Download Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial?: .... and Other Questions from the Astronomers' In-box at the Vatican Observatory AudioBook Free
Witty and thought provoking, two Vatican astronomers shed provocative light on some of the unusual places where faith and research meet. "Imagine in case a Martian arrived, all big ears and big nostril just like a child's pulling, and he asked to be baptized. How might you react?" - Pope Francis, May 2014. Pope Francis posed that question - without insisting on an answer! - to provoke deeper reflection about inclusiveness and variety in the Cathedral. But it isn't the very first time that question has been asked. Sibling Dude Consolmagno and Dad Paul Mueller listen to questions like this on a regular basis. They're scientists at the Vatican Observatory, the official astronomical research institute of the Catholic Cathedral. In Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial? they explore a variety of questions at the crossroads of beliefs and reason: How will you reconcile the The Big Bang with Genesis? Was the Star of Bethlehem only a pious religious storyline or a genuine description of astronomical situations? What really went down between Galileo and the Catholic Cathedral - and why do the consequences of that confrontation still reverberate even today? Will the Universe come to a finish? And - could you really baptize an extraterrestrial? With disarming humor, Brother Dude and Dad Paul explore these questions and more over the span of six days of dialogue. Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial can make you laugh, cause you to think, and cause you to reflect more deeply on science, beliefs, and the nature of the universe.
