Creationists' Stance on Alien Life

[Junghalli]

So, I was recently doing some Google-scholaring on extrasolar planets and every once in a while I'd run into a creationist website. There was a LOL-worthy Answers in Genesis article that tried to use the existence of hot Jupiters (gas giants close to their stars) as evidence against evolution, and another one trying to dismiss Raymond's work on the possibility of Earthlike planets in hot Jupiter systems because they were based on computer simulations instead of actual observations (yeah, LOL from guys who base their "scientific theories" on a bronze age book!). I found the Answers in Genesis article interesting in that it argued that because our solar system had an unusual arrangement (a totally premature conclusion at this point BTW) it must have been specially created by God. Putting aside the laughably broken concept of cause and effect this shows, it seems to imply that maybe the other solar systems weren't.

Anyway, all this got me wondering, what do creationists tend to think of alien life? I'd imagine that they'd be firmly opposed to the idea of intelligent beings elsewhere in the universe, since the Bible is firmly Earth-centric and human-centric, and the existence of aliens has uncomfortable implications in regards to the status of Jesus. I am kind of curious if this has ever come up. What do creationists tend to think of aliens? Don't exist? Created by Satan? What?

[Magus]

It likely varies widely depending on the sect of Christianity. With a background in Catholicism, I can safely say that the Catholics wouldn't have an issue with the existence of alien species. Most would probably see aliens simply as yet another people to convert and preach to.

I imagine other moderate Christian groups and more liberal ones have similar views. The more conservative groups are the ones likely to raise a fuss, in my estimation.

[Magus]

It likely varies widely depending on the sect of Christianity. With a background in Catholicism, I can safely say that the Catholics wouldn't have an issue with the existence of alien species. Most would probably see aliens simply as yet another people to convert and preach to.

I imagine other moderate Christian groups and more liberal ones have similar views. The more conservative groups are the ones likely to raise a fuss regarding alien existence, in my estimation.

[Cycloneman]

I had this "science textbook" which was pretty blatantly creationist, and it talked about things that the Bible had nothing specific to say about (ie they could be true or false) and mentioned alien life under that category.

I guess that would be the stance of fundamentalists

[Kojiro]

I think you'd find it would depend greatly on the type of alien life. Anything non sapient, animals, plants, bacteria, etc probably won't present any real threat- except that there'll be a whole new planet of evidence for evolution.

If however there is intelligent life, I imagine it would come down to how advanced they were. If they were primitive they'd probably be viewed as little more than animals, but fit nicely into the humans have dominion over all things. On the other hand, if the aliens are superior to us, specifically physically there will be issues.

It'd be hard to play yourself off as God's image, his favourites and the reason for all Creation when there's a more advanced, physically superior species out there (or several). I'm sure they'd find some way to rationalise it but it wouldn't gel with traditional teachings of Creationism.

[Nieztchean Uber-Amoeba]

I've seen Evangelicals deal with this, and it usually boils down to this:

Aliens as advanced or less advanced than us- More people to convert to God's word! Joy! Let them know the Gospel!

Aliens more advanced than us- Satan's tools! Possibly fallen angels themselves, possibly engineered to deceive people.

Yes, that's what these people actually believe.

[Darth Wong]

I've seen Christians vehemently argue for both the existence and non-existence of alien life. I've seen them argue that the Bible described the creation of the entire universe and said nothing about aliens. I've seen others argue that God would not have told us if he did this. I've seen the first group retort that we were obviously special because God sacrificed his only son to die for our sins yadda yadda yadda, and why would he do this if we're actually just one of billions of sentient species in the universe. I've seen the latter group argue with a straight face that maybe the same thing happens on every inhabited planet.

It's like watching kids try to play a game with rules they make up as they go along. Each time some kid thinks he's winning, some other kid just makes up something else.

[Junghalli]

I know there is one guy on SB.com who thinks that aliens might exist but humans are special because they're the ones made in God's image (yeah for religiously justified racism!).

I've seen the first group retort that we were obviously special because God sacrificed his only son to die for our sins yadda yadda yadda, and why would he do this if we're actually just one of billions of sentient species in the universe. I've seen the latter group argue with a straight face that maybe the same thing happens on every inhabited planet.

Reminds me of an essay I read appended to one of my 17th century lit class. The uniqueness of the Incarnation is a question that made the first Christian thinkers to consider the possibility of other inhabited planets very uncomfortable. Either God's reached a seperate arrangement with the inhabitants of those worlds (which would make their pagan religions true, dangerous heresy), or there's an Incarnation for every world (likewise heresy), or God just condemned most of the people in the universe to Hell out of hand (makes him look like a royal dick - though it is basically what the Calvinists believed anyway).

