Vatican to E.T.: Hello, Brother

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Had he lived to what would have been his 75th birthday on Monday, Carl Sagan would’ve seen a surprising new collaborator in pondering whether there’s life out there in the cosmos: the Vatican. The Pontifical Academy of Sciences held a conference of scientists and theologians this week that probed the possibility of extraterrestrial life, and the peculiar religious questions that life on other worlds would raise. Father Jose Funes, director of the Vatican Observatory, became the Catholic Church’s chief evangelist this week spreading the notion that alien life is compatible with Christianity. “This is not in contradiction with our faith, because we cannot establish limits to God’s creative freedom. To say it with St Francis, if we can consider some earthly creatures as ‘brothers’ or ’sisters’, why could we not speak of a ‘brother alien’? He would also belong to the creation” [The Guardian].

The meeting marks another step in the Vatican’s attempt to overcome its historical reputation as unfriendly to science and scientists. The church held a similar scientific conference on evolution earlier this year, and set up a Vatican Museum exhibit to mark the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s observations–and to make up for the church’s 17th century treatment of him. In 1992, Pope John Paul II declared the ruling against the astronomer was an error resulting from “tragic mutual incomprehension” [AP].

But while many Christians have managed to square evolution and astronomy with non-literal interpretations of the Bible, some people think the reconciliation won’t be so easy—like cosmologist Paul Davies, who spoke at the conference. “The real threat would come from the discovery of extraterrestrial intelligence, because if there are beings elsewhere in the universe, then Christians, they’re in this horrible bind. They believe that God became incarnate in the form of Jesus Christ in order to save humankind, not dolphins or chimpanzees or little green men on other planets,” [Washington Post] he says.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/...-hello-brother/

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

God is everywhere. Including extraterrestrial life.

[mawilson 2,133]

Someone has been watching "V" too much.

[Dave-n-Oksana 49]

Someone has been watching "V" too much.

E.T. was an illegal alien.

[Niels Bohr 72]

This priest attempted to recruit me to their church gatherings. I said to him, I'm not religious. He looked up at me and said, "Well son, we live in hard times now. Religion is a way of having God in your and believe in you. You read the bible?" I said, "I don't read the bible because I'm not religious. Many scientific endeavors are hindered by religious philosophies. That is why I don't like religion. Sorry, you got the wrong guy to recruit because I'm a scientist."

He walked away. Couldn't respond back. Or maybe he doesn't know what to say to me.

[alienlovechild 75]

I thought all Christians were anti-science and don't believe in ET?

[pedroh 21]

I thought all Christians were anti-science and don't believe in ET?

no that's just protestants.. catholics are cool with science

[BishopMnA 0]

I thought all Christians were anti-science and don't believe in ET?

no that's just protestants.. catholics are cool with science

Brother Pedroh is right. Catholics are very cool with science...

[jundp 191]

I thought all Christians were anti-science and don't believe in ET?

no that's just protestants.. catholics are cool with science

Too true. We even teach evolution AND religion in school.

[pedroh 21]

I thought all Christians were anti-science and don't believe in ET?

no that's just protestants.. catholics are cool with science

Too true. We even teach evolution AND religion in school.

yeap, somehow for catholics there's no contradiction in teaching both..