Is it Christian To Colonize Space?

Carlos Velazquez

I disagree with almost everything the AI says. Here is a point-by-point refutation:

Genesis 1:28 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'"

The assumption by Chatty and by the Christian conservatives who the AI are sourcing is that God meant by the word "Earth" the planet alone. But is that what God meant? I do not believe so. I believ God meant the whole universe, certainly our own solar system. There are vast resources in the solar system and room for people to live and grow. I believe God would want us to colonize those worlds as surely as He was not displeased with the Pilgrims settling in Plymouth to better worship Him (and make a fresh start.) Martian or Lunar settlements (or asteroids) would offer such fresh stats to everyone. I believe God set it up so we would always be striving to find our own place in the Universe - and find Him in the struggle.

I believe it was Robert Zubrin who said "if god didn't intend man to live in space why did He put a planet 240,000 miles over our heads". it's a good point; God would not tease us with a whole new world we could settle and not expect us to do so. Not when He put the drive to expand outward into us in the first place.

But, but, but...it's unnatural to have to drag air and heat around with you! Is it any more unnatural than dragging heat to, say, Anchorage Alaska? Did God not intend for us to live there because He made our optimal temperature 74*? Are we not to wear coats? God did not give us skins that were adequate for cooler climates.

We take all sorts of things with us - water, food, gasoline for our cars, clothes, etc.

But there's no air! So? There's no air under the ocean too but we still use submarines. We run air conditioners with air filters all the time too.

But it's hard to get there and requires unnatural means! The ocean is an alien environment too and we require unnatural means to travel upon her. We fly in airplanes all the time. So what makes flying in a spacecraft any more unnatural?

"This mandate calls for humanity to care for and cultivate the Earth, not to abandon it."

We can't chew gum and walk at the same time? only a small fraction of humanity will wind up leaving. And that is for the good; fewer people will mean it will be easier to care for the Earth. I would point out God's mandate to be fruitful and multiply presupposes there is empty space on the Earth. We are now coming to an end of that empty space. The surplus has to go somewhere.

Again, this all assumes God meant just the Earth when he said it and not the great creation. I think that is wrong. The words used were aimed at people from the time the book was written; the Bible couldn't speak about other planets and human technology making the settlement of them possible.

"Instead of investing vast resources into making an inhospitable planet livable, Christians might argue that we should focus on healing and preserving our own world,"

Again, we can't walk and chew gum at the same time? And how do we heal and preserve the Earth in a zero-sum game where resources are dwindling as demand rises? Going to space to get what we need is infinitely kinder and more Christian than rationing what is left in ever decreasing portions.

"Christian doctrine teaches that God's creation is inherently good."

Yes, all of it. That includes outer space, does it not?

"The Earth, with its unique ecosystems and biodiversity, is a testament to God's creativity and wisdom. Venturing to Mars, a barren and lifeless planet, could be interpreted as a rejection of the goodness and sufficiency of God's creation."

That is plain nonsense. How does settling Mars diminish God's handiwork in any way? On the contrary it enhances our appreciation of it as we see the incredible sights on Mars - like Olympus Mons, or Valles Marinaris or other spectacular natural formations, things that dwarf Earth's paltry Mt. Everest and Grand Canyon. This argument is like saying we shouldn't read Shakespeare's later works, or look at newer paintings by Monet, or the like because it diminishes the older stuff. On the contrary this actually glorifies God's work both here and in space. We appreciate the Earth more after seeing the "magnificent desolation" of the Moon (as Buzz Aldrin called it.) We appreciate the life on Earth more.

"It suggests a discontent with the Earth and a desire to seek fulfillment elsewhere, which runs counter to the Biblical principle of finding contentment and purpose in the place where God has set us."

This reminds me of The Beverly Hillbillies pilot where Granny refuses to go "if the Good Lord had a-wanted me in Californy He'd a put me in Californy". Jed rightly pointed out "well, maybe He's just getting around to it."

Maybe God is just a-puttin' us on the Moon or Mars or elsewhere.

The same argument applied to any land colonized by human beings. Were the Vikings wrong in settling Greenland? By this logic humanity should still be in the rift valleys in Africa.

It's like the old shill about "if God meant Man to fly He'd have given us wings". He didn't, but He gave us teh mind to make our own wings, and the drive to use them.

As for the Tower of Babel that misses the point of the Biiblical parable. It wasn't the construction of the tower that angered God but the creation of a one-world state where Man worshipped himself. The tower was immaterial (and obviously impossible, even the notion of a "space elevator" which is sort of a tower to space is completely daft when looked at from an engineering standpoint.) it was the pride of the people involved that mattered.

I think if anything settling in space will knock our pride out. It's a very dangerous and uncomfortable enterprise.

"Christians are called to humility, recognizing that all achievements and advancements are ultimately under God's sovereign control."

And God has led us to the place where this is now possible and desirable. How is colonization of space a rejection of God's sovereign control? I assure you many an astronaut prayed most fervently just before the countdown hit zero.

I would remind everyone that Frank Borman quoted the Book of Genesis on his transmission from lunar orbit in Apollo 8. It was Chrismas and he spoke the ancient words "the Earth was malformed, and void, and darkness was upon the face of the Deep". He was moved to that by the great loneliness of deep space.

How many souls will be saved as men colonize space? How many will see the hand of God there?

I agree; it will be very difficult and expensive to build a space colony. Any colony on Earth is difficult and expensive but in space you have the added costs of spacesuits, habitats that must be sealed, heated, ventilated, etc. and artificial farms. You'll have to make oxygen, make water, etc. and not just get it naturally.

