VAST UNIVERSE Vast Universe Extraterrestrials and Christian Revelation Thomas F. O’Meara A Michael Glazier Book LITURGICAL PRESS Collegeville, Minnesota www.litpress.org A Michael Glazier Book published by Liturgical Press Cover design by Ann Blattner. Photo of cosmic cloud courtesy of NASA, portrait of NGC 281. Scripture texts in this work are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. © 2012 by Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, microfilm, microfiche, mechanical recording, photocopying, translation, or by any other means, known or yet unknown, for any purpose except brief quotations in reviews, without the previous written permission of Liturgical Press, Saint John’s Abbey, PO Box 7500, Collegeville, Minnesota 56321- 7500. Printed in the United States of America. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data O’Meara, Thomas F., 1935– Vast universe : extraterrestrials and Christian revelation / Thomas F. O’Meara. p. cm. “A Michael Glazier book.” Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8146-8047-6 (alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8146-8048-3 (e-book) 1. Life on other planets—Religious aspects—Christianity. 2. Extraterrestrial anthropology. 3. Theological anthropology— Christianity. I. Title. BR115.L54O44 2012 233—dc23 2011044770 God fixes the number of stars, calling each by name. —Psalm 147 Die unbegreiflich hohen Werke Herrlich wie am ersten Tag. The unimaginable lofty works Magnificent, just as on that first day. —Goethe, “Prolog im Himmel,” Faust “But do you really mean, sir,” said Peter, “that there could be other worlds— all over the place, just around the corner—like that?” “Nothing is more probable,” said the Professor, taking off his spectacles and beginning to polish them, while he muttered to himself, “I wonder what they do teach them at these schools.” —C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Contents Preface ix Chapter One Intelligent Beings on Distant Planets 1 Vast Universe 3 Discoveries 5 Probabilities 9 Gulfs 10 New Realities 12 Chapter Two Extraterrestrials amid Nature, Grace, and Sin 19 The Triad of Religion 20 Variety in Intelligent Life 20 Modes of Divine Presence 23 Forms of Evil and Sin 25 Star-Friends 27 Chapter Three From a Violent Planet to the Universe of a Loving God 29 A Generous Artist 29 Goodness of Existence or Presumption of Evil? 33 Communities in the Universe 36 Chapter Four Jesus of Nazareth and the Galaxies 41 The Word of God as a Person on Earth: Jesus of Nazareth 42 vii viii Vast Universe Jesus of Nazareth and the Cosmos 44 Other Incarnations? 47 Salvation Histories amid Galactic Evolution 49 Chapter Five Time and the Futures of Life 53 Time 53 Other Times 56 Space, Matter, and the Future 57 Chapter Six Intelligent Life in the Universe: Perspectives from Christian Thinkers in Past Centuries 63 Origen (Third Century) 64 Thomas Aquinas (Thirteenth Century) 68 Guillaume de Vaurouillon (Fifteenth Century) 73 Renaissance Thinkers (Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries) 76 Chapter Seven Intelligent Life in the Universe: Perspectives from Christian Thinkers in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries 81 Protestant Thinkers (Reformation to Twentieth Century) 81 Catholic Theologians (Early Twentieth Century) 85 Catholic Theologians (Late Twentieth Century) 87 Chapter Eight Star-Mentors and Star-Friends 97 Index of Names 101 Preface re there intelligent creatures, extraterrestrials, living on plan- ets other than Earth? In this book a possible aspect of the A universe meets the perspective of Christian revelation. The following chapters, written by a theologian, draw from what science has analyzed in stars and galaxies and recently in stars with planets. What is the relationship of extraterrestrial peoples to what Chris- tianity claims is a special history on Earth of life with God? Would the fact of persons on other planets banish or modify a divine being? Would it reduce the importance of Jesus? Are the galaxies of stars largely subject to evil forces? Does religion worship a divine wisdom and love that is small or one that is generous? This book is not a new stage in the dialogue between science and religion, not a further treatment of topics from theodicy like divine causality and intervention, and not a derivation of science or revelation from each other. These pages are not an apologetics for Christianity and not a collection of old or new arguments for the existence of God. Science and religion are different forms of knowledge about the unknown. Respectful of the sciences that disclose the reality of the universe, the following chapters wonder about good and evil, intel- ligence and freedom, and revelation and life as they might exist in other galaxies. More and more planets in other solar systems are being discov- ered; their number gives this theme an importance, an excitement. We are at the edge of understanding the universe in a new way. ix chapter