Would any of these make you second guess your religion?

Question

1. An alien race is discovered outside our solar system.

2. Your entire family is killed in a tragic accident.

3. A modern day miracle occurs by someone of another religion. (Ex. Buddhist man causes amputees limbs to grow back by touching them.)

4. A virus wipes out half of the world's population.

5. A "Big Bang" is viewed by sattelite images creating another solar system.

Allright, forget #5. I got it. "The"Big Bank created the whole universe. My Bad.

"Big Bang" not Big Bank

Answer 1

1) I don't really care if there are aliens or not. It proves that God is alot more creative than we think he is. God made the heavens and the earth. He made the universe as far as the eye an see and the parts that we cannot even fathom. It doesn't bother me to think that there is life somewhere else.

2) There have been many people that have died in accidents. I have lost loved ones tragically (through disease and suicide). I have dealt with hard things, but I continue to believe in God. I continue to follow what he wants me to do in my life. I would focus on God more. God doesn't leave me.

3) God uses all sorts of people. It isn't up to me to say that God cannot use someone of another religion.

4) A virus has wiped out much of the world's population. We have had outbreaks of some horrible things. We have had influenza that killed more people than were killed in WWI. There was the plauge and many other things. There is AIDS, HIV, TB, and others. We have people dying every single day of cancer. This doesn't mean God doesn't exist to me.

5) There are other solar systems. What's your point?

Answer 2

1. How would this imply something that modern religions dispute?
No.

2. I'd be miserable, but I'd live with their memories.
No.

3. Happens all the time...well not your example specifically, but miracles happen far more often than most of us realize. No.

4. Welcome to normal population control as it was intended. No.

5. You're aware the "big bang" created the universe (according to the theory) not just our solar system, right? You're aware there are millions of solar systems in the universe, right?
No.

Answer 3

I'm an atheist.

If I saw a miracle (or series) by a religious person I would be inclined to believe in them, but I would still judge what they said by rational and humane standards. All of the other events wouldn't cause me to become religious.

By the way, "Big Bang" theory is (or was) not one of cosmogenesis, but merely that space is expanding. It is not about origins, but what happened and is going on afterwards.

Big Bang theory took it's name from a physicist in an opposing camp to the "expansionist" crew, and he was trying to ridicule the consequences of a belief in expansion by commenting on what must have come before - a Big Bang! He was called Fred Hoyle and he believed in or proposed the steady state model as an alternative. Lemaître's "BB" theory has survived and observationally varified, ie. spacial expansion has been varified.

However, "BB" has become over time synonymous with the beginning of the universe as we know it, so unfortunately the terminology is a little confusing.

Answer 4

Nope.

1. The existence .of life elsewhere is possible.

2. God had nothing to do with my family being killed.

3. God made all the creatures on Earth, and therefore all are divine beings.

4. People should be more clean so that diseases and viruses don't spread or are born.

5. The satellite images where too late to capture God setting off the "Big Bang."

Answer 5

1 - A God who created earth and humans is surely capabable of creating another solar system.

2 - So?? What does God have to do with it?? We live a free will life.

3 - Your example makes no sense.
To answer your questions, a miracle can happen by false religion to test other people.

4 - So??

5 - I didn't read the big bang theory, so cannot answer your question.

Answer 6

Only item 3 would be significant. Item 5 is nonsense; the big bang created the universe, not the solar system, and the sort of stellar explosions that create solar systems are daily grist for Hubble's cameras.

Answer 7

5. Would shake my faith deeply, since the entire universe, not just our solar system, was created by a single Big Bang. Before that, there were equally-spaced hydrogen atoms, nothing else. So if another Big Bang was identified, all of our knowledge about the origins of the universe would be disproven. Immediately thereafter, we would be vaporized...

Answer 8

1. Wouldn't be surprised
2. Would be awful and I'm sure I would grieve and go through the normal anger, denial, etc., but I also know that my family would be in a better place.
3. Awesome!!
4. Look at the plague, and black death, and aids, etc.....
5. Can I see the pictures too??!! That would be very neat to watch.

Sorry... can't scare this Christian away from God!

Answer 9

It depends on the person. If they are very devout, probably not. If they were never really practicing, then sure. I never practiced a religion. Those things probably wouldn't affect me in any way. Some of the stuff I might think is a hoax (except for maybe number 4, that would be quite noticably true) until proven true. :)

Answer 10

If #3 happened I may consider the guy to be somewhat special, but I'd have to look into it more closely.