NASA hires 24 theologians:

[Kingofalldems]

Link to tweet

[Lars39]

1. I've been half-joking about a giant holographic Jesus

coming down from the sky. Maybe this is the year.

[electric_blue68]

3. The Centauri have such technology...

(Babylon 5 SF tv series) 😁👍

Their Emporer sometimes makes announcements from up in the sky

[Lars39]

4. heh...add some surround sound and we're in business

[electric_blue68]

6. Heh!

[Celerity]

31. Project Blue Beam conspiracy theory suggests NASA has secret plans to create new world order

https://www.news.com.au/technology/project-blue-beam-conspiracy-theory-suggests-nasa-has-secret-plans-to-create-new-world-order/news-story/25266f2c57e89e139f0fa9daddeb0953

[Lars39]

53. Good grief

The things people believe.

[JanMichael]

2. Towing Jehovah!

[FalloutShelter]

5. Reminds me of the movie CONTACT

With Jodie Foster and Mathew McConaughey
Plays a theologian.

[electric_blue68]

8. One of my favorite movies

[canetoad]

16. Do yourself a big favour

Try to grab a copy of Carl Sagan's book. Leaves the movie for dead - and I loved the movie.

[electric_blue68]

37. I might have read it decades ago. When I get my library e-book app back I'll check for it. 👍

[PCIntern]

51. That's true...7/8 of the book is terrific

If I recall correctly, he was very sick and his wife finished the book with some of her own issues thrown in. Generally first-class SF however…

[Bristlecone]

10. My first thought also.

[dweller]

7. Wasn't this pretty much covered in CONTACT ?

it didn’t end well …


✌🏻

[electric_blue68]

9. That's partly true...

SPOILERS
.
.
.
.
.
They truly got technology from another civilization, but because the nature of her journey which had no visible evidence to the public after the hearings so it didn't go well for her.
Remember one of the President's top aides wanted to know why they had oh, say, 23 Hours of static on the recording machine which they kept secret.

[dweller]

11. It's a daily mail article ...

but I was thinking about the fanatic that spoiled the first orb drop … and I have to wonder about Joel osteen’s input eventually …

it will not end well

✌🏻

[electric_blue68]

54. Oh, right... Forgot about that.

[Xolodno]

12. "Your God is too small!"

We often define God in our own terms and into a small box. And the notion that exceeds your limitations, gets called heresy.

[StarryNite]

13. Oh that's interesting.

Do they know something that they haven't told us yet?

[Amishman]

47. possibly, adding this to the UFO talk the past few years and its interesting

"What is true, and I'm actually being serious here, is that there are, there's footage and records of objects in the skies, that we don't know exactly what they are. We can't explain how they moved, their trajectory. They did not have an easily explainable pattern. And so, you know, I think that people still take seriously trying to investigate and figure out what that is."

President Obama's words last year.

Add the two together and I sit up and take notice

[myohmy2]

14. talk...

...about a waste of taxpayer dollars...

...money for this but not for childcare or senior dental care?

...wasn't there suppose to be a separation of church and state?

...I'm a believer but this leaves me in disbelief...

...get to Mars before the Chinese and stop fucking around...

[Captain Zero]

15. So if theologians assessment is that...

We can't handle the truth, will we not be told the truth?

Put the information with the Kennedy assassinations files, we.never seem to be allowed to see that. Either.

[mainer]

17. I once interviewed a NASA official about just such preparations

The question was, how would they handle public response to announcement of alien life? They actually are concerned about religious terrorism by outraged Christians having their human-centric views challenged.

[Silent3]

20. If that's the big problem, many of the people they'd most have to talk to...

...would refuse to participate.

One could only hope that the more open-minded theologians, who will participate, have some greater insight into their less open-minded colleagues than anyone else would. That may or may not be the case.

[Delmette2.0]

18. Either way is scary.

If there is other intelligent life out there, we are the dumb ones and not ready for their technology.

If there is not other intelligent life out there, we are the intelligent ones and we are in deep trouble.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

19. I guess that new Hubble Space Telescope didn't waste any time.

[Thomas Hurt]

29. James Webb Space Telescope

[Hassin Bin Sober]

30. Lol. Yeah that too.

[lindysalsagal]

21. As long as they can overcome covid; bring on our alien overlords.

[Progressive Jones]

22. I guess all that "creation" bullshit is about to be exposed, and these theologians

have been hired to spin the story in order soften the blow to a whole lotta fragile minds and egos.

