What if Aliens Landed Today and Other Questions

  I just had a very interesting interaction with a young lady on Facebook and thought that this would make a good blog post. Here is the original post:

To which I answered:

Which elicited this answer from her.

Because religion teaches that man is special, that the earth is the center of creation. Life on other planets would disprove this. What if aliens on another planet say Jesus is not god? What if they say God doesn't exist and that they have proof of how the universe was created and can present it? The bible says God created man and angels, and animals/plants of course. Catholics say Christ is lord of the universe. HOw is this possible? Was he born elsewhere and died elsewhere on the cross? Did he pick disciples there? So far, I think only the Mormons believe Christ traveled to other planets to preach.

What follows was my answer to her questions and the main body of this blog post.
Enjoy!

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   Hi Yesi, First let me commend you on taking time to think about these things. It is my experience that the majority of people never give a second thought to these things. It is refreshing to see someone so young wrestling with these sort of questions.

You said: "Because religion teaches that man is special, that the earth is the center of creation."

First, your use of the term "religion" is too general. There might be some religions who teach what you say but there are others that most certainly don't (Like the Catholic Church, the "CC" from now on). So, for the sake of argument, I will assume you refer to "Christianity" when you use that term. In addition, since I'm a Catholic I will give you the CC version. I make no claims about other "flavors" of Christianity.
  Having said this, lets break this first statement down into parts: "Because religion teaches that man is special" The CC teaches that man has "a special dignity" (See the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 1700). The issue of "Is man the ONLY creature in the whole of Creation with this dignity?" is still an open question.
  "The earth is the center of creation" The most I can say here without a long discussion is this: when Catholics say this they mean "center" as a "central event". Think about it this way: about 10.4 billion years ago all the energy concentrated in the Big Bang singularity was directed towards resulting on our planet being born and the development of intelligent life. Again, the issue of other planets being born and other intelligent life being developed is still an open question. The CC makes no claims about this. So as you can see, the Catholic position in its essence is the same as the science position: "Wait and see".

You said:  "Life on other planets would disprove this."

By my answers above it is easy to see that the discovery of life, even if it is intelligent does not disprove the Catholic point. The most it would do is force us to reinterpret the central event in the history of our planet (i.e. the birth life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ) and what does this mean to all these new "islands" of intelligent life scattered around the universe. (More on this later in my answers)

You said:  "What if aliens on another planet say Jesus is not god?".

OK so... what if? Your question seems to imply that because these "aliens" are more advanced than us technologically, WE have nothing to teach THEM. Just look at human history. How many times have we as a civilization lamented the loss of some special knowledge from this or that tribe, or group of people that we have conquered or absorbed? This is an indication that less technological advanced groups can still teach something to more advanced beings. One would hope that the "aliens" have grown enough in their philosophical development to be open to what we have to teach them.

You said:  "What if they say God doesn't exist and that they have proof of how the universe was created and can present it?"

Your questions ring more as speculations than as questions. What if it is the other way around? What if they come and say "We have been looking all over the universe for the planet in which the Creator of the universe entered history...and you guys are it". As I see it, the most we can say is that there is a 50-50 chance for either of these two to happen. So again... what if?  What if they have been looking for us because of the Christ event?  Would this change your mind?  That is the problem with speculative questions.
    Now lets apply the same answer to my previous question to this one. On the event that your speculation is true... Just because they are more technologically advanced doesn't mean they have everything figured out! I would think that we would take their evidence and place it under the light of our divine revelation and see what it all really means. However we would do this without fear because Catholics believe that truth is universal and that truth is not a concept but a person: Jesus. I am certain (In fact I'm excited about this possibility!)  that any "alien's" proof would end up shedding light on His person and it would help us understand Him and ourselves better.

You said: "The bible says God created man and angels, and animals/plants of course. Catholics say Christ is lord of the universe. How is this possible?".

Christ is the Lord of the universe; we can only speak for what we know in our little corner of this universe and what God has revealed in our own history. Why does it seem so far fetched to think that, outside of planet Earth, God has revealed himself to other creatures? Look at the Christmas story (as it is presented in the first few chapters of the Gospel of Mathew), God revealed to "Magi from the East" that he was going to enter history in the womb of a young Jewish girl and then he led them to a back-water town of northern Judea. Why is it so far fetched to think that he has not revealed himself to other intelligent beings? And that he is leading them to a back-water planet in an unremarkable galaxy to meet Him personally?

You said: "Was he born elsewhere and died elsewhere on the cross? Did he pick disciples there?".

