io9 
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San Francisco, 9:12 PM
Sat Dec 5
11 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/12/09
...and yet evolution does. (begin slow clap) #v
11/12/09
Vatican acknowledges possibility of extra-terrestrial life.
Do they realize that THAT means the Old Testament, the New Testament and the whole shebang that they are putting on - is essentially fake?
Or are they just going to put out Bible 2.0 and just update the wor(L)d of God?
You know... like Coca-Cola did with St. Nick. #v
11/13/09
11/13/09
11/13/09
...now about these tacos... #v
11/19/09
11/19/09
Thirdly: so the tacos....they're coming, yes?
#calendar
11/20/09
11/20/09
i think a big reason for Christianity’s success over the last 2000 years lies with its ability to pander to people's deep rooted fear of not being pre-destined for greatness, their need to be elevated above all others.
I’m going to assume that I’ve forced an impasse with that last bit...
#calendar
11/11/09
Now they are trying to cover their asses.Remember when you got burned at the stake by them for believeing in something other than Christianity. #v
11/11/09
Too bad they're still so stubborn on more down to Earth matters, like contraception and homosexuality. #v
11/11/09
I got an A-
Those were the days #v
11/11/09
11/11/09
11/11/09
11/11/09
11/11/09
11/15/09
If Galileo had simply said "The Earth orbits the moon" instead "The church is wrong, the Earth Orbits the moon" he'd still be alive today as a zombie-Galileo. #v
11/16/09
11/16/09
11/16/09
Besides, this is only one example of the church apologizing late. It took them over 50 years to apologize for not denouncing the nazi's and over a century to apologize to Darwin. #v
11/16/09
And Galileo was attacked because the part of "The church is wrong, the earth orbits the ..." that serfs understand is just "The church is wrong" #v
11/11/09
11/11/09
First, that Davies guy is not very smart.
Again, as noted, the Church has long made theological accommodations for this. Not a whole lot, because there hasn't been any contact, but it's been discussed before.
Also, J.C. died for *our* sins, not those of the seven-tentacled Hydra from the planet K-Tron Five. They'd need their own savior.
As for the belief that intelligent aliens would conflict with the tenet that man was created in God's image, "image" isn't a physical literal, but a spiritual one. That doesn't automatically preclude that aliens would be created in the same image (although, of course, it would be hard to square that if said aliens were intelligent cannibals... is THAT God's image too?).
Finally... this is edition 1,508,408 of "What would the Catholics think?" navel-gazing by the media. I always find the bias fascinating-- no one ever seems to ask, "How would the discovery of life on other planets affect *Islam*?" Or the Hindu? Or Buddhists? #v
11/11/09
As per your comment about God's Image: Human Cannibals. They exist. Were they also created in God's image?
Also, Buddhists wouldn't be affected by alien life at all. Buddhism itself isn't really a religion, but a philosophy, and has no God of its own. However, Buddhists can, and often do, practice other religions. #v
11/11/09
The mainstream Buddhist denominations have gods, heavens and hells in abundance - it's just that the Karmic law and pursuit of enlightenment tie them all together. #v
11/11/09
11/11/09
But I remember a really interesting story told by Robert Thurman about Tibetan Buddhism, where the Buddha goes to visit Brahman (the supreme diety) to ask about the origins of the universe (and thus the origins of suffering), and Brahman tells him in secret that the universe was already there when he arrived on the scene--but he tells the other Gods he created it to stop them from worrying. Brahman also asked the Buddha to come back and teach him the secret of enlightenment if he ever discovers it...
So, at least in the Tibetan tradition, there are Gods--but even the Gods seek liberation from the cycle of rebirth and suffering. In other words: over the eons, basically everybody gets reborn as a God at some point or another... but enlightenment is still preferable. #v
11/11/09
So he's saying that it's possibly intelligent life exist. Notice that he makes no comment on how he would treat them. We all know how Emperor Palpatine felt about aliens.
(ps. No offence if you're Catholic and he's the infallible celestially-ordained leader of your Church. It just doesn't change the fact that he looks a whole heck of a lot like the Dark Emperor). #v
11/11/09
11/11/09
11/11/09
'Oh I'm afraid this station will be very much active when your friends arrive. In the meantime, would you care for an apple pie? They are EXCEEDINGLY dark sidey' #v
11/11/09
11/11/09
11/11/09
JP II said evolution was just dandy in 1996 but Pope Benny added a caveat in 2008, saying that evolution was probably true, but Darwin was still a dick for being right and contradicting the Bible. #v
11/13/09
11/13/09
11/11/09
More recently the Baltimore Catechism on Lesson 5, question 51 states "it is possible that there are intelligent beings created by God on other planets of the universe, because God's power is unlimited."
Strange as it may seem, this isn't new for the Catholic Church. #v
11/10/09
It's interesting to see organizations take aliens as a serious topic.
I wonder if the Vatican has ever shared its views on AI? #v
11/11/09
11/11/09
I would give all my limbs and everything I own to see it debated WITH an AI though. If it didn't just descend into Palpatine or his reps storming out. At least not for half an hour. #v
11/10/09
11/11/09
Gasp! #v
11/11/09
11/11/09