In the penultimate episode of the season, David returns to Malacandra with apologist Jimmy Akin to talk about Lewis’ scientific mistakes and the consequences for Christianity of finding intelligent life on other planets.
S6E49: “Astrophysics & Cosmic Salvation” (Download)
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Show Notes
Introduction
Drop-In
Quote-of-the-week
“If there’s life on other planets
Larry Norman, U.F.O
Then I’m sure that He must know
And He’s been there once already
And has died to save their souls….
Biographical Information
Jimmy Akin is senior apologist at Catholic Answers and author of many books such as “The Fathers Know Best” and “The Drama of Salvation”. He is a weekly guest on the radio show “Catholic Answers Live” and host of the podcasts “A Daily Defense”, “Secrets of Star Trek”, and “Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World”.
He has recently returned to his home state of Arkansas where Dick Devine assures me that he “has Einstein on toast and drinks a pint of [Klingon] blood [wine] for breakfast”!
Guest Biographical Information
Chit-Chat
–
Toast
- David was drinking Alien Amber Ale
- His guest wad drinking Diet Dr Pepper and Grapefruit Citrus Zivia
- David was wearing his “Because it’s always aliens” t-shirt from Jimmy’s podcast, Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World. We will be giving away one of these t-shirts to a randomly-selected listener – all you have to do to win is to share a link to this podcast episode and tag @PintsWithJack.
- The toast was in Klingon:
- “IwlIj jachjaj!” (May your blood burn!”)
Discussion
01. “Sci-Fi credentials”
Q. Before we dig into Out of the Silent Planet, would you mind telling us a little bit about your love for science and science fiction?
- Secrets of Star Trek podcast
- Secrets of Dr. Who podcast
- A Daily Defense (Book and Podcast)
02. “Silent Planet Science”
Q. Back when my wife Marie worked with you at Catholic Answers she said that one time you had made some comments about the science mistakes in Out of the Silent Planet. So now that we’ve enjoyed the book so much… what did Lewis get wrong?
- Oxygen on Mars:
The more astronomy we know the less likely it seems that other planets are inhabited: even Mars has practically no oxygen.
C.S. Lewis, Letter to Roger Lancelyn Green (December 28th, 1938)
- The idea of canals on Mars were popularized by Percival Lowell. Mars contains the deepest valley: Valles Marineris
‘Life is greater than any system of morality; her claims are absolute….’
C.S. Lewis, Out of the Silent Planet (Chapter 20)
‘He says,’ began Ransom, ‘that living creatures are stronger than the question whether an act is bent or good—no, that cannot be right—he says it is better to be alive and bent than to be dead—no—he says, he says—I cannot say what he says, Oyarsa, in your language…’
…[it’s] just a tiresome interruption in a first class story—I don’t want to be told how the damn thing worked, but merely that it did.
Warren Lewis, (Unpublished) diary excerpt
He took the initiative by opening his mouth, pointing to it and going through the pantomime of eating. The Malacandrian word for food or eat which he got in return proved to contain consonants unreproducible by a human mouth
C.S. Lewis, Out of the Silent Planet (Chapter 9)
- The Australian Lyrebird sounds like a crying baby:
03. “Christian implications”
Q. Now that we’ve got the science covered, let’s pivot and talk about theology… Lewis addresses some of the theological implications of alien life in his essay Religion and Rocketry, but what do you think are the implications for Christianity if there is life on other worlds?
- Star Trek Episode, Bread and Circuses:
04. “The Prime Directive”
Q. If we did find intelligent life on other planets, do you think we should we observe the Prime Directive? Maybe an even more extreme version whereby we quarantine ourselves from them?
- The Prime Directive. This was questioned in a Short Trek episode
I have wondered before now whether the vast astronomical distances may not be God’s quarantine precautions. They prevent the spiritual infection of a fallen species from spreading.
C.S. Lewis, Religion and Rocketry
05. “Malacandra has fallen?”
Q. One of the questions we’ve discussed among ourselves this season is about the status of Malacandra and whether it’s an unfallen, a fallen world or just partially fallen. The key data points are: (1) sinful behaviour seems to be rare, although there are stories of it happening occasionally (2) death is present on Malacandra, and (3) we learn near the end of the book that the planet was attacked by Satan and he did appear to sway some of the inhabitants to sin, but Satan was then cast out of Malacandra and those under his sway were either “cured” or “unbodied”. So, what would be your take on this?
We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now…
Romans 8:22
‘Do you say, Hyoi, that there are no bent hrossa?’
Hyoi reflected. ‘I have heard,’ he said at last, ‘of something like what you mean. It is said that sometimes here and there a cub at a certain age gets strange twists in him. I have heard of one that wanted to eat earth; there might, perhaps, be somewhere a hross likewise that wanted to have the years of love prolonged. I have not heard of it, but it might be. I have heard of something stranger. There is a poem about a hross who lived long ago, in another handramit, who saw things all made two—two suns in the sky, two heads on a neck; and last of all they say that he fell into such a frenzy that he desired two mates. I do not ask you to believe it, but that is the story: that he loved two hressni.’
C.S. Lewis, Out of the Silent Planet (Chapter 12)
06. “The big question”
Q. So, final question… Do you think there’s extraterrestrial life out there, and do you think they’ve ever visited us?
- Mysterious World #179: Canals on Mars
- Mysterious World #180: Life on Mars
- Viking Probes
- Alcubierre warp drive
- Counsel of Trent #745 – FFAF: The 8 Stages of Life You’ll Experience
Wrap-Up
More Information
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