How would you explain religion to an alien?

I really don't think it would be that foreign of a concept to them. Perhaps their culture disregarded the idea early on, but if they are super advanced they would have came across a civilization or two before. Maybe they could suggest a cure you could take back with you....

It just blows my mind that people are gullible enough to believe that someone else has ALL the answers of life, and they are cryptically written in a book that was written by god (a goat herder that scribbled some crap on a piece of paper in the desert) thousands of years ago. The basis of this information is about as credible as a 'pet psychic'.

I believe that it is the aliens that would explain to us what religion is, and how we've created it, not the other way around.

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.

reply to post by VenomVile.6


To begin with I would tell them that religion is a concept, if I do this or do that then God will do this or that. And then I would explain relationship with the creator and how a relationship is a living changing entity between my God and me and how religion is a dead dying situation.

To recap Then


We explain that we talk to Invisible beings that live in the sky.
We are to worship and obey The Invisible man.
We who do not believe In the Invisible man shall be tortured for ever.
We are to believe that the invisible man Loves us.

We hear much Alien Laughter..

Originally posted by rigel4
To recap Then


We explain that we talk to Invisible beings that live in the sky.
We are to worship and obey The Invisible man.
We who do not believe In the Invisible man shall be tortured for ever.
We are to believe that the invisible man Loves us.

We hear much Alien Laughter...

Well, that's the Judeo/Christian/Muslim view, but there are others.

Not every belief in a creator of the universe requires people to blindly revere that creator under penalty of post-death torture.

So while your description is one of a "specific" religious view, it is not a description of the general concept of religion. I assume the OP means how would we explain religion as a "concept", NOT just how would we explain the specific Judeo/Christian/Muslim view of religion.

reply to post by Soylent Green Is People


Oh..What other types are there.
I wasn't considering Buddhism as they don't have a supernatural Leader.
Most others that i can think of have a supernatural beings of one kind or another
at their heart.

The concept of religion is very simple.

Man Unburdens himself to a supernatural being.
Man can blame bad ju ju on supernatural beings.
Man can make up stories about supernatural beings
and pass them off as the law of the supernatural being.
Follow the law or you will be punished for offending said being.

It matters not which way we try and explain the concept
it all boils down to the fact thatt humans are believing in
supernatural spirits in some form or another.

Any other meaning of religion is a mute point.

So, ummm.....is it possible to believe in a divine being that orchestrated everyrthing we see around us (via camera, telescope, microscope or personal perception) and created a system of self perpetuating laws and dynamincs, and has a curious interest in the creation (be it humans, animals, blades of grass, etc,) that somehow pointed humanity back to the creator and orginator...without being religious?
My percepion of it seems to be that 'religion' is where man added on his own 'divine spark' or revelation that left him realising he had no real control over his destiny, (didn't like that thought) and did his best to prove that through our own human efforts we can have a 'jolly good go' and ultimately get there in the end off our own steam anyway.
We take GOD on our own terms and say 'Hell, yeah! We can do this!'
Somehow, everyone thinks they've got a ticket to heaven, but everyone else around them hasn't and doesn't deserve one.
Ring any bells?

Originally posted by SaturnFX
(Yes, I love the hypothetical threads..good mental exercise).

So, you are given the opportunity to test out the first warp drive engine...it shoots you over to "that star over there...to the left"...ya, that one..well, you end up being tractor beamed by the Zorn empire...a alien race of course.


They discuss things about their culture and your culture. You let a word slip that they never heard about...."God"...or "religion".
They ask you to explain this concept (they are very scientific aliens, theology is unknown to them..lets say they are a race of nearly robotic type logic that has long ago tossed off even the most benign of superstitions when they were barely out of caves).

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/fd7f9b7dbfce.png[/atsimg]
How would you explain religion and god...and how your planet (Earth) deals with the very alien subject to them?

You are of course assuming that religion is an unknown to any other sentient race - that's an assumption that's as good as any, but you are creating a scenario based on your own thoughts - swing it round, what if ET did believe in God/s and how would you explain why some people don't?

Originally posted by YouDeserveToKnow
I don't think i could explain, I'd be too embarrassed.

HA! Someone else would be explaining god to the Zorns. I'd be the guy behind him, frantically waving my hands and mouthing the words "Don't listen to him, he's a crazy human!"

haha i dont think we would have to be explaining anything to them because religion probably doesnt exist to them as it really shouldnt exist here on earth either. If anything i would be asking THEM their concept and creation of universal life iim sure they could provide more answers than ANY religion or their mythical books.

its a con

2nd

reply to post by SaturnFX


If any advanced civilization made contact with us then they must know we are a young species. Therefore, "take us to your leader" type of stuff would happen first. And if they know we have a hierarchal type of system then the leader would explain there is someone even above us.

Now I'm sure they would want to meet that deity. At some point during the explanation process of the deity they would realize we are just dumb ants in the universe.

This brings up an interesting head scratcher for me. I wonder if they won't make contact until we realize the higher power thing is a dead end?

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.

Yep, I'm with you on all accounts.

Aliens are evil deception in it's purest form..

Originally posted by rigel4
To recap Then


We explain that we talk to Invisible beings that live in the sky.
We are to worship and obey The Invisible man.
We who do not believe In the Invisible man shall be tortured for ever.
We are to believe that the invisible man Loves us.

We hear much Alien Laughter..

edit on 30-4-2011 by rigel4 because: (no reason given)

Evil ALWAYS mocks God. It is it's only defense.

religion on this world is designed to control and dis-empower humans..

any beings of a high consciousness know this already, i would say everyone out there knows about us here as we are family on all levels..the souls in those bodies and our souls...all came from the same source


lol

i love this

and you

reply to post by SaturnFX


Oh that is easy, just ask them if they believe in God or know other races that believe that there is a creator of the universe.

I would describe it as a survival/control mechanism.

Just show them the human races history of war.

Religion = The triumph of human ego and arrogance over rationality.