[Dharma Ga]

A few million years from now the sun is going to vaporise earth, humans should've developed the technology by then to move to another habitable planet, but if they haven't, will all religious people believing in their God, be as confident God exists, at the end of all that we know? Not having read much of the bible I still believe the bible talks about Earth being the designated place for humans and animals. Indeed, Mt Sinai, God's ten commandments on the pillar of Stone, supposedly took place on Earth. Thus it would mean, if the humans manage to escape to another planet, for the bible to still be able to justify it as being truth it would have to be rewritten to accomodate for another planet being earth, which would mean it was completely manmade and hence not God's word.

Opinions?

[Jrquinlisk]

A few million years from now the sun is going to vaporise earth, humans should've developed the technology by then to move to another habitable planet, but if they haven't, will all religious people believing in their God, be as confident God exists, at the end of all that we know? Not having read much of the bible I still believe the bible talks about Earth being the designated place for humans and animals. Indeed, Mt Sinai, God's ten commandments on the pillar of Stone, supposedly took place on Earth. Thus it would mean, if the humans manage to escape to another planet, for the bible to still be able to justify it as being truth it would have to be rewritten to accomodate for another planet being earth, which would mean it was completely manmade and hence not God's word.

Opinions?

I'm of the opinion that, when the sun does die in five billion years, humanity as we know it will have long since ceased to exist, so it'd be a rather moot point.

Assuming for the moment, though, that humanity does continue to exist and that Christianity continues to be a major social factor, I would expect that the Bible would go through so many permutations that it would, once again, become a moot point. In the extreme off-chance that this isn't the case, then perhaps the end of the world would mean the end of Christianity, as most Christians choose to stay on Earth even through its doom. Or perhaps...

I could come up with plenty of scenarios, but as I said at the beginning, I expect it would be a moot point.

[Schwarz]

Well, considering Judaism continued as a religion long after most Jews left Israel, I assume that Earth would adopt a sort of Edenic/lost Promised Land sort of quality in the mythos of Christianity c. 5000000000 A.D. Reasoning within that sort of a time frame, however, goes outside the mindframe of the sort of Biblical literalism your post is aimed at, so I'm thinking that like jrquinlsk said, it's kind of a moot point. Most Evangelical and Fundamentalist Christians would expect Christ to have returned by then.

Even a million years is a very long time. On an evolutionary time scale, it's roughly the length of time humans have been around. By the time the world ended, the environment would likely have changed enough that whatever was around wouldn't bear much of a resemblance to what we think of as humans anyway. Christianity persisting intact for that long would, I think, be so remarkable that it could be considered miraculous, which if anything would be better proof of God's existence.

But rereading the original post, I see you didn't reference Christianity specifically, which makes your thought process puzzling. High-level Hindu philosophy and Greek Socratic/Platonic philosophy both posit a God, as have certain Chinese philosophers who worked independently of a Judeo-Christian worldview or even influence. Pick a target, theism in general or Abrahamic religion. It influences the answer to your question.

[LadyJava]

A few million years from now the sun is going to vaporise earth, humans should've developed the technology by then to move to another habitable planet, but if they haven't, will all religious people believing in their God, be as confident God exists, at the end of all that we know? Not having read much of the bible I still believe the bible talks about Earth being the designated place for humans and animals. Indeed, Mt Sinai, God's ten commandments on the pillar of Stone, supposedly took place on Earth. Thus it would mean, if the humans manage to escape to another planet, for the bible to still be able to justify it as being truth it would have to be rewritten to accomodate for another planet being earth, which would mean it was completely manmade and hence not God's word.

Opinions?

I believe humans would take their religion wherever they went.

From Psalms 139:

7
Where can I hide from your spirit? From your presence, where can I flee?
8
If I ascend to the heavens, you are there; if I lie down in Sheol, you are there too.
9
3 If I fly with the wings of dawn and alight beyond the sea,
10
Even there your hand will guide me, your right hand hold me fast.

[chu]

if humans DID find another planet to inhabit christians would probably view it as a gift from God,
i mean isnt that a 'he answered our prayers' sort of thing?
of course the religion covers abroad scope of people, and there will always be some
who take an opposing view.
but in the end i feel like the majority of christians wouldnt end their relationship/belief in God,
faith can be pretty durable.

[cryptonia]

also: most credible theologians operate under the premise that different parts of the bible describe things from different perspectives--sometimes from God's, and sometimes from humans'. I have read the bible, and am not sure what you mean about Earth being a "designated" place. If it were in there, though, and we were getting ready to colonize another planet as we spoke, I'd think (though I'd have to see which passage you're talking about first, to be sure I wasn't twisting it) it'd be quite easy to say "Earth was described as humans' place because it was where they were at the time--it was a descriptive passage, and not a prescriptive one."