This, we can answer with certainty. No. If we look at human history it seems the Christ event was unique to us.  Why? Because way before the birth of the Christ, civilizations without any knowledge of Judaism prefigured this coming of a "savior". We we just have to extend this fact to the rest of the universe and I feel we have a better that 50-50 chance to say that this was a one time vent within the history of creation. Now this is a big topic. I would recommend the Roy Abraham Varghese excellent book, "The Christ Connection: How the World Religions Prepared the Way for the Phenomenon of Jesus". If you ever get to read it, we can talk about this in more detail.

I hope my answers give you a different perspective. I would also like to recommend two other books: Jesuit brother Guy Consolmagno's "Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial?" So you can get a more extensive exposition of what the Catholic Church teaches about these issues. I would also like to recommend the C.S. Louis "Perelandra" trilogy in which he explores what I have been saying in my post, but as a work of Science Fiction. Lastly, I hope you don't mind but since this answer was so long, I posted it as an article in my blog (at www.DeaconHarbey.com) If you would like to continue our discussion I would ask you do it there since the interface of a blog comment box is more suited to deal with long posts than the Facebook interface.

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Spiritual but not Religious: 4th Sunday of OT (Cycle A)

   I am sure that every person in this church has heard the expression: “I’m Spiritual but not religious”. Which in our culture is code for “I don’t need to go to church, I don’t need to be part of a community, I don’t need to talk about or show my faith in public to, you know...be OK with the man upstairs”.
      What is wrong with this statement of “spiritual but not religious”  is that it takes two ideas which are a complement of each other and makes them opposite. It presents the lie that we can have one without the other, when in reality one cannot exist without the other. If we are truly spiritual, religion will  flow from our own existence since at its most basic core religion is just the way we live and express our spirituality. So a spirituality without religion is like a flower garden with no dirt, no plants and no flowers.     I am not really sure where this idea comes from. The one thing I am sure is that it is the complete opposite of what the Lord Jesus expects from each one of us, as his followers. And there is no clearer passage in the Gospels to prove this point than the reading I just proclaimed a few minutes ago.
       Today’s Gospel reading is one of Jesus most remarkable sermons, so remarkable that it even has its own name...The Beatitudes.  Here Jesus gives us a list for how we, his disciples,  are to live our own spirituality, and how are we to know that we are on the right path towards becoming more like him. 

      First as disciples of the Lord it is key that we realize we are “poor in spirit”. It really doesn’t matter how spiritual we think we are, at a spiritual level we can never be anything more than “poor”. In fact, the more we deepen our spirituality, the more aware we will become of how much we lack in our spirit. So the real spiritual person is one who knows how poor of spirit they are.
      As his disciples, we also have to realize that suffering is a part of life, and that it is OK to mourn for our sufferings and the sufferings of others. But most importantly, we need to understand that our consolation from suffering doesn't come from material things. As disciples of the Lord, he is the only one who can console our hearts, and this is what gives us the power to console others.
     As spiritual people we have to be meek, we have to be gentle, we have to be willing to serve others in quiet submission. Pride is the great sin, it is the source of all sins. The only way we can defeat our own pride is by humbling ourselves. Only then we can be worthy of the gifts he has promised to those who follow him, only then we will inherit the land.
    True spiritual disciples hunger and thirst for righteousness. They live lives which follow a moral code given to us by God and not by the changing fashions of the day. Truly spiritual people reject sin, and not only sin but even the potential occasions TO sin. To be spiritual we need to hunger and thirst, not for what gives us pleasure but what is good, right and just, even if its is difficult.
     Our spirituality needs to be merciful. It doesn’t matter how much or how hard we pray, if we do not practice mercy towards others, our spiritual life is dead. Spiritual people live their spiritual life among those who need mercy the most.
     Spiritual disciples are clean of heart, they rely on God’s forgiveness to remove the stain of their sins. They don’t go to the sacrament of reconciliation, they run!! They constantly take specific steps to seek God's forgiveness and never think that sin is not important, or that God doesn't care about it.
     And finally a healthy spirituality brings peace, but not the temporary peace we get from material things. The peace we get from Him is a peace we can not keep locked for ourselves, it needs to be shared with others. Spiritual disciples are agents of healing and reconciliation in a world in which division and hate are the order of the day, and they bring peace wherever they go.
     Now how are we to know if we have a healthy spiritual life? Jesus gives a very simple answer to this question: If we are persecuted for being his spiritual disciples, if we are insulted, if the world utters every kind of evil and falsely accuse us because the way we live our spirituality, the way we show our religion. If the people at school, at work even in our own houses, think that the religious practices which flow from our spirituality deserve jokes, ridicule even hatred and persecution, rejoice and be glad because we we are on the right track to become true disciples of the Lord.

