Today a headline on Yahoo struck Meg as being quite interesting. She told me that the Vatican is now embracing the UFO phenomenon…I actually read something to this effect yesterday but I had to see if anything new was being said. Take a look for your self.
By ARIEL DAVID, Associated Press Writer Tue May 13, 4:07 PM ET
VATICAN CITY – Believing that the universe may contain alien life does not contradict a faith in God, the Vatican’s chief astronomer said in an interview published Tuesday. The Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, was quoted as saying the vastness of the universe means it is possible there could be other forms of life outside Earth, even intelligent ones.
“How can we rule out that life may have developed elsewhere?” Funes said. “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.”
In the interview by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, 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. The interview, headlined “The extraterrestrial is my brother,” covered a variety of topics including the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and science, and the theological implications of the existence of alien life. Funes said science, especially astronomy, does not contradict religion, touching on a theme of Pope Benedict XVI, who has made exploring the relationship between faith and reason a key aspect of his papacy.
The Bible “is not a science book,” Funes said, adding that he believes the Big Bang theory is the most “reasonable” explanation for the creation of the universe. The theory says the universe began billions of years ago in the explosion of a single, super-dense point that contained all matter.But he said he continues to believe that “God is the creator of the universe and that we are not the result of chance.” Funes urged the church and the scientific community to leave behind divisions caused by Galileo’s persecution 400 years ago, saying the incident has “caused wounds.”In 1633 the astronomer was tried as a heretic and forced to recant his theory that the Earth revolved around the sun. Church teaching at the time placed Earth at the center of the universe.
“The church has somehow recognized its mistakes,” he said. “Maybe it could have done it better, but now it’s time to heal those wounds and this can be done through calm dialogue and collaboration.”
Pope John Paul declared in 1992 that the ruling against Galileo was an error resulting from “tragic mutual incomprehension.” The Vatican Observatory has been at the forefront of efforts to bridge the gap between religion and science. Its scientist-clerics have generated top-notch research and its meteorite collection is considered one of the world’s best.
The observatory, founded by Pope Leo XIII in 1891, is based in Castel Gandolfo, a lakeside town in the hills outside Rome where the pope has a summer residence. It also conducts research at an observatory at the University of Arizona, in Tucson.
I have been researching the UFO phenomenon for several months now and I believe the Vatican has missed the mark. This is not surprising though. I am but a single person who is not a Biblical scholar however, I’m fairly confident that these “aliens” are not necessarily our brothers. It is written in Genesis 6:2-7 the sons of God came down and took human women for their wives. Who are the sons of God? Unfortunately Genesis does not expound on this however, the book of Jubilees does. (Study the book of Jubilees before you form any opinion one way or the other please.) I believe that it is quite clear that the sons of God are fallen angels and the name associated with them are The Watchers. God had a very specific purpose in mind for The Watchers and it didn’t include taking human women as brides.
The Vatican should know this and for them to characterize aliens/The Watchers as our brothers is suspect to say the least. In time I will present more information regarding this topic but for now I’ll let it rest. But if anyone would like to follow up on this topic please make a comment and include your email if I don’t already have it.
Tags: aliens, fallen angels, God, the Vatican, The Watchers, UFO
