Alien Question for Atheists

[AFTT47]

So I started this thread as an off shoot from Tiberius' thread which is a question for Christians.

The scenario on the other thread is this: 

Peaceful aliens (i.e. intelligent non-humans from another planet, let's say outside of our solar system) make first contact. After getting to know them, the subject of religion comes up. They have a concept of religion, but none of their religions are compatible with Christianity. On top of this, their species made all the advancements that humans did (e.g. invention of writing, the wheel, agriculture, etc.) millennia before we did.

My question is, how would you react, especially with regard to their intelligence, and that their religions are incompatible with Christianity. Would it make you doubt Christianity, or that humans are "special" and made in God's image? 

https://atheistforums.org/thread-55158.html


So I wanted to ask you guys. If it was the other way around, how would you react to it? The other way around as in, we made contact with these intelligent beings and found out that the predominant religion in their planet is very compatible with Christianity, like it's basically the same thing. They talk about God having lived as one of them, they talk about the trinity, salvation, Heaven and Hell, etc. Would it make you doubt your position as atheists, or would it make you more open to exploring Christianity?

This kind of post is one reason why we love you, CL and hope you will never leave us. It's a good question and of the kind we welcome.

To answer your question, YES, it would start the whole investigative process over again. The fact that two independent civilizations with no prior contact with each other somehow managed to come up with a very similar dominant religion would raise eyebrows. It would demand study. It would definitely get my attention and I suspect it would get similar attention from the other atheists on this message board.

One thing that maybe you don't comprehend about us is that we are Truth seekers - perhaps much like yourself. We differ in the methods we use to seek and recognize truth - at least regarding to the question of divinity. In your hypothetical situation, yes, I would have to re-examine my beliefs as the situation would demand such. After re-examination, I might come to my same conclusion of atheism or I might conclude that the new evidence indicated it more likely that Christianity is true.

Either way, my belief is dictated by what the evidence shows - not what I would like to believe. We atheists are realists for the most part. Most of us are calling it the way we see it.

The available evidence we have now does not look favorably on the existence of gods or God. Change that and my ears are wide-open. I suspect the same would be said of most of my fellow atheists.