309. Why Do Many Astronauts Fly Their Faith Out of This World?
“We are now approaching lunar sunrise, and for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message that we would like to send to you. “‘In the beginning, God created the Heaven and the Earth. And the Earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, and God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good, and God divided the light from the darkness.’”
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The crew of Apollo 8 in 1968 (NASA)
1. Past astronauts paid tribute to Christianity
- Dec. 24, 1968: Apollo 8’s crew was the very first to orbit the Moon.
- These astronauts were Bill Anders, Jim Lovell, and Frank Borman.
- And they read from Gen. 1:1-10 (in the King James Version).
- But the Judeo-Christian roots of NASA go even deeper.
- General ideas: this is a generation still shaped by World War II.
- Some call this “positive world,” when churches/faith were in vogue.
- So was the actual gospel, co-mingled with “cultural Christianity.”
- Rocket engineer Wernher von Braun was one confessing Christian.
- These men did not just affirm Jesus as Savior but God as Creator.
“And God said, ‘Let the waters under the Heavens be gathered together into one place. And let the dry land appear.’ And it was so. And God called the dry land Earth. And the gathering together of the waters called he seas. And God saw that it was good.” And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas and God bless all of you—all of you on the good Earth.
