There is an interesting 50-page essay, "The Religious Implications of
Extraterresrial Life," by Rabbi Norman Lamm, in his book, "Faith and Doubt"
(Ktav paperback, 1986). Lamm, president of Yeshiva University, writes,
"Already there has been established a new science, 'exobiology,' the study of
forms of extraterrestrial life." He also references Walter Sullivan's
volume, "We Are Not Alone." (McGraw Hill, 1964) Somr hold that man will be
found to be relatively inconsequential compared to other forms; a conclusion
that Rabbi Lamm challenges in his essay on "extheology," a religious
conception of a universe in which man is not the only inhabitant. He also
reviews and analyzes the conflicting evidence on the possibility of other
inhabitants.
Rabbi Lamm writes, "Objectivity is obtained in science by recognizing that
phenomena are without purpose. Modern thought, from scientism to
existentialism, has banished teleology and reduced man to a purposeless and
insignificant blob of protoplasm. But whether all that is modern is
necessarily true is, of course, an entirely different question. -- More than
once in the past have the wisest men of a generation been caught up in ardor
and passion for certain ideas which seemed most plausible and which later,
upon further reflection and examination, turned out to be follies. In our
present situation, similarly, we must beware of over-familiarity with the
fantastic and an overzealous stretching of the limits of possibility."
Lamm, along with many scientists, considers the possibilities of significant
extraterrestial life remote, and reviews the evidence for his conclusion.
Nevertheless, he discusses the religious challenges that would ensue should
the speculations prove correct. He discusses the subject from the
standpoints of the uniqueness of man, the uniqueness of the Creator, and the
relation between Gd and man.
If you are interested in the reconcilliation of science and religion, you
would also enjoy the 1990 Bantam paperback, "Genesis and the Big Bang," by
Gerald L. Schroeder, an MIT PhD in nuclear physics. It is subtitled, "The
Discovery of Harmony Between Modern Science and the Bible."
Leonard Mansky (Len613@aol.com)