If Aliens Ever Showed Up, Would People Still Believe In God?

[THUNDER HANDS]

I mean, if one day ET were to land on earth, get out of his spaceship and say "I made you all, you're all my pets" or something to that effect, what would the reaction be?

I mean, thousands of years of human history tied into religion would suddenly be thrown up in the air right?

What do you think would happen? Would people still believe in a God?

[SOteric]

1. Would they still believe in the Big Bang and Evolution?

[I AM SPARTACUS]

2. goggle on +"church" +"belief in aliens"...lotsa folks would...

[Archae]

3. Yes, they would.

And the fucking fundys would try to destroy them, because "they're sent by Satan."

(Hey, just look at Pat Robertson's views on UFO's one of these days. I don't remember the URL though.)

[AlienGirl]

36. EXACTLY!!!

Pat Robertson suggested that people who see UFOs were "sorcerers" who should be stoned (with rocks, not buds).

Imagine what he'd think of aliens?!

And people wonder why ET hasn't landed on the White House lawn...

Tucker

[oneighty]

4. A good scifi novel I read

long ago featured an alien invasion. Unfortunately God came with them

and was on THEIR side. Bummer!

180

[JewelDigger]

5. Sure they would...

...after all, who made the aliens???

[Ignoramus]

10. Uh yeah

Being religeous means you have faith. Faith means you accept an idea no matter what facts there are. So, of course, the faithful will believe no matter what, and would keep their faith (if alien's appearance somehow challenges that faith). Unless the aliens appearance would be sufficiently disorienting that is.

[JewelDigger]

13. True faith

asks that we not be stooopid and believe anything/everything.

It just seeks the truth. If you know your bible a lil bit...the story of 'Doubting Thomas' who wouldn't believe just based on others peoples 'word' (even people who he loved and trusted). He said that he wouldn't believe until he could touch the wounds and 'put his hand in Jesus' side'. Jesus said oki....I'm here, touch the wounds, touch my side....Thomas backed off some, but the 'real deal' always stands by the truth and can answer all of the 'tough questions' and show proof.

Which brings us to the present day.....*great big sigh*....

[everythingsxen]

6. ROFL

That reminds me of a Simpsons episode that was on earlier this evening, its a clip-show centered around the premise of roasting Homer. At the end Kang and Kodos (see picture below :D) show up and announce "We have watched your puny planet, since it was created, 5000 years ago, by God!" At which point they bow their heads and do that "in the name of the Father etc." thing where you touch your forehead and left and right chest or however the thing goes. :)



Still. An absolutely priceless scene. Especially given this topic. :evilgrin:

[Devlzown]

9. It's called genuflection or genuflexion.

Can't remember exactly how to spell it. I love that episode too!

[MoonGod]

7. Read Childhood's End...

... by Arthur C. Clarke.

Very similar concept. Quite a good read.

[Skittles]

8. NO

people will always need a crutch. But they would briefly stop fighting each other.

[Az]

11. Yes

Mind you it would shake the living daylights out of some of the fundimenatlists. But a lot if not most individuals that believe in god are no where near that humancentric point of view. Belief in god would simply shift to include him/her/it making aliens too.

[bucknaked]

12. Of course they would... it'd just be a test!

...as with all biblically unexplainable things, it'd be a test of faith!

:D

[supernova]

14. Probably

since belief in a diety is really not tied to emperical evidence.

Some people with very rigid belief systems (read: fundamentalist) might view it as God-breaking .... if that's a word. They wouldn't know how to assimilate the new knowledge into their beliefs.

Others like me with a pretty fluid belief structure will probably assimilate it.

Why do you ask?

edit: I should add that even now I don't find it at all strange to think of intelligent beings alive on other worlds. It's highly unlikely we humans are the lone, sentient beings in the universe. It really is just a matter of time before we meet up.

[Nikia]

15. My grandfather believes the alien theory

He has all kinds of books about how aliens were influential in many early civilizations and were worshipped as gods. One even said that humans were an ape/alien hybrid that was cultivated by the parent alien civilization. He doesn't believe in God, but I don't know if all people would conclude the same thing.

[supernova]

16. Is your father

a Raellian by chance?

[Nikia]

19. No

It's my grandfather by the way (It's alright though.). He doesn't belong to any organized alien believers group. I am not sure which came first atheism or aliens, but from talking to him it seems that it was atheism first and the alien theory helped him raionalize the existance of religion and other systems of supernatural belief.

[Cush]

17. remember the south park ep?

