E.T Phone Home — Aliens … Religion?

Okay so this post is going to just be weird.  This will be your only warning.

So of course one of the first things I do almost everyday and then of course throughout the day is to check my Google Reader. I will admit that often times it gathers articles or links to things that I could not care less to know about. Today this sub-line caught my eye as I was perusing: God could have created aliens too: Vatican . First thought was WHAT?!, this is crazy — control click and open in another tab so I can read it after I get through the list. There wasn’t much else in the list so I got to the article before lunch in between some work. 

So, of course when you come across bizarre stuff you just have to share with others right? Therefore I sent it out to a total of three people: Jon (my husband), my Mom, and Alex (coworker). As always my Mom is pretty straightforward and simple in her response, a mere “crazy” was what I got from her.

Inevitably the response from Jon and Alex was quite the opposite. I am going to apologize for this right now but there is no better way to explain what was said than to paste the conversations below. (Note: If you don’t want to read the conversation you can skip to the bottom for more of my personal opinion or thoughts.)

Conversation with Jon: (It may be hard to follow but you will get the gist of it, and yes parts will be repeated in the conversation with Alex.)

me: totally a change of subject but you need to read this: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/14/2244056.htm

Jon: i’m not sure what to make of the alien article

Jon: i’ve always considered the possibility of extraterrestrial life, but never in light of the “original sin” aspect

9:14 AM 

me: Well I might say that I agree with God being the creator of the universe and that may very well include “Aliens” (if they exist, I mean E.T. was cute, lol) but I would have to say that it isn’t our place to judge original sin…

7 minutes

9:22 AM 

Jon: i guess i have always felt like all living, cognisant creatures need redemption

9:23 AM 

me: i agree

Alex: animals never sinned, though

me: but are aliens animals?

Alex: yep

 

Jon: that is why i said cognisant

9:28 AM 

me: well

any living thing could be considered an “alien”

 

Alex: look at insects…same general makeup, but vast difference in appearance than anything else

 

Jon: maybe that’s not the correct word, but what i meant was any being that has knowledge of its own existence other than just “instincts”

 

Alex: seems like it’s just a different wrapper around the neverending question of “what if there is a being without sin?”

9:36 AM 

Jon: i was unaware of that question

 

me: and then he added this: …which totally skips around the whole “point” of man’s sin

 

you two are interesting

 

lol

9:38 AM 

 

Alex: Well, the really bad summary being: God makes a creature capable of choice - that creature chooses to deny God - God (being love) sacrifices Himself so that the being won’t have to pay for the mistake of the bad choice

 

9:43 AM 

Alex: Point being, a creature capable of choice, that has never sinned, would not “need” God in that sense

 

your thoughts?

9:45 AM 

Jon: but such a creature would still know and understand that they are fallible and actually do “need” God

9:48 AM 

me: Here this is something I just read, and of course I am getting this from an Ensign article: Jon: but such a creature would still know and understand that they are fallible and actually do “need” God

9:49 AM 

response to your staement from alex… Alex: would they?

 

That’s impossible to say, since we really don’t know what a creature like that would think

 

Jon: sin is the veil that separates us from God

 

me: oops i didn’t paste the right thing…

 

9:50 AM 

Jon: without sin, i believe, that a being would truly know God

 

me: here is the thing I was going to send to you: Genesis 1 evidently teaches us about the preparation of the earth for humankind to inhabit and about the creation in heaven of the original plants, animals, and humans—Adam and Eve. Their bodies were physical but not yet subject to death. Genesis 2 evidently teaches us about the placing of these original plants, animals, and humans on the earth in their immortal state.

 

From the existing scriptural accounts we have, it is true that we cannot glean definitive answers to every question about the Creation. As a result, it is evident that the Lord did not intend the opening chapters of Genesis or other scriptures about the Creation to be textbook sections on geology, archeology, or science. 15 Rather, they outline the basic facts of the Creation, life in the Garden of Eden, and the Fall as these facts fit into the plan of life and salvation.

9:51 AM 

hmmmm: Alex: but it’s also the best way for God to show his love to us - by removing that veil. If that veil was never there in the first place, how could God show us how, and who, He truly is?

9:55 AM 

lol: The thing about “what if” questions, is that anyone can say whatever they want 

but we’ll never truly know the answers to those types of questions, because they exist out of reality - otherwise they wouldn’t be “what if” questions!

