Pope Francis: “We are not alone in the Universe.”

[Trading]

These are wonderful news for NASA. Maybe now the Vatican, with its deep pockets, starts making some contributions to NASA's budget. No problem if there isn't holy water on Mars or Alpha Centauri; in due time, NASA will ship some.
The Vatican probably is thinking that they have to go save our alien brothers from hell. Of course, with all the priests, will also go all the "entrepreneurs" (like Pizarro and Cortez), to help spread the word.

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[Trading]

By the way, if this pope said something like this 400 years ago, he would be burnt alive as Giordano Bruno was, for saying much less (that the stars were other suns and that there were other worlds around them).

[b!z]

Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.

[herzmeister]

Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.

No, there exist a lot more possibilities, which are even MOAR TERRIFYING!!!

Do we live in a simulation, as mentioned upthread? MOAR TERRIFYING!!!

Simulations inside simulations, as in inception? MOAR TERRIFYING!!!

Some of which simulate a whole universe, some only one planet wondering about the Fermi Paradox? MOAR TERRIFYING!!!

"Not only is the universe stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine."? MOAR TERRIFYING!!!

[Trading]

It is impossible that we are alone, as an intelligent species, it's something that was determined statistically.

Even assuming that life needs water, we already statistically know that there are billions of planets like Earth, with (liquid) water. Planets that are not too far or too close to their stars. We found a couple of planets like Earth even if we only discovered a few hundred planets yet. We can't say that 1% of all planets have water, but we would have billions of them, even if the rate was 0.001%. Even if specialists don't have yet a rate for the emergence of life on these kind of planets (we only know the case of Earth with life, so we can't extrapolate a rate) they think it's fair to assume that life most be something very common.

The issue is intelligent life.
We already know why we are intelligent: because of changing climate situations. Our brain almost didn't grow from about 7.5 millions years to about 2.5 millions years. Because it was a period of relative stability on climate conditions. When the climate started to have abrupt changes from drought to plenty of rain, that was a challenge and only the smartest that could adapt survived.
See Matt Grove. Change and variability in Plio-Pleistocene climates: modelling the hominin response. Journal of Archaeological Science, 2011; 38 (11): 3038 DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2011.07.002 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110921115910.htm (great article)

So, we need planets with water and changing climate conditions, even if not so radical that will extinguish all complex life.

And, yes, the universe is looking like very bizarre and mysterious. So much we don't know.

[Mageant]

And, yes, the universe is looking like very bizarre and mysterious. So much we don't know.

We may not know, but we don't know if that applies to everybody on Earth.

Meaning, there may be some people on Earth who *do* know but aren't telling us.

[Trading]

I don't want to say that I don't believe in conspiracies theories, but I'm skeptical about them. Usually, they are created just to show how intelligent his author is, the one that can see the truth where all the rest, ignorant or stupid, can't. Or because the author can't accept that something horrible has a simple explication.
As far as I know, we don't have more than a bunch of theories (string, multidimensional, you name it), without any evidence to support directly them, on what created the big bang.

[Ludi]

It is impossible that we are alone, as an intelligent species, it's something that was determined statistically.

It's highly probable and statistically likely that there's life out there, but I don't think it's certain.

[Trading]

We don't know the exact conditions that create life, but all points out to a pure chemical reaction. Some proteins not far from life were obtained in laboratory. With the proper conditions, we would get life.
With billions of planets with water, I think it's impossible to say that the proper conditions wouldn't ever be reunited after a couple of billions of years on many of them. As physicists say, what isn't impossible most necessarily happen, we just have to wait enough time.

[kuroman]

Is this the first pope that accept that there is aliens?

Prominent religions like Islam or Christianity did never say we are alone heck you can find reference to angles and other beings that are far from being related to us or out planet, it's the people that are and were in control who used to mislead people for their own gain

[kerafym]

So, Jesus is an alien?

[bitsmichel]

It is impossible that we are alone, as an intelligent species, it's something that was determined statistically.

It's highly probable and statistically likely that there's life out there, but I don't think it's certain.

In a lot of places in the universe one cannot live, because there is no heat (0*k) or way too much heat. Even if there is life, how would they reach us? Light only travel 300.000 km/s and the nearest star is more than one light year away.  They would need really advanced technology, primitive (like us) species would not be able to reach us.

[Bit_Happy]

So, Jesus is an alien?

