If you were from a different galaxy.....

[bunny]

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bunny,

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Presumably I would have wondered where the universe came from and would have an answer (either a superior understanding of physical laws or a "it just happened" type of answer).

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That is where we disagree, why would you wonder that if the answer to your question is something that again can't be explained. Why not just focus on how things work rather than why, to which answer one can immediately ask why again? "How" seems much more useful than "why" (when the answer to that is not an answer, really, but pure speculation and fantasy).

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I dont really understand your objection, can you elaborate?

What I meant was: I think it is automatic to ask where the universe came from, or what caused it. I think the hypothetical alien would either have an answer from science we dont have yet or would have reached a science barrier and said - "This just is - there is no reason for it".

[bunny]

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Thanks for the answer, Bunny.

For sake of discussion, let's say that your species was advanced enough to have developed its' own theory on 'where the universe came from'.

You then re-examined what you thought you 'knew' and contrasted it against what you had seen on Earth in regards to the various religious beliefs/theory's.

For you, what conclusion(s) would that comparison yield?

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It would depend fairly fundamentally on the theory of my species - I doubt I would convert though (with no scientific evidence for theism/deism/whatever). I expect I would put it down to sociology/biology.

[Myrtle]

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Thanks for the answer, Bunny.

For sake of discussion, let's say that your species was advanced enough to have developed its' own theory on 'where the universe came from'.

You then re-examined what you thought you 'knew' and contrasted it against what you had seen on Earth in regards to the various religious beliefs/theory's.

For you, what conclusion(s) would that comparison yield?

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It would depend fairly fundamentally on the theory of my species - I doubt I would convert though (with no scientific evidence for theism/deism/whatever). I expect I would put it down to sociology/biology.

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If you 'converted', which of the religions would you choose & why?

If you rejected the notion of Earth's religions, what would be your basis for rejection?

[bunny]

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If you 'converted', which of the religions would you choose & why?

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This is getting beyond my abilities to make anything more than a guess. I would choose a religion which didnt contradict scientific knowledge. I guess I would also choose the one "closest" to my culture, if that means anything.

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If you rejected the notion of Earth's religions, what would be your basis for rejection?

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Lack of objective evidence.

[Myrtle]

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If you 'converted', which of the religions would you choose & why?

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This is getting beyond my abilities to make anything more than a guess. I would choose a religion which didnt contradict scientific knowledge. I guess I would also choose the one "closest" to my culture, if that means anything.

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....makes sense to me.

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If you rejected the notion of Earth's religions, what would be your basis for rejection?

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Lack of objective evidence.

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....again, makes sense to me.

What I'm curious about is what kind of analysis our hypothetical 'alien' would make, and what examples the alien would give to support their conclusion?

[bunny]

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What I'm curious about is what kind of analysis our hypothetical 'alien' would make, and what examples the alien would give to support their conclusion?

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I think they would struggle to make any sensible analysis. Presumably they would start with a literal interpretation of various scriptures/holy books etc. IMO you can rule out all religions as "true" pretty quickly if you treat their claims as literal statements of fact. It seems to me that it takes a fair bit of study to work out what they are actually claiming is true about the world. It seems to me that those claims are not supported by empirical evidence and so shouldnt be accepted as likely to be true by an impartial observer.

[Myrtle]

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What I'm curious about is what kind of analysis our hypothetical 'alien' would make, and what examples the alien would give to support their conclusion?

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I think they would struggle to make any sensible analysis. Presumably they would start with a literal interpretation of various scriptures/holy books etc. IMO you can rule out all religions as "true" pretty quickly if you treat their claims as literal statements of fact. It seems to me that it takes a fair bit of study to work out what they are actually claiming is true about the world. It seems to me that those claims are not supported by empirical evidence and so shouldnt be accepted as likely to be true by an impartial observer.

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Bunny,

Thanks again for the response. Let’s flesh it out a bit more if we can...........

The reason I posited my original post in the manner that I did was that I was trying to convey the point that it is vital to address this issue in a completely non-prejudicial manner as possible.

The ‘alien’ with no pre-conceived concepts of religion was my attempt to set the stage for a ‘tabula rasa’ process.

Of course, none of us can approach that position, but if we use it to create a mindset, we might be able to get closer to it than we would otherwise.

I don’t really know if our alien would ‘struggle’ with it, but I do think that it would take some time for him to come to a conclusion.

The process that he would use is what I’d like to look at.

For simplicity’s sake, let’s call our alien Gort.

If Gort were working on the problem, what would be his goal, and what would be his first step towards achieving same?

Would Gort’s goal be to arrive at a conclusion that would validate/invalidate all/any religions based upon their doctrine & history?

Would Gort attempt to identify and quantify all common themes that run through Earth’s religions?

What conclusions is he likely to arrive at from such an analysis?

Of course, there are many such questions to yet be asked & answered.........

[MidGe]

Myrtle,

I don't get it. The alien would be a more advanced civilsation since they initiated the contact. They would look at all religions on earth like earthlings look at religions from less "civilised" or more primitive societies than their own, surely! (as mere superstitions), Specially since there is not an iota of evidence for more moral attitudes amonst the varieties (except for minor temporary historical exceptions, going either way).

[Myrtle]

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Myrtle,

I don't get it. The alien would be a more advanced civilsation since they initiated the contact. They would look at all religions on earth like earthlings look at religions from less "civilised" or more primitive societies than their own, surely! (as mere superstitions), Specially since there is not an iota of evidence for more moral attitudes amonst the varieties (except for minor temporary historical exceptions, going either way).

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You're right.....I don't think you 'get it'; no offense intended.

They would NOT look at all religions in the manner you described above.

The mindset (or lack of preconceived notions) of Gort is the key.

[MidGe]

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You're right.....I don't think you 'get it'; no offense intended.

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No offense taken, but I think you are making it up biased based on your beliefs and pre-conceptions.

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The mindset (or lack of preconceived notions) of Gort is the key.


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Then he would be an atheist, "without" a belief, and find beliefs suspect.