| Submit your comments on this article |
| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Vatican astronomer ponders baptism of extra-terrestrials |
| 2005-10-12 |
| Too funny, got it through a fortean list. IMHO, Church should rather be concerned with the current rapid islamization of Europe and the marxist-masonic leanings of its euro-hierarchy, before pondering on the baptism of ET, but then again, I'm just a non-churchgoer bigot... A pocket-sized book published by the Catholic Truth Society in the UK addresses Catholic attitudes to extra-terrestrial life. Independent Catholic News reports that with increasing numbers of people believing not only in the possibility of intelligent life on other planets, but even claiming encounters with aliens, it is not surprising that the Catholic Church is beginning to explore what effect the discovery of sentient ETs might have on Christian theology. In: Intelligent Life in the Universe? Catholic belief and the search for extraterrestrial intelligent life, author • Would humans recognise intelligent life if we saw it? Guy Consolmagno SJ, a Jesuit religious brother and astronomer, divides his year between the Vatican's observatory in Arizona and its older observatory at the Pope's summer residence, Castel Gandolfo, in the hills outside of Rome. Brother Guy has advanced degrees in planetary science from MIT and the University of Arizona. He spends his time observing comets and asteroids, and does experiments with the Vatican's vast collection of meteorites one of the largest in the world. He is one of a dozen Jesuit astronomers doing this work. The order been engaged in astronomy since before Galileo. |
| Posted by:anonymous5089 |
| #16 with all the anal-probing the aliens supposedly do, I think we Catholics don't need that, seeing as we've turned the corner on pedophile priests.... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-10-12 20:04 |
| #15 Hell who knows. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-10-12 19:36 |
| #14 Us or yawl? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-10-12 19:30 |
| #13 Jonathan, technicly God's plan for us, as documented in the Bible, is His plan to redeem us and save us. Jesus was the fulfillment of that plan and all humans now have the ability to be saved. Humans require salvation because of our acts of free will in opposition to God since the beginning. There is nothing in the whole scheme to suggest that other races need saving, or that their means of salvation would be the same as ours. Based on Catholic theology, another race could be saved and be as mild as the dodo birds or as fierce as a mother bear defending her young. In other words, totally non-violent, or fiercely defensive. And, theology would tell us that it's not our problem. The plan we are familiar with does not admit other races. It is designed by the Great Designer solely for us. It would be presumptive of us to force this plan on the Martians or those green dancing girls. |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2005-10-12 16:20 |
| #12 I recommend "A Case of Conscience," by James Blish. |
| Posted by: Eric Jablow 2005-10-12 16:09 |
| #11 Lol. Re: dawgs - so true. I found out, looking for the one you described, that I needed to reorg a bit. Discovered I have about 75 Larsons, lol. Not the best quality (sigh) but it's the thought that counts, right? Some dawgs for ya: Excuses Need Direction Quantum Dog |
| Posted by: .com 2005-10-12 14:33 |
| #10 :> Larson did great saucer work. Also good dogs. Dogs and saucers together is my favorite. Dawg: Well looks like they finally came.Rube Owners: {gaze up at a sky full of UFO's piloted by Larsonian Dawgs} Dawg: One thing before I go... I want to you roll over. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-10-12 14:13 |
| #9 No... not sure I've seen it, lol, but I know I don't have what you described - and I've got about 30 Larsons. How about these? When Worlds Collide --1-- --2-- |
| Posted by: .com 2005-10-12 14:10 |
| #8 "Is Original Sin something that affects all intelligent beings?" C. S. Lewis asked this question a slightly different way in an essay (I think in the collection "God in the Dock"). Lewis's question: Would we recognize an unfallen race if we met one? Jonathan, try Lewis's book "Mere Christianity" for a coherent introduction to theology. |
| Posted by: mom 2005-10-12 14:07 |
| #7 .com you got a copy of Larsons UFO with the 3 eyed fish magnet thingy attached? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-10-12 14:02 |
| #6 Chuck, I'm not sure what you mean by "plan of salvation." Do you mean that each intelligent race would go about attaining salvation in a different way, one we might not recognize, or do you mean that God would arrange for each race to attain salvation in a different way? (Bear with me -- I'm not very learned about theology.) |
| Posted by: Jonathan 2005-10-12 12:46 |
| #5 If they figure it out now, that'll destroy the role of a key character in "The Mote in God's Eye". |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-10-12 12:44 |
| #4 It is theologicly sound to assume that every intelligent race would have its own plan of salvation. It which case, for us it's MYOB. |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2005-10-12 11:20 |
| #3 well, Jesus did say he had "sheep in other pastures" to tend. I've talked to a lot of people who believe he was refering to extraterestrials. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2005-10-12 10:57 |
| #2 therz no savin vulkans. why bother? |
| Posted by: muck4doo 2005-10-12 10:54 |
| #1 Wonder what John Calvin or Martin Luther would say about this. I don't think we could print it on Rantburg though. CF-Out |
| Posted by: Covert Floridian 2005-10-12 10:52 |