9:56 AM 

Jon: yep

me: here there are some good points in this article I am just going to send you the link: http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=b12557b60090c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1

 

some of the parts that I think are poignant are too long to paste into a chat

6 minutes

10:23 AM 

me: what is your view of original sin?

10:25 AM 

this is an interesting part:

 

Thus, by being required to leave the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve caused the great plan of happiness to go forward. Mortality came to all living things; procreation began the process of bringing us, the sons and daughters of God, to earth as Adam and Eve’s posterity. We who have come here or will yet come agreed to the conditions of mortality in order to participate in the plan, and we counted as a great blessing the opportunity to live in this imperfect world (see Job 38:4–7). While those who do not understand the plan may feel that all of us are stained with sin when we are born, we know that this is erroneous thinking. Elder Joseph Fielding Smith of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles wrote: “Adam’s transgression was banishment from the presence of God and bringing the physical death into the world. The majority in the religious world maintain that every child born into this world is tainted with ‘original sin,’ or partakes of Adam’s transgression in his birth. The second Article of Faith contradicts this foolish and erroneous doctrine.” 22

10:27 AM 

Jon: i don’t usually use the term original sin

10:28 AM 

i guess i must refer to the scripture (not sure exactly its location) that says “ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”

10:30 AM 

Romans 3:23

10:32 AM 

23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,[i] through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

8 minutes

10:40 AM 

me: which to me isn’t “original sin” …. I guess I think of it like this… that when children are born that yes they can be blessed “prayed” for to follow Christ but that until they are accountable for their actions (8yrs) that it is only then that they can accept the gift that was given for us all to accept… if we chose…

10:41 AM 

for example I don’t believe like catholics that you should be “baptized” right at birth…

10:44 AM 

Jon: i agree that once children are at an age where they can be held accountable, that they need Christ’s atonement. without that, there is no other way to heaven. we are all guilty of sin, not one particular sin but sin in general. there is no way around it, and we all need Christ’s forgiveness/atonement which provided by his death on the cross.

 

is that what you were wondering?

10:46 AM 

me: sort of I guess i just wanted to know your thoughts and opinion ….

10:47 AM 

and I also think that baptism is a choice to be made not a given as say the Catholics believe…

 

Jon: yes

 

Conversation with Alex: 

9:06 AM me: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/14/2244056.htm

17 minutes

9:24 AM Alex: hmm I really don’t know what to say about that lol

9:26 AM me: me: Well I might say that I agree with God being the creator of the universe and that may very well include “Aliens” (if they exist, I mean E.T. was cute, lol) but I would have to say that it isn’t our place to judge original sin…

  Jon: i guess i have always felt like all living, cognisant creatures need redemption
me: i agree

  that is my thoughts

 Alex: animals never sinned, though

9:27 AM me: but are aliens animals?

 Alex: yep

  well

  any living thing could be considered an “alien”

 me: okay…..

 Alex: look at insects…same general makeup, but vast difference in appearance than anything else

9:28 AM me: Jon: that is why i said cognisant

 Alex: oh lol that’s what I get for skimming

9:30 AM so is this article about the “original” sin, or about “aliens”?

9:34 AM me: i don’t know

  Jon: maybe that’s not the correct word, but what i meant was any being that has knowledge of its own existence other than just “instincts”

  hmmm

9:35 AM Alex: seems like it’s just a different wrapper around the neverending question of “what if there is a being without sin?”

  …which totally skips around the whole “point” of man’s sin

9:36 AM me: okay…..

9:37 AM Alex: Well, the really bad summary being: God makes a creature capable of choice - that creature chooses to deny God - God (being love) sacrifices Himself so that the being won’t have to pay for the mistake of the bad choice

9:39 AM Point being, a creature capable of choice, that has never sinned, would not “need” God in that sense

8 minutes

9:48 AM me: Jon: but such a creature would still know and understand that they are fallible and actually do “need” God

 Alex: would they?

9:49 AM That’s impossible to say, since we really don’t know what a creature like that would think

9:50 AM me: Jon: sin is the veil that separates us from God

  without sin, i believe, that a being would truly know God

 Alex: but it’s also the best way for God to show his love to us - by removing that veil. If that veil was never there in the first place, how could God show us how, and who, He truly is?

9:51 AM The thing about “what if” questions, is that anyone can say whatever they want

  but we’ll never truly know the answers to those types of questions, because they exist out of reality - otherwise they wouldn’t be “what if” questions!