How would you explain religion to an alien?

Religion is the business of spiritualism!!

reply to post by SaturnFX


Good question really it is. As far as i figure it though they would understand religion because id be willing to bet they will have there own brand of religion as well. The only way they wouldn't is if they didn't have any beliefs and i don't think you can have an intelligent being without beliefs.

I don't believe there are any aliens so the question is a moot point. Although, if you had to explain it to a stranger to religion which is the same thing, the you would say it's about faith, meaning, honor, trust and respect. A common belief of mankind of a reason for us being here and an ultimate goal and journey.

Without this common thing to unite us, there is chaos, anarchy and an ultimate decay of the quality of life, which you can actually see happen in the United States.

Bag me all you like, I have faith and nothing you can say will move me as i'm of the old school Christian faith. So you wanted an opinion, there it is.

I find it interesting that most haven't actually answered the question (at least seriously). instead, there is rule changing of the hypothetical

did any of you even read the op?

no...the aliens in question -don't- know about religion or god...no, they don't understand other elements of mythology to explain mythology...as its the same thing (fairy? ok...now explain a fairy)

Seriously, did some of you do that poorly in school?

Teacher: Lets say a man in a train is travelling from boston to new york...and an.."
Student: I am going to stop there and instead say there is no man in a train as people drive, and therefore going to not answer the question as written


folks...how would you explain religion to an alien race curious about this strange notion? they don't want to be converted, they don't want to laugh at it...they are just interested (in the same way you would explain music to a deaf person...are you going to start with "Justin Beiber sucks" like somehow that would be relevant...or are you going to explain music...

you know what...nevermind...congratulations on the 4 people in this thread that did actually put some thought into the issue...the rest of you clearly are out of your element in hypotheticals...sorry

you dont. but if you must... ASK if that alien/species believes in something greater that itself.

if it replies in the positive, it has some semblance of spiritual or religious belief.

no need to throw our earthly religious or spiritual beliefs onto yet ANOTHER creature.

havent we done enough of that right here?! chill......

This species has created a belief system based on their secret/Subconscience Wants and needs.
Mixed with foolish pride and an oversubstained ego, it retains no logic, other than basic concepts and metaphors of it's lfe. Seeking a god, like a child seeking a parent. A belief system much like our political system, with demons and angels as who is good and bad. Many homo sapiens hold strongly to these belief out of the fear of death. Of course one will reassure themself to assume they are immortal, it's their way of coping with death.

They seem dependent on the idea of their god, and will fight each other for their own idea of what god is, so you can see why none have come, we wouldn't agree with them and try to attack. They are intelligent for not coming, only being as idiotic as us would try to contact us.

reply to post by SaturnFX


Id say: religion is a lie created to divide and control the masses of people who ultimatly end up brainwashed,causing them to incite hate on those who do not conform to there way of life in there religion,it is responsible for allot of deaths and wars and "GOD" is truely ment as "Everything that exist around us".people are branwashed and constantly relying on the fact "Jesus" or "God" will save them, there hope has been drawn out for many years and there only waisting there time as they refuse to believe in Extraterestrials and would rether denie there existance even though there is more evidence of ET life then there has ever ben of "god" or "jesus".

Originally posted by Common Scarecrow
There would be no need to explain God to aliens.

God has angels as assistants. It is my belief that "aliens" are actually the devils assistants and will play a major role in end time events in "deceiving many".

God is God. Religion is man-made. Always has been.

"Religion" has always lead people away from God.

is that really what you believe? or do you believe that because someone else has programmed you, that is, told you to believe that? that's the funny thing about a good religion...its good because it is paradoxical in every way, i.e., it cannot be argued because it's fundamental ideas and notions are backed with inarguable statements. not to mention religion is completely geographically regional, meaning you would believe in something completely different if you were born in say asia or the middle-east.

What if the "bad" guy is really "the good guy" and the bad guy just wants to turn you against his enemy?

What if the whole concept of good vs. evil is completely made up? Instead, everyone (meaning all species intelligent and primitive) is basically trying to better themselves in life, and others are either for you, don't care about you, or against you because you are in their way of bettering themselves.

Mid conversation with alien schloars.

Earther: So, on our planet we have what we call religions. faith is you will, what we believe happened in the beginning of our specie - who created us and the stories surrounding them.

the alien Raises eyebrow and looks at his colleague.

Earther: however we have many different points of view on this, all claiming to be correct which has lead to many conflicts, death and emotional charges. We are incredibly divided on this.

and goes on to explain the origin and creation stories, of many of traditional religions.

Alien looks across again at his room, nods to his colleague to come over "How long ago was it, when our long range ship found that planet with those monkeys on it? these sure do a lot like those specimens that got brought back. but these ones kinda resemble us"
2nd alien schloar: "was that the one where half the crew mutinied because they wanted to get thier leg over on some alien females"
1st alien "yeah, thats the one... you dont think these humans are there descendent do you?"

