Allen Roy wrote:
> From: george murphy <gmurphy@raex.com>
> > So someone who believes in the Incarnation and in the reality of
> angels
> > can't think that there might be intelligent life on other planets?
>
> Actually, I consider the "Sons of God" who gathered in Heaven in the Book of
> Job to be the rulers and/or leaders of unfallen created life forms from
> throughout the universe. The excuse claimed by Satan for showing up in
> heaven after having already been kicked out was because he owned the
> earth -- "from going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down
> in it." He showed up, not because he was an angel, but a ruler. Thus, the
> "Sons of God" certainly are not the angels.
> However, they would have no reason to communicate with the only fallen
> planet in the universe, for they are watching with interest everything that
> is happening. Satan has accused God of duplicity in front of the universe
> and
> they are watching to see who is right. God is on trial and we (just as Job
> and co. was) are the witnesses for the defense or the prosecution. This
> planet (not the universe) is the stage on which the drama of truth and evil
> is being played out.
First, you seem to miss the point of my question: Is it possible for a
person who who believes in the Incarnation and accepts the reality of angels
also to think that there are intelligent biological entities of the sort that
SETI &c look for on other planets, and that they might be contacted by physical
means (radio &c)? Of course that was to some extent a rhetorical question.
That the answer is "Yes" is evidenced by myself and others on this list who
accept that possibility (which is of course not to say "certainty").
Second, you misinterpret the role of Satan in the Book of Job. There he
has not been "kicked out of heaven" but plays the role of the overzealous
investigator + prosecuting attorney for the celestial court who is trying to
bring charges against Job. In Job, Satan is not the enemy of God and leader of
fallen angels which he would later become in Jewish and Christian thought.
Third, "the sons of God" in Job 1 (& Gen.6:1-4) is better rendered "the
sons of the gods" and in Hebrew idiom means "beings of the class 'god'" - as
"the sons of the prophets" means something like "members of the guild of
prophets." "The sons of the gods" correspond fairly closely to "angels" in
later Christian thought.
Shalom,
George
George L. Murphy
gmurphy@raex.com
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jan 19 2001 - 07:48:04 EST