Hawking: Beware the aliens

In keeping with the theme of Sunday's post: The renowned Stephen Hawking warns humans that aliens could be bad news.

The parallel he draws: The arrival of Europeans to North and South America, " ... which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans."

Superior technology and foreign diseases could all contribute to mankind's decimation in such a scenario; of course, it could go the other way, too (these themes are nothing new in discussions of alien invasions: H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds" hinged on it, and it sure saved Tom Cruise's butt in the 2005 film).

For the purposes of this blog, what interests me is alien cultures and, more specifically, any sense of supernatural or spiritual practices/institutions.

That could be an exciting TV show: Anthropologists in Space!

Another possible parallel to the arrival of Europeans: proselytizing. Imagine a scenario where erstwhile space aliens try and convert large swaths of the human populace to their religion.

Actually, I find the theme ripe for speculation; religion and space travel are a theme I intend to develop in this blog.

CLICK HERE for the article about Hawking's warning.

20 years of inspired awe courtesy of Hubble

If there's anything that stirs both scientific curiousity and spiritual wonder in me, it's photos taken of deep space.

The Hubble Space Telescope turned 20 yesterday. Here's the press release from the orbiting camera's official Web site, http://www.hubblesite.org/ (lots of great galleries on the site, too, which is where the photo at left came from).

CLICK HERE for some "Classic Hubble Hits" courtesy of MSNBC, including some sweet shots of colliding galaxies.

Weighing in on "Does God have a future?"

This is a new beginning, in some ways. I started this blog over a year ago and let it fall by the wayside two months later. I pulled down most of the posts I managed to publish here (believe me, it wasn't many), but the very first, my mission statement, remains. Fourteen months later it still says exactly what I want it to say (though I corrected a few typos).

Plus, the significance of the date really speaks to the purpose behind this endeavor.

I encourage you to check out my mission statement right here.

What inspired me to jump back in was an airing of Nightline a few weeks ago, pitting famed spiritiual guru Deepak Chopra against famed skeptic Michael Shermer. Part of the show's "Face Off" series, the program pitted the two (plus their chosen deputy) in a debate titled "Does God have a future?" How could I not watch that?

Here's the first segment of the program Nightline aired (I haven't been able to rustle up a video of the full televised version, but that's OK. Additional links below):



Here's the written version of the story.

Here are links to full segments of the debate (you'll have to scroll down to the correct group).

Since it's been a few weeks since I've viewed this, and because I want to watch the video segments in full, I won't make specific comments. The theme, though, is exactly what this blog is about, so I'll share a few general points (opinions) knocking persistently in my skull during that time:

Science is about the details; Religion is about the sum of the details.

Science is concerned with specific answers, while religion seeks answers to our broadest questions.

A question to illustrate those opinions popped into my head as I typed: "Why do humans exist?" The scientific answer might being with: "Humans exist because of evolutionary forces that shaped organisms into certain forms according to the dictates of environmental and biological conditions ... " The religious answer might be ... Well, I would refer you to the religious tradition of your choosing.

I don't think either Science or Religion will ever satisfactorily answer the questions the other poses, because those questions are coming from different places within us ("us" being humans - individuals, societies, mankind at large).

Does God have a future? Yes, He/She/It does. As long as humanity exists and is asking the broad questions, religion will exist, too, in some form or another. As long as religion exists, there will always be a God, real or fictitious.