have mentioned it. However, we cannot be dogmatic about such things. An argument from silence at best produces weak probabilities and can never produce certainties.

[Last Dakotan]

Personally I suspect that conservatives would deal with it far better than liberals.

'Cause conservatives are carnivores..

[Cvengr]

Doesn’t matter. Animals die. That doesn’t disprove anything.

“Extraterrestrials” exist already as angels, both fallen and elect.

God’s Plan for humanity is also linked the appeals trial of Satan. The Gospel message for humans is that while we are born today condemned, we have eternal life through Christ.

[RecoveringPaulisto]

Noticed I said "intelligent ETs." Also, when we are talking about ETs, no one is thinking about angels. We are talking about beings like us in most ways, not angelic beings, which are a whole other group. I guess I should put it more specifically: If there are non-descendants of Adam made in the imago dei, then we run into some serious Gospel problems.

[Cvengr]

The article and the expert queried both miss the foundation of Scriptural Christianity. Salvation isn’t a soulish exercise giving merit to the believer, but rather it is a mechanism by which God is free to create our spiritual life in the new man.

Even if intelligent life is discovered, unless that life also has a spirit, discernible from the soulish mind, it still would lack the relationship with God He has provided in man.

[aruanan]

And there are plenty of persons who have never sinned ? Are you saying that the Word of God is wrong? With the exception of Jesus, who was God in the flesh, there has never been anyone who lived a sinless life to my knowledge. Please enlighten me.

I'm not saying the word of God is wrong. I'm just saying that you're incorrect in your understanding of it. For instance, there are countless persons who have never sinned. They just don't happen to be terrestrial humans; though there may be some extraterrestrial humans somewhere that have nothing at all to do with Adam's sin. The "all have sinned" is referring to the offspring of Adam exclusively. There is nothing implied or necessitated that involves anyone else. And there is a group of persons in our own environs who have sinned for whom the sacrifice of Jesus will have no effect at all, and I'm not talking about Calvin's moronic division of humanity into elect versus reprobate.

[doc1019]

An argument from silence at best produces weak probabilities and can never produce certainties.

From whence comith this? Brings back memories from my collegiate days (mid 60's). I once ventured into a philosophy class, not by choice but by academic requirement and heard something similar.

[Errant]

On EARTH, as a consequence of God and man healing our rift.

Rev 5:13 "And every CREATURE which is IN HEAVEN...

I know what you're saying and your logic has merit though I think you're holding back.

For instance, where is heaven, what are angels, how did the prophets know the future, why were there wars in heaven, and ...

[Grizzled Bear]

As somebody said, if they existed, is anyone worried they might find us ——— really tasty?

We're no baloney, we're homo-sapient!

[RecoveringPaulisto]

You were probably in a logic class, something I think should be taught systematically from sixth grade on up (by private schools, not state schools). The philosophy department, while containing the most psychotic leftist nuts, also contains some of the most consistent conservative Christians.

The Marxists have used the American people’s utter lack of logic to pull the wool over our eyes. How else do we think Obama can think he can get away with blaming ATMs and corporate jet owners for the bad economy?

[Ransomed]

“How long can any civilization last before it implodes in some way? Maybe a couple thousand years??”

By human standards, going by all of human recorded history? There is just no way of knowing, we don’t have enough data on how “alien” actual aliens could be to us. If there are really old alien civilizations, they had to start at some time. Maybe they could really different than us, not just “men” in a different shape, but having completely different goals and drives. Or maybe they live a couple of thousand years or longer.

It is interesting to speculate why there hasn’t been any contact yet. You would think that anyone advanced enough to reach the stars in a reasonable amount of time would do so, and be powerful enough to find other sentient life easily. But maybe that’s just our human penchant for exploration. Maybe there is something out there that squashes the more bold races when they make themselves known. Maybe most are species that just aren’t interested in exploration, alien contact, or even knowing anything we could relate to.

Freegards

[doc1019]

You didn’t answer my question? And the course name, if I remember correctly was “ The Philosophy of Logic” or was it the “Logic of Philosophy” ... a requirement back in the day.

[Quix]

Quix's response to the question:

If extraterrestrial life is found on other planets, does Christianity come unraveled?

http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Jesus-Christ-Extraterrestrial-Curtis-Chang-Jennifer-Wiseman--06-29-2011.html

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As usual . . . depends on lots of things . . . definitions, constructions on reality, etc.

1. It is CONCEIVABLE that there are countless citizens of distant orbs 'out there.'

2. I do NOT believe any of the 'critters' talked about in the literature are likely to be such citizens of distant orbs.

3. I agree with Guy Malone and his panel of top flight Biblical etc. scholars . . . the 'ET's' discussed in the literature appear to be FALLEN ANGELS and only FALLEN ANGELS, Nephilium, watchers etc:

4. Authentic Christ-centered, Holy Spirit led, relationship based spiritual warfare works against their activities as spiritual warfare works against demon forces.

5. EVEN IF some of the critters discussed in the literature turn out to be citizens of distant orbs--it does not matter--THEY ARE IN CAHOOTS WITH THE SATANIC COMMIE GLOBALIST OLIGARCHY SETTING UP THE SATANIC TYRANNICAL GLOBAL GOVERNMENT TO ULTIMATELY WORSHIP SATAN AS GOD. That's all one needs to know about their values and goals. They are on THE WRONG SIDE.

6. The critters are slated, imho, to profer what Scripture calls the GREAT END TIMES DELUSION so incredible that WERE IT POSSIBLE, EVEN THE ELECT WOULD BE DECEIVED.

7. The best sources assert that they critters will profer a holographic video purporting to 'prove' that they created Christ (and all other religious greats of history) for social engineering purposes . . . and pulled even His miracles off with their advanced technologies.

8. Believers need to KNOW JESUS--HIM IN THEM AND THEY IN HIM--WALKING INTIMATELY WITH HIM DAILY; KNOWING, HEARING AND OBEYING HIS VOICE AND WORD. Otherwise, they may be vulnerable to being snookered, deceived by the critters and their purported 'scientific' 'proof' trashing Christ's Deity as satan has been keen to do all along.

9. Coming months and years seem destined to have reality turned upside down and inside out. CHRIST ALONE IS ABLE AND WORTHY TO SAVE; PROVIDE; PROTECT. There will be martyrs aplenty. Yet, God will also protect His own as well or better than the Children of Israel in the wilderness.

10. The time to practice total surrender to God and total trust IN GOD and HIS WAYS is now. Practicing on a hurried run is a game of catch-up under trying circumstances.

[RecoveringPaulisto]

“You didn’t answer my question?”

I got it from logic texts I’ve read. I self-taught logic to myself before then, but I did take a logic class.

[doc1019]

That is a hard way to learn logic and I commend you for your effort, obviously it worked.

[onedoug]

I think God has built simplicity in as a rule. If this is so, then Rabbi Joshua (aka Jesus) would seem to complicate God as One.