How to explore space as an act of worship and peace – A Theology of Space Exploration, Part 5

Humans have long explored the natural world can as an act of worship that seeks to glorify God, specifically because the act of exploration seeks to know the heart and mind of the One who created it.  If we are okay with exploring land, sea and air, should we not also be okay with exploring space? 

Psalm 19 provides a theological basis for exploration to the glory of God:

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.”

Obviously, when David was writing this psalm 3000 years ago, he had no idea about radio waves or the possibility that the heavenly bodies actually do make noise, which contemporary scientists have been listening to for decades, made possible, of course, through space exploration. To David while heavenly bodies seemed audibly quiet and distant, those heavenly bodies loudly proclaimed the glory of God.

I love looking at the night sky, and especially the moon, though it freaks me out to think that we can see this giant ball so clearly, yet so far away.  It does something to me.  It reminds me of my smallness, and God’s unfathomable hugeness. The moon and stars speak to me

The heavens help us have perspective. In Psalm 8, verses 3-4, David writes, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” 

David directs us to think about the moon. Space exploration can be so theologically rich, when we consider that the sun is far larger than the moon.  The sun, by comparison, is not a big stars. Or think about the massive expanse of the universe, untold lightyears in every direction. Space is mindboggling, which is why would do well to explore space and worship. 

No doubt space exploration since the 1950s has not been done simply to worship God.  When we beat the Russians to the moon, how much of our motivation was simply because we wanted to demonstrate superiority over the Russians?  Was the race to the moon a massive ego contest?  Probably.  And it was quite expensive.  My guess is that there were plenty of individuals who approach their work for the government or other private space agencies as worship to God.  No matter where or how you work, we are called to view our work as worship.  Space exploration fits very nicely with this idea of work as worship.  How so?  Because in exploring new worlds, we are seeking the mind of the creator of those worlds.  We want to know more of him and how and why he created.  

I think it is of great value for Christians to be people who gaze at the stars and moon and other celestial events.  The recent eclipses have been amazing opportunities to worship God.  Paul writes in Romans 1:20, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”  We explore space so we can know God!  That is, if we are also caring for earth and human flourishing at the same time. 

Third, exploration whether over land or under the land, in air, on the ocean, under the ocean, have led to the advancement of humanity and technology that can benefit humanity.  Space exploration glorifies God, in other words, because it has advanced human flourishing. 

Let me ask you this: why do you like the Olympics? The athletes are amazingly talented.  The competition is entertaining.  But the Olympics have a depth about them that is so striking.  In our broken, divided world, the Olympics peacefully bring humanity together.   Space exploration does too!

Even though the space race mimicked the ideological standoff between communism and democracy, things took a dramatic turn since the 1980s.  In 1984 Ronald Reagan authorized the beginning stages of creating an international space station.  Design and component-building took place from 1984 to 1993 through a collaboration between the US, Canada, Japan, and the European Space Agency.  Then in 1993, Russia was invited to participate. Russian had their own tiny space stations in 1970s, and they would go on to build a larger one, Mir, which was in operation from 1986-2000. But the ISS has taken space habitation to a new level. From 1995-1998, 36 space shuttles missions and 6 Russian rockets brought all the initial components to space.  It has taken over 250 spacewalks to build and maintain.  Since November 2000, the ISS has been continually inhabited by an international array of people from five space agencies and 15 countries.  NASA reports that “the microgravity laboratory has hosted nearly 3,000 research investigations from researchers in more than 108 countries.”

Though space exploration started off as a competition, one of the amazing aspects of the International Space Station is that it has been, like the Olympics, a stunning effort for peace. 

The ISS has promoted human flourishing many other ways.  NASA reports that scientist and astronauts have done experiments and research on the ISS that have led to advances in medical scanning technology such as ultrasound, creating new drugs for disorders like Muscular Dystrophy, lowering heat in cities and tracking water, applying station air filtration technology to fighting COVID and preserving food in grocery stores, creating artificial retinas in space, making cancer treatments simpler for patients, monitoring heat safety on Earth, and more. 

So at the conclusion of this series of posts about a theology of space exploration, I believe we Christians can thoroughly support space exploration, as long as we keep one foot planted firmly on the earth, eyes open to spot injustice and suffering, hands and that other foot ready to run to share the love of God in word and deed.

Photo by Photobank Kiev on Unsplash

Is space exploration a waste? – A Theology of Space Exploration, Part 4

How much space exploration is too much?  Is it possible that we could spend so much money exploring space that we no longer have the resources to care for the earth? 

Some might respond that because the cost of exploring space is exponentially greater and riskier than exploring earth, we should not explore space.  Some believe that there is a line of viability, and exploring space crossed that line long ago.  They would say that exploring space is actually detrimental to human flourishing.  Instead, they say, it is more in line with God’s heart for humans to care for the earth in a sustainable way.  They have a point. Imagine if all those billions of dollars and research efforts were put into human struggles on earth? 

What we are talking about is stewardship.  A steward is one who cares for the property owned by another.  We do not own the earth.  In Deuteronomy 10:14, we read, “To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it.”  So when we think about space exploration and earth, we are thinking about caring for, stewarding, that which is God’s. 

What is good stewardship of our planet, of its resources, of its people?  Perhaps that phrase “they are so heavenly-minded, they are of no earthly good,” fits here.  Usually that phrase refers to Christians who focus so much on eternal life that they neglect God’s heart for human flourishing here on earth.  We can certainly focus on eternal life and neglect abundant life.

When that phrase “they are so heavenly-minded, they are of no earthly good,” is applied to space exploration, we could say that all that money used for Apollo missions to the moon, all that money used for Space shuttle missions, and all that money used for all kinds of space exploration would have been better spent to alleviate poverty, disease, and natural disaster.  Or to develop sustainable food, water, air and energy sources.   Would humanity be better off if instead of looking to water and minerals on the moon and Mars, we looked to caring for the earth? 

