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Do Christians believe that there could not be life on other planets?

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In a survey article of centuries of views, Jon Garvey offers at Hump of the Camel:

God might indeed decide to make life on earth a unique case, and the vastness of a cosmos uninhabited by other physical beings a matter for himself alone. Indeed, one of the intriguing aspects of cosmic fine tuning is the realisation that a vast universe is necessary to enable the conditions a tiny inhabited world like ours requires. God’s prodigality in doing so much for us would make as plausible, and inconclusive, a case. Yet Chalmers once more shows that extraterrestrial life poses no inherent problem whatsoever for Christianity. Neither, though, does a universe in which life is unique to the earth – a situation (presently the only one for which actual evidence exists) that in contrast poses a big problem for metaphysical naturalism.More.

One can’t help wondering why the “faith problem” is being manufactured in some quarters. Conceivably, rumoured budget cutbacks at space agencies will get people thinking about problems where research might actually help instead.

See also: Suzan Mazur: NASA, tax dollars, space aliens, and religion… Of course, it’s yet to be determined that most religious people have much invested in the matter one way or the other, relative to their irreligious neighbours.

and

NASA cares what your religion thinks about ET One would expect that those world religions that care much one way or the other if NASA finds bacteria in space could fund their own examination of the question.

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Comments
Armand @3:
Intelligent life, especially if it was far more intelligent than us, certainly would [be inconsistent with Christianity].
And what makes you think this?Eric Anderson
March 18, 2017
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Life on earth is not inconsistent with Christianity as I understand it. Intelligent life, especially if it was far more intelligent than us, certainly would.Armand Jacks
March 18, 2017
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KF: "God obviously likes variety." I absolutely agree! :)gpuccio
March 18, 2017
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Try C S Lewis' Sci Fi and his Chronicles of Narnia as a counter-case, and several of his essays. I think there is a whole genre of Christian Sci Fi and Fantasy now. In the Bible, we can look at angels and demons as life of another dimension that intersects our world. Indeed, the view of man suggests we are not just of this world, we are a hybrid. And of course the concept of eternity suggests another domain in reality. So, why not other civilisations in our galaxy? God obviously likes variety.kairosfocus
March 18, 2017
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