November 16, 2009
The Vatican Looks for Life in Space
Catholics try to show they are not hostile to science.
The Vatican Looks for Life in Space
Catholics try to show they are not hostile to science.
SUMMARY: Four hundred years after locking up Galileo for challenging the
view that the Earth is the center of the universe, the Roman Catholic Church
has come a long way in its relationship with science. Recent popes have been
working hard to prove the Catholic Church is not hostile to science by
approving such views as the Big Bang, evolution of species, and now the
possibility of intelligent life in space.
The Vatican has announced the results of a five-day conference that involved
astronomers, physicists, biologists and other experts who discussed
astrobiology-the study of the existence of intelligent life elsewhere in the
cosmos-and its implications for Catholics. Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, an
astronomer and director of the Vatican Observatory, said the gathering
focused mainly on the scientific perspective but also considered the possibility
of alien life which raises "many philosophical and theological implications."
Chris Impey, an astronomy professor at the U. of Arizona, found that Catholics
and scientists could come together on this issue. "Both science and religion
posit life as a special outcome of a vast and mostly inhospitable universe," he
told a news conference. With scientists having discovered hundreds of planets,
Impey thinks the discovery of alien life may be only a few years away. If biology
is not unique to Earth or life elsewhere differs bio-chemically from our version,
it could have profound implications for our self-image, he said.
This is not the first time the Vatican has considered the possibility of
extraterrestrials, even intelligent ones. Last year Funes said, "How can we rule
out that life may have developed elsewhere? Just as there is a multitude of
creatures on Earth, there could be other beings, even intelligent ones, created
by God. This does not contradict our faith, because we cannot put limits on
God's creative freedom."
There are divisions within the Catholic Church on this issue, just as there are in
other religions, with some favoring creationism or intelligent design. But the
Vatican Observatory has been leading the effort to bring religion and science
together.
(Photos from Wikimedia Commons)
To read the entire article, click on this link to USA TODAY.
COMMENT: It is apparent that the Roman Catholic Church still has not gotten
over the embarrassment of the Galileo affair, now some 400 years in the past.
Yet, this incident from its history should not cloud its thinking today.
Theologically, the discovery of intelligent life in space would pose some
significant problems for Bible-based Christians which the Catholic spokesmen
with their rather bland, politically correct statements did not consider. The
Bible tells us that sin in the world today is the result of Adam's sin
(Romans 5:12) and that Jesus Christ came to save the world from sin
(John 3:16).
Suppose intelligent living beings were discovered on some distant planet.
Would we not wonder if they were sinful creatures-because they could not
have inherited Adam's sin? If they were sinful creatures, could we say that
Jesus came to save them-because the Bible says only that Jesus came to
earth to save the creatures of this planet? I find it difficult to believe God
would put us in such a quandary.
Scientifically, this whole debate seems a bit silly. For decades now scientists
have been scanning the heavens with their listening devices for the least little
hint that some E.T. has been sending out signals, but to no avail. No matter
how many hundreds or thousands or millions of planets are eventually
discovered, it doesn’t mask the extreme improbability that intelligent life could
have arisen on any one of the planets via natural processes. It couldn’t have
happened here, and it’s not likely to have happened anywhere else either.
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your request to [admin@lutheranscience.org].
**************************************************************************************
QUESTION OF THE DAY
When was the computer invented? This may surprise you.
**************************************************************************************
NOTE ON VISITOR COMMENTS: Visitor comments are invited including those
containing alternate views. However, comments containing profanity or
advertisements will not be published. After posting a comment, please allow
several hours for it to appear on the blog.
**************************************************************************************
view that the Earth is the center of the universe, the Roman Catholic Church
has come a long way in its relationship with science. Recent popes have been
working hard to prove the Catholic Church is not hostile to science by
approving such views as the Big Bang, evolution of species, and now the
possibility of intelligent life in space.
