In the mid 1950s audiences roared as Ralph Kramden, played by Jackie Gleason, jovially threatened Alice, his sitcom wife, to send her “to the moon!”
The scene was comical for several reasons, not least of which was Gleason’s comedic genius.
The idea of going to the moon contributed to the comedy, but by the end of the 1960s it was no longer a laughing matter. The world sat spellbound in the summer of 1969 as Neil Armstrong accomplished the unthinkable and took “One small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.”
Armstrong died on Saturday, August 25, 2012. History will forever remember him by his famous words spoken from outer space. While most are familiar with what he said, fewer still know of what he did moments before offering his legendary quote. He and his fellow astronaut Buzz Aldrin observed communion immediately before exiting the spaceship to leave an indelible footprint on the moon. It seems their trip to space brought them closer to God in more ways than one.
In our day it is common to think that science has buried God beneath a pile of empirical data revealing his irrelevance. This is an unfortunate myth in the faith and science debate, and it is one that is particularly false when it comes to space travel. The late Chuck Colson published an informative article several years ago outlining many astronauts who have been outspoken about their Christian faith. It is well worth your time to check it out here.
Thinking of space travel and faith always reminds me of the memorable response C.S. Lewis once offered to an atheist cosmonaut from Russia.
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More than 250 Southern Seminary students received degrees – ranging from certificates to doctorates – during commencement exercises on the seminary lawn, May 17, 2013. “This great assembly is humbled by the knowledge that you will go where so many of us have never gone,” R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Seminary, told the [...]
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We should have seen it coming. Back in 1989 two young activists pushing for the normalization of homosexuality coauthored a book intended to serve as a political strategy manual and public relations guide for their movement. In After the Ball: How America Will Conquer its Fear and Hatred of Gays in the 90s, authors Marshall Kirk [...]
Jesus once told of a wealthy man who went on a long journey. Before the man left, he entrusted his wealth to three servants. To one he gave five units, to another just two units, and to the last he gave only one. Each received “according to his ability,” Jesus said. The servant with the [...]
