Prometheus --Ridley Scott's New Movie Asks "Did Aliens Create the Human Race?"

 

                                

 
In Sir Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, a quasi-prequel to his 1979 blockbuster film, “Alien." which lands in theaters Friday, June 8, an Earth-based crew is sent on a journey to a near-by star system to explore a planet believed to host an advanced civilization. The great question film asks is "Did aliens create the human race? If so, does that negate the existence of God? Or, did God create the aliens?"

Prometheus centers on scientific exploration on board a spacefaring vessel named for the Titan in Greek mythology who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humans—and paid a terrible price for doing so. The Prometheus is following a star map found at various unrelated archeological sites on Earth, which leads the scientists to believe that the map may help them discover humanity's origins.

“The more you go into it, the more you realize that it kind of makes sense,” Scott told FoxNews.com. “You stand outside at night, you look at the galaxy, and think, ‘The fact that we think we’re the only ones here is entirely ridiculous.’ It’s an arrogance to believe that we’re the only ones here. It’s an arrogance to believe that we’re the only ones here.'

A deeply religious “Prometheus” scientist Elizabeth Shaw (played by actress Noomi Rapace) discovers a series of mysterious symbols written inside a cave, that sets her on a intergalactic quest to prove her theory that humans were created by alien life forms.

“I love that contradiction in her, to be a scientist and religious at the same time,” Rapace told FoxNews.com. “It just like a constant war zone in her between those two sides. But I do think it’s because she chose to believe and she is connected with something -- her God -- that makes her strong in the most destructive, dark and crazy moments when everything is falling apart."

"Because she has that faith -- that’s what makes her a survivor. It’s her faith that saves her, not the science. It’s not the brain, but the heart, and I find that quite beautiful,” Rapace said.Scott explained that Shaw’s religious faith was based in part on dinner he shared with nine astrophysicists, including three scientists from NASA.

“Scientist who are believers -- that’s not unique,” Scott said. “I asked, ‘Who in this room believes in God?’ And four put their hands up. It’s kind of odd that somebody working with such specific clarity will say, ‘Well, actually, you know, I hate to tell you -- but I believe in God.’ So, that’s an abstract thing called faith.”

“I believe in evolution and Darwinism, but do I believe there’s a power greater than ourselves? Absolutely, and it’s out there somewhere," said Logan Marshall-Green, who portrayed Shaw’s agnostic personal and professional partner, Charlie Holloway. "Do I believe that there’s intelligent life out there? Totally.”

“I really do believe that it’s ridiculous for us to think that we’re the only intelligent life in the universe,” adds Marshall-Green. “I don’t expect people to abandon religion or science after seeing this, but I certainly expect them to look up to the skies.”

“I absolutely think that religion will always be a part of humanity, because it was one of the first inventions of man,” he said.

"It doesn't matter how much faith you have or don't have. Ridley Scott told Esquire. "I just don't buy the idea that we're alone. There's got to be some form of life out there."

 

                   

The Daily Galaxy via scientificamerican.com, esquire.com, and foxnews.com 

Click Here to View Today's Hot Tech News Video from IDG --Publishers of PC World, MacWorld, and Computerworld

 

 

Comments

[Singaporistu]

the lows of nature(physics, chemistry, evolution, etc) created man, and man created god because didn't know who created him

the evidence of change (from rna world -> prokaryotic cells -> eukaryotic cells, multi-cellular organisms with nonspecialized cells-> multi-cellular organisms) can be found all around the world, can be verified and show clear progression. Don't need to involve the aliens into this, is already messy as it is.

[Ola]

Myths was created by humans a thousands of years ago. We still love to create myths.

[Human00]

The evolution theory is still relative. It's a good answer for certain questions but it is not absolute for why we are here or even how. One man is not better or smarter than the next if your faith is evolution. As that's all it is right now; faith. And all it probably ever will be.

Science keeps finding new conclusions and results, maybe in a few hundred years evolution will be replaced with something else. Since evolution is not absolute this could well be the case.

For the record, this film is dire. The only good thing about it was the acting talent of Michael Fassbender. Extremely predictable and cheesy. The scientists on board were as naive and intelligent as the average Joe from today's society; i.e about as smart as two short planks. But I guess they had dumb everything down so majority of the population would actually go watch this film.

[Ivar Nielsen]

The title and question of this movie reminds me of the National Geographic series of "Ancient Aliens" where a group of scholars and laymen are pondering over the same question because of what they see as different global evidences of sky-deities “once visited the Earth” who became creators of both humans and their cultural temples and so on.

- The global stories of creation are globally very common and very similar, and in the best of cases, they even explain the very elementary basic of creation, “before everything physical was created in its forms”.

One fine example of such an explanation is the Egyptian mythological telling of the “Ogdoad” where 4 elementary qualities works via attractive and expansive forces, hence 8 in all, and were symbolized with female and male qualities that create everything in the Universe. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogdoad

When reading of the global stories of creation, it doesn´t make much sense unless the stories are connected to their earthly or celestial phenomena and objects. The world picture of our ancestors included both what they immediately could observe in day- and nighttime and also what they experienced in their dreams and spiritual visions.

