Richard Feynman once said “Listen, I mean, from my knowledge of the world that I see around me, I think that it is much more likely that the reports of flying saucers are the results of the known irrational characteristics of terrestrial intelligence rather than the unknown rational ethics of extraterrestrial intelligence” (Cornell, 1964)
I recently had a discussion about religion:
Him: "Do you believe in aliens?"
Me: "I think it's possible that there's other life in the universe"
Him: "How can you believe in aliens and not in god?"
Me: "I think it's possible that god exists, but that's not the issue. I'd have an equal problem with people who tried to make policy, teach science, or tell other people what to do based on personal revelations from aliens."
The statement was incomplete, but contained the heart of my problem with religion. The issue is not whether a god could exist. So far, there is no objective evidence of god just as there is no objective evidence of other life in the universe. We have personal opinions, traditions, divine books which bear the marks of human authorship, and "miracles" which have never been beyond the capacity of nature to explain. My issue is that people have ideas of what god wants and does not want. I shouldn't limit it to god, but I will for the moment. When someone says that god doesn't like condoms, I ask, how do they know?
don't @ me
9 years ago
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