Extraterrestrial Decimation of Religious Beliefs

I read Slashdot on a daily basis based on interesting titles on my Google personalized homepage. Today I followed a link, “Water Flowed Recently on Mars,” which had a comment which really irked me.

The user colonslashslah wrote:

If extra-terrestrial life were discovered, on Mars, or elsewhere, and there was solid proof for it, it would change the entire world. Many religious beliefs would be decimated, many scientific theories would be challenged or completely re-written, we would know that we are not alone in the universe, that we are an even more insignificant part of it that we already think we are, and importantly it would give a huge boost to those who want to see space exploration in our future.

I can understand it when the scientific elite claim that those who hold onto certain religious beliefs are choosing to remain in ignorance by holding on to superstition. It can take years to have a “competent” grasp on scientific principles, let alone being able to apply them practically. The majority of people have little desire to spend all that time studying.

However, the fundamentals and even the deeper stuff of the Word is easier to understand. While it may not make sense to the unsaved, the “theology” behind it all can be learned, and it can be learned quickly. And it doesn’t take a doctor of theology to understand this…

  1. The Bible’s opening verse begins with the mention of an extraterrestrial, namely God. That’s right! God is not of this earth, and whether Earth exists or not, He is. Other extraterrestrial beings that I can think of off the top of my head include cherubim, seraphim, angels, Satan, the horses of fire, and so on. If it were to be discovered that there exists mortal life outside of the earth, that’d be just fine with me. God is not limited to Earth, and it is within His prerogative to create life wheresoever He desires.
  2. We will be a significant part of the universe whether or not a super-race of aliens is discovered. We will be a significant part of the universe whether or not an extraterrestrial amoeba is discovered. We will be a significant part of the universe whether or not the Darth Vader conquers and enslaves Earth. Why? Perspective. If your significance comes from the fact that Earth is unique, you have missed out on much. However, if your significance stems from the fact that you are a human, unique among all life forms as being created in the image and the glory of God, able to accept and receive a glorious redemption which has never been offered to any other race. That is what makes us significant. No alien, no lifeform, no discovery, no planet, no parallel universe … nothing can take that away from us.
  3. Even if we settle other worlds, we will still be held accountable to an Almighty Judge. The universe belongs to him; there is no place to hide, for even if we were to flee to Hell for “santuary,” He will find us.

9 thoughts on “Extraterrestrial Decimation of Religious Beliefs”

  1. Homosexuality is sin. Islam is a lie. Abortion is murder. And Jesus is still Lord

    Really?
    Gay people are less competition for me. Islam is just as worthy as any other belief. Allowing abortion reduces crime, and yes that’s a proven fact. God created us after we created him (read some sociological books on religion.)

    Just saying your title is really offensive. My priest in town would surely think of it the same way…

  2. Yes, really.

    “Gay people are less competition for me.” — Moral truth is not determined by what is convenient for you.

    “Islam is just as worthy as any other belief.” — If religion’s sole aim was to cater to man to make him feel good/significant/whatever, then I suppose Islam will work just fine. However, if you happen to want to go to Heaven, it’s just as invalid as athiesm, Buddhism, or any of a thousand others for the simple fact that they are built upon lies; truth is unyielding.

    “Allowing abortion reduces crime, and yes that’s a proven fact.” — Of course it does; there are less people growing up to commit the crimes! Seriously, though, it matters not whether it is a crime in man’s eyes or not. The justice of the world systems is the justice of Satan, for he is their god. To God, shedding innocent blood is abominable, and it doesn’t get more innocent than the unborn.

    “God created us after we created him (read some sociological books on religion.)” — Or we could trust the oldest sources from the oldest civilizations, specifically the Book of Job, which is one of the oldest documents ever written, which clearly and emphatically declares that there is a God and that He created us. This is more of a primary source than trying to determine patterns such as “They believed this, and then they caught on and believed what these other believes and suddenly the moon god becomes Allah and you have Islam.” That works for the false religions; it doesn’t change the fact that God IS.

    “Just saying your title is really offensive.” — If you are offended of Truth, He will be offended of you in the judgment to come. The truth offends; that is what it does… Martyrs have died for the Truth; the Apostles died for the Truth; Jesus was crucified because of Truth.

  3. Rick, I know this kind of rhetoric plays really well when you’re preaching to the choir, but let me give you a bit of friendly advice: it is utterly worthless when speaking to the unconverted. I’ve heard some very clever attempts to preach to the unconverted before, but your methods assume that the listener already believes as you do, and just needs to be prodded back into the flock.

    Are you really so completely indoctrinated that you can’t even imagine a person who doesn’t believe in the Bible? To me, the Bible has no more credibility than the Star Wars movies. To tell a true nonbeliever that something must be true because God says so in the Bible is no more convincing than telling him that something must be true because Darth Vader said so in Star Wars.

    If you really want to convert people, you seriously need to adjust your methods. Because I guarantee that you will never convert a single soul using the methods you use now, unless he is a “lost sheep”.