- The largest structure/object one could and can observe in the sky, is the crescent Milky Way band, seemingly revolving around the Earth celestial pole centre. Because of this largest observable structure, the Milky Way contours were connected with “giant human or animal creator beings”.

If thinking of the Ogdoad elementary creative forces, these are also in play when our galaxy is created. Therefore these elementary forces that create the whole giant Milky Way structure, “gives birth” to the whole Milky Way band that can be observed seemingly encircled the Earth.

When dividing the Earth hemispheres into the southern and northern hemisphere, 2 significant Milky Way symbols originate from the contours of the Milky Way, are involved in the story of creation. These primeval symbols of deities are globally mentioned as being both human- and animal-like beings.

Links:
http://www.native-science.net/Forefather.Worship.htm http://www.native-science.net/Antropomorph.God.Man.Animal.htm

And since our Solar System is an integrated part of the Milky Way creation, and we humans are a result of the first creation in the Milky Way and later on the creation in the Solar System, “we are indeed all created by the heavenly deities”.

That is: We are all a result of the elementary forces existing before the creation of the Milky Way; under the creation of the Milky Way and later on of the elementary creative forces of the Sun and the Earth. In this sense we are created by the gods “in their heavenly Milky Way image”.

These divine deity forces has in this way “descended to the Earth”, but not as personalized gods and goddesses, just as pure creative and elementary forces that works everywhere in the Universe.

- It is very understandable that we humans make these kinds of movies since the questions and its meanings are embedded deeply in our body and soul.

But when taking these globally and common and similar Stories of Creation literary, instead of allegorical meaning with concrete cosmological implications, as most of the scholars and laymen do in the National Geographic series of “Ancient Aliens”, it all goes totally wrong.

We are not created by Aliens, but by divine elementary and universal forces that makes us very familiar with everything else created in the Universe.

Natural Philosopher
Ivar Nielsen

[PN]

Reply to Singaporistu:

Who said all these (from rna world -> prokaryotic cells -> eukaryotic cells, multi-cellular organisms with nonspecialized cells-> multi-cellular organisms)? How one can believe these scientists who always work for their selfishness.
Let me pose just couple questions:
1) Why only one race is so intelligent on this planet?
2) If human evolved from Apes, as per some scientists, then why the evolution stopped since long time?

Just see yesterday news, now scientists found the origin of human is from Asia not from Africa. This is the state always. i.e. Science is just to understand how things happened and try to relate with our own calculations but that does never guarantee the truth behind it.

So if think in very broader way, there could be high possibility that one race been created here which again similar to one of the nearest animal (Ape) by some higher intelligent race and that race could be god or aliens.

[Montrose]

The esteemed scientist Fred Hoyle wrote about this in his book, Evolution from Space, JM Dent and Sons, London, 1981. In his book he noted that the calculation that all of the functional proteins necessary for life might form in one place by random event is 10(40000). Since there are only 10(80) subatomic particles in the entire visible universe, the physicists concluded that this was “an outrageously small probability that could not be faced even if the whole universe consisted of organic soup!” Therefore he proposed that evolution was given a big bump by aliens from another world. Of course this just pushes the problem further out into space.

[Rocker]

Ah . . . c'mon guys. I truly find the creationist or divine origination discussion interesting because it reflects not only on the state of the human mind & condition, but also opens the door to so many questions we simply do not know the answer to.

But, is there any way we can please refrain from the "if science doesn't know the exact answer, it must be god" banter. Every "where did we come from" discussion ends up with this circuitous roadblock.

It's a lovely little planet we live on. It's spawned some truly remarkable things, and is probably fairly unique in the grand scope. But, could we please spare the thoughts that we have have the remotest clue into what *could* be some form of a creator.

You can admit that the nature of existence is indeed strange and exotic, and probably beyond our comprehension right now. But, the deity obsession reminds me of a game of whack a mole. If science can't whack a mole, then it must be because some god thingie controls everything and the moles don't exist.

Just because you don't understand something doesn't mean you can't just admit it. Why invent silly deity answers 'coz your pappy said it was so when you went to Sunday school?

[Spoiler Alert]

Thanks for RUINING the movie with your headline, guys.

[lasershark]

Has nobody read Rendezvous With Rama, or the Known Space series by Larry Niven? This is not a new concept... just sayin'.

[Rhonda]

Rhonda,
hey darling I found this interview very interesting. Follow the link on the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogdoad,http://www.native-science.net/Forefather.Worship.htm http://www.native-science.net/Antropomorph.God.Man.Animal.htm. Also look up Blue lotus I thought it was ironic how we where a tracked to the Lotus at the Botanic Gardens and how Its so highly revered in ancient religions. Hugs and kisses.

[Bob Greenwade]

It's one thing to question whether we're the only sapient species in the galaxy; it's quite another to postulate that the "other" species created us.

Quite possibly there's another sapient species somewhere in the Milky Way. I don't think there is, but it's possible. It might even have a more advanced society than ours, having gotten past all the extinction threats that such a society faces as it develops from industrial to interstellar.

