Catholics Can Finally Sleep Soundly Knowing Believing In Aliens Isn't A Sin
WHO KNEW THAT CATHOLICS WITH IMAGINATIONS had to hide this fact from other church-goers? Apparently more than gay priests have had to stay in the Catholic closet: Until recently, Catholics who believed in aliens might have wondered if they were violating church canon. Now comes news that the Vatican has issued a statement informing churchgoers that it's okay to believe in aliens.
"How can we rule out that life may have developed elsewhere?" said The Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory. "Just as we consider earthly creatures as 'a brother,' and 'sister,' why should we not talk about an 'extraterrestrial brother'? It would still be part of creation."
Funes said that such a notion "doesn't contradict our faith" because aliens would still be God's creatures. Ruling out the existence of aliens would be like "putting limits" on God's creative freedom, he said. What's happening here? Is the Church trying to draw from the ranks of Scientologists?
But even more groundshaking is his comment that the Bible "is not a science book." He said the Big Bang theory is the most "reasonable" explanation for how God created of the universe. Whoaa buddy! Have you informed the Pope of this heresy your spreading? And if the church is broadening its interpretation of the Book, it needs to get busy spreading that word to a whole lot of righteous followers tsk-tsking those who don't take it literally.
That the church is giving license to Catholics to think for themselves on the alien issue could cause all sorts of problems for it in the future: Doesn't this risk having Catholics learn to think for themselves in other, more personally relevant topics, like birth control and abortion? If so, it would be a welcome change. Now if we can only get members of the Church of Oprah to think for themselves.
Posted May 15, 2008
Home
