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Journalist: ET can be common ground between atheists and ID theorists

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War-of-the-worlds-tripod.jpg
Alien tripod by Alvim Corréa, 1906 French edition of H.G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds”

He suggests making clear that life was not necessarily created by the “the God of the Christians and the Jews”:

Instead, it points to the design of some higher, alien species. Say, a race of brilliant beings who live in Alpha Centauri, who have learned how to travel by wormholes. No, there’s no evidence for that, but there’s equally little evidence for the “Multiverse.” That’s a favorite fiction of atheists eager to escape the religious implications of the Big Bang. But that didn’t stop Stephen Hawking from touting it. Okay? It’s not the “Divine Foot” of Yahweh we’re letting in the door. It’s a mysterious alien green foot of a purely natural being. One who doesn’t impose morality on us. Or care if we sleep with our much younger lab assistants… Perhaps if intelligent design advocates stipulated such alien designers, they’d hit much less resistance. Biologists wouldn’t work so desperately hard to avoid the evidence of their eyes. John Zmirak, “At Last, Common Ground for Atheists and Intelligent Design Advocates” at The Stream

Guy’s doubtless kidding. Anyway, people familiar with the scene are unsure how it would help:

It’s an interesting suggestion. But as Michael Behe noted the other day, Darwinists “are famously slow to recognize problems for their theory.” Why so slow? You have to understand how many careers, and how much of personal image and other factors, are wrapped up with the theory that nature on Earth created itself, only giving the illusory appearance of design. Stipulating actual design by Little Green Men would still be an affront, requiring Darwinists to admit they were wrong, and not about a small matter. This may not be the way forward after all, John. David Klinghoffer, “Peace Through ETs? John Zmirak’s Puckish Proposal” at Evolution News and Science Today:

Klinghoffer’s onto something. Knowledge of the sheer massive intricacy of design in nature grows by the day and the only possible hostile response would now have to be attacking anyone who wants to discuss it seriously. True, the space aliens won’t run afoul of the No Divine Foot rule but if that’s the only problem they solve, they’re not going to shed much light on the nature of nature.


See also: Tales of an Invented God: The most important characteristic of an AI cult is that its gods (Godbots?) will be created by the AI developers and not the other way around

and

They’ll always be Out There

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Comments
Richard Dawkins is on record saying that he was OK with ET's producing life on Earth. Just as long as those ET's arose via Darwinian means. However, there is no way to tell until we can study them. So Dawkins' can believe whatever his little mind desires. And IDists are on record saying that ID does not require God.ET
February 24, 2019
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I would again point out that the VERY much older Shamanistic religions believe in God, but are pretty thin on "morality". All human beings have immortal souls that go to be with God when their bodies die. That is, there is no Hell (Hell is the invention of Professional Priests to SCARE people into coming to their churches). While we're here, we should play nice with others because that is the way humans as pack animals were designed. Humans who don't play nice with their fellow pack members should go stand in the corner, or over by that rock if your people haven't discovered Housing yet (See "The Quest for Fire"). On very rare occasions, individual humans get to "see" Heaven and then return whole. The Celtic Fall Festival that degraded into Halloween was a special night where anyone, not merely the Druids/Shamans, might go to The Other Side and return whole. Regardless, everyone will go to The Other Side when we die.vmahuna
February 23, 2019
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> Or care if we sleep with our much younger lab assistants… I think I know what this guy's underlying philosophical motivation is...EDTA
February 23, 2019
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