Your attempt to keep your mouth shut (and fingers still) is most commendable.
However I appreciate you breaking your short-lived vows of silence and immobility.
It is certainly a challenge to seek to understand Biblical principles here, when the
Biblical world picture is unlikely to have included any concept of the moon and
planets as worlds you could visit and exploit. Of course for Aristotle it would
have been a challenge for everything beyond the moon also, as they were composed of
ether, and were different to terrestrial matter.
C.S. Lewis once rather cynically spoke of space travel as having the goal of
spreading sin through the universe (does anyone know where he said that? I can't
find it). He had in mind the risk that humans might play a role in causing the fall
of other alien "hnau" (God conscious beings), as illustrated in his novel "Voyage to
Venus". This is unlikely in the short term, but there are other opportunities for
sin despite that. Given that selfish and destructive used of the terrestrial
environment is also sinful, we need to consider what creation care means in a cosmic
context. Questions of peace and justice also also germane. Space militarization is
a fact, although, fortunately, space weapons systems have been limited. If we are
to utilise the resources of other bodies, how are these to be equitably used?
Perhaps we should also mention on the positive side of space travel as well. These
include: a greater appreciation of the wonders of God's creation, of the finiteness,
fragility, and uniqueness of the earth, the responsibilities we have been given as
God's Stewards, and the tools they offer us, through remote sensing, communication
SAR, and navigation satellites, to better manage the earth for all. The number of
Christian publications that have used pictures from the space program surely is
witness to this positive side.
The exotheology questions raised by intelligent aliens are fascinating, but unlikely
in the short term. However the issues raised by space exploration and utilisation
are here now. I must go - a large 15 legged golden sphere has just landed on the
neighbour's house and creatures looking like Hallucinogenia in spacesuits are
emerging. Where is my copy of the 4 spiritual laws when I want it?
Jonathan
george murphy wrote:
>
> I had thought about your previous post but figured it would be a good
> exercise for me to keep my mouth shut for a change. But since no one else has
> commented -
> The biblical writers simply didn't contemplate humanity travelling to
> other planets so there are no direct commands or commissions concerning such
> activity. That doesn't mean that a biblically based theology can't say anything
> about the issue but what is said has to be understood as theological opinion.
> It seems to me that the same general principles which apply to the human
> role on earth can, to some degree, be extended to the cosmos: I.e., one would
> have to replace "earth" in passages like Gen.1:26-28 by "universe". Humanity is
> called to represent God in caring for the universe - an activity which includes
> but is not limited to concern for the human species itself.
> Note that I said "to some degree". There are some limits - or at least
> some open questions - introduced by the following factors:
> 1) While scripture speaks about God's care for the creatures of the
> wilderness, beyond human habitation, in Job 38-41. In line with this it's
> appropriate on earth to keep some areas simply as wilderness. But it's not
> clear that such considerations extend to totally lifeless areas such as the
> moon.
> 2) Should human "dominion" in the proper sense be limited by the
> existence of other intelligent lifeforms - if there are any. In one sense yes -
> exploitations of such ETs on the pattern of what too often happened in the age
> of European exploration & colonization should be ruled out. But would we have
> an obligation to proclaim the gospel to them? Ephesians 3:10 hints at an
> answer, but this can only be a hint because the text is actually speaking about
> angelic powers.
> God has become incarnate on planet earth, and the NT certainly suggests
> that this has universal significance. But we simply don't know how the
> incarnation is or should be related to ETs. The church needs to think about
> this question so that we aren't (as has too often happened) caught napping by
> new discoveries. But there is probably only limited value in detailed
> speculation, since answers must depend on what we actually find out about each
> (if any) intelligent species.
>
> Shalom,
>
> George
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