Beginning with a reference to the sci-fi show V in which the aliens visit the Vatican, James McGrath ruminates on the impact of aliens actually landing on earth.

Indeed, a useful warning for such a circumstance is found in the cargo cults of Melanesia. Not that it is likely that most people alive in the world today would react to the arrival of extraterrestrials in a manner very similar to the way Pacific islanders reacted to the arrival of a Western military presence. But what we surely would do is interpret the actions and motives of the aliens in light of our own human thinking and customs. Organisms that evolved independently of Earth’s life would, however, inevitably think and act in ways that we would misinterpret more badly than any example of human-to-human cross-cultural misunderstanding could compare with.

I’ve posted a few things about “Cargo Cults” previously, for example, here and I think James’ post needs a bit of a comment.

Barefoot "G.I.'S" tote bamboo "rifles" with scarlet tipped "bayonets." Photo: Paul Raffaele, Smithsonian.com, "In John They Trust". John Frum ritual, Vanuatu.

First off, James’ is right that we would misinterpret alien actions and intensions, and see them in our own terms. However, I do question his claim “not that it is likely that most people alive in the world today would react to the arrival of extraterrestrials in a manner very similar to the way Pacific islanders reacted to the arrival of a Western military presence”. Rather, there would be an awful LOT of people in the “scientific” West manufacturing an awful LOT of spiritual and religious goods to peddle to themselves based on the alien science, technology and the resulting loss of seeing ourselves as the centre of our universe. Hell, westerners often do it when the “alien” technology and hence, resulting social/religious upheaval) has its origins very close to home! As McGrath is well aware, sci-fi often morphs into “religio-fi”. A real alien invasion would get religious awful fast. Even earth based science is interpreted religiously in the West.

Take, for example, “creation science”. The conclusions of astronomy, physics, geology, biology and a host of other sciences have displaced Church teachings from their central position as descriptions of the natural world, its age and the origins of life. As well, religions have lost significant amounts of prestige and political clout. James McGrath is one of the millions of religious folk who have made the transition to a technological and largely secular world with little difficulty, but others have not.

Found at http://quantumnonlinearity.blogspot.com/

Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis fame, at his Shrine of the Cargo Science Cult in Kentucky.

Modern Christian creationism can be understood as something of the same order as cargo cultism, at least in the appropriation of the symbols of the oppressive, colonizing power and its promise of bringing all (new) good things which will restore the colonized prestige and status. Just as the bamboo airplanes could not ever bring the islanders any real cargo, being symbolic, ritual objects, so too will the appropriated language and symbols of “science” never bring a really coherent, rational understanding of the universe to creationists, regardless of the claims. But they don’t have to. Rather, the appropriation is a claim that despite the appearance of the dominance of science, the “native” religion still is the arbiter of truth.

The “cargo cults” were a study in contradiction. On the one hand, their inventors and practitioners were embracing the desire for foreign and new products which had become culturally important and even necessary for a new social-economic order while defying the cultural ascendancy of their foreign source by claiming that the magic by which the colonials created these goods should be shared with the natives. The cults, then, were attempts to restore the pre-contact and largely egalitarian modes of exchange in the new situation.

Big Valley Parish Church of the Cargo Science Cult

So, too, with creationists. The religion is NOT the Christianity of the pre-sceintific era church. The Christianity of the creationists is very modern. They are not Luddites or Flat Earthers, but employ and enjoy countless technological devices and advances along with a global economy in their own private lives and the lives of their congregations. They are not merely forced to adopt to a “foreign” dominated world, but were born into it themselves and are unlikely to give it up without a major fuss. Yet, their world does not grant its highest status to the believer, and so it must be resisted. And the best way to do that is to fight fire with fire. So, their Christianity has to be not only compatible with science, but must be the ultimate arbiter of “true” science.

Again, the Big Valley Creation Science Museum, which I featured in a post here.

The same could be made of other recent religious movements, including the Church of Woo. For example, Deepak Chopra‘s crap about “Quantum Healing”, which adopts the language of rather advanced physics to a decidedly NON scientific method of “healing” otherwise adopted from an Indian system.

Much of the alternative “energy” healing industry is predicated on adopting “scientific” language to apply as mystical talismans to empower evolved quasi-magical practices. For example, homeopathy. Here is an interested explanation from LAU Science.

Homeopathy is a method of treatment that supports the body’s own healing mechanism. It ‘s based on the law of similars “like cures like”. A homeopathic remedy is an extremely pure, natural substance that has been diluted many times. In large quantities these subtances would cause the same symptoms the patient is trying to cure. In small, pure, diluted doses, it is not only safe and free from side effects, but it will trigger the body to heal itself. Example: Allium cepa is a remedy that is used for watery eyes and runny nose, it is created from red onion. If you’ve cut open a red onion you’ll notice the same symptoms. When the body creates a similar “symptom picture” to Allium cepa and you take a dose of Allium cepa, it activates the body to go about the process of stopping watery eyes and a runny nose.

Ah yes, sympathetic magic! J. G. Frazer is still profitably read these days, it seems! But what the !&@%!$ is a “pure diluted” dose? Oxymoron, anyone?

So, back to my main point. What will happen if the aliens come? Quite obviously, our world will be shaken to its core. We will no longer be masters of our planet. Our technology will seem like kid’s play and people all over the planet will be trying to assimilate the new order to old religious orders and other worldviews, and the result will be a host of new religions including cargo-type cults. We will have “faster than light” healing, inter-dimentional gods will be popping up theologies all over the place, and besides Jesus riding dinosaurs, there will be museums with statues of Jesus riding flying saucers!

http://fr.toonpool.com/cartoons/jesus%20flying%20saucer_73302

And, of course, the aliens will be laughing their heads off at us!

Ah, we just might have a “revelation” that the aliens from space are our own creation. One way or another,however,  they will get into our religions. After all, every religious truth is a human creations, too.

The last oil change: Cylons: revolting robot standins for the alien within.

Now, the free form, word association to which readers of this blog have grown accustomed, if not exactly fond. What is interesting is that Tricia Helfer, seen above and below (with Grace Park, another of Battlestar Gallactica’s Cylons) is from Alberta, home of yours truly. Well, what has that got to do with anything I’ve been talking about above? Well, after you’ve finished studying the heavenly bodies below, I will tell you.

Grace Park as Sharon Valerii, Tricia Helfer as Number Six

So, lets have another Slinky Sci-Fi Babe!

Dawn Chubai is currently does a number of TV shows in Vancouver but she hails from Edmonton, Alberta’s capital . And she is a Slinky Jazz Babe™ with a great album called New Chapters for an Old Book that has a a genuinely slinky version of “Fever”. And she has appeared in some Sci-Fi shows, including a few episodes of Stargate SG-1.

Did I mention she is from Alberta? Oh, and just what is the connection between Cargo Cults and Alberta? I thought you would never ask… Alberta might be the only major political jurisdiction in the democratic world to have been run by a bunch of millenarianst, bat-shit-crazy, conspiracy theorizing looney tunes. To wit, the Social Credit Party. And that sordid period (1930s to early 1970s) in this province’s history (marked by anti-semistism, forced sterilization of mental patients, and laughable family value laws, like bans on airliners serving booze when over Alberta’s airspace), might be understood as a bit of good old Canadian cargo-culting at least according to the linked paper… There, that just about wraps it up.

Religion and Science seem so compatible to some because whatever part of our brain makes us religious just sucks everything into its symbolic world-creating imagination. Yup. religion is the Borg. It just assimilates everything. Can we ever be truly free from it?