But in the end it will be more expensive to NOT build these things. There are vast resources in space, resources we need. They are there for the taking if we go for them. Otherwise our supplies will dwindle on Earth and life will grow harder and harder as we try to make do with less and less.

All colonies in the Americas were financed either throough royal charters or private capitalist ventures and they were expensive and they did not produce a profit for decades sometimes. But in the end we have the United States, a wonderful, prosperous nation, carved out by people who faced most of the same problems as our space colonists will.

"a Martian colony an imprudent allocation of resources that could be better spent addressing pressing issues on Earth"

Doing what? Handing out money and food to people who will need money and food again in a few days? Going to Mars would be an INVESTMENT in the future. And furthermore the huge industrial investment will pay off in ways great and small, from jobs to new technology. This is money spent ON EEARTH.

"The potential for environmental contamination, the treatment of potential Martian microbial life, and the societal consequences of prioritizing space colonization over addressing global inequalities are significant concerns"

Who cares about environmental contamination of Mars? It's a dead world, a giant rock. Maybe there is Martian life but it we sure haven't found it. And colonization will be quite slow compared to the Americas because of technical and logistical factors. I don't think we need worry much. Did God command we not settle on remote lands on Earth out of fear of environmental or biological contamination? It is far more likely to happen on Earth, especially with invasive species. And this is nothing but a failure to trust in God, that He will take care of the sitauation.

"From a Christian ethical perspective, the principle of "do no harm" should guide our actions. "

Interesting; i've not seen that in the Bible. It's a Greek thing.

And of course if we are worried about Martian life why not settle the Moon, or the asteroid belt, or Callisto?

"The endeavor to colonize Mars may exacerbate social and economic inequities."

Anything can "exacerbate social and economic inequities" or it can solve them. Staying put and doing nothing will only exacerbate them as I've pointed out we will ive in a zero-sum game with dwindling resources and the same people remain on top year after year. This is nothing but advocating that slaves remain in their chains.

"The immense cost of such a project means that only the wealthiest and most privileged individuals or nations would have the means to participate."

So what? Everyone will still derive benefits from it. And is America now just a few wealthyelite in an empty continent? No because once infrastructure was in place we needed people to come and work and build.

Isaac Asimov put it best. When faced with the criticism that only the very wealth would be able to go to these places he mentioned his grandfather who immigrated from Europe "he didn't need fancy technology or a rocket ship. He had something better - he had a ticket." In time you'll just have to buy a ticket, or find a sponsor.

"This could create a new form of elitism, where the rich escape the problems of Earth while the less fortunate are left behind"

More silliness. There will always be business intersts on Earth, where all the consumers live. or is China still a third world country? Despite terrible behavior everyone wants to be in business with the Chinese because of their 1.4 billion consumers. If the rich leave they won't be able to stay away permanently.

"Investing in Mars colonization risks diverting resources from efforts to alleviate poverty, improve healthcare, and address environmental degradation on Earth'

Investing in new technology, in new resources, in wealth creation is never at odds with attempts to alleviate povery or improve healthcare. On the contrary it is the nations that stop growing that suffer in these areas. If humanity is content to sit on it's obese backside then this will guarantee the poor remain poor.

Reality knocks pride right out of you. Reality in space will humble man. What will generate pride will be living in this little bubble, playing on the internet in a wholly artificial world. AI is artificial, and the world so many now inhabit is a rejection of God and His reality. Settling space is real. There is a real place and real people will do real things to build a new world. You can't get that by playing Angry Birds. The hubris of our modern age all stems from sitting on our backsides and staring at a computer screen, our own private little world.

No, what is at odds with the Word of God is this rejection of settling in space. That would be the truly unchristian thing. God has called us to be fruitful and multiply.

I am so sick of Evangelicals talking about Stewardship and using it to justify such things as the pagan ideology of environmentalism. That is idolatry. https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2007/08/the_return_of_the_old_gods_a_c.html This is just an extension of the nature worship of many Evangelicals. Stewardship requires we take steps to leave the world better than we found it. Wouldn't moving all the dirty industries off Earth accomplish that task? Wouldn't it be better to mine an asteroid rather than strip-mine a beautiful forest? Wouldn't it be better to devise new technology that allows for cleaner air or water than to let the Earth's water and air remain polluted? All sorts of new technologies that will be applicable on Earth will be developed in these colonies.

And we know trade helps people. In time trade with space colonies will feed the Earth's economy.

The Bible says God created Man in His own image. What does that mean? God was first a creator. Yet this essay argues that we stop creating and simply accept what is there. Colonizing space would be an act of creation by Man, a way of honoring God. And there are no natives to displace on Mars, or the Moon, or Callisto or Ganymede or any other body in the solar system. It's all out there waiting for us.

If God didn't intend for us to colonize space He wouldn't have set it all out there. "We would live in a single planet solar system with no asteroids.

And if we fail to live up to our mandate we will find ourselves trapped in a world that is dwindling and increasingly despairing. There is enormous psychological benefits to a frontier. American optimism came from our frontier. We always knew it was there and could go there for a fresh start. most people didn't, but some did and they built a wonderful nation. Read The Turner Thesis to understand how important the frontier was to America, and how it's closing lead to terrible changes to the American mind. A frontier holds promise. Without one we live in a world that will grow increasingly tyrannical and increasingly intrusive as the elites seek to hold onto power and to protect their control of resources. And they will undoubtedly seek to solve the "population problem" by culling the herd. Is THAT Christian?

The solution to so many of our problems lies out there. Christians who believe otherwise are short sighted and unbiblical.

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 10:30 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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