have they found anything?

[JoeyDonuts]

I heard the Arecibo Radiotelescope actually received a reply from star cluster M13...alien television excerpts. A couple minutes' worth of the Zaphod Beeblebrox Show followed by an infomercial for prime swampfront timeshare property on Dagobah.

"Limited time offer this is. Act now you must."

 

[amb]

How does one invest in this opportunity of a lifetime?? I have my credit card on standby.

Please post instructions ASAP.

 

[The Drain]

How does one invest in this opportunity of a lifetime?? I have my credit card on standby.

Please post instructions ASAP.

There's two ways.
1. Take over Arecibo during the middle of the day when all astronomers are asleep and fire off your credit card details into the cosmos
2. Or you can send me your credit card details and I will pass them on.

 

[amb]

I think I'll wait for something a bit more tangible.

 

[JoeyDonuts]

I think I'll wait for something a bit more tangible.

Beaming your CC info into the cosmos...hmm interesting.

It begs the question though...what if our first contact from another civilization was that your card had been declined?

I wonder if you could dispute the charges if some intergalactic identity thief decides to place an order for 500 cases of Saurian Brandy and a lifetime subscription to Pon Farr Uncensored on your Discover.

If you believe any of this, I've got a bridge in New York I'd like to sell you.

 

[Gravy]

I heard the Arecibo Radiotelescope actually received a reply from star cluster M13...alien television excerpts. A couple minutes' worth of the Zaphod Beeblebrox Show followed by an infomercial for prime swampfront timeshare property on Dagobah.

"Limited time offer this is. Act now you must."

The one that gets me is "Heads on: apply directly to the foreheads!"

 

[CrikeyBobs]

I imagine there's a difference between 'wonderfully complex' and 'irreducibly complex' (the ID claim).

As an example, a fractal (eg The Mandelbrot set) is most certainly "wonderfully complex", but its complexity can be reduced to very simple arithmetic, involving repeated applications of multiplication and addition. And fractals are not restricted to the abstract world of virtual art, there are also fractals in nature (Fractal#In_nature^WP)

 

[Radrook]

How is the eye reducibly complex?

 

[Cainkane1]

Wouldn't contact with Aliens be somewhat futile, based on the fact that the difference in time between us and the other life be so vast? (like, based on the time it would take for the signal to travel?)

Is ancient literature worthless because we no longer have contact with Herodotur or Socrates? If we could contact aliens we would have a lot to share even if we could never meet in person.

 

[amb]

Sure. We send a message and we receive a response 500 years later. Quite a conversation starter that is.

 

[Radrook]

Dawkins warned that perhaps it would be better not to try to communicate.

 

[amb]

What will happen to religion if the impossible ever happens and an alien civilization does make contact with us?
I think it will be the greatest comedy act of all time watching the fundies scramble for an explanation.

 

[Radrook]

What will happen to religion if the impossible ever happens and an alien civilization does make contact with us?
I think it will be the greatest comedy act of all time watching the fundies scramble for an explanation.

What is it that you believe fundies believe that prevents their accepting God having created other creatures on other planets?

 

[amb]

Fundies believe in an Earth centered universe. They reluctantly accepted that the Earth orbits the sun. In their sacred scriptures, it states that God made Adam and Eve in their image. Nowhere in the babble [Genesis] does it state that God also made OOraku and AAnnau on a planet far, far away.
Imagine if ET making contact with us knows nothing of any gods yet they would be at least 1oo-3oo thousand years ahead of us on the evolution path, both biological and technology wise.
This very question was asked of a high ranking church official decades ago. His response was. '' Well, if they do not know of Jeebuse's sacrifice here on Earth, we would have to teach them about the good news of the gospels.'' Imagine that. ET traveling for perhaps hundreds of light years to be bible bashed by some fundy organization.

 

[Radrook]

Fundies believe in an Earth centered universe. They reluctantly accepted that the Earth orbits the sun.

Can you please provide the name of this denomination or denominations that still refuse to accept that the earth isn't the center of the universe? The reason I ask is because in all my years as spiritual disciplinarian : ) I have yet to meet one. I do know there are people who think the earth is flat. But they aren't religiously motivated.

In their sacred scriptures, it states that God made Adam and Eve in their image. Nowhere in the babble [Genesis] does it state that God also made OOraku and AAnnau on a planet far, far away.

That's because the Bible is a book for mankind and about it's place and responsibilities on this earth. The Bible actually does mention extraterrestrial non- human beings-angels.
In fact, it speaks of an invasion by those beings and their genetic experiments with mankind during Noah's day. So it isn't at all quiet about non-human life-forms. It's silence in reference to material non-human or extraterrestrial human life-forms doesn't prove that they don't exist. It merely might be that he chooses not to mention them.

