ET is likely to be Christian, according to a new booklet published by the ironically entitled “Catholic Truth Society”
Is original sin something that affected all intelligent beings? Is Jesus Christ's redemptive sacrifice sufficient for the whole Universe? Would there be a parallel history of salvation on other planets?
They missed a question: do aliens believe in nonsensical made-up bullshit too? According to The TimesOnline, the publication answers in the affirmative.
To back up his hunch that the aliens will have been subject to Christ’s saving grace, he cites the verses from John’s Gospel known as the Good Shepherd passage. In John x, 14-16, Jesus says: “I am the Good Shepherd . . . I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. So there will be one flock, one Shepherd.”
Huh? A little earlier in that same book, John III 16 to be precise, we are told:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son
(My bold.)
So which is it? Are there little groups of Jebus worshipping aliens scattered throughout the universe, or are we special? I think we should be told.
Oh, I'm sure the credulous can find a way to resolve the two Biblical verses. It really wouldn't be that hard: God has one begotten son that shows up at different times in different places. He doesn't have to stay dead or anything, after all.
This is just a subset of Christianity trying to appeal to the space-alien enthusiasts.
Posted by: Lord Runolfr | October 18, 2005 at 07:01 PM
This does not represent the beliefs of most Catholics... I've been Catholic all my life, and I've never heard of this crap, nor would I believe in it. Who knows why this was published. Money? hahha probably.
Posted by: Rasputin | October 18, 2005 at 09:12 PM
Nah, it's not wot Lord Runolfr said. Sure Jesus was Gods only begotton son - but a 'son' is human male young. The Glurgs, for example, were visited by God's only begotten spockett; this data, along with the extensive list of alien species visited with the Word, was omitted from the New Testament in the editing phase.
Posted by: outeast | October 19, 2005 at 04:59 AM
As any fule kno.
Posted by: outeast | October 19, 2005 at 05:00 AM
Space Mormons!
Posted by: BronzeDog | October 19, 2005 at 05:50 AM
Er, the point you try and make with the second quotation doesn't work at all. At least according to traditional Christian interpretation of that passage. The "only" of this passage would be normally thought of as referring to the the Second Person of the Trinity, and two verses later it talks about the (only) Son being sent into the world, implying that he existed previous to this. The "only" means that the Father only has one Son, in some kind of eternal sense, independant of actual events. It emphasises the uniqueness of the relationship between Father and Son, which the person who wrote John seemed to think had a reality outside of the temporal realm (there are hints of this throughout John).
It doesn't mean that aliens have their own Jesus, or that the writer of John thought they did, but it does mean this quote doesn't really prove what you want it to.
Posted by: | October 21, 2005 at 09:51 AM
Traditional Christian interpretation of that passage Council of 1879 or Council of 1912?
Posted by: Rockstar | October 21, 2005 at 10:24 AM
This all reminds me of Philip K. Dick's "Rautavaara's Case"...
http://www.dragon.rulez.cz/e-buk/Philip%20K.%20Dick%20-%20Rautavaara's%20Case.pdf
Posted by: Chris Johnston | October 31, 2005 at 06:36 AM
So, does Jeezus have to go around to every inhabited planet in the universe and get his ass crucified there? What a drag!
Posted by: No More Mr. Nice Guy! | October 31, 2005 at 07:02 PM
No one said being born and raised as a blood sacrifice was going to be easy. At least Jesus gets lots of frequent flyer (and dyer) lightyears.
Posted by: BronzeDog | November 01, 2005 at 05:52 AM