A question about our existence and the belief in God.

tecoyah said:

Too many to list....I'll just let these guys try:
"Once upon a time, animal sacrifice was an important part of Hindu life, Catholic priests weren't celibate and visual depictions of the Prophet Muhammad were part of Islamic art. And soon some churches in the UK may be marrying gay couples. How do religions manage to change their mind?"
BBC News - How religions change their mind

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I thought we're talking about the topic question?

tosca1 said:

I thought we're talking about the topic question?

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A question was asked...which I answered.

tosca1 said:

No, it wouldn't.

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Would these other intelligent beings be christian as well? would they also have their own version of jesus? Would they read their own versions of the bible? or are humans the only ones who were "gifted" with christianity?

OnWisconsin said:

Would these other intelligent beings be christian as well? would they also have their own version of jesus? Would they read their own versions of the bible? or are humans the only ones who were "gifted" with christianity?

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It isn't a case of being "gifted". It's a case of being sentient beings, with both the ability to reason, and the ability to imagine and create. Who knows if they would have their own version of religion? If they had similar emotional and mental faculties as us, then I would expect them to likely have similar institutions.

OnWisconsin said:

Would these other intelligent beings be christian as well? would they also have their own version of jesus? Would they read their own versions of the bible? or are humans the only ones who were "gifted" with christianity?

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Well, I don't know. But for a scenario as big as that, why are your questions so limited to earth?
You'll have to think past earth.


Would they be "intelligent" to begin with? :lol:

OR....we'd be morons compared to them? :mrgreen:



Do they need saving at all? Do they need a Messiah the same way we did?

Or did they get things right the first time?



Were they required to meet certain standards - or they're created just because?

Do they need to have a book - or can they acquire knowledge in ways different from us?

Do they have to be patterned after earth? Should there be any pattern at all?

Do they require food? Or something to drink? Do they have any souls? Do they fly? Do they warp?
Do they breathe? Do they have sex to procreate? DO THEY PROCREATE?

Do they die?

and so on.....

OnWisconsin said:

Would the discovery of life on another planet negate the existence of god?
Would the discovery of intelligent life on another planet negate the existence of god?
Or would religion just adapt once again to fit the mold?

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No. Why would it?
No. Why would it?
No. Why would it have to adapt? (assuming you mean Christian belief). If there is one God who created all, then the "all" would include any others out there would it not?

Question. Why this hypothesis? Do you feel that this displays the absurdity of belief in Christ somehow?
If there is no intelligent life out there, does that somehow prove Christianity?

OnWisconsin said:

Would the discovery of life on another planet negate the existence of god?

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I see no reason why it would.

lizzie said:

Quote Originally Posted by OnWisconsin View Post
Would these other intelligent beings be christian as well? would they also have their own version of jesus? Would they read their own versions of the bible? or are humans the only ones who were "gifted" with christianity?

It isn't a case of being "gifted". It's a case of being sentient beings, with both the ability to reason, and the ability to imagine and create. Who knows if they would have their own version of religion? If they had similar emotional and mental faculties as us, then I would expect them to likely have similar institutions.

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There seems to be some confusion on this thread about Christianity. "Religion" and "Christianity" seem to be interchangeable as used by several here. These two terms are not interchangeable. But this aside....

If we accept that God exists, even if only for the sake of the hypothesis, it is incumbent on us that we also accept that God created all things. If God created all things, and revealed himself to us through biblical revelations, then that is his method. If there are other intelligent life forms out there, then we must assume that God has also revealed himself to them as well. It would be simple reason to understand this.
It would also be "reasonable" to assume that if they didn't have hands like ours, they wouldn't have a bible like ours, if it would be difficult or impossible to hold. Basic common sense would indicate they would create a media that they could both hold and understand.

I don't have a stake either way on this one. It is unimportant to me. But it just stands to reason.
The banter here seems to assume that Christ is a made up legend or myth, and folks are wondering if other life forms might have made up the same legend or myth?
If Christ is a myth, then the likelihood is nil. If Christ is indeed a fact, then the likelihood is very probable they would have the same Christ.

We make the mistake of defining God. That has always been my objection to organized religion. No matter what holy book you read it was written by people just like you and me. I would take offense at mankind for defining God if I were God. God made you so how do you say what God is? I have always believed in something but I believe it is blasphemy to say "I know what God is". God created everything if God created anything.

Cable said:

I don't have a stake either way on this one. It is unimportant to me. But it just stands to reason.
The banter here seems to assume that Christ is a made up legend or myth, and folks are wondering if other life forms might have made up the same legend or myth?
If Christ is a myth, then the likelihood is nil. If Christ is indeed a fact, then the likelihood is very probable they would have the same Christ.

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Why? Why assume that they would not have their own personalized dieties, just as various religions do now?

OnWisconsin said:

So would these intelligent life forms, however unlike ourselves, be Christians as well? Would they too have little bibles to read their children at bedtime? What if their alien hands couldn't hold the bible? and what if they were unable to read our languages? I'm being facetious of course but do you see the issue here?

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So this whole thread is a gag, and a joke to you? This was all a prank right?

Cable said:

No. Why would it?
No. Why would it?
No. Why would it have to adapt? (assuming you mean Christian belief). If there is one God who created all, then the "all" would include any others out there would it not?

Question. Why this hypothesis? Do you feel that this displays the absurdity of belief in Christ somehow?
If there is no intelligent life out there, does that somehow prove Christianity?

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Because I see you failed to read the rest of the thread, I will ask it again.

Suppose there is other life out there. Would they be christian as well and believe in jesus? Would they read the bible? Or would they just be gods bastard children? Did god only create humans as being the ones who are (need) to be saved? I'm simply asking the question because I was having a debate with someone about the hypothetical that there is life out there. It just seems absurd to me to think that if there is other life out there that A: they would be christians or B: that god only likes humans.

OnWisconsin said:

Would the discovery of life on another planet negate the existence of god?

Would the discovery of intelligent life on another planet negate the existence of god?

Or would religion just adapt once again to fit the mold?

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It's a basic tenant of Mormon belief that there are, indeed, other worlds populated by intelligent beings.

I can't think of any other church right off hand that has addressed the issue of extraterrestrial intelligence one way or another.

So, no, finding intelligent life elsewhere would not negate a belief in god.

OnWisconsin said:

Because I see you failed to read the rest of the thread, I will ask it again.

Suppose there is other life out there. Would they be christian as well and believe in jesus? Would they read the bible? Or would they just be gods bastard children? Did god only create humans as being the ones who are (need) to be saved? I'm simply asking the question because I was having a debate with someone about the hypothetical that there is life out there. It just seems absurd to me to think that if there is other life out there that A: they would be christians or B: that god only likes humans.

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I thought I had read all your posts in the thread, but sure enough I missed that one. But I think my reasoning is still sound. If God exists, and Christ came here for us, then he would have also gone to any others that God created in his image. If not, then not.