Human butts in... "sorry, you called us humans. you know what we are called? what is your race called?"

1st alien "we are called by your native tongue using our language translated to yours as best as possible. it is pronounced Annu-naki. "

Well Bub, I'd say
It's like this:
Religion is for those too dumb to be taken in by politics

I noe I'll catch hell for that but...

reply to post by SaturnFX


after they explained to ME about their Culture Their ways then Comparing The Oldest Religious Scriptures & writing we have we have on Earth Explaining of Beings that came from The Sky to Earth That Created Us

How we learned from their teachings how advanced they were & the technology they had as we called them Gods as we didn't understand how their machines & things worked of a Highly Advanced Sentient being they were ..

that in our Ancient past it seam's to have gotten lost through time with much evidence they what Supreme Sentient Beings were here throughout the World especially in places of evidence what we call North Africa & Middle east and South America with little much recorded history as Our Ancestors mostly learned from the word of mouth past down through the centuries at Campfire and Storytellers . Until Written Language was written in stone .

I would tell them about just about every religion tells almost the same story with Superior Beings That had Attributes and Virtues that People would Worship to their Liking

The Great Flood , Afterlife , a Son of a Sentient Being that Taught us more or Saved US! from Destruction
DemiGODS Jesus , Perseus

I would Show them The Sumerian Texts First ... Last Century we Found Text in the Middle east
One of Our Oldest Written Language I would show them The Pictures Etched in Hard Granite Stone & Cylinders
that are claimed to be Myths & Hoaxes But Standard modern Religion & Historians and Scientist Yet there's Ancient Anomalies all around the World we still can not explain from our past



I would also tell them even tho the majority science and Religion dont not believe in these Myths the will Gladly Name the Stars & Planets & Moons after those Mythical Beings ! ................................
and that would really Confuse an Alien ! would it not !

I would tel them my personal Belief that what we call Gods is the possibility what they are...the Zorn's !


and show them This Video ! :LOL: as i put this on ATS so Many times ..

how GOD and Religion created?



The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL), a project of the University of Oxford,
www-etcsl.orient.ox.ac.uk...

Religion is a type of delusional disorder that has managed to spread to large parts of population through memetic infection.

Originally posted by marriah3330

Originally posted by MrWendal
I have to admit I absolutely LOVE the question posed in this thread. I mean really... what are you supposed to say? Oh there is an invisible man who lives in the sky. He knows everything, he sees everything, and he loves you. However if you do not believe in him, he will cast your soul into hell to be tortured for all of eternity.

Am I the only one who can actually hear the alien laughter?

Wow *clap *clap *clap, well this is exactly what the OP wanted to hear, that is the point of this thread right OP, to mock, once again, peoples belief in God. So if I was the OP I guess I would slap a big fat "WINNER" here.
Congrats on your cliche view and answer to his question.

edit on 30-4-2011 by marriah3330 because: (no reason given)

edit on 30-4-2011 by marriah3330 because: (no reason given)

I find your response to my post really quite interesting. I do not think I was being "cliche" in any way at all. Is there something that I have misrepresented? Does the bible not claim that God is all knowing and sees all? Does the bible not claim that God loves you? Does the bible not claim that if you do not believe that Jesus is the son of God and died for your sins, that you will be cast into hell to suffer for all eternity?

The way I posted my opinion my be very simplistic, but it is also accurate. Is it not?

reply to post by SaturnFX


That would be something i just wouldn't be able to resist. Id start by belling them that all humans worship someone in a higher place to them. When they ask me who this was id simple answer "ME".

I would tell them that humans worship me because i bring them piece in hard times and comfort in sad times. Then i would give them the golden chance to be like humans and worship me also and they would have a better life.

Once that is over i would tell them that humans built me palaces all over the world and humans give me money when they come to worship me.

Then id slip in my business card in case they get a leak or something

Originally posted by MrWendal

Originally posted by marriah3330

Originally posted by MrWendal
I have to admit I absolutely LOVE the question posed in this thread. I mean really... what are you supposed to say? Oh there is an invisible man who lives in the sky. He knows everything, he sees everything, and he loves you. However if you do not believe in him, he will cast your soul into hell to be tortured for all of eternity.

Am I the only one who can actually hear the alien laughter?

Wow *clap *clap *clap, well this is exactly what the OP wanted to hear, that is the point of this thread right OP, to mock, once again, peoples belief in God. So if I was the OP I guess I would slap a big fat "WINNER" here.
Congrats on your cliche view and answer to his question.

edit on 30-4-2011 by marriah3330 because: (no reason given)

edit on 30-4-2011 by marriah3330 because: (no reason given)

I find your response to my post really quite interesting. I do not think I was being "cliche" in any way at all. Is there something that I have misrepresented? Does the bible not claim that God is all knowing and sees all? Does the bible not claim that God loves you? Does the bible not claim that if you do not believe that Jesus is the son of God and died for your sins, that you will be cast into hell to suffer for all eternity?

