When Facebook/Meta and NASA are spending millions in a study to see how multiple religions will react to our Galactic neighbours.
In a study done in 2014 - a summary said:
(quote) There were also some differences between religious groups. Evangelicals were less knowledgeable about space than mainline Protestants, Jews, and those with no religious affiliation (this finding holds even when controlling for other factors like education). Evangelicals were more supportive of space exploration if they attended a church in which their pastor spoke positively about science.
Catholics were the strongest believers in life elsewhere in the universe.
In 2016-17
Mark Zuckerberg Is Planting The First Church Of The Metaverse
[Read full article] - https://thefederalist.com/2021/08/06/mark-zuckerberg-is-planting-the-first-church-of-the-metaverse/
(quote) The Church of Facebook is set to capture the human soul in silicon. On July 25, the New York Times reported that since 2017 the social media giant has quietly cultivated exclusive partnerships with select religious communities. As always, money is involved.
While Facebook’s ultimate goals remain sealed behind non-disclosure agreements, the Times article does hint at things to come: “The company aims to become the virtual home for religious community, and wants churches, mosques, synagogues and others to embed their religious life into its platform, from hosting worship services and socializing more casually to soliciting money.”
“The partnerships reveal how Big Tech and religion are converging,” the Times continues. “Facebook is shaping the future of religious experience itself, as it has done for political and social life.”
In other words, ultra-mod spiritual centers will be blessed by mass data extraction, algorithmic polarization, and censorship of theological “misinformation.”
If Facebook’s history is any guide, every digital prayer will be scooped up and turned into a data point. Livestreamed preachers who deny the sanctity of LGBT lifestyles will be flagged and punished as “extremists.” Best of all, smartphone-addicted congregants can donate their last widow’s mite with the touch of a virtual button. Sounds like a little slice of heaven, doesn’t it?
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(quote) In his Verge interview, Zuckerberg describes the Metaverse as an “embodied internet” — “the holy grail of social interactions” — where we can work, play, and enjoy a “sense of presence” alongside teleporting holograms. He predicts that within the next five years — around the same time Elon Musk hopes to achieve digital telepathy through brain chips — Facebook will “transition from people seeing us as primarily being a social media company to being a metaverse company.”
According to Facebook’s chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, it will also be a spiritual endeavor. “Faith organizations and social media are a natural fit because fundamentally both are about connection,” she told the Times. “Our hope is that one day people will host religious services in virtual reality spaces as well, or use augmented reality as an educational tool to teach their children the story of their faith.”
Imagine a synagogue where a holographic burning bush recites the Decalogue, or a cathedral where saint icons speak to you directly, or maybe animated deities waving their many arms in Hindu temples. Immersive idolatry is the future of false religion. With 3 billion users worldwide — and zero sense of sacred boundaries — Facebook is poised to lead this spiritual revolution.
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Crowley -
We place no reliance
On virgin or pigeon.
Our Method is Science,
Our Aim is Religion.
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NASA Spent $1 Million “To Prepare the Nation’s Religions for The Discovery of Extra-Terrestrial Life”
By Adam Andrzejewski
May 20, 2021
(article full) https://www.realclearpolicy.com/articles/2021/05/20/nasa_spent_1_million_to_prepare_the_nations_religions_for_the_discovery_of_extra-terrestrial_life_777173.html
Scientists have been discovering planets outside of our own solar system numbering in the thousands and counting, and quite a few are Earth-size exoplanets with a “habitable” zone.
Which makes spending $1.1 million to prepare religious people for the possibility that there is extraterrestrial life out there a good investment, right?
That’s how much money National Aeronautics and Space Administration gave to the Center for Theological Inquiry in Princeton, New Jersey in 2015 to research “the societal implications of astrobiology,” the study of life in the universe.
NASA enlisted these theologians to answer the question of how the world’s religions would respond if extraterrestrial life were discovered.
Susan Schneider, an associate professor of philosophy and cognitive science at the University of Connecticut, worked on the study and told the Center in an interview, “The richest issue, for me, involves the question: what would be the impact of discovering life elsewhere in the universe?
To answer this question, we must consider different cases: a situation in which we find microbial life on a planet near us, like Mars, and it is related to life on Earth; a situation where we find microbial life unrelated to life on Earth; and finding alien intelligence.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation asked NASA to revoke the funding, arguing the grant was unconstitutional, violating the separation of state and church by giving government funds to religious research.
Whether a constitutional violation or not, the grant raises the question: should government have funded a study on whether Christians freak out upon finding that little green men exist?
A Catholic priest said it best, “There will just be more to love.” (Could have saved taxpayers $1 million!)