But I find it rather ironic, in a strange sort of way, to cite the idea that we're the only sapient species in the galaxy as arrogant, and then turn it around and say that we were created by another alien species from elsewhere in the galaxy. That would make that other species the only naturally-occurring sapient species in the galaxy, reducing that count back down to just one. The hypothesis does nothing other than move the number from Earth to some unknown planet elsewhere in the galaxy.

I applaud Mr. Scott for his respect toward those of religious belief (a quality I find all too rare among atheists), but if this is the crux of the film, I'll have to put it in the same general category as "Avatar": a rollicking good adventure based on a ludicrously improbable foundation.

[Ivar Nielsen]

Reply to Rhonda,

Thanks for your link-recommendation.

The “Egg variant” creation story in the Ogdoad says:

"The first version of the myth has the entity arising from the waters after the interaction as a mound of dirt, the Milky Way, which was deified as Hathor. In the myth an egg was laid upon this mound by a celestial bird. The egg contained Ra. In the original version of this variant, the egg is laid by a cosmic goose. However, after the rise of the cult of Thoth, the egg was said to have been a gift from Thoth, and laid by an ibis, the bird with which he was associated".

AD: The story of creation is clearly connected with the Milky Way and the first physical entity is created “on the mound of dirt” i.e. in the Milky Way centre where all physical (particles/soil/dust) formation takes place.

Regarding the “Blue Lotus” creation story, Wikipedia states: “The (blue) lotus was said to have arisen from the waters after the explosive interaction as a bud, which floated on the surface, and slowly opened its petals to reveal the beetle, Khepri, inside. Khepri, an aspect of Ra representing the rising sun, immediately turns into a weeping boy - Nefertum (young Atum), whose tears form the creatures of the earth”. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogdoad

AD: Here it is said that Ra represents the “rising sun”, but this cannot be correct. The Ogdoad is referring to the creation stage before the physical and observable world, included our solar system, and therefore the first light created belongs to the light of the Milky Way centre from where everything is created in our galaxy.

NB: The biblical "repulsion from the garden of Eden" mytho-cosmologically describe how everything (of the ancient known world) is created in the centre of our Milky Way and being pushed away from the centre - and this is how our solar system is located in the actual position.

Regards Ivar
www.native-science.net

[Spirulina]

Too similar to the story behind Aliens - designed by the Predators.

[Outsource a freelancer]

Scientifically speaking no alien life has been found. Fictionally speaking it just seems too similar to Aliens. The same formula (film) with different ingredients (actors).

[Noochy]

@ PN - i'll answer your 2 questions:

1)only one SPECIES (not race) is so intelligent in our world because through evolution we had random mutations compound in our DNA that resulted in larger brains ... henceforth, we became the dominant SPECIES on this planet

2)We evolved slowly over hundreds of thousands of years from an ancestrial ape yes ... it takes a really long time for mutations within the genetic code to alter physical characteristics that allow us to exploit our environment for resources. having said that, its only been like 150 years since the industrial revolution and it would be impossible to see in such a short timeline.

i find your views on scientists seriously whack. i'm fairly sure you have no concept of the point of research because your faith is blinding you to oopening your mind. i'm not saying "think like me" but i am saying "make educated statements" if youre going to post on a astrobiology blog.

[ophu]

@Singaporistu: Whether We want it to or not, it can always get messier. Our personal wishes are irrelevant.

[(_0_) <==((]

lol

[Valentin]

Most humans barely use 10% of their brains. If dare to use a little bit more, will understand what we are and who made us... we the hybrids. God is and invention to understand who we are and wrongly. It´s time to open up earth minds, and stop killing and cheating each other... ´The truth is out there, not in the backyard´.

[Mary Ann]

For me, reading from this website for less than a year now. I just keep in mind, with so many stars there is a possibilty we are not alone and “God” could just be from someone’s imagination or just things that could not be explained thousand of years ago or now. I’m not saying there is no higher being/God, just not because somebody said so I should believe it as well. It could be just politics or good PR thousands of years ago.

[Skye]

Have none of you ever read Family of Light by Barbara Marciniak?? 'Nuf sed!'

[Human00]

@ Valentin

I guess you are smarter than all the millions who believe in a God then right? You are smarter than the all the philosophers that ever lived, all the people who have asked questions throughout the history of time. You seem to know all the answers so simply and quickly. You managed to debunk the Bible and all the philosophers and scientists including Einstein with "God is an invention" You should be running for a noble prize if you are that smart my friend.

If there is no God, that means there is no absolute right and wrongs. So how do you propose we stop killing each other if there are no absolutes and everything is relative, Mr Genius?

[Bob]

Humans killing humans is a part of life,

Just like animals kill other animals

Welcome to earth.

To say that we are the smartest thing on this planet is very small minded as we don't know everything about our planet and what lays in the deep blue sea.

Drugs can make us smarter, stay alert, maybe drugs where created by aliens to make us evolve more !!

[Cassandra]

Since Scott is playing the fraudulent 'religion vs. science' controversy to drum up an audience, the movie must be pretty lousy.

[alin]

if "god" exist then he is an alien too, so the question is wrong.

[alin]

by the way, the aliens in the movie will kill her if she found them and they will destroy humankind after.