Where Starvin Marvin finds the spacecraft? The 700 Club tries to send missionaries to Marklar.

[amazona]

18. how would it affect belief in one's god?

A million people in Mexico City observed the UFOs flying over in the 1990s. I have no reason to doubt that they are still devout Catholics but many Mexicans do accept the existence of aliens.

Why isn't Mary, Mother of God, big enough to be mother to the space brothers as well as to the rest of us?

I know several people who are believing Catholics and also accept the reality of life on other worlds. Some fundie Church of Godder types object to the concept of aliens but I think most mainstream Protestant religions (methodists, presbyterians, etc) leave it to the individual to decide for herself on matters of "science in the news."

I also know a great many pagans who claim experience w/ UFOs or even alien abductions.

There is no law saying only an atheist can believe in aliens or dinosaurs; this is a fundie extremist belief that should be dismissed out of hand. Fundies are full of hate for ANYTHING that distracts from their message of hate, be it the space brothers, evolution, or what have you, but most religions are not going to be perturbed by proof of the largeness of God's creation.

Just my humble opinion...you may wish to get your own.

[THUNDER HANDS]

20. well, I approach it like this

Seeing a UFO and actually being visited by aliens are two totally seperate things.

IF, one day, an alien were to show up, and tell everyone the secrets of the universe, and reveal that there is NO GOD and that all life sprang from ...gee I don't know, use your imagination... then what would people believe.

The bible...or the eight foot alien being standing right in front of them?

[MoonGod]

21. Damnit! I said read Childhood's End!

... and you just ignore me like a 2-bit whore!

:P

Seriously, if this question was interesting enough for you to post here, then I promise you'll like this book.

[JewelDigger]

22. "....the secrets of the universe, .....

....and that all life sprang from ...gee I don't know, use your imagination... then what would people believe."

Let's say that 'THEY' say that "life sprang from the MUD (or whatever)."

Well, who put the mud there?

[Darranar]

25. The Big Bang...

not quite a "who," but a "what" works...

[Darranar]

23. Yes...

If you showed some reigious people irrefutable proof that God did not exist, they would still believe in God.

[JewelDigger]

24. Yes!!!

If you showed some irreligious people irrefutable proof that God does, in fact, exist - they STILL wouldn't believe!

[MoonGod]

28. I can't imagine there IS irrefutable proof that God does not exist...

... kinda the old "you can't prove a negative".

I suppose if you set up a very specific and measurable set of parameters to define "God" first, then maybe you could, but I haven't seen a whole lot of agreement on exactly who or what God is.

[Darranar]

29. I agree...

it was an impossible situation used to make a point.

[MoonGod]

31. Oh... so kinda like...

"Even if monkey flew out my butt, they'd still believe in God"?

... I want a monkeys-flying-out-of-my-butt emoticon.

[cosmicdot]

26. maybe have a Slim Whitman LP on hand just in case

yak yak yak yak yak

[Sirius_on]

27. I always hoped that we could contact aliens

I am a Christian myself and I believe in Aliens. If God is so powerful, why would he create such a large universe for such a small portion of life?

The first question I would ask an alien is what is there species origin. If they said "well, God of course". I would shit a brick....If they said "We really dont know, do you?" I would still shit a brick. :shrug:

[Blue_Chill]

33. If they said

"blah blah blah I like cookies" I would shit a brick :D

[AnnabelLee]

30. Here's what the people over at xian forums think

http://www.christianforums.com/threads/30552-3.html

[Blue_Chill]

32. Yes. Silly question.

Aliens would change nothing as the bible no where claims to explain every mystery one could ever experience.

I would however have plenty of questions for the aliens. I wonder if they would speak english like they do on star trek.

[jobycom]

34. So if aliens showed up with the exact same Bible and Jesus story we have

Would it convince us atheists that God was real?

My favorite line from the Osborne song: "If God had a face what would it look like, and would you want to see if seeing meant that you would have to believe in things like Heaven, and Jesus and the saints and all the prophets?" What if someone could show us a miracle? What if we heard God's voice, and knew it was God's? Would we be so upset at having to believe in something we didn't want to that we would still deny?

Just curious. Seems to be in the same vein as the original post, just flipped a bit.

[DrGonzoLives]

35. Yes

Well, everyone except for the Cafeteria Christians and those who just kind of go to church and go through the motions.

It wouldn't just be religion; if an alien popped out said, "I made you all," would that not throw the theory of evolution into utter chaos?