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Should Humanity Take Religion on Interstellar Space Voyage? (Bapist preacher says NO!)
Live Science ^ | September 19, 2012 | Clara Moskowitz

Posted on 09/20/2012 9:13:23 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

Sending people to another star will be a monumental undertaking, and the challenges will be not just technological, but human. One thorny question, experts say, is whether to involve organized religions in the effort to mount an interstellar journey.

Religious leaders argued the issue Sept. 14 in Houston at the 100 Year Starship Symposium, a meeting to discuss the prospect of sending a space mission to another star within 100 years.

The church has the resources, funding and reach to garner support for an interstellar mission, said Jason Batt, group life director at Capital Christian Center in Sacramento, Calif. Batt said there is "spiritual potential" in space travel and that the church should begin preparing an organization for an off-planet ministry.

However, others resisted the notion of involving organized religions in a starship mission. Such a voyage would likely be long, and may involve multiple generations, with perhaps 10,000 people onboard. [Are Aliens Part of God's Plan, Too?]

"The only way humanity can survive is if they leave behind the Earth-based religions," charged Rev. Alvin Carpenter, pastor at First Southern Baptist Church West Sacramento. "If there's any way to make this fail, bring Earth-bound religions."

Religions, he argued, breed aggression and conflict...

(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...


TOPICS: Catholic; General Discusssion; Religion & Politics; Religion & Science
KEYWORDS: christianity; interstellartravel; islam; space
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What kind of pastor is that guy?
1 posted on 09/20/2012 9:13:29 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
We can cross that hurdle when technology allows for interstellar travel.
2 posted on 09/20/2012 9:17:26 PM PDT by DYngbld (I have read the back of the Book and we WIN!!!!)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Actually I have always thought the opposite, that religions are the best suited to explore the stars. My Church, not just as a religion, but as a functioning organization with leaders and members and clearly defined roles, is 2000 years old. There is no other organization as old, or has lasted as long, ever. Consider that the US Government is the oldest surviving consitutional government, and it is only 223 years old.

So when we need to do projects which take generations long, like setting off for other planets, or terraforming a planet, or even handling nuclear waste, a religious organization is the only organization with the time scale to carry it out to its conclusion.

3 posted on 09/20/2012 9:21:11 PM PDT by Vince Ferrer
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
What kind of pastor is that guy?

He's really just the captain of his bowling team. He doesn't want religion on the voyage because he thinks they will need every scrap of space for Miller Lite.

4 posted on 09/20/2012 9:22:51 PM PDT by stevem
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

One could make the argument that liberalism breeds aggression and conflict. So should we ban liberalism from the starship???????


5 posted on 09/20/2012 9:23:35 PM PDT by Dilbert San Diego
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

One could make the argument that liberalism breeds aggression and conflict. So should we ban liberalism from the starship???????


6 posted on 09/20/2012 9:24:12 PM PDT by Dilbert San Diego
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Occam’s Razor DEMANDS that there is only life on this planet..
It would a scant little bitty miniscule bit of information otherwise.. to believe other..

Occams Razor; the maxim that assumptions introduced to explain a thing must not be multiplied beyond necessity.

“We could still imagine that there is a set of laws that determines events completely for some supernatural being, who could observe the present state of the universe without disturbing it. However, such models of the universe are not of much interest to us mortals. It seems better to employ the principle known as Occam’s razor and cut out all the features of the theory that cannot be observed.”- HAwking...


7 posted on 09/20/2012 9:33:22 PM PDT by hosepipe (This propaganda has been edited to include some fully orbed hyperbole..)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

This guy is a moron. Religion is a natural and civilizing thing


8 posted on 09/20/2012 9:36:00 PM PDT by GeronL (The Right to Life came before the Right to Pursue Happiness)
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To: Vince Ferrer
My Church ... is 2000 years old.

And our Earth is 4.6 billion years old ...

Go figure!

9 posted on 09/20/2012 9:38:31 PM PDT by OldNavyVet
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Hmmmm ..?? If you’re born again .. the Holy Ghost is kinda going with you .. isn’t He ..??


10 posted on 09/20/2012 9:44:58 PM PDT by CyberAnt ("America is the greatest nation on the face of the earth".)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

11 posted on 09/20/2012 9:52:14 PM PDT by James C. Bennett (An Australian.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Only humans are fallen. Satan is captive here. No alien will visit this place until the Messiah returns, if there are any. I sure wouldn’t visit if I were them.

Love CS Lewis’ space trilogy.


12 posted on 09/20/2012 9:55:52 PM PDT by huldah1776
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To: huldah1776

Only humans are fallen. Satan is captive here. No alien will visit this place until the Messiah returns, if there are any. I sure wouldn’t visit if I were them.

Love CS Lewis’ space trilogy.

Maybe that is why UFOs keep a low profile...


13 posted on 09/20/2012 9:58:40 PM PDT by GraceG
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Have you ever watched Babylon 5? What i find fascinating is that is one of the only few Sci-Fi series that has episodes that deal with religions in the future and space exploration.

They have a group of monks on the station at one point that are employed by the station personnel to sift through data for the station commander.

Commander Ivanova is Jewish and her Rabbi comes to talk to her about her dad’s death.

They also explore some of the alien’s religions and one of the station commanders literally becomes a relgious leader in the past of one of the alien species known as the minbari.

Plus B5 also has Jerry Doyle, who is a cool guy and a conservative along with Bruce Boxelietner who is as well.


14 posted on 09/20/2012 10:04:21 PM PDT by GraceG
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

The original Star Trek series sort of addressed this question in an episode in which Kirk and his bridge team were going to be killed by an alien race because they discovered that humans have a violent past and we have murdered each other.

In that episode, Kirk launches into a soliloquy about laws and religion that provides morals and alternatives to our violent nature.

This was one of the ‘preachy’ episodes that Star Trek got into with social issues instead of being an ordinary, entertaining TV show.

Nonetheless, the message was powerful and still applies. If we DON’T take religion with us when we venture into the stars, that’s more telling about the kind of people we will have become, than the kind of people we are.


15 posted on 09/20/2012 10:08:38 PM PDT by DustyMoment (Congress - another name for white collar criminals!!)
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To: OldNavyVet

If you wanted to terraform Mars, and it would take a thousand years, who would be the best organization to manage the project? The Soviet Union? Aztecs? Hitler’s thousand year Reich? Or the Vatican?


16 posted on 09/20/2012 10:09:55 PM PDT by Vince Ferrer
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To: GraceG; 2ndDivisionVet

Some clips from Babylon 5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap0-uO8h2OU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VvbNqU_HaA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXPaGCRngWw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jli3ruqWYlc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zLy7UenSuE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XEjrwC07D0


17 posted on 09/20/2012 10:11:29 PM PDT by GraceG
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

“”The only way humanity can survive is if they leave behind the Earth-based religions,” charged Rev. Alvin Carpenter, pastor at First Southern Baptist Church West Sacramento.”

Glad to see he’s so positive about his faith. A real evangelist...


18 posted on 09/20/2012 10:35:31 PM PDT by Unam Sanctam
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

There are many kinds of Baptists. He is a Space Baptist.


19 posted on 09/20/2012 10:48:40 PM PDT by procrustes (You make Free Republic look bad!)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

If you watch closely, there are no Muslims or Islam in Star Trek.

That’s because it’s set in the future. . . (evil grin)


20 posted on 09/20/2012 11:03:49 PM PDT by Salgak (Acme Lasers presents: The Energizer Border. I **DARE** you to cross it. . . .)
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