[Darth Wong]

I know there is one guy on SB.com who thinks that aliens might exist but humans are special because they're the ones made in God's image (yeah for religiously justified racism!).

Has anyone informed him that this is precisely what Hitler believed about aryans? He believed that Jews, Asians, blacks, Slavs, and other non-Aryan races were evolved from apes, but Aryans were created in God's image and were special.

[Magus]

Has anyone informed him that this is precisely what Hitler believed about aryans? He believed that Jews, Asians, blacks, Slavs, and other non-Aryan races were evolved from apes, but Aryans were created in God's image and were special.

Nonsense! We all know Hitler was a dirty, stinking atheist! (probably a commie too).

[Lord of the Abyss]

I know there is one guy on SB.com who thinks that aliens might exist but humans are special because they're the ones made in God's image (yeah for religiously justified racism!).

I was taught as a child that since we are made in God's Image, any aliens are either creations of Satan or demons, and that UFOs are piloted by such demons/Satanic creations. That was part of what started my move towards atheism, in fact.

[Ryan Thunder]

If they're out there, meh. I could care less. I might want to ask God why he didn't mention them to us.

On the other hand, I'm not sure if someone like Moses would've got it.

Hell, for all I know, that's what the whole thing with the angels is about. Mind you, I'm just floating that...

[Gil Hamilton]

I don't know about creationists, but a great many of the religious folk who've I've ever talked to take a similar tack to C.S. Lewis, in that aliens don't really change anything for human religion because their existence doesn't effect the miracles we've experienced and further that there is no reason why they couldn't have experienced God as well. This exists in a broad sort of we are all God's Children sort of thing, whether or not we are humans or floating alien octopuses.

[Darth Wong]

I don't know about creationists, but a great many of the religious folk who've I've ever talked to take a similar tack to C.S. Lewis, in that aliens don't really change anything for human religion because their existence doesn't effect the miracles we've experienced and further that there is no reason why they couldn't have experienced God as well. This exists in a broad sort of we are all God's Children sort of thing, whether or not we are humans or floating alien octopuses.

Yeah, but C.S. Lewis never had his beliefs seriously questioned (this is rather obvious when you look at how laughably bad his arguments are). Nobody ever forced him to confront the nature of Christian salvation and ask how this could apply to a million other intelligent species in the universe. So he could just blithely say "ahh, it doesn't merit serious thought" and not be challenged on that.

[Panzer Grenadier]

It seems like they often attempt to hedge their bets on the subject. They argue that the earth is "fine tuned" to support life and that there are numerous factors that are just right on our planet to allow life to survive. After listing these factors that they claim are unique assets to earth they will turn around and add that ET life would not pose any theological issues or problems with the bible. They never go into detail about the obvious implications of this. Including, did Jesus die for the alien's sins as well?

It seems that the smarter ones among them recognize that discovery of an ET race is a somewhat plausible event that could occur, and that it does less damage for them admit that plausibility now, then outright deny it and be proven wrong in the future.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Pretty much the only way alien races could be fit in is if Christianity acknowledged that other monotheistic religions could be equally valid expressions of belief in the same One God. Which it obviously doesn't acknowledge.

Islam would on much better footing there than Christianity; they could just say that the Quran metaphorically covered space-alien monotheism under the term Sabaeans.

[Metatwaddle]

I know there is one guy on SB.com who thinks that aliens might exist but humans are special because they're the ones made in God's image (yeah for religiously justified racism!).

I was taught as a child that since we are made in God's Image, any aliens are either creations of Satan or demons, and that UFOs are piloted by such demons/Satanic creations. That was part of what started my move towards atheism, in fact.

Demons, huh? They were never really a part of my Christian upbringing; my church was pretty liberal, and never said anything about physical creatures that Satan created. You could have people acting as some sort of mouthpiece of Satan, like the friend who wanted to cheat off your schoolwork or something, but demons were never in the picture. What denomination of church did you go to?

[Lord of the Abyss]

I know there is one guy on SB.com who thinks that aliens might exist but humans are special because they're the ones made in God's image (yeah for religiously justified racism!).

I was taught as a child that since we are made in God's Image, any aliens are either creations of Satan or demons, and that UFOs are piloted by such demons/Satanic creations. That was part of what started my move towards atheism, in fact.

