:Laying aside your unfounded accusations against Christopher Columbus, remember that I also said that an ET scout might have a commission from a commander more like [[Alexander the Great]] or [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] or maybe even [[Adolf Hitler]].--[[User:TerryH|TerryH]]<sup>[[User talk:TerryH|Talk]]</sup> 10:08, 25 April 2008 (EDT)
::Unfounded? So the decimation of the local population by smallpox and syphilis after his arrival was a coincidence? Not to mention persecution by the Catholic Church. However, that was made tongue in cheek, but seriously, if there are beings out there with the technology to travel here and they aren't exactly of a friendly nature, then it doesn't matter who they take after - we're in trouble. A bit like that Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man." [[User:DPearce|DPearce]] 10:13, 25 April 2008 (EDT)
:::Now your "serious" point ''is'' well-taken. It is exactly my point. By what arrogance does anyone suppose that we could "take those guys" if they showed up? Of course, I don't believe that they will, because I see no evidence of "them." Even Stephen Hawking has given up on the idea, after Project SETI has utterly failed to turn up a convincing positive finding.--[[User:TerryH|TerryH]]<sup>[[User talk:TerryH|Talk]]</sup> 11:35, 25 April 2008 (EDT)
::So, Terry, are you saying that the Europeans did not do these things against the Native population of the Americas?[[User:AliceBG|AliceBG]] 10:24, 25 April 2008 (EDT)
:::Yes. And if you have any proof otherwise, you'd better show it--and probably take this to [[Talk:Christopher Columbus]], which is where this belongs.--[[User:TerryH|TerryH]]<sup>[[User talk:TerryH|Talk]]</sup> 13:16, 25 April 2008 (EDT)
Oh dear - what rubbish are they teaching the kids these days? Here's some sources (that took about 30 seconds to find) that might enlighten you. [latinamericanhistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/genocide_in_the_new_world]
[http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1975/6/1975_6_4.shtml]
[http://web.mit.edu/thistle/www/v9/9.11/1columbus.html]
[http://www.dennisfox.net/columns/columbus.html]
[http://www.religioustolerance.org/genocide5.htm] Given his history of atrocities, he's been compared to Himmler (amongst others) by historians, so sorry to burst your bubble, but denying his genocide is something akin to denying the Holocaust and immensely offensive to the indigenous inhabitants of the Americas. Columbus paved the way for the later Conquistadors to commit equally heinous crimes. He also started the slave trade from the Americas. As he said in his own diary, writing of the native inhabitants, “They would make fine servants. With 50 men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.” He proceeded to do just that by kidnapping 25 natives and taking them back to Spain. When Columbus returned to Hispaniola in 1493, he had an unquenchable lust for gold and violently forced the native Arawak Indians to provide impossible amounts. He enslaved 1,500 inhabitants and required all persons 14 years and older to collect a certain quantity of gold every three months. To ensure the cooperation of the Indians, Columbus made examples of those who refused his demands by cutting off their ears, hands and noses. Oh, by the way, you do know that Columbus didn't discover North America, right? He only ever got as far as the Caribbean and claimed to his dying day he'd found Asia, not a new continent. [[User:DPearce|DPearce]] 06:23, 26 April 2008 (EDT)
== Vatican statement ==
From http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080513/ap_on_re_eu/vatican_aliens_3
:Believing that the universe may contain alien life does not contradict a faith in God, the Vatican's chief astronomer said in an interview published Tuesday.
: In the interview by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Funes said that such a notion "doesn't contradict our faith" because aliens would still be God's creatures. Ruling out the existence of aliens would be like "putting limits" on God's creative freedom, he said.
--[[User:Rutm|Rutm]] 17:00, 13 May 2008 (EDT)
:That's nice. And they're still wrong. Try to remember that the Vatican does not speak for all Christians and is not even necessarily the most reliable source.--[[User:TerryH|TerryH]]<sup>[[User talk:TerryH|Talk]]</sup> 17:54, 13 May 2008 (EDT)