Suppose, then, that E.T. is far ahead of us not only scientifically
and technologically but spiritually, too. Where does that leave
mankind's presumed special relation****p with God? This conundrum poses
a particular difficulty for Christians, because of the unique nature
of the Incarnation. Of all the world's major religions, Christianity
is the most species-specific. Jesus Christ was humanity's savior and
redeemer. He did not die for the dolphins or the gorillas, and
certainly not for the proverbial little green men. But what of deeply
spiritual aliens? Are they not to be saved? Can we contemplate a
universe that contains perhaps a trillion worlds of saintly beings,
but in which the only beings eligible for salvation inhabit a planet
where murder, rape, and other evils remain rife? Those few Christian
theologians who have addressed this thorny issue divide into two
camps. Continued at http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2003/09/davies.htm
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