Oh the possible religious implications

[nadinbrzezinski]

apparently they have found POSSIBLE evidence of life on Titan. No it would not be bipeds walking around and all that, but still the implications are there

http://www.aolnews.com/science/article/csould-new-life-form-lurk-on-titan-saturns-biggest-moon/19506592?ncid=webmaildl1

If there is life on Titan -- which is Saturn's largest moon and even bigger than the planet Mercury -- it won't be like anything humans have ever seen before. With temperatures of minus 290 degrees Fahrenheit, the moon is far too frigid to support the kinds of water-based life forms that roam Earth.

"If these signs do turn out to be a sign of life, it would be doubly exciting because it would represent a second form of life independent from water-based life on Earth," McKay told NASA.

-----------

Now this will have incredible implications, theological, and in other ways... and for us sci fi writers these are the kinds of stories that are just YUMMY

[secondwind]

1. YUMMMM... K&R

[Ozymanithrax]

2. I've been watching this story.

The life there would be strange. If life can flouris in such extreme conditions, it will be everywhre.

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. Exactly

and that alone is amazing... We are at the point where we will find one way or the other that we are not alone, or that we are. Drake's equation is about to have an actual variable I think...

[AmericaIsGreat]

3. Awesome stuff, but don't see how it'll have "incredible" theological implications

Evangelicals will simply claim there isn't life; scientists can't prove it's anything living or that it's irrelevant because it's not intelligent life.

Moderates will just say God made the planet to support the life.

What would have incredible theological implications is if aliens visited and we said, "Do you guys know God?" and they said "Who?"

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. Why do you think the Vatican got ahead of this

story a few years ago?

That was no accident.

As to evangelicals, even if a gray, no pun, came to have dinner and told them the universe was created umpty squat billions years ago, they'd still think Jesus rode a Dino. Fortunately they are a very loud, but nevertheless, small minority world wide.

OTHER religions, I can guarantee you this, are paying attention. Since it does have religious implications as well as philosophical ones. And so do the atheist amongst us. LIFE, if this is the case, is far more prevalent than we stoopid humans like to think. Oh and it is far more resilient too.

[undeterred]

7. Maybe it has chosen people.

:hide:

[Skip Intro]

4. You write Sci-Fi? Anything I can get my hands on? nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. Stopped selling my books on my own

right now working on some short pieces to try to sell. What I sold years ago, well the mag went out of print... grrrr

Of course that is on top of my return to the "more serious" subjects, researching history of labor right now, why I am readying the holy books of Capitalism right now.

[harun]

5. It is exciting but the absence of Hydrogen and Acetelyn Gas at the surface doesn't have

me jumping up and down about the prospects of alien life there. Just so many other explanations.

Why would there be any theological implications? Seems impossible to me that the creator of the Universe would only have life on one planet when he made trillions of them.

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. NASA agrees with you, that is the last explanation

and you answered your theological question yourself. To some of our dominant faiths it would mean we are not that unique or damn it, special.

[BadgerKid]

11. Waiting for the religious extremists to say

bad humans -- no god for you.



Back to the topic at hand: Life on Earth is found in extreme environments. Why not Titan?

[Dappleganger]

12. To me it would imply...

that God's laboratory is a bit larger than one tiny planet. His message is simple: "It's not all about YOU!"

[obxhead]

13. Makes me wonder if the new new testament is being

written as we blog about it.

[nadinbrzezinski]

14. Well started creating a whole new Sci Fi world

and one thing I am doing is creating religions from whole cloth. It assumes our society DOES collapse, so whatever comes after us... well let's just say major religions will do the way of the dodo. for the same reason Bronze Age gods did not survive... at least in most places. Jawveh came at the tail end...

[The Straight Story]

15. I don't see the religious implications myself (nt)

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. If you don't beleive in God, there are none

but world religions will be tripping over themselves (especially the three Abramaic ones) when we finally confirm life away from Earth. If we ever find SENTIENT life it will be amusing.

Budhism and a few others will have a lot less issues by the way.

[The Straight Story]

18. As a Christian I cannot find a single reason why it would be an issue

Maybe you can show me something from the bible that would make it an issue.

[KonaKane]

21. Oh now you've done it.

As a person of faith, you have a target on your back in these parts.

[The Straight Story]

22. Used to having one on my back :)

A lot of people seem to know what it is I believe before even asking me.

I have long held the belief that there are alien life forms out there. As have other Christians I have known. But instead of taking that into consideration it seems that folks have made up their minds already on what many Christians believe.

Stereotypes and such are OK I suppose when it comes to people of faith. Just toss em out there and folks eat it up.

They don't ask us, they just assume they know what we believe.

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. Genesis

And god created man in his own image.

This is what has become a bone of contention

Read Genesis, life was created on Earth, that's it. You are not a literalist. If yuu were a fundie you cannot accept this stuff.

[The Straight Story]

24. Life was created in the heavens before here

In heaven before earth. I know some fundies (my sister for example, who teaches a creationist class) and none of them I know would have an issue with alien life forms.

It is akin to: "God made the Jews and blessed them, but he also made the Indians/etc".

I have yet to meet a single Christian who would have an issue with an alien life form.

[nadinbrzezinski]

26. Well i have

more than one in fact

[The Straight Story]

28. And I have had more than one person in southern CA cut my grass that was an illegal immigrant

And they were from Mexico. That does not mean all my neighbors when I lived there were here illegally.

Most were also very religious in nature (Catholic mostly).

I did not care their beliefs or how they came here - I judged them based on the content of their character.

As a Christian I have come to accept that many folks will judge me on their personal experiences with others who share my core faith.

Some of them are total jerks (check my posts here, I give them no lee-way on issues) But many I have dealt with over the years are decent folk with open minds. The RW ones are not, and I will be first in line to kick their asses.

I just wish more folks (including myself at times) would qualify their statements.

[nadinbrzezinski]

29. Alas we are talking of the RW literalists here

but feel however you want to feel. I realize that for SOME FOLKS, we can debate all night a percentage... or lack of percentage... will have a problem with alien life. It does not matter what day of the week they happen to pray at, and the source of the problem is actually Genesis.

As a Jesuit put it to me... Dominicans that he knew have a serious problem with science and if they could they'd bring the Inquisition back too. By the way, they are Christian too.

By the way, let me add one thing... this is the religions that came from Abrahan. you know the three MAJOR western religions. That includes Jews who ARE literalists, and Muslims too.

[RagAss]

25. Genesis...ah yes...the birth of ego......n/t

[patrice]

17. I wonder if they abide by god's dictum regarding hetero-sexuality.

:sarcasm:

[Ozymanithrax]

19. God has a dictum? He vould have an enormous schwanzstucker. n/t

[eShirl]

27. maybe they reproduce asexually

[one_voice]

20. Wow...

pretty cool. I've always thought it was arrogant to think we're the only life form in the universe. But hell, what do I know...