One Giant Leap of Faith: Spiritual Moments from the Apollo Missions

This past July, I’ve included brief snippets of some of our patriots. Moving forward, let’s look at some of the space explorers– astronauts–from the Apollo missions.

Fifty-five years ago this past week, on July 20, 1969, three astronauts ventured into space and the first landing on the moon took place, Apollo 11. The mission was watched live by an estimated 500–650 million people worldwide and remains one of the most significant achievements in human exploration. Neil Armstrong was the first to leave the lunar module and said this: “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.” Later, speaking before Congress he said: “To those of you who have advocated looking high we owe our sincere gratitude, for you have granted us the opportunity to see some of the grandest views of the Creator.”

Before exiting the lunar module, Buzz Aldrin read John 15:5 “I am the vine, and you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me (John 15:5 GNT), and then took communion.

Apollo 12 Astronauts Charles “Pete” Conrad and Alan Bean walked on the moon for 31 hours. Alan Bean became an artist and in one of his paintings, he portrayed an astronaut kneeling in prayer on the moon. It is copyrighted so I can’t display it, but you can view it here: “We Came in Peace for All Mankind.”

There was a movie about Apollo 13 and if you haven’t seen it, I suggest you do. The movie tells of the harrowing experience where an oxygen tank exploded, irreparably damaging the craft. In sub-zero temperature, the crew pieced together an oxygen filter, jump-charged the command module batteries, and manually steered the ship to land in the ocean near a raging hurricane. During the harrowing time, President Nixon called the nation to pray.

On the Apollo 14 mission, February 6, 1971, Astronauts Edgar Mitchell and Alan Shepard left a tiny microfilm copy of the King James Bible aboard the lunar module Antares on the moon.

On Apollo 15, James Irwin was the 8th person to walk on the moon’s surface. He described his view of earth from space below:

“As we got farther and farther away it diminished in size. Finally it shrank to the size of a marble, the most beautiful marble you can imagine. That beautiful, warm, living object looked so fragile, so delicate, that if you touched it with a finger it would crumble and fall apart. Seeing this has to change a man, has to make a man appreciate the creation of God and the love of God.”

Later, former astronaut Alan Bean–artist and author said this about James Irwin:

“Jim journeyed into space as test pilot astronaut and most of us returned the same way. But Jim changed outwardly. Irwin said, I returned determined to share with others that profound experience with God on the Moon and lift man into his highest flight of life.”

Astronaut James Irwin became an evangelical minister and later said:

Before I entered space with the Apollo 15 mission in July of 1971, I was … a silent Christian, but I feel the Lord sent me to the moon so I could return to the earth and share His Son, Jesus Christ.” He added: “Jesus walking on the earth is more important than man walking on the moon.”

I’ll conclude with Apollo 16 Astronaut Charles Duke:

I used to say I could live ten thousand years and never have an experience as thrilling as walking on the moon. But the excitement and satisfaction of that walk doesn’t begin to compare with my walk with Jesus, a walk that lasts forever.

Finally, on Christmas eve, 1968, the three man crew from Apollo 8 quoted Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning…and concluded with, 1:9 “…and God saw that it was good.” After returning to earth, a reporter told Borman that a Soviet cosmonaut returned from space and said he did not see God. Borman replied: “I did not see Him either, but I saw His evidence.” In describing that voyage, Borman said, “I had an enormous feeling that there had to be a power greater than any of us – that there was a God, that there was indeed a beginning.”

I want to thanks to Bill Federer’s research. You can learn more at American Minute.

For the remainder of this 250th anniversary of our nation’s birthday, I plan to share more inspiring stories. Thanks for joining me!

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