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Top Religion Related Science News For 2016

  Another year comes to an end which means it is time for Top of 2016 lists. Since religion and science are two of my favorite topics, this year I give you my Top Religion-Science Related news. I selected these from science aggregators throughout the year as a way to disprove the tired "Religion vs Science" canard. I would say that 2016  was quite a year for the intersection of science and religion, with many scientists taking a look at the benefits that religion has on "homo-sapiens", as well as important contributions religion has given to astronomy and ecology. But don't believe me, just peruse the list and tell me if I missed anything! 

By far, the most important Science news of the year was the discovery of Gravitational Waves, an event which has the potential to change our understanding of reality. What does this have to do with religion? I'm not too sure but there is a reason why the Vatican Observatory is organizing an international workshop to map the way ahead. Lets see what develops from this gathering of top notch scientists and theologians. Other significant discoveries were:

Astronomers  discover  RR Lyrae type stars in the center of the Milky Way - An international team of astronomers has discovered for the first time a type of ancient star in the center of our Galaxy. What does this have to do with religion? Well, part of the team were scientists that are employed at the Vatican observatory. Just another nail in the coffin of the old "Catholic Church vs Science" fable.

Science Daily publishes article on Echotheology - The online news aggregator Science Daily published a report about a recent paper proposing that the efforts of Christian theology in understanding the role of Man in the environment are not limited to the last few years. In fact, Christian theology has a long and distinguished history of wanting to understand. The most surprising statement in the paper is this:

"The vast majority of us subscribe to the idea that human activity dramatically changes the natural environment, altering many biological processes. But addressing the global nature of human impact may require help from belief systems large enough to conceptualize on a cosmic scale"

Is science starting to realize that, when it comes to humans, without the cosmological view that religion provides to define our common destiny as created creatures, they will never be able to gain main-stream acceptance? Only time will tell! 

Religious service attendance associated with lower suicide risk among women -  A study in June revealed that attending religious ceremonies not only does marvels for your spiritual life, but it also lowers your chances of suicide.

Worldwide study reverses notion most scientists are atheists - "The study's results challenge longstanding assumptions about the science-faith interface. While it is commonly assumed that most scientists are atheists, the global perspective resulting from the study shows that this is simply not the case." In other words, the majority of the world's scientists are religious and they do not try to keep science and religion exclusive.

Brain scans reveal prayer helps addicts deal with cravings -  According to a new study, members of  Alcoholics Anonymous reported less craving for alcohol after reciting AA prayers and viewing drinking-related images. I guess it pays to trust in your "Higher Power".

Apparently is not only believers who think Richard Dawkins is a troll - A survey of British scientists revealed that most of them think Richard Dawkins(The darling of Scientific Materialists everywhere) gives science a bad rap.

Religion is, once again, found beneficial to adolescent development - A new study authored by University of Calgary researchers were able to show that religion has a "barrier" effect in young adolescents when it comes to viewing pornography at an early age.

Faith-based health promotion program successful with older Latinas - Another study revealed that your health could actually improve more if you follow a health program centered in faith and not just exercising. Nothing like sacramentalizing your day to stay healthy!

Winner of distinguished astronomy award speculates about the star of Bethlehem - "Florida International University astronomer, Professor Caroline Simpson, provides scientific insight into what may explain the Christmas Star phenomenon. Simpson studies how galaxies and the universe evolve over time. She is the recipient of the 2016 Richard H. Emmons Award for excellence in college astronomy teaching and one of the first physics professors at FIU to transform a basic introductory astronomy course for non-science majors into an active learning class." The funny thing about this one is that she reached the same conclusion I reached after my own research on this topic. You can hear my thoughts on this topic at my now semi-retired podcast "The Hidden Bible"

Here are some honorable mentions:

Avoiding spiritual matters could be detrimental to your health  
Thinking about spiritual matter activates brain reward areas
Oxytocin found to enhance spiritual well being
Religious actions convey pro-social intent 
Study shows that those who believe in God are considered more trustworthy

Well that is our list for this year. Let's see what the new year has to offer to us,

Many blessings and Happy New 2017 everyone!!

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Religion Related Science News for January 2015

Folks, I have decided to make this a regular post in the blog. Every month I will present a digest of news which show harmony between science and religion as well as news in which religion and science intersect. If you go to this page on the blog  you will see a list of all the news reported so far. I invite you to link at this page and use its information to dispel the erroneous notion that science and religion are somehow at odds with each other. Enjoy.