Demons, huh? They were never really a part of my Christian upbringing; my church was pretty liberal, and never said anything about physical creatures that Satan created. You could have people acting as some sort of mouthpiece of Satan, like the friend who wanted to cheat off your schoolwork or something, but demons were never in the picture. What denomination of church did you go to?

I don't remember; I was being "educated" in religion at the time by a pair of Seventh Day Adventists who lived in the neighborhood, and whose qualifications apparently were that they were near our house. My parents weren't, but had the common attitude that we were supposed to be exposed to religion. Before that it was Sunday School, but I can't recall the denomination. I never really grasped as a kid that the different names were of any importance, so never paid attention. I was quite devout for a time, but sort of a "Generic Christian".

By the time I matured enough to know differently, I didn't really care enough to ask.

[CaptJodan]

I don't remember; I was being "educated" in religion at the time by a pair of Seventh Day Adventists who lived in the neighborhood, and whose qualifications apparently were that they were near our house.

That's ironic. Apparently, even in the same sect of Christianity, this little problem can have multiple answers. I was raised by SDA leaning parents (who themselves had more than a lean towards the SDA church).

I was taught that if aliens existed, they would be exempt from sin. Humans would be the only ones who have had to suffer sin, and thus if aliens were out there, they were sinless and watched us on Earth as a means to teach them what not to do. (yes, that's right, God points to us when talking to them and says "disobey me, and you'll end up like them!")

My grandparents long believed that because of this, God would never allow humans to spread sin beyond Earth itself. When that happened, the tune changed to "we can't land on the moon, God won't allow sin to touch another world". After that was accomplished, I think it moved to "world" meaning planet (because apparently god uses our classification system on planets), and because we may achieve that some day, it might have moved to "won't exit the solar system" (though of course we've done that with a probe already so...).

It basically all leads to the general opinion that humans will not make contact with any alien life because God won't allow sin to be spread to them in such a fashion. Moving the goalposts seems to be just how they figure he'll accomplish that, and how they detest sin/themselves so much that they'd rather not even see humanity touch another world. I guess they also figure in regards to the whole revelations thing and the burning and remaking of Earth, that God will have to remake other worlds we've touched and that's....well it's just damned inconvenient for him.

[CaptJodan]

Edit:

That's ironic. Apparently, even in the same sect of Christianity, this little problem can have multiple answers. I was raised by SDA leaning parents (who themselves had parents with more than a lean towards the SDA church than them).

[Junghalli]

Islam would on much better footing there than Christianity; they could just say that the Quran metaphorically covered space-alien monotheism under the term Sabaeans.

I think Islam is structurally just better equipped to handle other inhabited worlds period, because unlike Christianity its version of Salvation isn't dependent on one man. Mohammad was just another prophet; Allah's will and laws apply on every world regardless of whether anything equivalent to Mohammad existed there or not.

[Junghalli]

Pretty much the only way alien races could be fit in is if Christianity acknowledged that other monotheistic religions could be equally valid expressions of belief in the same One God. Which it obviously doesn't acknowledge.

Or aliens are just more lost souls in need of Salvation, like pagans on Earth.

[Surlethe]

Pretty much the only way alien races could be fit in is if Christianity acknowledged that other monotheistic religions could be equally valid expressions of belief in the same One God. Which it obviously doesn't acknowledge.

Interestingly, some sects of Christianity are probably moving in that direction. I know that some Catholic thinkers, for example, have averred that while the revelation of Christ is necessary for salvation, we don't know all the ways the Christ has revealed himself through the ages. The priest at my parish in particular is on the record saying that atheists can be saved if they live good lives. He's a cool guy.

[Surlethe]

It seems like they often attempt to hedge their bets on the subject. They argue that the earth is "fine tuned" to support life and that there are numerous factors that are just right on our planet to allow life to survive. After listing these factors that they claim are unique assets to earth they will turn around and add that ET life would not pose any theological issues or problems with the bible.

There's this whole issue of having cake and eating it, too. Most Christians want a God who is omnipotent, and yet can be verified scientifically; they want Earth to be fine-tuned and unique for life, and yet they want ET life to pose no theological issues with Biblicalism.

[ray245]

One thing I can't understand about christian is...why can't they take the bible as a metorphorical bible instead of a more literal one?

At the least the story of god taking 6 'days' (could be eons to us) creating the entire universe sounds so much more epic as compared to earth alone.

That way...the chrisitan could be a little bit more open towards science.