So in reply to my last question: "If we discover life on other planets, would that change your religious view in some way?" would you say it wouldn't change your view? Would you expand your religion to be more than, "Earth-based?"
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Your Faith and Extraterrestrial Life
- Thread starter Left Coast
- Start date
So in reply to my last question: "If we discover life on other planets, would that change your religious view in some way?" would you say it wouldn't change your view? Would you expand your religion to be more than, "Earth-based?"
InChrist
Free4ever
I believe the biblical scriptures indicate that earth and it’s human inhabitants are the focus of God’s attention. It was on earth that God created human beings in His image. It was on earth that satan temped humans to rebellion and sin. It was to earth Christ came to defeat satan and death. It was earth where Christ came to save sinners and make possible a way for eternal life. It will be to earth Christ returns to defeat the Antichrist and establish His kingdom. Surely, one planet of sinners in the universe is enough!
The scriptures are clear that God is the Creator of life and God is Love.
He would not create intelligent beings and do nothing to rescue them
after they sinned, which they would... ( Romans 3:23). According to the scriptures, there is only one way for God to forgive any sinners: the penalty must be paid by God himself becoming one of them. Jesus had to become a man to redeem us. Therefore, He would have to become one of each kind of alien life form. This idea is unbiblical, as the scriptures state that Christ became flesh, once and for all, and that He is eternally the unique fully God/ fully human Being.
I don’t doubt “extraterrestrial life” will be discovered or encountered by gullible humans as a part of the end time delusion perpetuated by satan to deceive humanity. I just think those extraterrestrials will be demonic beings.
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Eyes to See
Well-Known Member
The Bible while not making mention of life elsewhere in the universe, apart from the spirit realm where Jehovah God lives with his firstborn son Jesus and other spirit creatures in his likeness, does seem to indicate that as of now earth is the only place with intelligent life.
This is seen in the fact that an angelic son of God rebelled against his Sovereignty and had the first man and woman join in.
The fact that this was unprecedented and precedent needed to be set, especially when Satan makes the claim that everything a man has he would give in behalf of his soul, along with the fact that Jehovah is a liar, and not a good Sovereign, and Jehovah allowing the rebellion and time for Satan and rebellious humans to show whether Satanic rule, or human rule apart from God rule is better, would indicate that we are currently the only planet with such life that the issue could and is being settled on. (edit - what do you think of this run-on sentence)
If there were other worlds with intelligent life God would not need to point to humankind, and earth would not be the focal point of the universal issues that Satan and other rebellious wicked angels raised when rebelling.
The rebellion has been only around 6,000 years out of the 13.8 billion year life span of the universe (not to add in however long Jesus and the rest of the spirit-realm existed when God created them.
So evil has only existed a very short time-period in the scheme of things. The Bible says that a thousand years to us is like a day to Jehovah. So for him not even a week has passed since man was created and the issues of his universal sovereignty have been raised.
Things are coming to a head and soon Satan and his wicked angels along with their rebellion will be completely crushed and put out of existence now that the court has had enough time to prove the uselessness of Satan rule and man rule.
In the future, if life is ever created elsewhere, or even if life here chose to rebel again, or in heaven, the precedent of Satan and his rule along with wicked humankind that will be destroyed will be an example forevermore of the effects, and God will no longer need to tolerate evil. The rebellion will simply be put out of existence.
Holy scripture says that those who are called to heavenly spirit life from earth, adopted as spirit sons of God and brothers of Jesus Christ will reign as kings forever in heaven, and that they will judge the angels. Thus they will forever be there to judge in the future if anyone anywhere wants to rebel. They will be eye-witnesses both of the outcome of rebellion against God's good rule, and faithful examples of imperfect humans that loved Jehovah more than their own lives, proving Satan the liar that he is, all 144,000 of them will have been obedient under test until death, thus being rewarded with immortality and incorruptibility (something Satan and the angels were never created with or given).
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Eyes to See
Well-Known Member
Actually we both came to pretty much the same conclusion and made comments at the same time. It's good sound reasoning.
Trailblazer
Veteran Member
Can't you imagine that God might reveal Himself to other creatures in other worlds and they could have another scripture besides the Bible? I guess not.
Jesus is not ever returning to earth unless Jesus lied or the Bible is in error, and if the Bible is in error we cannot trust any other verses either.
John 14:19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
John 17:4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
John 17:11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
John 18:36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
John 18:37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.
These two verses in John 18 completely negate that Jesus is the King of this world or that Jesus will ever come to this world to rule it, and they fit perfectly together with John 17:4 and John 17:11. Jesus came into this world to bear witness unto the truth about God. He did that so there is no more reason for Jesus to come back to this world again.
