God and Life on Mars

This is slightly off topic, but I had a thought while looking at this thread. It came after I found this map of the universe that scales from the visible universe to the local stellar group. Stars in the visible universe: 30 billion trillion. Started thinking about the grand scale of the universe.

http://www.anzwers.org/free/universe/index.htmlhttp://www.anzwers.org/free/universe/universe.html

I remember reading that many of the elements that make up the earth were formed in stars and in supernova. I'm wondering if the "seeds" of life could somehow be a part of the fabric of the universe. At some point, if we believe in the Big Bang, all matter was confined into a very small space, and on the scale that we can observe, the universe seems remarkably consistant. It should be consistant on a smaller (planetary) scale as well. That might mean that life similar to us would exist wherever conditions were similar, and life might exist in many forms in many places. To me this would be evidence of God's work, not against it. I just don't understand why this would be any less miraculous than some kind if instantaneous creation, but that's just me.

I guess where I'm trying to go with this is that if we could prove the universe was devoid of intelligent life, other than ourselves, it would challenge my conception of God. I think God's presence is in the rest of the universe as much as it is in our little corner.
 
Shih Yo Chi said:
To me this would be evidence of God's work, not against it. I just don't understand why this would be any less miraculous than some kind if instantaneous creation, but that's just me.

I guess where I'm trying to go with this is that if we could prove the universe was devoid of intelligent life, other than ourselves, it would challenge my conception of God. I think God's presence is in the rest of the universe as much as it is in our little corner.
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I agree. I think the challenge is for those who take things a bit more literally - that God created *man* and *woman* (as opposed to something Else) or the issue if all essential truth of the universe is revealed in, for example, the Genesis story and it has no light to shed on the origin of life elsewhere - with no access to a literal Garden of Eden.

But for Baha'is God is everywhere... and nowhere "O SON OF MAN!
Wert thou to speed through the immensity of space and traverse the expanse of heaven, yet thou wouldst find no rest save in submission to Our command and humbleness before Our Face."

Now by this I don't attribute undue limitation to the Bible/Torah - the origin stories thereof are still holding lessons to learn from albeit taken in other ways by some.
 
Back in the '90s it I believe there was a statement from the Catholic Church that if life were discovered and if it we could communicate with it, and it were sentient beings...than we should send missionaries to save them.

More recently it was discussed if it were determined that life from another planet was what started life on this planet...'well, we can concede that the Garden of Eden need not have been on earth...'

And I just caught part of a special last night where they were discussing creating a new life form in the lab...shooting for not carbon based.

And to thing I was worried about GMO's and GM plant/animals....yikes.

namaste
 
for all we know this particular bible is written for us on earth only. whether there is alternate universes, in parallel dimensions or from other times, if god is the same god here, then he would have spoken to each civilization in its early forms to establish a relationship, then how that world made its choices, their bible would be tailored to it. kind of how like one countrys culture differs from anothers even on the same planet! i think he would make all lifeforms with souls the same way, that is in his image that make choices so they could believe in him through belief and faith. that is if there is other human lifeforms, anything else would be for his amusement only i imagine.
 
for all we know this particular bible is written for us on earth only. whether there is alternate universes, in parallel dimensions or from other times, if god is the same god here, then he would have spoken to each civilization in its early forms to establish a relationship, then how that world made its choices, their bible would be tailored to it. kind of how like one countrys culture differs from anothers even on the same planet! i think he would make all lifeforms with souls the same way, that is in his image that make choices so they could believe in him through belief and faith. that is if there is other human lifeforms, anything else would be for his amusement only i imagine.
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I think that is an absolutely wonderful explanation of how various religions and belief systems occurred on this planet. Each 'prophet' receiving their understanding of God based on their taloring when God spoke to them personally and thier experiences...

I also find the concept that the God of Mars, or the God of another galaxy, or universe or parallel universe would be a different God just wild. Doesn't play with my omnipresent viewpoint.... gotta put my bias to bed and contemplate this....

namaste,
 
"Exotheology"

I got in trouble on a previous post here for my citing an essay but I think a useful term that could be suggested is Exotheology and means the examination of theological issues as they pertain to Extraterrestrial Intelligence (ETI).

Wikipedia has it:

Exotheology can be described as pursuing a theology that adequately answers the questions that are raised by the fact of our extraterrestrial neighbors and their intervention, both benign and malevolent. It is seeking a cosmologically consistent religious outlook.


This is a favorite topic of mine.

- Art
 
Did you really mean speciation (the change from one species into a genetically different one)? Or creation of some kind of life from proteins, water, etc?

-Sarah
 
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