  4. Darth, theoretically, I could delete any “argumentative” comments and not waste any of my time on them. I know that no matter what I say on here to certain people I will never bring them anymore closer to believing the Bible. In person, evangelism works a whole lot better. In comments on a blog, not so much. And I have the Proverbs which say to answer a fool according to his folly lest he be lifted up in pride at going unanswered as well as not answering lest I be pulled down to the same folly. It is a balance which I don’t think I have yet found, and some of that is because I happen to really enjoy answering objections, regardless of from whence they came.

    Incidentally, it is the “lost sheep” which God is seeking, for we all like sheep have gone astray, and it is for that which Jesus died, the Lord laying on Him the iniquity of us all.

    Also, I’ve read your website(s); you seem to put pretty good trust in the Star Wars universe… Why else would you come to the conclusion that anything in that universe could take on the Federation??? :? If all else fails, the Borg would find a way to assimilate the galaxy far, far away as well… Darth would like nice assimilated, and the Sith abilities would serve them well. Resistance is futile.

  5. Rick, I think you’re missing the point: when someone challenges your beliefs, it is obvious from the get-go that he doesn’t believe in the Bible. So when you reply by “reminding” him that the Bible is Truth, this really doesn’t answer his question at all. You can’t answer an objection which boils down to “what makes you think your Bible is Truth” by saying “The Bible is Truth”. If a math teacher asked you how you know the answer is 4.5, you would certainly not say “because it is 4.5”! That’s probably why you misinterpreted the “lost sheep” comment; I was referring specifically to people who were raised Christian but lapsed later on in life; these people might be swayed by your arguments. But someone without that lifetime of indoctrination would not.

    Also, I’ve read your website(s); you seem to put pretty good trust in the Star Wars universe… Why else would you come to the conclusion that anything in that universe could take on the Federation??? If all else fails, the Borg would find a way to assimilate the galaxy far, far away as well… Darth would like nice assimilated, and the Sith abilities would serve them well. Resistance is futile.

    You must be joking. The Borg, after 100000 years of spaceflight, never even figured out the Bulletproof Vest, remember? And their ability to “assimilate” people is highly overrated; you can’t assimilate someone if he blows up your ship before you get close to him, and you can’t “adapt” to raw firepower.

    Besides, assimilating Darth Vader would be nigh-impossible. They move like zombies on prozac and the only risk of assimilation would be if he falls asleep and forgets to Force-choke them all.

  6. There are billions of Borg, and only one Darth… The Imperial Armies would fall, and I doubt he could stand alone against them all. Also, I’m not sure how effective choking (with the Force or otherwise) a Borg would be, nor would Force mind tricks do much against a mind with the combined consciousness of countless beings, many of whom likely had psychic abilities as well. … And then there’s Species 8472…

    Anyway, and if you’ll indulge me, I’m curious… Would be an effective (or at least moreso), in your opinion, manner of leading one to a foundational trust or simple belief of the Bible? I understand what you’re saying; and it is circular reasoning. However, for many throughout the ages, Scripture is enough to convict–and we don’t deny that it is more than simple Scriptures operating during evangelization (namely, the Holy Spirit’s conviction ministry). I won’t be convincing you of that anytime soon, I’m sure, but that is how the Bible teaches that faith comes (“…by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God”).

  7. There are billions of Borg, and only one Darth… The Imperial Armies would fall, and I doubt he could stand alone against them all. Also, I’m not sure how effective choking (with the Force or otherwise) a Borg would be, nor would Force mind tricks do much against a mind with the combined consciousness of countless beings, many of whom likely had psychic abilities as well. … And then there’s Species 8472…

    Species 8472 actually demonstrated the weaknesses of the Borg. The Borg had no defense against them even though they lacked shields and had such poor resolve that they ran away after taking less than a dozen casualties. I suspect you don’t actually know much about Star Wars; sheer numbers are not on your side. The Borg have “thousands” of star systems, but the Empire has a million star systems, and its ships can cover distances in hours that take months for a Borg cube. Speed kills, and they could literally flatten all of the Borgs’ thousands of planets in a few days if they wanted to. The Empire’s real problem (which George Lucas copied from the real-life histories of Ancient Rome and Alexander the Great) was never tactical or logistical, but political: its internal instability and lack of unity. That wouldn’t be a problem if they were facing a foe as dehumanizing as the Borg.

    Anyway, and if you’ll indulge me, I’m curious… Would be an effective (or at least moreso), in your opinion, manner of leading one to a foundational trust or simple belief of the Bible? I understand what you’re saying; and it is circular reasoning. However, for many throughout the ages, Scripture is enough to convict—and we don’t deny that it is more than simple Scriptures operating during evangelization (namely, the Holy Spirit’s conviction ministry). I won’t be convincing you of that anytime soon, I’m sure, but that is how the Bible teaches that faith comes (â€?…by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Godâ€?).