one Intelligent Beings on Distant Planets hese chapters ponder the cosmic in light of the terrestrial, the hypothetical in light of the real. They look at scientific dis- Tcoveries in light of Christian revelation. Are there intelligent creatures on other planets in an almost endless universe of galaxies? Christian revelation offers no direct information about extrater- restrials. Their existence, as it becomes more and more probable, raises questions for a faith holding that God is active in the universe, questions for what our tellurian race calls “religion” and “revelation.” Theological reflection finds itself drawn to inquire into extraterrestri- als’ relationships to God and to us.1 1. The literature on extraterrestrials is growing, and websites are valuable. See Michael Crowe, The Extraterrestrial Life Debate 1750–1900: The Idea of a Plu- rality of Worlds from Kant to Lowell (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986); Michael Crowe, The Extraterrestrial Life Debate, Antiquity to 1915: A Source Book (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2008); David Darling, The Extraterrestrial Encyclopedia (New York: Three Rivers, 2000); Joseph A. Angelo, The Extraterrestrial Encyclopedia (New York: Facts on File, 1991). There are works in French: Jean-Bruno Renard, Les extraterrestres: Une nouvelle croyance religieuse? (Paris: Cerf, 1988); Jean Heidmann et al., Sommes- nous seuls dans l’univers? (Paris: Fayard, 2000). In German: Dieter von Reeken, Bibliographie der selbtsständigen deutschsprachigen Literatur über ausserirdisches Leben, UFOs, Prä-Astronautik (1901–1986) (Lödenscheid: Gesellschaft zur 1 2 Vast Universe The subject of the following speculative theology is creatures living on other planets circling their suns. They are intelligent and free. They have a cognitive openness, a capability for understanding analogies and symbolisms; they have their arts and sciences. Extra- terrestrials are intelligent beings having some form of body, some matter. Beings without corporeality are in religious traditions called angels. Angels sometimes have a place, if often a slight one, in ter- restrial religions. Semitic peoples from the Jews to the Persians de- veloped a religious imagery about angelic beings, and Judaism a century or so before Jesus Christ speculated on different kinds of angels, creatures more or less without matter sent by God to per- form some service for men and women. There has been discussion through the centuries on whether angels are totally spiritual. Early Christianity mentions angels as messengers but opposes any cult of angels, any involvement of human religion with powerful spirits. In a sense, Christian faith through history has addressed indirectly the possibility of extraterrestrials with its few speculations on angelic and demonic superbeings.2 Angels, however, are not extraterrestrials. Extraterrestrials with intellect and freedom would exist on planets in their own variations, living with many unusual forms (for Earth) of animal and vegetal life. An extraterrestrial might be quite different from terrestrial Erforschung des UFO-Phänomens, 1987). In Italian: Giancarlo Genta, Lonely Minds in the Universe (New York: Copernicus Books, 2007); F. Bertola et al., eds., Origini, l’Universo, la Vita, l’intelligenza (Padua: Il Poligrafo, 1994). 2. See H. Bietenhard, Die himmlische Welt im Urchristentum und Spätju- dentum (Tübingen: Mohr, 1951). Jesus is sometimes called an “angel” because he is God’s messenger. In Hebrew the “el” at the end of the names of angels (e.g., Gabriel and Raphael) might indicate a Semitic reference to God, “El.” Are angels extensions of the divine activity in the galaxies? The Ultimate tends to work through intermediaries. The angel is not an alternative to humans, not the rival of Jesus, and not the product of human consciousness. “Superior sphere of creation, energy radiating from the Divinity, ordained within and ordering the universe, the angelic world shines in revealed religions. The angel is present in a double way, in the procession from and in the return to God.” Philippe Faure, Les Anges (Paris: Cerf, 1988), 120. Contrary to Margaret Wertheim, The Pearly Gates of Cyberspace (New York: Norton, 1999), intelligent animals living on planets are not particularly related to angels but rather to people on Earth. Intelligent Beings on Distant Planets 3 animals and humans; the corporeal form might be atomic in size, or it might be composed of unusual combinations of chemicals. Regardless, distant thinking creatures in their free intelligent life would be embodied beings who would thus be in relationship to animal life. Christian revelation does not mention intelligent creatures on other planets. Theology does not seek mythical or miraculous clues to extraterrestrials but only ponders their possibility in light of Christian beliefs. Carl Sagan wrote, “It’s of interest to me that our language has not really any appropriate terms for such beings.