Imagine if ET making contact with us knows nothing of any gods yet they would be at least 1oo-3oo thousand years ahead of us on the evolution path, both biological and technology wise.
This very question was asked of a high ranking church official decades ago. His response was. '' Well, if they do not know of Jeebuse's sacrifice here on Earth, we would have to teach them about the good news of the gospels.'' Imagine that. ET traveling for perhaps hundreds of light years to be bible bashed by some fundy organization.

There are ignoramuses who claim to know but know NOTHING. Or who claim expertise in Christian biblical teachings but when questioned reveal they are charlatans. The persons or person you just described fits that description. There are millions of fundamentalists who don't hold the views you describe. So it is a misrepresentation to describe them that way.

bTW
Your purposeful misspellings don't really convey anything other than your need to
mock, chortle, denigrate, and generally attempt to annoy those who consider those words sacred. In view of your chosen festering modus operandi I am forced to use the ignore option in order to clear my screen. In any case, nice try but no cigar.

 

[Kthulhut Fhtagn]

Can you please provide the name of this denomination or denominations that still refuse to accept that the earth isn't the center of the universe? The reason I ask is because in all my years as spiritual disciplinarian : ) I have yet to meet one. I do know there are people who think the earth is flat. But they aren't religiously motivated.

I know of no official denomination but I know of a handful of individual Christians who believe the earth is fixed and unmoving.

Heliocentrism is an Atheist Doctrine

The Earth Is Not Moving

 

[amb]

I know of no official denomination but I know of a handful of individual Christians who believe the earth is fixed and unmoving.

Heliocentrism is an Atheist Doctrine

The Earth Is Not Moving

Thank you very much. You have saved me at least half an hour Googling for that info.
The funny thing is, these kooks take all this seriously. Deluded or mentally unbalanced?
Take your pick.

 

[Radrook]

There's a curious comment on the previous to prevcious post I'd like to address.
If indeed there are extraterresrials under the ID scenario then they would have been informed of their status just as we have been. So all the ridiculous confusion that would ensue due to the supposed big surprize wouldn't exist under that scenario now would it?
Of course under that other senario it would. But that other scenario has a false premise as it's basis.

 

[Ottis]

Wouldn't the whole "ID" idea almost guarantee the existence of ETI??

.....snip....Surely, it would be fantastic to know there is other intelligence out there, but practically how would it affect you personally? ...snip...

Practically, I would personally Know something fantastic!!!

.....snip.... And you are actually interested in such matters.. I guarantee the majority of people are not. ...snip...

I respectfully disagree with that, I at least hope you're wrong anyway..

<hysterical reaction that radrook expects from me>The "impression you get"? You mean the Bible doesn't say? Oh, my, you're on your own, huh? I guess were supposed to assume that since god made them so far away we're not supposed to communicate and ask sticky questions like, "Do they have souls? Do they need to be saved, or did they pass their big test? Do they even have a religious concept at all? ...snip....</hysteria>

Ha! and why don't we add; "pardon me, Do you have any Grey Poupon??"

But seriously, lets say that SETI comes to the conclusion that we are really alone in the universe. (i know it doesn't work like that, humor me on this) in science, isn't No just as important an answer as Yes??? And wouldn't being alone raise more questions then not??

 

[Radrook]

<hysterical reaction that radrook expects from me>The "impression you get"? You mean the Bible doesn't say? Oh, my, you're on your own, huh? I guess were supposed to assume that since god made them so far away we're not supposed to communicate and ask sticky questions like, "Do they have souls? Do they need to be saved, or did they pass their big test? Do they even have a religious concept at all? ...snip....</hysteria>

I never mentioned the Bible so you can't logically be referring to me

Well, if there is an ID and he created the distances, the hazards, the light velocity speed limits why is it illogical to think that he doesn't want us to get in contact? If indeed he'd wanted us to communicate more easily he could have just as easily placed them on Venus or Mars or have created a duplicate earth within our solar system.

As for sticky questions, why are they sticky? They are simply questions just like any other questions we have a right to ask. Neither do the answers to those questions present any particular difficulty as you seem to imagine. Why you think they do is beyond me.

Let me give you a demonstration:

Do they need to be saved?

Any intelligent creature at serious odds with the ID as you are describing it
is in need of being tweaked, correcte, or fixed.



Do they have a religious concept?

It depends on how they were designed. Animals don't have religious concepts.

Do they have souls?

Again that depends on whether the ID has chosen to grant them a soul as you conceive the word to mean.

None of those questions pose any insurmountable obstacle to religious faith. Why do you feel they do?