That is why Jesus said “I am no more in the world.”
But of course Christians always have a way out of accepting what Jesus said because they want Jesus to return. We all have wants, but wanting does not make anything happen.
InChrist
Free4ever
Yes, similar concerning satanic deception with regard to extraterrestrial life. Your post makes me wonder whether you are a Jehovah’s Witness, though. If so, then we would not have similar beliefs concerning the Person of Jesus Christ, the 144,000, or a number of other things.
InChrist
Free4ever
You seem to have ignored a lot of other verses about the return of Jesus Christ. Also, I think it’s helpful to remember that when Jesus spoke about leaving this world, as in the verses you posted, He was speaking about leaving His life here on earth in the flesh because His redemptive world for humanity was finished, as scripture states. This does not negate the fact that many other verses show He comes again, but unlike His humble first coming in the flesh... the second will be in glory, as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
23 Bible verses about Second Coming Of Christ
Trailblazer
Veteran Member
There are no verses about the return of the same man Jesus, so there is nothing to ignore.
Those verses are not about Jesus and that is why He said He was no more in the world.
Will the “same” Jesus return?
Luke 21:8 “And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.”
Matthew 24:5 “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.”
When Christ returns, we know for sure He will not be called “Christ” so how would you recognize Him?
Revelation 2:17 “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.”
Revelation 3:12 “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.”
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I don't have any beliefs that could be referred to as faith so any beliefs would just morph into whatever new was learned. I suspect that life is plentiful - such a vast, vast, vast, vast, waste if otherwise - but as to 'intelligent' life, perhaps not so plentiful. I will probably not find out as to either before I die, but this disappoints me less than not knowing how the human race will progress or survive into the future.
If earth is the only planet with life then the universe is one huge waste of space
exchemist
Veteran Member
But then, "God Speaks" was written by a pretty rum Baba.
It's in a debate forum, and I am interested -- so you completely missed my point. I repeat, what does faith have to do with the existence of life on other planets. It either exists or it doesn't, and until we can find means to discover which, we simply don't know. We can guess. But "faith" will not make it so -- or not so.
Now that is an interesting question, and I think one that wants exploring.
In my personal view, if there is life on other planets (and I hazard a guess that their probably is), it is wildly unlikely (pardon me, Star Trek) to be anything like humanoid. Thus, the question will then have to answered: "if God made us in His own image, then did God make these, too? Or was that some other God? Or is there something else going on?
No. There's no reason to, and it would change nothing. The human perspective is very localized, and my way of life reflects that. I can't develop deep, meaningful relationships with the gods/spirits present in Japan, much less the gods/spirits on another planet entirely. It simply is not possible and I see no reason why it should impact me in any way. It's about as irrelevant as "hey, did you know some random human existed ten thousand years ago that you've never met?" I mean, yes, but... why would that matter at all to me in the here and now, in this place I live in (again, beyond academic curiosity or for storytelling)?
I also don't get the fixation on life. So there's (inevitably) life on other planets. So what? There are also simply other planets. Those are gods too - the non-living forces of our world are also gods in my view. Finding life specifically isn't really that stunning.
As we've seen in this thread, some people's faiths do have something to say about it. Thus why I asked. You're welcome to not believe them, of course.
Audie
Veteran Member
I'm intrigued by the theory that intelligent life out there makes a point of not advertising its existence
MNoBody
Well-Known Member
in the nature shows of humanity, the "best" footage is always thought to have been taken surreptitiously, without the local wildlife knowing or getting wind of the observer gathering data on the species and their natural ecology
make them feel " at home" comfortable and relaxed so they will do their thing...which they likely won't do if they know they are under observation.
so man could be in the condition similar to the paramecium in the petri dish....are they aware of the lab technicians studying them?
the only legal surveillance footage deemed worth anything is taken when the targets are unaware of the surveillance.
and so on with comparative examples to support the theory
make them feel " at home" comfortable and relaxed so they will do their thing...which they likely won't do if they know they are under observation.
so man could be in the condition similar to the paramecium in the petri dish....are they aware of the lab technicians studying them?
the only legal surveillance footage deemed worth anything is taken when the targets are unaware of the surveillance.
and so on with comparative examples to support the theory
Eyes to See
Well-Known Member
That is ok. I meant to point out that it is reasonable to conclude that earth is the only habitated planet at this time because of the universal war being waged here concerning Jehovah's sovereignty. I respect your beliefs.
The fact of the matter is that it really doesn't matter either way, if there is or isn't. Everything we need for salvation is found in the Bible.