The idea that Jesus was an ET in human form has been around for decades (Yes... it's a pre-internet theory)
One detail I remember being told is that he healed seriously sick people by "laying his hands on them", when actually ET Jesus could have had a small high tech device to inject medicine into the patient.

I've never seen convincing proof, but it is an interesting idea.
Do you actually believe his mother Mary was a virgin?

[beetcoin]

So, Jesus is an alien?

The idea that Jesus was an ET in human form has been around for decades (Yes... it's a pre-internet theory)
One detail I remember being told is that he healed seriously sick people by "laying his hands on them", when actually ET Jesus could have had a small high tech device to inject medicine into the patient.

I've never seen convincing proof, but it is an interesting idea.
Do you actually believe his mother Mary was a virgin?

there's a conspiracy theory for everything though. humans will believe anything and everything they want. i don't think i can get fazed by what people think anymore.

[commandrix]

So, Jesus is an alien?

The idea that Jesus was an ET in human form has been around for decades (Yes... it's a pre-internet theory)
One detail I remember being told is that he healed seriously sick people by "laying his hands on them", when actually ET Jesus could have had a small high tech device to inject medicine into the patient.

I've never seen convincing proof, but it is an interesting idea.
Do you actually believe his mother Mary was a virgin?

there's a conspiracy theory for everything though. humans will believe anything and everything they want. i don't think i can get fazed by what people think anymore.

I once heard a conspiracy theory that men once landed on the Moon. Oh wait--there are samples of lunar material and plenty of video footage to prove it. Seriously though, it's nice to see the Catholic church at least take some little shuffling steps towards joining the 21st century.

[thehun]

I'm not at all religious but I like this guy. First of all, he comes from the "street": he never wanted any big luxuries, used to travel in public transport in Buenos Aires and he even worked as a bouncer at club before becoming a priest. I always disliked the Catholic Church for their ostentatiousness.

Second, he has started to talk openly about some taboo topics like homosexuality and contraception with quite progressive views

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/10688421/Pope-says-Catholic-Church-should-not-dismiss-gay-marriage.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/the-pope/8148944/The-Pope-drops-Catholic-ban-on-condoms-in-historic-shift.html

I find the second point especially relevant as the decades-long ban on contraceptive methods has highly contributed to spreading AIDS and other diseases in the third world.

Is this just pure PR to try to stop the rapid decline of practicing Catholics in the whole world? Maybe, but still I think it's a very good improvement

On a different topic, I think the existence of aliens shouldn't be at all contrary to any religion. If God created people and many other creatures on the Earth, why couldn't he/she have done the same in other planets? Would't these aliens also become immediately "God's creatures"?

[herzmeister]

Then we have the question again if every planet has "their" Jesus, the one and only Son of God.

This is a serious discussion and I think it was Teilhard de Chardin who would say yes. He tried to combine theology and rational science and thus worked out that a "Son of God" manifestation would be a necessary evolutionary step in the development of every intelligent species.

[bitsmichel]

Then we have the question again if every planet has "their" Jesus, the one and only Son of God.

This is a serious discussion and I think it was Teilhard de Chardin who would say yes. He tried to combine theology and rational science and thus worked out that a "Son of God" manifestation would be a necessary evolutionary step in the development of every intelligent species.

If there is intelligent life they would view us as nothing but primitive monkeys, let alone take our advice/opinions 

[sana8410]

Then we have the question again if every planet has "their" Jesus, the one and only Son of God.

This is a serious discussion and I think it was Teilhard de Chardin who would say yes. He tried to combine theology and rational science and thus worked out that a "Son of God" manifestation would be a necessary evolutionary step in the development of every intelligent species.

If there is intelligent life they would view us as nothing but primitive monkeys, let alone take our advice/opinions 

If i told you that there was a species of monkey that would one day be more inteligient and aggresive, and will try to take over the human race. what do you think you would do to that now primitive monkey? same with aliens perhaps extinguish now before we come unhandleable in the distent future.

[stompix]

Then we have the question again if every planet has "their" Jesus, the one and only Son of God.

This is a serious discussion and I think it was Teilhard de Chardin who would say yes. He tried to combine theology and rational science and thus worked out that a "Son of God" manifestation would be a necessary evolutionary step in the development of every intelligent species.

We have a far more interesting problem on our own.
How many Jesus were on this planet and how many more will come?