The Vatican has announced the results of a five-day conference that involved
astronomers, physicists, biologists and other experts who discussed
astrobiology-the study of the existence of intelligent life elsewhere in the
cosmos-and its implications for Catholics. Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, an
astronomer and director of the Vatican Observatory, said the gathering
focused mainly on the scientific perspective but also considered the possibility
of alien life which raises "many philosophical and theological implications."
Chris Impey, an astronomy professor at the U. of Arizona, found that Catholics
and scientists could come together on this issue. "Both science and religion
posit life as a special outcome of a vast and mostly inhospitable universe," he
told a news conference. With scientists having discovered hundreds of planets,
Impey thinks the discovery of alien life may be only a few years away. If biology
is not unique to Earth or life elsewhere differs bio-chemically from our version,
it could have profound implications for our self-image, he said.
This is not the first time the Vatican has considered the possibility of
extraterrestrials, even intelligent ones. Last year Funes said, "How can we rule
out that life may have developed elsewhere? Just as there is a multitude of
creatures on Earth, there could be other beings, even intelligent ones, created
by God. This does not contradict our faith, because we cannot put limits on
God's creative freedom."
There are divisions within the Catholic Church on this issue, just as there are in
other religions, with some favoring creationism or intelligent design. But the
Vatican Observatory has been leading the effort to bring religion and science
together.
(Photos from Wikimedia Commons)
To read the entire article, click on this link to USA TODAY.
COMMENT: It is apparent that the Roman Catholic Church still has not gotten
over the embarrassment of the Galileo affair, now some 400 years in the past.
Yet, this incident from its history should not cloud its thinking today.
Theologically, the discovery of intelligent life in space would pose some
significant problems for Bible-based Christians which the Catholic spokesmen
with their rather bland, politically correct statements did not consider. The
Bible tells us that sin in the world today is the result of Adam's sin
(Romans 5:12) and that Jesus Christ came to save the world from sin
(John 3:16).
Suppose intelligent living beings were discovered on some distant planet.
Would we not wonder if they were sinful creatures-because they could not
have inherited Adam's sin? If they were sinful creatures, could we say that
Jesus came to save them-because the Bible says only that Jesus came to
earth to save the creatures of this planet? I find it difficult to believe God
would put us in such a quandary.
Scientifically, this whole debate seems a bit silly. For decades now scientists
have been scanning the heavens with their listening devices for the least little
hint that some E.T. has been sending out signals, but to no avail. No matter
how many hundreds or thousands or millions of planets are eventually
discovered, it doesn’t mask the extreme improbability that intelligent life could
have arisen on any one of the planets via natural processes. It couldn’t have
happened here, and it’s not likely to have happened anywhere else either.
**************************************************************************************
Want to be automatically notified each time there is a new post? Just e-mail
your request to [admin@lutheranscience.org].
**************************************************************************************
QUESTION OF THE DAY
When was the computer invented? This may surprise you.
**************************************************************************************
NOTE ON VISITOR COMMENTS: Visitor comments are invited including those
containing alternate views. However, comments containing profanity or
advertisements will not be published. After posting a comment, please allow
several hours for it to appear on the blog.
**************************************************************************************
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| LSI stands for the Lutheran Science Institute, an organization of WELS and ELS Lutherans interested in science and health issues with a special emphasis on the creation and evolution controversy. This blog's purpose is to search the Internet to find articles of interest to Christians. Views expressed are those of the author (Warren Krug) and are not necessarily those of the Lutheran Science Institute, Inc. |
At least 2,000 years ago. In 1901 divers
discovered a two thousand-year-old metal
wheel, the Antikythera Mechanism (picture
from Wikipedia), off the coast of Greece, a
machine that turned out to be a
surprisingly advanced mechanical
computer. A description of this device and
its discovery are provided in the book
Decoding the Heavens by Jo Marchant.
Source: Discover (December, 2009)
discovered a two thousand-year-old metal
wheel, the Antikythera Mechanism (picture
from Wikipedia), off the coast of Greece, a
machine that turned out to be a
surprisingly advanced mechanical
computer. A description of this device and
its discovery are provided in the book
Decoding the Heavens by Jo Marchant.
Source: Discover (December, 2009)