Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Space and God

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Specifically the possibility of extraterrestrial life in that space.

Compatible?

The Catholic Church seems to think so.
[J]ust as the Church eventually made accommodations after Copernicus and Galileo showed that the Earth was not the centre of the universe, and when it belatedly accepted the truth of Darwin's theory of evolution, Catholic leaders say that alien life can be aligned with the Bible’s teachings.

Father Jose Funes, a Jesuit astronomer at the Vatican Observatory ..., said: "As a multiplicity of creatures exists on Earth, so there could be other beings, also intelligent, created by God.

"This does not conflict with our faith, because we cannot put limits on the creative freedom of God."


The occasion for the comments is a conference on astrobiology being held by the Vatican. Interesting stuff, plus some pretty funny photo art at the link.
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2 comments:

AlanDP said...

I heard Whitley Streiber in an interview one time say that he believed the discovery of extra-terrestrial life could only add to the greater glory of God, and I agree. For the faithful, it will add to their faith. For the faithless, their faithlessness will be further confirmed.

But I think if they turn out to be humanoid reptilians who like to eat live mice, we may have a problem with stereotyping.

Albatross said...

But at least we would know what to expect. You know, when they come visiting.