[Renew Deal]

26. Finding life off of earth doesn't prove or disprove the existence of a "higher power"

But it does cause problems for the major religions, especially if they claim there is "one god." At best the religions can claim that God is more complex than they ever understood, and "we" continue to learn about Him. At worst they can claim that they knew all along and couldn't tell. I doubt that many people responsible for organized religion will walk away. There's too much money involved.

Do the Scientologists claim to be right?

[Progressive Jones]

28. Agreed, but it raises thousands of questions and blows holes in a lot of dogma.

There's a potential for things getting real interesting.
You brought up the money involved.
I see a lot of lawyers getting involved re that money.


I find this idea interesting. "At worst they can claim that they knew all along and couldn't tell."

You just know that some of them will. Then they can hang on forever.

[Renew Deal]

32. there is no doubt it would be problematic.

The question of how ordinary people react to well documented evidence of an intelligent species is interesting, particularly from the religious angle. Does it impact suicides? What about crime?

Separately, how would it impact military policy and weapons in space? Any civilization that can cross the expanse of space and get here would have far more superior technology. But transmitting messages is possible. We don't need space ships landing to have proof.

[Buckeyeblue]

39. Agreed. It's mostly about the money

The Evangelicals are constantly reinventing their religion. Look how quickly refusing the vaccine because a religious objection.

When you are dealing with a myth, it's easy to revise.

Just off the top of my head, religious leaders will say these alien life forms are not humans. Or if they are some sort of human-like forms, they will need to be taught the word of god.

We will instantly try to fuck them up as badly as we are fucked up.

[misanthrope]

34. Nah, it won't matter to believers

The difference between science and religion is that ethically honest scientists are willing to change their mind when proven wrong. Religious belief is the polar opposite of that.

You underestimate the human capacity for rationalization and bias.

[BSdetect]

42. Exactly. And what happened to church and state separation? Insidious crap.

[Renew Deal]

23. lol

It would be chaos, particularly for the monotheistic. This is the part that will cause the most problems:

Hebrew Bible
' And God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him, male and female created He them. ... In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made He him. Male and female created He them, and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_of_God#Hebrew_Bible

[NightWatcher]

24. We'll make great pets.

[Poiuyt]

25. I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords!

[Chellee]

36. You hope.

To Serve Man was a cookbook. We might not be so much pets, as livestock.

[Poiuyt]

27. There could be life out there, but it may be in a form that we don't recognize.

The chance of Michael Rennie coming here is remote.

[myohmy2]

35. Klaatu Barada Nikto...

...we need Gort...

[Kingofalldems]

41. To Serve Man

[Poiuyt]

49. One of the best episodes ever!

[milestogo]

33. Do aliens get vaccinated before they make contact?

[msfiddlestix]

38. WTF? Is NASA planning on Converting Alien Savages?

Spreading the word of Religious Poppy Cock to Dominate Alien Population?

Good effin Grief!!!

[BSdetect]

40. Are theologians not just predisposed to certain beliefs?

[edhopper]

43. Fucking waste of money,

theologians. who believe in fantasy and myth, are the least qualified to understand how the world would react to anything real.
Many still believe in things science has proven to be 100% false.

[Beetwasher.]

46. Just Said The Same Thing; They Need Social Scientists

And experts is group psychosocial dynamics. Those are the folks who can provide some answers on how groups will react in certain situations. The Russians have gotten quite good at it frankly, look how they are manipulating our society.

[LiberatedUSA]

44. "UFOs are real and there are multiple alien civilizations"...

…will be the most welcome news we get next year, if the filibuster remains unchanged.

[Beetwasher.]

45. Uhhh, I Wouldn't Hire Theologians, I'd Hire Social Scientists and Experts in Group Psychosocial

Dynamics. Hiring Theologians is stupid, quite frankly. They don't even really understand (for the most part, maybe some do) WHY they believe what they believe.

[CrackityJones75]

55. Yeah I often claim the people at NASA are stupid.

I am usually being sarcastic though.

[eppur_se_muova]

48. My prediction: the world will do just fine, post-religion. nt

[A HERETIC I AM]

50. From the Twitter thread;

[peggysue2]

52. LOL!!

Yes, The Crucifixion might play very differently Off-World.

You made me spit my coffee across the table.

[RB TexLa]

56. There is nothing in NASA's mandate for them to have any concern as to how the world reacts to

anything they discover or do.

[Oneironaut]

57. Ah, yes - human irrationality.

I’m kind of fearful that finding alien life will make far-right Christians either form conspiracies or kill themselves and take others with them.