NASA Enlists 24 Theologians To Assess How The World Would React To Discovery of Alien Life

[rgray222]

NASA 'looks to the heavens' for help: Agency enlisted 24 theologians to assess how the world would react to the discovery of alien life on distant planets and how it might change our perception of gods and creation

• NASA enlisted 24 theologians to take part in its program the Center for Theological Inquiry (CTI) at Princeton University
• The group assed how humans will react if alien life is found on other planets and how the discovery will impact our ideas of gods and creation
• Dr Andrew Davison, a priest and theologian at the University of Cambridge with a doctorate in biochemistry from Oxford, is one of the theologians
• Davison believes we are getting closer to finding life on other planets

NASA is looking to the heavens for help with assessing how humans will react if alien life is found on other planets and how the discovery could impact our ideas of gods and creation.

The agency hired 24 theologians to take part in its program at the Center for Theological Inquiry (CTI) at Princeton University in New Jersey, which NASA gave a $1.1 million grant to in 2014.

CTI is described as building 'bridges of under understanding by convening theologians, scientists, scholars, and policymakers to think together - and inform public thinking - on global concerns.'

The program, which started in 2016, aimed to answer questions that have baffled us since the begging of time such as what is life? What does it mean to be alive? Where do we draw the line between the human and the alien? What are the possibilities for sentient life in other places?

Now that NASA has two rovers on Mars, several probes orbiting Jupiter and Saturn and is set to launch the James Web Telescope tomorrow that study galaxy, star and planet formation in the universe, it seems that the agency is hopeful it is on the right path to discovering life outside of Earth.

And it needs a little help from above to help those of us living below to understand if that happens.



NASA held the program, titled Societal Implications of Astrobiology, which started in 2015 and ran to 2018.

The Rev Dr Andrew Davison, a priest and theologian at the University of Cambridge with a doctorate in biochemistry from Oxford, was among 24 theologians who participated in Societal Implications of Astrobiology from 2016 to 2017, The Times reports.

'Religious traditions would be an important feature in how humanity would work through any such confirmation of life elsewhere,' Davidson shared in a blog post on the University of Cambridge site.

'Because of that, it features as part of NASA's ongoing aim to support work on 'the societal implications of astrobiology', working with various partner organizations, including the Center of Theological Inquiry at Princeton.'

Davison is publishing a book next year, titled Astrobiology and Christian Doctrine, which notes he believes we are getting closer to finding life on other planets.

Davison's book notes: 'The headline findings are that adherents of a range of religious traditions report that they can take the idea in their stride.

'Non-religious people also seem to overestimate the challenges that religious people . . . would experience if faced with evidence of alien life.'

Studies and surveys have shown that US Christians are less likely to believe life exists on other planets, but Davison is not the only 'believer' who does not think the idea of extraterrestrials is impossible.

Duilia de Mello, an astronomer and physics professor at Catholic University, said she has several seminarians in her classes who often bring up theoretical questions about intelligent life in the universe.

'If we are the products of creation, why couldn't we have life evolving in other planets as well? There's nothing that says otherwise,' de Mello told The Washington Post in August.



In 2008, the Vatican's chief astronomer says there is no conflict between believing in God and in the possibility of 'extraterrestrial brothers' perhaps more evolved than humans.

'In my opinion this possibility (of life on other planets) exists,' said Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, a 45-year-old Jesuit priest who is head of the Vatican Observatory and a scientific adviser to Pope Benedict.

'How can we exclude that life has developed elsewhere,' he told the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano in an interview in its Tuesday-Wednesday edition, explaining that the large number of galaxies with their own planets made this possible.

Asked if he was referring to beings similar to humans or even more evolved than humans, he said: 'Certainly, in a universe this big you can't exclude this hypothesis'.

Source and to read the rest of the story: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...lien-life.html

[amor]

Why is it that the most stuffy, politically constipated, know nothings, are chosen to decide what the rest of the world is allowed to know? Those on our planet considered to be wilderness tribes unable to read and write have whole histories of extraterrestrial interactions and information. If there is constipation in acceptance of the obvious, then it was put there by the religious and political controllers and not by the natural people of Earth. Contrary to the generated belief that the people will be wiped out by fear, we may all be consumed with curiosity to learn as much and more than we are being allowed to know.

[Hym]

Posted by amor (here)
Why is it that the most stuffy, politically constipated, know nothings, are chosen to decide what the rest of the world is allowed to know? Those on our planet considered to be wilderness tribes unable to read and write have whole histories of extraterrestrial interactions and information. If there is constipation in acceptance of the obvious, then it was put there by the religious and political controllers and not by the natural people of Earth. Contrary to the generated belief that the people will be wiped out by fear, we may all be consumed with curiosity to learn as much and more than we are being allowed to know.

Brilliantly understood and stated Amor!

The last people we'd ask about how humanity would react to, and has reacted to, the presence of aliens are theologians, some of the most highly unqualified groups of people to talk about being human and living spiritually sound lives.

That is a hilarious proposition, asking any group of dogmatically bound, science averse, spiritually ignorant egomaniacs about reality. And to top it off, a group of 3-D confined, greedy, secretive, dishonest abusers of the citizen's trust spending taxpayer money to fund it all? Only in America....

My question is, is it the government or the masonic temple funding all of the catering? They are all members, or at least most of them anyway. And you know they don't pack their own lunches....

[Open Minded Dude]

Asking a Theologian about these things is like asking a McDonald's franchise owner about providing the public with healthy nutrition.

[Mark (Star Mariner)]

Every comment spot on, mirroring my first reaction to this.

Posted by rgray222 (here)
CTI is described as building 'bridges of under understanding by convening theologians, scientists, scholars, and policymakers to think together - and inform public thinking - on global concerns.'

theologians – ignorant of spiritual reality
scientists – materialists by nature
scholars – stooges bought and paid for
policy-makers – thoroughly corrupt

Posted by amor (here)
Why is it that the most stuffy, politically constipated, know nothings, are chosen to decide what the rest of the world is allowed to know?

Yes, yes, and YES.

Posted by rgray222 (here)
....aimed to answer questions that have baffled us since the begging of time such as what is life? What does it mean to be alive? Where do we draw the line between the human and the alien? What are the possibilities for sentient life in other places?

They should have come to Project Avalon.

[Sunny-side-up]

NASA Robots wan't 24 examples of how to React To the Discovery of Alien Life, but too afraid to come straight out and ask for it 0.o

24 Hmm! Angel number.

[Ewan]

Posted by rgray222 (here)
'How can we exclude that life has developed elsewhere,' he told the Vatican newspaper

Developed, DEVELOPED, not.. um.. created? What has he said!!!