The way I posted my opinion my be very simplistic, but it is also accurate. Is it not?

Well its the "invisible man" in the clouds that is God in your opinion that is so cliche IMHO. Accurate? No, God is not a guy in the clouds, he is the whole universe, and you are within it. People love to personalize God so much into human form, because some could not even fathom the reality of who God is, and you are one of them IMO. And everyone, after death, gets a chance to choose their beliefs again in the raising of the dead, the dead not only meaning the physical dead, but the people without a soul, thats the dead it talks about a lot in the bible. Sorry Saturn FX this has gone in this direction, hope we're not too far off topic.
Peace,
marriah

I would ask the space aliens-- Our Holy Bible says, "You cannot see God." Since I cannot see you, therefore, you must be a God. If you are not a God-- Please prove otherwise.

Then, I would say too them, the explaination of religion is this: Fantasize a situation, where you are on a battlefield, alone in a foxhole. Your situation is dire, with almost no chance of survival against the overwhelming demonic hordes of evil about to overcome you position. What would you do next, besides going out in a blaze of glory?

The answer too me, in about 99% probability rating would be: I would start praying to a higher up being, or their version of a God for someone to save there ass.

Foofighter's forever,

Erno86

The best way to show an Alien we know God would be to show them love by our actions. Since we would not speak the same language taught by God, the first actions would speak our heart to them. Love is the universal language. If they are sufficiently advanced enough to make it here, then they would be sufficiently advanced enough to recognize our civilization by how well we treat each other. At this moment in time, we are telling them that we do not know God very well. Definitely not well enough to express a common language that is refined enough to express a God they may already have recognized.

The better question would be this: How can we determine that they know and are one with God? The answer is the same.

We're explaining religion, right? Not 'god' or any other deity, or any particular faith, just the religions.

"Our best knowledge of the evolution of mankind is that there was a fusing of chromosomes from the great apes that cause one less pair of chromosomes. The result of this was - after many generations - what we now call man. Man was eventually able to communicate, and capable of rational thought. However, they were not so sophisticated as to understand what was happening around them. For all things they couldn't understand they assigned supernatural forces as the cause. This, in turn, became the earliest sparks of religion.

When bronze age man experienced certain natural occurrences they didn't understand, they again assigned these to their assumed supernatural power, which by this time has become personified into a deity.
Some men discovered around this time that they could pretend to understand these supernatural personifications, and others would listen to them - assuming that they knew what they were talking about. This gave power to those pretending to understand. They were able to manipulate others by inventing stories. This became an extremely useful tool, and is carried on today to manipulate others to do the bidding of those with the power.

As time went on, many of these stories from the bronze age were transcribed and those with the power insisted that these stories were written by the deity. This gave them even more power - and eventually wealth - since only those who were pretending to know the secrets were allowed to be literate. The stories were used to instill fear into the masses, and to once again manipulate others into giving wealth to the 'religion.' As more time passed, these stories were interwoven into the laws governing the masses. This created more wealth, and more power.

In the meantime, those who were being told these stories - the masses - tried to qualify their lack of power and wealth by believing that this was all in the big plan of the deity. Of course, this was what they were told to believe, and this plan worked magnificently for those with the power for many centuries. Since those without wealth and power believed their poverty was ordained by a supernatural personification, they accepted their fate.

The same principles are used today, although other methods of instilling fear and acceptance of one's fate are also used."

reply to post by SuperiorEd


Although your assumption is that love is an exclusive of the religious.

Divine love is not the same as physical or emotional love.

There is no assumption. Divine Love is all that remains once bias is removed. This is demonstrated and evidenced in the lives of countless humans who have reached enlightenment. Waking up from the dream of reality is waking up from the misdirection of self-delusion. The illusion of not knowing the self is the illusion of thinking of the soul as a possession. The soul is not a possession. It is a gift from God. LINK All of life is one. Treating your own soul or the destiny of others as a possession is separating that life from the whole. Its not about me, its about we. Love. This should be a basic conclusion of an advanced civilization. Divide et impera is divide and conquer. We would know them by their hearts. Are they one or do they seek to divide?

In any sport, you can only win with teamwork. The losers are the always the ones who can't work together. This is how you beat the adversary. In the Bible, you are the witness and God is the judge. Evil, hatred and bias represents the adversary. We are here experiencing the education necessary to inherit the universe. Ephesians chapters 1-3 tell this mystery. No assumptions necessary.

Originally posted by Badgered1
reply to post by SuperiorEd

 

Although your assumption is that love is an exclusive of the religious.