From the That Answers That Department: I was coming back from the store and flipping the dial on my radio, and came across this (paraphrased):
… that ETI could actually be responsible for the destruction of all life on this planet. Now think about that. Aliens. Who would create them? (*chortle*)An alien god?
Isn’t this just another case of science run amuck?
Silly old me. I forgot: our God is the only God anywhere. That means that they—the aliens—can’t have a God of their own. And if they haven’t got a God, then there’s nobody to create them. Therefore, they do not exist.
Unless they’re self-created, like god; in which case I hail our Alien Overlords and offer my services in rounding up other man-animals.
If anything, it makes too much sense!
And of course our God couldn’t have created life elsewhere because the Bible pretty clearly shows it’s all about us. Those scientists, thinking that the universe wasn’t created just for us! They should be more humble.
I believe the appropriate response is along the lines of ‘dumber than advertised’.
Clearly this commentator has a dizzying intellect. (/dry sarcasm)
The MadPanda, FCD
Well, duh, an alien god created the aliens. There are thousands of gods besides the Christians’ one (that fact is acknowledged in their Bible), and they’re terrified that one or more of them is more powerful than theirs.
The Abrahamic God is a genocidal sadist. I can imagine him creating another species just to exterminate us. An interstellar invasion would probably be more entertaining than an asteroid impact or a Slate Wiper virus.
On the same day that life is discovered elsewhere than Earth, the Christians will instantly declare that they have always thought that might be the case. And within 24 hours of the discovery they will have found at least three bible texts which they now interpret as prophecies about the new found life forms.
(You don’t run a religion for 2,000 years without learning how to manipulate information).
I’m fairly certain that if intelligent alien life is found one day there will be plenty of reading the Bible out of context to prove that God created those aliens too. Because the Bible cannot be wrong. And if those aliens are hostile and decide they want to wipe all life on Earth out for their own purposes, I’m sure that the Bible will be read out of context to “predict” their invasion after the fact – probably by editing out the Babylonians and putting the aliens into their place to misread the texts into a prophecy.
But I like this bit:
Now think about that. Aliens. Who would create them? (*chortle*)An alien god?
Apparently God Almightly is powerful enough that he can create life on Earth but not powerful enough to create life on other planets. Who knew that God was so restricted?
C. S. Lewis wrote a novel called (I think) “Out of the Silent Planet” where two earthmen arrive on Mars and find the native unfallen. In fact one of them has been sent by god to prevent the fall.
These days I disagree plenty with C. S. Lewis, but he didn’t think that all the billions of galaxies were made for humans.
That was one very weird little trilogy. Out of the Silent Planet was about Mars IIRC, but I think you’re thinking of Perelandra, which took place on Venus, on which lived an unfallen Adam and Eve. Ransom, the good guy, was sent to prevent the fall, but the other guy was possessed by the devil and sent to cause the fall. Ransom tried everything he could think of to out-smart the bad guy, but in the end he realizes that he’s bigger and stronger than the other guy, and proceeds to try and beat him to death with his fists. Glory hallelujah.
Then in That Hideous Strength we find out that all the Greek gods and goddesses and demiurges and what-not were all angels, and they’re coming back to help Jesus bring about the final outpouring of God’s wrath on the ungodly. Just weird.