Who Would Have Guessed….
Four hundred years after it locked up Galileo for challenging the view that the Earth was the center of the universe, the Vatican has called in experts to study the possibility of extraterrestrial alien life and its implication for the Catholic Church.
The implications of extraterrestrial life on church theology would be, IMO, negligible – where in their holy texts does it say that only the earth was created with life?
Quite frankly I’m surprised the discussion took this long to take place…. how anyone could look up at a night sky, see all those stars, with all of those planets revolving around them, and then pat themselves on the back as the best the universe has to offer is quite befuddling.
It certainly is. Still.
How come nobody ever considers the possibility that the other life forms out there are really lame, though? Why are we always talking about “advanced” civilizations instead of a bunch of simpletons telepathing fart jokes to each other all day.
You’re hypothesizing an extraterrestrial branch of the Blogging Tories?
@sooey – You have obviously never read The Canadian Sentinel. It simply can’t be any worse anywhere else out there…
Sooey’s question is a good one, although actually our imaginations seem to run to both extremes. Either they are terrifying microbes or slimy things that want to eat us or incredibly advanced, ultra-rational Mr. Spocks who have abolished war and have come to teach us earthlings how to keep from destroying ourselves and the planet. We simply can’t seem to imagine gathering around an arriving spaceship and watching the Trailer Park Boys emerge.
And why is it assumed that other life forms are without humour? Because we view humour as uniquely human – which maybe it is. We do the same thing with religion, of course, which is the most offputting thing about it.
Three disjointed comments:
There are many extremes for the capabilities of extraterrestrial intelligences/life forms abound in modern science fiction, and many universes without them too.
I think it was in Sagan’s Contact where the born-again preacher said something to the such that his kind of god wouldn’t have just created the Earth, but something much bigger…
I wonder if the experts are going to have to figure out how Jesus has saved not only all of humanity but also all of the universe as well….
If a tree falls in the forest and there’s no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?
Of course it does.
Okayyy…..
It’s just that heathen SL making fun of the One True Church again.
“And why is it assumed that other life forms are without humour?”
It’s not. My friend from the Dog Star Sirius, who talks to me through my fillings, once told me this knee-slapper.
An Arcturan, a Human, and a Grixlajjzian walk into a bar. The Arcturan orders a Zmidian Spritzer, the Human orders a beer, and the Grixlajjzian orders a Grbwoip Uhwrgh. They sip their drinks in companionable silence for a few moments. Finally the Arcturan says to the Grixlajjzian: “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but I couldn’t help noticing that your Uhwrgh seems to be alive. Is that the way they usually serve them?”
“No”, responded the Grixlajjzian. “But it’s the only way I can sklbnepoijg my vk[pa[poi!”
stageleft
I have been thinking about those implications on and off all day without coming to any conclusion or generating any half-witty remarks.
I did remember this interview between Richard Dawkins and Father George Coyne.
Father Coyne is a scientist with the Catholic Church.
If you watch it to the end Richard Dawkins explains how he lost his faith.
Father Coyne is very sincere in his faith, straight up with Richard in the interview
and admits to being embarrassed as a scientist about his requisite belief in the virgin birth and the resurrection. A hazard of his particular faith. Something that he hopes will not be necessary as faith evolves.
Sorry if I’m OT but I thought it might interest you.
http://richarddawkins.net/article,3410,Richard-Dawkins-interviews-Father-George-Coyne,Richard-Dawkins-RichardDawkinsnet
@Canuckguy: Can you imagine a better way for me to spend my time….. monotheists of all stripes, each with their “one true god” shtick, tend to amuse the living crap out of me when they don’t have me looking for a large, heavy, fast moving, truck to throw myself under.
@balbulican: I got that on my Blackberry 1 minute after you posted it and have been chuckling ever since – good one.
LOL! Thanks guys! I needed this one to finish off the day for me!!!
balb, have you heard the one about the Arcturan and the Grixlajjzian farmer’s daughter? No? Perhaps it’s just as well.
I should clarify for the benefit of our valued Grixlajjzian readers that the humorous anecdotes referenced above by Peter and myself imply no disrespect on our part for your ancient and honourable culture, which has enriched the universe over the aeons with its fascinating cuisine, colourful mating dances and innovative uses of various metabolic by-products in architecture. We are simply celebrating what has become a much beloved piece of galactic folklore. Please don’t feel iofhws’nb-kggi.
However, if you believe we’ve crossed the line and created a ygghit-debt, remember that it was Peter who brought up the farmer’s daughter.
I’m not worried. The Arcturians love my Grixlajjzian jokes and you may have noticed they are leading the inter-galactic opinion polls by a wide margin, despite Grixlajjzian whines that they are just xenophobic Big Bang deniers with a secret agenda and their minds in the Anunnaki era. Plus the Arcturian leader, Thorxx, wowed the crowds by playing the spphylx antenna at the recent Milky Way 10th to the 5th power millennial celebrations, while your inspiid Grixlajjzian hero, who thinks he is sooo… modern, just keeps depressing everybody with predictions of black holes and singularities if we don’t cut back time-warp travel dramatically.
Gee, maybe Ron L Hubbard and his Church of Scientology got it right. Aliens from space?