More evidence for the Anthropic Nature of creation.
The Anthropic Principle is an idea belonging to Astrophysics and Cosmology. Simply stated, it makes the claim that because some physical properties and constants which make intelligent life possible seem to be "fine tuned", it appears that the physical universe is "compatible" with the necessary constants to accommodate conscious life. The article reports a new study from the University of Bonn which provides new evidence in favor of this principle of Nature. Can someone say "Designer's Universe"?

New study Shows strong correlation exists between religiosity and personal happiness.
New study from Austin Institute for the Study of Family and Culture has shown that higher levels of church attendance “predict higher life satisfaction,” even after accounting for how important religious faith is in people’s lives. There is one more reason to attend Mass every Sunday!

Scientists Seek Religious Experience -- in the Brain.
Neuroscientists at the University of Utah are seeking to examine how the human brain behaves during a religious experience. Personally I feel this sort of research is well overdue. I would love to see in an MRI which parts in the cerebral cortex light up when some one is experiencing a vision of the St. Bernadette at Lourdes type.

Papal astronomers promote harmony of science, faith. 
To commemorate this year's International Year of Light, which celebrates the importance of light and its role in new technologies, Jesuit astronomers at the Vatican Observatory have launched a number of new initiatives aimed at increasing dialogue with Muslims, nonbelievers and Catholics, who may not know that their faith and science are not at odds. In Jan 13-15 the Holy See  sponsored a workshop studying "The Role of Astronomy in Christianity and Islam." The workshop, which brought Muslim, Catholic and other scholars together, looked at some of the ways Christianity and Islam studied the heavens in the fields of science and faith.

Earliest copy of Gospel of Mark found in a first century Egyptian mask. 
One of the main arguments deniers of the Historical Jesus love to throw around is that the gospels were written "hundreds of years after the fact". This argument will no longer be valid as scientists have announced the finding of a papyrus containing a fragment of the Gospel of Mark from the the first century. We are talking a mere 60 years after the fact! A time period in which some of the eyewitnesses to the events recorded in the gospel were still alive!!. Here is a video with some more information.

First successful organ donation from newborn carried out in UK.

To be fair this is not exactly what I would call a  "science news". However since it touches on a topic which I suspect will be used to underline the "animosity  between science and religion", I decided to include it in this month's digest. Read the article and tell me what you think. (COMING SOON  more extensive blog-analysis)

Using stem cells to grow new hair.
Last year scientists in the University of Pennsylvania reported the making of hair follicles from Adult Stem Cells, a very promising therapy for those experiencing hair loss. This year, sadly, this technology has taken a more sinister turn as scientists are reporting in PLOS ONE their morally objectionable use of embryonic stem cell for their own version of this research. This is one more example of scientists ignoring the humanity of embryos for the sake of their research. In this case the use of human embryos is more troubling as they are been used to research non-life-saving technologies.

Scientific method: Defend the integrity of physics

One of the favorite arguments secularists and atheists use when underlining the animosity between science and religion is the fact that in religion one can never appeal to empirical evidence, unlike science which is not based solely on faith. Apparently some scientists are starting to realize that some of their theories although capable of explaining the way the universe came to be theoretically, can not be tested experimentally, so they are advocating for taking these theories on faith only, without any empirical data to prove them. This is a big argument currently among physicists which is threatening the old canard that lack of evidence is a defect belonging exclusively to religion.

Does time pass? New book says it does—but not in the way you may think. 
We finish this month with a recently published book presenting a new way to consider the passage of time. I have not read the book (and at $47.00 on the Kindle store I might wait for the movie) however this article gives enough information to tempt me into investing this kind of money. The book presents what philosophers call the "block universe" theory of time. I don't want to go into details here (after all this just a digest) but after reading the article and doing some research on this theory, it sounds very similar to what believers think off when they explain that God lives in the eternal present. Quite and intriguing proposition.

 

See you all next month!

"Viva Cristo Rey!!"
 

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More Religion Related Science News

   WOW... A few days back I did a Top 5 post for (What I thought were) the most significant religious related Science news of the Year 2014. Who would have known that it would increase the traffic in my blog by 10 fold! It was even selected by BigPulpit.com one of the top Catholic news aggregators on line right now. The fact is, this sort of news happens all the time but the Main Stream Media just ignores them. So I decided to continue posting these as I encounter them.

