Baptising aliens

[Napoléon]

It's still rather ironic to me, not in the sense that the Pope or the Catholic church would want to brainwash aliens, but rather that it would go against completely this notion that we are all somehow 'special'. Doesn't the bible say that humans are the 'chosen ones' as it were? That only humans have souls? Only humans can be baptized? Why are aliens different? Did the Pope simply not think it through? Or am I thinking too much?

[Godlesspanther]

I'm sure the Mormons have beat the Pope to it. I would not be one little bit surprised if the are already baptizing intelligent beings that we have never encountered and don't know that they even exist. But if the do exist -- they're Mormons now.

[vorlon13]

Once again, a pope has FAILED to check scripture. (no surprise there)

Aliens would, of course, not be sons of Adam, and therefore do not have souls. Who is to say whether or not they have souls? Well, HE is !!


I'd say the pope is edging, ever so slowly, towards non-believer status.




Interesting, bears watching, this one does . . . .

[Angrboda]

I think this pope is just trying to drive up numbers with a policy of "inclusiveness."

[Napoléon]

I think this pope is just trying to drive up numbers with a policy of "inclusiveness."

That is undoubtedly the case and I'm sure the gullible will lap it all up.

[Rampant.A.I.]

[vorlon13]

I'm thinking he wasn't paying attention to the nuns in his religion 101 class.

Frelling bizarre when we know the pope's job description better than the pope does.

Dammit people, if you're going to be religious, DO IT RIGHT!!! Making it up while you're going along ain't religion.

[Napoléon]

Dammit people, if you're going to be religious, DO IT RIGHT!!! Making it up while you're going along ain't religion.

Funny, that's exactly what I thought it was.

[JesusHChrist]

How do you baptize those water-hating aliens in "Signs"?

Hmmmm?

[Ksa]

Not that aliens would be stupid enough to get baptised by Catholics or anything.

We do not know that for certain. Other intelligent life in the universe may not be so intelligent. The fact that we have not seen them yet may not be a favor in their intelligence so much as in their underdevelopment. We have this notion that aliens are supposed to be technologically advanced geniuses, and I would not be surprised if the stereotype is just that.

For an advanced alien species to get to us it would require both capability and motive, and they may not have either one. We know that the fastest you can travel is the speed of light, and if they are a million light years away, they will never make it here in our lifetime. Also, because of what would happen if you hit anything at that speed, traveling at the speed of light would be a stupid thing to do.