Of course, I'd be vehemently against colonizing another planet on a few other biblical grounds--but I'm pretty sure nobody could argue in good conscience that it says we would never/could never make it off the planet. My memory for the text is fading with time (I hope to refresh it this summer--but it's been several years now since I've studied it seriously), so feel free to point out any passages that contradict me. I don't recall any existing, though.

[Schwarz]

also: most credible theologians operate under the premise that different parts of the bible describe things from different perspectives--sometimes from God's, and sometimes from humans'. I have read the bible, and am not sure what you mean about Earth being a "designated" place. If it were in there, though, and we were getting ready to colonize another planet as we spoke, I'd think (though I'd have to see which passage you're talking about first, to be sure I wasn't twisting it) it'd be quite easy to say "Earth was described as humans' place because it was where they were at the time--it was a descriptive passage, and not a prescriptive one."

Of course, I'd be vehemently against colonizing another planet on a few other biblical grounds--but I'm pretty sure nobody could argue in good conscience that it says we would never/could never make it off the planet. My memory for the text is fading with time (I hope to refresh it this summer--but it's been several years now since I've studied it seriously), so feel free to point out any passages that contradict me. I don't recall any existing, though.

I'm interested in your rationale for opposing interplanetary colonization. Out of the Silent Planet-type worries, or something else?

[thewindlistens]

You're trying to fight religious dogma with logic. Or at least describing the fight between them.

Even if it was 'a few million years', one single million of years is, for a species like humanity, far too long to go unchanged. How did we look just a few hundred thousand years ago? I have no doubt that we would see ourselves from that time as very alien.

But, even if it is very likely that we'll be wiped out before that, the sun won't see any major changes for billions of years. By that time, if we are still around, we probably won't even be mammals anymore. (since that would be more time than life on earth needed to be around to create us in the first place)

I find it very hard to fathom how people can not distance themselves even the smallest bit, just enough to see the bible for what it is... a collection of dogma and wise proverbs. Among countless others.

How it isn't blindingly obvious that it cannot be the one and only such thing, I will never know.
You know, since you don't even have to look into different times, theres hundreds of them around today... sigh.

[cryptonia]

I find it very hard to fathom how people can not distance themselves even the smallest bit, just enough to see the bible for what it is... a collection of dogma and wise proverbs. Among countless others.

iiironny...

seriously. Read... er--I'm actually at a loss for which books to suggest, because there are so many-- and tell me again that everyone in the religion is filled with dogma and lacks logic. Virtually anything by Schlatter, Calvin, Warfield, Machen, Lewis... like, seriously? It was far from open minded, and I'd be stunned if you told me you've read anything from people who actually study their religion, or even much more than what pops up on the internet/forums. I'm sorry, but I'm ashamed another INTP just said that.


Schwartz: Out of the Silent Planet thematically, but not literally (I'd hope that's an "of course"--but I thought I oughta be clear ). It's sort of a combination of things, though. Before reading that book, I would have based it off of Romans 8:20-22. Creation has known nothing but pain since shortly after men were put in charge of it, and I've no wish to torment other worlds. Out of the Silent Planet jogged my mind into realizing how obsessive people are over conquering death (seriously--I've no idea why I didn't see it earlier), and being cast out of the garden was not a punishment. The Fruit of Life would freeze man in his sinful state (the Christ had to die, no?), so guarding us from it was, truly, an act of mercy. I've no desire to continue living in a fallen body (til I get sick, of course--then I prove myself to be a hypocrite--but on principle, I don't want to), so I wouldn't be a fan of space colonization for that, either. Lastly, I don't like the "spread and consume" ideology that seems hardwired into our culture. Out of the Silent Planet had that one striking scene--where he's talking to one of the creatures, and asked what they do when there's not enough food, or they need more of something--and the creature brushes it off as if it were the most absurd idea in the world to spread beyond your planet's resources, or fight each other when there's enough plants to eat for everything. I'm no idealist, but my idea of perfection shot up a few notches when I read that. Naturally, my view of sin deepened as well, and likewise my love for redemption.

so... that's basically it. I don't like that we spread and consume, I don't like that we're artificially creating (or perhaps just forcing our way to get) the Fruit of Life, I don't want to increase Creation's pain--evidenced by it's groans--by spreading sin any farther than it already is, and I'm not naive enough to believe that any piece of humanity is pure enough to split off and make a peaceful community on any planet it spreads to. ---> I wouldn't support space colonization

[Happy]