    In my experience, the most effective proselytizing techniques attach themselves to the subject’s fear of death. Do not permit yourself to believe this absurd caricature, propagated by some anti-atheist propaganda, which states that atheists actually want to disbelieve in an afterlife so they won’t have to face judgement; that is ridiculous and completely false. In reality, atheists are terrified of death. That is an emotional weakness common to all living things, and atheists are hardly an exception. Also, people often have good luck with stories of mysterious unexplained supernatural phenomena. Not huge ones which instantly trip someone’s Skepticism Flag, but small everyday ones like weird observations in a hospital room at the moment of a patient’s death or something like that. Once again, that tends to play to the subject’s fear of death.

    Fear of death is the single greatest reason for the perpetuation of religion, in my opinion. And it does not require that the subject believe in Scripture. Of course, it’s not a rational motivation, but logic will never lead one to religion anyway, so that’s not really a problem.

    Another big selling point is to make the person feel warm and loved rather than hated and despised. A good example is that of gays: I support gay rights but I would be very unhappy if my son turned out to be gay as he got older. Nevertheless, I would always stand by him and defend him from his enemies, because that is what unconditional love is. There is an old saying that you can either build yourself up or try to knock others down, and I see a lot of Christians who try to knock others down. They’re constantly knocking atheism, knocking secularism, knocking scientists, knocking liberals, knocking gays … do you really think that’s the way to get people on your side? To attack them continuously?

    The most effective Christian proselytizers in a mixed community, in my experience, are those people who are so wonderful, so caring, so non-judgemental that you can’t help but admire them. And maybe, you begin to wonder if their belief system has something to do with their seemingly indomitable warmth and caring for all people. That’s how people who don’t believe in this religion can get sold on it. Not by being attacked and rhetorically blasted on a regular basis, but by wanting to be a part of a community that they find admirable for its caring and warmth toward all men. Emphasize the positive, not the negative. That goes for the Bible too; tell people about the parts of the Bible which will make them feel good about the future, not bad about themselves. Perhaps you might feel that this is a diluted, or weakened form of Christianity, but it’s the only kind that you can sell to a nonbeliever.

    I know that you worship a guy who loved to speak in parables, so here’s a parable for you: the Allied soldiers who came to Auschwitz after the fall of Berlin saw the emaciated Jews and tried to give them their own food. They had the best of intentions, but guess what: the Jews who ate this food often died. After such a long period of starvation, they could not handle the meat and other foods that the Allied soldiers tried to give them. They needed to be carefully nursed back to health and eased into a normal diet, starting with things like easily-digested soups. They couldn’t simply eat turkey right away. Sometimes, it’s a good thing to hand out a watered-down version.

  8. Exactly the answer I expected of you, primarily because it is a right answer. It is difficult to exercise such evangelism in an online environment, though I have tried. No one on any forum, I hope, can accuse me of avoiding their friendship or not offering my support when asked or needed.

    At times, I have gone “on the attack,” so to speak, to answer objections, which has at times led to debates. And even in them, I try to remain civil.

    Your description is similar to what Jude instructed concerning reaching people:

    Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. Jude 1:21-23

    “Of some have compassion”; those are they who you speak of, who respond to warmth and love. Truly, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1).

    Others must be saved with fear–the fear of death, the fear of God, the fear of judgment… whatever it may be.

    You think quite biblically when you wanna… “One of us. One of us. One of us…”

  9. One tip: an atheist fears the oblivion of death. He does not fear judgment, for one must believe in the judge in order to fear judgment. Emphasizing the fear of judgment will have no effect on an atheist. It is non-existence that the atheist fears, not divine judgment. And not every Christian is even convinced that God will necessarily be as harsh a judge as he is portrayed in the Bible. There are Christians out there who don’t believe the Bible is literally true, and one of the problems with Biblical literalists is that Biblical literalism is an extremely difficult form of Christianity to sell, because it is quite frankly absurd. No rational person is prepared to believe in a book which describes talking animals with a straight face, much less accept a belief system which requires such literal interpretation.

    Creationism is also a dangerous approach to take when attempting to convert more rational-minded people. Many creationist arguments are quite convincing if the subject isn’t very knowledgeable, but if he has studied (and by “studied”, I mean that he has studied the real scientific method rather than distorted caricatures of it), then it will only make him think that you’re an ignorant wacko. I know that in the fundamentalist community, evolution is widely “known” to be a terrible scientific theory. But the fundamentalist community has no business doing scientific peer review, and no matter what you’ve been told, the vast, vast majority of real scientists (in excess of 99%) think that creationism is laughable.

    Making your belief system dependent upon acceptance of creationism is a dangerous ploy that will backfire against anyone who actually knows the subject rather than bluffing about it after reading a few websites. And once again, it is not positive. It is very negative, defining your belief system not in terms of what good it brings to the world, but in terms of what it hates, fears, and denies.

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