Life on Other Worlds, and the Catholic Church

While writing a post for another blog, I realized that my micro-review of an article on space aliens was turning into a post for this blog. That happens once in a while: which, given my ADHD-inattentive brain, should be no surprise.

I copied the link-lists I'd made after my mind jumped the tracks into this post, which I'll get to in a minute. The post, I mean: not the links. They're at the end of this post. First, though, a little blatant self-promotion.

A post on the topic of assumptions, space aliens, sharks, and Cthulhu:

• "Beware Warmonger Imperialist Space Aliens!?"
  Apathetic Lemming of the North (January 11, 2011)

Superstitious, Willfully Ignorant, and Narrow-Minded?

America, I've heard, is a "Christian" country. A majority of folks living in America say they're Christians, something I discussed in another blog. (Another War-on-Terror Blog (January 9, 2010))

That's nice, in a way: although I don't assume that God relies on opinion polls to keep His position. And that's another topic, sort of.

I've run into other folks in America who seem convinced that 'those Christians over there' are gaggle of superstitious, hate-filled, nitwits with barely enough reading ability to get through a few verses of their King James Bibles.¹

I've also run into folks who were pretty good evidence for the 'Christians are nitwits' viewpoint. I grew up listening to some of them: yet again another topic. ("Why I Became a Catholic")

One of the current crop of that American subculture, Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church, made the news again today. (FoxNews.com (January 11, 2011))


(Reuters photo, via FoxNews.com, used w/o permission)

That's a file photo of folks from Westboro Baptist Church members, taken at Arlington National Cemetery last Veterans Day, 2010.

In my opinion, they're not your typical Christians.

"...I've made the point before, and probably will again, that folks like Pat Robertson, Tony Alamo, and the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas; are not all there is to Christianity. I don't think they're even representative of Protestant Christianity...."
(October 12, 2010, quoted November 19, 2010)

Folks who are more-or-less on the same page with the Westboro lot tend, I've found, to be somewhat unwilling to acknowledge much of what the rest of us have learned since around 1859.

Can't say that I blame them, in a way. (March 20, 2009) Creation's turned out to be immensely more vast in time and space than many imagined.

Either that, or astronomers, cosmologists, physicists, and paleontologists have made a complete hash of evidence they've found. Or maybe God deliberately planted fraudulent evidence in order to condemn those who used the brains He gave them.

It's a little difficult to imagine that so many researchers in so many fields could be that wrong for a century and a half. And I really have trouble believing that God's a vindictive liar.

Before getting back to space aliens and the Catholic Church, a quick recap of my views on the 'superstitious, willfully ignorant, and narrow-minded' view of Christendom. Specifically, whether those terms have much to do with the Catholic Church.

Superstitious?

I've been over this before:

• "If Catholics are Superstitious, How Come We're Not Allowed to be Superstitious?"
  (August 18, 2010)

Don't take my word for it, though. You can check out Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2111.

Willfully Ignorant?

I suspect that quite a few Americans don't think that Christians should be interested in science. The notion that science and religion get along about as well as mongoose and cobra seems firmly planted in American culture. Maybe Western culture as a whole. I've been over that before, too:

• "Faith and Reason, Religion and Science"
  (March 20, 2009)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church has a bit to say about science and research.

"Scientific, medical, or psychological experiments on human individuals or groups can contribute to healing the sick and the advancement of public health."
(Catechism, 2292)

There's more, mostly a reminder that scientists are not 'beyond good and evil.' (Catechism, 2293-2296)

Narrow-Minded?

I've been over this before, too:

• "The Catholic Church: Universal. Really"
  (April 19, 2010)
  Particularly
  • "Universal?" You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet

Which brings me back to space aliens.

Space Aliens and the Holy See

I keep running into the idea that discovering life elsewhere in the universe would mean the end of Christianity.

As for our learning that life on another world included intelligent life: people; who weren't shaped pretty much just like us? The assumption in some circles, I gather, is that news like that would throw Christians into a pit of despair and utterly shatter our faith. (August 6, 2010)

Some folks, whose Christianity is rooted in a sort of nostalgia for the days before Darwin: Maybe.

Me? Let's put it this way: As a practicing Catholic, I'm not allowed to say that God couldn't have created life elsewhere in the universe. The notion that Earth was the only place where life exists came up - and was declared a heresy.

In the 13th century. (April 19, 2010)

Related posts:

• "God's Creation: He Seems to Think Big"
  (September 23, 2010)
• " Report of a UFO Would 'Destroy One's Belief in the Church?!''"
  (August 6, 2010)
• "The Catholic Church: Universal. Really"
  (April 19, 2010)
  Particularly
  • "Universal?" You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet
• "Astrobiology, the Vatican, and the Meaning of Our Existence"
  (November 12, 2009)

Speculating about the mind of the alien:

• "Gods, Demons, and Used Spaceship Dealers"
  Drifting at the Edge of Time and Space (February 13, 2010)
• "Space Aliens and Killer Monster Robots - From Outer Space; or Pittsburgh"
  Apathetic Lemming of the North (January 25, 2010)
• " 'All We Want is Peace and Quiet' - Another Look at the Mind of the Alien"
  Drifting at the Edge of Time and Space (December 9, 2009)
• "Move the Planet - or - Safety First"
  Drifting at the Edge of Time and Space (December 9, 2009)
• "Earth May Not Be a 'Class M' Planet"
  Apathetic Lemming of the North (December 5, 2009)
  Particularly
  • Doesn't Everybody Dream of Flying?

More:

• Chapter XIX: Question 45 the the Emanation of Things, "The Trinity and God the Creator," a commentary on Summa Theologica by Father Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, via EWTN.com
• "Aquinas, Master of Reality: Seven Ways St. Thomas Excels as a Catholic Teacher"
  J. Hanson, Catholic Phoenix (September 26, 2010)

---

¹ I like the literary style of the King James Bible, but it's not the one I study regularly. Yet another topic. (August 27, 2009)

I've discussed the Bible before, including these posts:

• "The Pope's 'Fundamental Priority,' and the 'Dark Side' of Bible Study"
  (November 19, 2010)
• "Meditating on the Word of God: New How-2 From the Holy See"
  (November 11, 2010)
• "The Bible-Believing Catholic Church"
  (October 2, 2008)