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THE FINAL (MISSIONS) FRONTIER: EXTRATERRESTRIALS, EVANGELISM, AND THE WIDE CIRCLE OF HUMAN EMPATHY
Author(s) -
Curry Eugene A.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
zygon®
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.222
H-Index - 23
eISSN - 1467-9744
pISSN - 0591-2385
DOI - 10.1111/zygo.12536
Subject(s) - humanity , empathy , evangelism , environmental ethics , theme (computing) , frontier , extraterrestrial life , epistemology , sociology , philosophy , social psychology , psychology , history , religious studies , biology , theology , astrobiology , archaeology , computer science , operating system
The possible existence of extraterrestrials has provoked more than five centuries of theological speculation on how these beings, if they exist, relate to God. A certain stream of thought present in these debates argues that the eventual discovery of aliens would obligate human Christians to evangelize them for the salvation of their souls. Current research into humanity's prehistory suggests that, if this ever actually happens, it will have been partially facilitated by humanity's remarkable capacity for interspecies empathy—an ability that seems to be genetic in nature and which stems from our species' ancient experience with dogs. In light of the above, recommendations are made concerning future potential exomissionary screening criteria and a concluding section touches on the role of animals in God's work.