Posted on 12/23/2016 5:41:04 PM PST by BenLurkin
It happened on Christmas Eve, 48 years ago. Three men took turns reading from the first 10 verses of the Book of Genesis. They were nearly 250,000 miles away from Bethlehem, but since it was the night before Christmas, and there was no chimney from which to hang their stockings, the three astronauts inside the Apollo 8 capsule orbiting the moon thought it would be appropriate. So as Jim Lovell,Frank Borman and Bill Anders looked at the faraway Earth through the small window of the spacecraft, they read the verses: “In the beginning, God made the heavens and the Earth.”
Their distant-sounding voices from far beyond our atmosphere were broadcast live to the whole planet that night over radio and television. It was one of those moments that brought the world together, that helped us to see our common humanity as children of God whom he loves equally, and whom he placed on the beautiful planet that he made.
Seven months after this extraordinary event, in July 1969, another NASA spacecraft, Apollo 11, carried two astronauts to the surface of the moon itself. One of them, Commander Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, thought he might do something similar to mark what was certainly an epochal moment in the history of our race. But what could one do to mark the first time human beings landed on another heavenly body? He asked Dean Woodruff, the pastor of his church in Webster, Texas, who had an idea.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
Nice. Thanks for posting this.
Merry Christmas!
I Remember It Well. A Very Moving Moment Indeed.
Does that make it Commoonion?
That night was magical.
Too bad those test pilot military astronauts holding all those silly science masters and doctorates, were not as smart as your typical New York lawyer, MSM loser, or marshmallow major.
There was a special on that flight recently...due to the Apollo 1 fire, the looming end of the decade, and the Soviets, they sped up the program beyond what was originally thought to be a safe pace. The Flight Director told one of the astronaut’s wives that they had a 50/50 chance of coming back.
The communion kit Buzz Aldrin used was returned to the pastor of the church that loaned it out. Don’t know the where about of that kit now. Probably still at the church.
As for Apollo 8, that flight helped to save 1968.
Bump
Those men, more than anyone, had to realize how tiny, how insignificant we are, and how vast the Lord's work is. To stare into that cosmic eye and know that beyond lies God Himself ...
It was historic. The first time we got a clear picture of what our planet looks like from afar. Earthrise over the moon was another unforgettable image. Our little blue marble.
Yes it was broadcast live. I was a ten year old watching intently. It was one of those moments one never forgets. When they went to the far side of the moon and were out of connection with the earth , everyone was holding their breath. t seemed like forever before communication was established again. Such a relief to hear their voices again. My favorite Christmas Eve ever
An incredible end to a very bad year
I will never, as long as I live, forget seeing that live as a ten year old in 1968
I remember that Christmas Eve just as you described it. It was a magic moment after a truly terrible year. We only had about three channels then. We knew the whole country and the world was watching. I’m ten years older than you. My children are in their thirties. I can tell them about it and have them watch the video, but I can’t make them understand it in the context we experienced it.
I well remember, 1968 was not a very good year.
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