Here are the ones which have been reported since the beginning of the year:

More evidence for the Anthropic Nature of creation. The Anthropic Principle is an idea belonging to Astrophysics and Cosmology. Simply stated, it makes the claim that because some physical properties and constants which make intelligent life possible seem to be "fine tuned", it appears that the physical universe is "compatible" with the necessary constants to accommodate conscious life. The article reports a new study from the University of Bonn which provides new evidence in favor of this principle of Nature. Can someone say "Designer's Universe"?

New study Shows strong correlation exists between religiosity and personal happiness. New study from Austin Institute for the Study of Family and Culture has shown that higher levels of church attendance “predict higher life satisfaction,” even after accounting for how important religious faith is in people’s lives. There is one more reason to attend Mass every Sunday!

Scientists Seek Religious Experience -- in the Brain.
Neuroscientists at the University of Utah are seeking to examine how the human brain behaves during a religious experience. Personally I feel this sort of research is well overdue. I would love to see in an MRI which parts in the cerebral cortex light up when some one is experiencing a vision of the St. Bernadette at Lourdes type.

Well folks there you have it more news from the intersection of science and religion. Hopefully the new year will bring more of this.

NOTE: Following the suggestion from one of my commenters I decided to add a page to the web site in which I will continue reporting these sort of news throughout the year. You can link to it here. 

"Viva Cristo Rey!!"

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Top Religion Related Science News for 2014

        One of the major arguments secularists and atheists love to throw around is the perceived mutual exclusiveness between science and religion.  This canard is constantly exploited by the mainstream media as a way of pushing their anti religious agenda. The fact is religion and science mutually contribute to, and coexist with each other quite nicely. So in the spirit of this mutually beneficial  relationship between these two human endeavors here are my 5 Top Religion Related Science News for 2014.

No 5:Scientist honored by the Vatican on verge of stem-cell breakthrough

In August the Vatican honored professor Silviu Itescu for pioneering a therapy for congestive heart failure based on Adult Stem Cells. Prof Itescu, who is NOT Catholic, is the chief executive of Mesoblast, an Australia-based regenerative medicine company.  Mesoblast is pioneering a therapy that requires a single injection of 150 million adult stem cells into the heart – and no conventional surgery.

No 4: New Study Examines the Effects of Prayer on Mental Health

In September, researchers from Baylor university published the study "Prayer, Attachment to God, and Symptoms of Anxiety-Related Disorders among U.S. Adults." Their research found that people who pray to a loving and protective God are less likely to experience anxiety-related disorders — worry, fear, self-consciousness, social anxiety and obsessive compulsive behavior — compared to people who pray but don’t really expect to receive any comfort or protection from God. Apparently, the study seems to point to the fact that the more faith you have, the better mental health you experience.

Prayer, Attachment to God, and Symptoms of Anxiety-Related Disorders among U.S. Adults - See more at: http://spiritualityhealth.com/blog/traci-pedersen/praying-loving-god-guards-against-anxiety#sthash.upiqvXse.dpuf

Prayer, Attachment to God, and Symptoms of Anxiety-Related Disorders among U.S. Adults - See more at: http://spiritualityhealth.com/blog/traci-pedersen/praying-loving-god-guards-against-anxiety#sthash.upiqvXse.dpuf

No 3: Prayer Can Aid Organizational Bonding

In June, the American Sociological Review Journal published a paper stating that "The prayer practices observed appear to play a crucial role in binding participants together across significant racial and socioeconomic differences" when people from different backgrounds attend prayer services together.

No 2: Vatican scientists co-host conference in Arizona seeking alien life in universe.

In March, the University of Arizona and the Vatican Observatory co-hosted a gathering of about 200 scientists interested in planetary biology. The topic of this conference was:"The Search for Life Beyond the Solar System: Exoplanets, Biosignature and Instruments"

No 1: Brother Guy Consolmagno, S.J., wins the American Astronomical Society's Carl Sagan Medal. 

The Carl Sagan medal is awarded  for outstanding communication by an active planetary scientist to the general public. In the announcement, the AAS states: "As a Jesuit Brother, Guy has become the voice of the juxtaposition of planetary science and astronomy with Christian belief, a rational spokesperson who can convey exceptionally well how religion and science can co-exist for believers."

As you can see it was a good year for the intersession between religion and science, hopefully 2015 will bring more of this and less of the nonsense we constantly get feed by the enemies of religion.

NOTE: Following the suggestion from one of my commenters I decided to add a page to the web site in which I will continue reporting these sort of news throughout the year. You can link to it here. 

"Viva Cristo Rey!!"

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