Comments on: That’d Be Disappointing… http://friendlyatheist.com/2008/07/03/thatd-be-disappointing/ Atheism with Positivity Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:26:44 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: hoverFrog http://friendlyatheist.com/2008/07/03/thatd-be-disappointing/comment-page-1/#comment-196030 hoverFrog Fri, 04 Jul 2008 21:03:52 +0000 http://friendlyatheist.com/2008/07/03/thatd-be-disappointing/#comment-196030 <blockquote>it will be seen as <strong>quite conceited</strong> on our part to evangelize a savior of the universe who had a one-time birth on a single little planet in a remote part of one particular galaxy… <strong>our planet</strong>… where the savior was a member of <strong>our species</strong>… and God is in<strong> our image</strong>…</blockquote>Yes. Conceited would be the appropriate term. How is this culturally different from white men preaching about a white Jesus in black Africa? I'd use green men as the example but we're quite rare and aliens may have no concept of gender or colour at all. Of course, I believe that contact with alien life would have a dramatic effect on world religion. Faced with little green men who had different ideas about...well...everything would open up a whole new range of unexplored ideas to humans. Religion would certainly suffer as a result.

it will be seen as quite conceited on our part to evangelize a savior of the universe who had a one-time birth on a single little planet in a remote part of one particular galaxy… our planet… where the savior was a member of our species… and God is in our image…

Yes. Conceited would be the appropriate term. How is this culturally different from white men preaching about a white Jesus in black Africa? I’d use green men as the example but we’re quite rare and aliens may have no concept of gender or colour at all.

Of course, I believe that contact with alien life would have a dramatic effect on world religion. Faced with little green men who had different ideas about…well…everything would open up a whole new range of unexplored ideas to humans. Religion would certainly suffer as a result.

]]> By: NYCatheist http://friendlyatheist.com/2008/07/03/thatd-be-disappointing/comment-page-1/#comment-195900 NYCatheist Fri, 04 Jul 2008 17:40:02 +0000 http://friendlyatheist.com/2008/07/03/thatd-be-disappointing/#comment-195900 Whenever the topic of evangelizing aliens comes up I post a link to the following story about a minister on an alien world trying to teach the gospel to a sentient fungus: http://www.booksfromscotland.com/Books/Nova-Scotia-9781841830865/A-Case-of-Consilience (It's short and free!) Whenever the topic of evangelizing aliens comes up I post a link to the following story about a minister on an alien world trying to teach the gospel to a sentient fungus:

http://www.booksfromscotland.com/Books/Nova-Scotia-9781841830865/A-Case-of-Consilience

(It’s short and free!)

]]> By: Jeff http://friendlyatheist.com/2008/07/03/thatd-be-disappointing/comment-page-1/#comment-195792 Jeff Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:37:47 +0000 http://friendlyatheist.com/2008/07/03/thatd-be-disappointing/#comment-195792 <blockquote> hoverFrog said, If you turn the idea around and we eventually travel to other planets... </blockquote> If you run the thought experiment that we develop the technology to travel to thousands or even millions of planets throughout this galaxy and others where we find countless instances of intelligent life, it will be seen as <b>quite conceited</b> on our part to evangelize a savior of the universe who had a one-time birth on a single little planet in a remote part of one particular galaxy... <b>our planet</b>... where the savior was a member of <b>our species</b>... and God is in <b>our image</b>... The only kind of common religion I could image across the universe is some kind of generic Deism. Not any particular Abrahamic-type religion all tied up with specific gospel stories, a "saved" component, and eternal torturing after you die if you don't believe A,B, and C.

hoverFrog said,
If you turn the idea around and we eventually travel to other planets…

If you run the thought experiment that we develop the technology to travel to thousands or even millions of planets throughout this galaxy and others where we find countless instances of intelligent life, it will be seen as quite conceited on our part to evangelize a savior of the universe who had a one-time birth on a single little planet in a remote part of one particular galaxy… our planet… where the savior was a member of our species… and God is in our image…

The only kind of common religion I could image across the universe is some kind of generic Deism. Not any particular Abrahamic-type religion all tied up with specific gospel stories, a “saved” component, and eternal torturing after you die if you don’t believe A,B, and C.

]]> By: hoverFrog http://friendlyatheist.com/2008/07/03/thatd-be-disappointing/comment-page-1/#comment-195726 hoverFrog Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:01:33 +0000 http://friendlyatheist.com/2008/07/03/thatd-be-disappointing/#comment-195726 If you turn the idea around and we eventually travel to other planets. If we ever find intelligent life do you think that human beings would evangelise them? Those godless aliens could start the first galactic war with their lack of belief. If you turn the idea around and we eventually travel to other planets. If we ever find intelligent life do you think that human beings would evangelise them?

Those godless aliens could start the first galactic war with their lack of belief.

]]> By: valhar2000 http://friendlyatheist.com/2008/07/03/thatd-be-disappointing/comment-page-1/#comment-195649 valhar2000 Fri, 04 Jul 2008 08:58:30 +0000 http://friendlyatheist.com/2008/07/03/thatd-be-disappointing/#comment-195649 Reminds of when I was watching "I am Legend", and toward the end of the movie Will Smith finds the first living human being he's seen in years, and she turns out to be a god-bot. When I saw that, I thought that if that ever happened to me I would kill myself there and then. Reminds of when I was watching “I am Legend”, and toward the end of the movie Will Smith finds the first living human being he’s seen in years, and she turns out to be a god-bot. When I saw that, I thought that if that ever happened to me I would kill myself there and then.

]]> By: Skylar http://friendlyatheist.com/2008/07/03/thatd-be-disappointing/comment-page-1/#comment-195515 Skylar Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:59:31 +0000 http://friendlyatheist.com/2008/07/03/thatd-be-disappointing/#comment-195515 It's like the Ori on Stargate SG-1. Yep, I'm flying my nerd flag. But yeah, those Ori suck. If you aren't familiar with them, they annihilate your planet if people decide not to believe them. It’s like the Ori on Stargate SG-1. Yep, I’m flying my nerd flag.

But yeah, those Ori suck. If you aren’t familiar with them, they annihilate your planet if people decide not to believe them.

]]> By: TheHallowPrince http://friendlyatheist.com/2008/07/03/thatd-be-disappointing/comment-page-1/#comment-195506 TheHallowPrince Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:36:16 +0000 http://friendlyatheist.com/2008/07/03/thatd-be-disappointing/#comment-195506 If aliens came down wearing crucifixes and holding bibles .... I might consider becoming a christian. If aliens came down wearing crucifixes and holding bibles

…. I might consider becoming a christian.

]]> By: Matt Stone http://friendlyatheist.com/2008/07/03/thatd-be-disappointing/comment-page-1/#comment-195453 Matt Stone Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:21:15 +0000 http://friendlyatheist.com/2008/07/03/thatd-be-disappointing/#comment-195453 So you believe in extraterrestrials do you? Innnnnteresting :-) Nice cartoon by the way. So you believe in extraterrestrials do you? Innnnnteresting :-)

Nice cartoon by the way.

]]> By: Adrian Hayter http://friendlyatheist.com/2008/07/03/thatd-be-disappointing/comment-page-1/#comment-195439 Adrian Hayter Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:02:02 +0000 http://friendlyatheist.com/2008/07/03/thatd-be-disappointing/#comment-195439 Anyone else wonder if the real reason we haven't had contact with extraterrestrials is that so many people believe in God and they find us completely immature and primitive because of it? Anyone else wonder if the real reason we haven’t had contact with extraterrestrials is that so many people believe in God and they find us completely immature and primitive because of it?

]]>