I am asking these questions as questions that I do not know the answer to.  What I do know is that God calls us to promote human flourishing in the here and now.  Has space exploration promoted human flourishing?

When we explore, we have all sorts of motivations.  Certainly, a space company like Space X is a business with a bottom line.  If they lose money persistently, they will shut down.  Space X wants to make money.  So do the space tourism companies.  To create a company for the purpose of making money is not inherently wrong. 

We also need to examine the ethics of the company.  Is it crossing a line to create companies for millionaires, and in the process of servicing those millionaires, loads of natural resources are wasted for what amounts to a very brief pleasure ride?  Should governments ban $1.25 million space flight tickets?  Could governments force millionaires and billionaires to use their money to help those in need?  Or could governments impose a luxury tax that says if you are going to pay $1.25 million to fly to space, you will also need to pay a 50% tax to a social services agency that benefits those in need?  Perhaps.  

The answers are not clear.

We humans, created in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27), bear that creative mark of our Creator. As such, we are adventurers and explorers. Always have been. It’s baked in. Therefore, we can and should explore space, especially to learn the heart and mind of our Creator, just as we have explored earth, sky and sea. Of course, within reason. Perhaps the principle we could apply is that we should explore as long as our exploration benefits human flourishing and does not hamper it.

We need to be guarded about this.  We Christians can advocate for an approach to space exploration that leaves plenty of room and resources to care for those in desperate need on earth.  Yet it seems to me that we humans have the ability to both explore space and care for the earth at the same time. 

Photo by Rad Pozniakov on Unsplash

 

Space exploration helps us appreciate the goodness of earth – A Theology of Space Exploration, Part 3

Things haven’t been going well for Boeing in recent years.  Remember the jet that had a door pop off mid-flight?  Remember the jets that have had wheels fly off during take-off?  Remember the 737-Max that had two planes crash, killing 346?  All Boeing.  Boeing has had so many disasters in recent years, they have been longing for a win.

Earlier this year, Boeing finally got their win.  But it wasn’t a jetliner.  It was Starliner, their spaceship that launched on June 5, 2024.  Aboard Starliner were two NASA astronauts, Butch Willmore and Suni Williams.  They docked at the International Space Station on June 6, on a NASA mission which was to last 8 days and then return home on Starliner. 

Boeing’s win turned into a loss on day 1.  Starliner had problems during its flight to and docking at the ISS. Spaceships not only have large booster engines, but lots of small thrusters for fine movement and steering.  It was those smaller steering thrusters that are malfunctioning on Starliner.  As with any vehicle, you need to be able to steer, so Boeing so NASA and Boeing extended Willmore and Williams’ stay a few days, while they evaluated whether it was safe for them to fly Starliner back to earth.

That was two months ago, and Willmore and Williams are still on the ISS.  This past week we learned that the astronauts might not return to earth until February, and maybe not on Starliner.  Instead Space X might come to Boeing’s rescue.  NASA could reduce an astronaut mission to the ISS from 4 persons to 2, so that Willmore and Williams will catch a ride home on Space X’s Crew Dragon vessel.  If so, what was supposed to have been an 8 day stay on the ISS will have turned into an 8 month stay for Willmore and Williams. 

Can you imagine being those astronauts?  Stuck in space.  Can you imagine being their families on earth?  Thankfully, communication between the earth and ISS is good.  But still. 8 days turning into 8 months? 

This is the kind of situation that can cause us to question whether all this emphasis on space exploration is worth it.  And rightly so.  It’s not just two astronauts who are stuck in space. 

As we have learned in the previous posts in this series, here, here and here, consider the billions and billions of dollars spent by nations and companies around the world on space exploration.  Consider the loss of life.  Consider the toll spaceflight takes on humans.  Zero-gravity, radiation.  Not to mention the question of “Why?”  Why do want to explore places like the moon and Mars whose climates are inhospitable to human life?  Is it really worth it to explore space?  Many have argued very intensely that God would not approve of space travel and exploration.

What would God think?  Does the Bible say anything about this?

First of all, the Bible describes God as creator of the universe, and the account in Genesis chapter 1 says that what God created is good.  Think about the goodness of creation from a cosmic perspective. 

The earth’s orbit around the sun is located in what is called the Habitable Zone.  The definition of the Habitable Zone is the distance from a star allowing a planet to have liquid water on its surface.  As we think about our own solar system’s planets, those too close to the sun are burning hot for life.  Those too far away freeze.  Earth is the perfect distance from the sun for life.  Without the sun, we would be in bad, bad shape.  The sun provides light and heat that makes life possible on our planet.  The sun is good.

We also have the perfect satellite, the moon.  NASA notes that “The Moon makes Earth a more livable planet by moderating our home planet’s wobble on its axis, leading to a relatively stable climate. It also causes tides, creating a rhythm that has guided humans for thousands of years.” The moon is good.

When humans have traveled into space, they are often overcome with emotion at seeing the goodness of earth from above.  It’s beauty and grandeur.  Astronauts remark that all the wars and political strife and racism and hate make such little sense when viewing our incredible planet from above.  The earth is good!

Looking upward can help us look downward.  Space exploration can help humanity have a much better view of life down here.  We appreciate earth more, knowing how incredibly unique earth is.  We can grow gratefulness for the amazing gift of earth. 

Furthermore, when we appreciate earth, we can be motivated to care for the earth, which is exactly what God has called us to do.  In Genesis 1:28, God calls humans to be fruitful and multiply, to fill the earth and subdue it.  That is not a call to destroy the earth, but to make it place of flourishing.  In Genesis 2:15, God calls humans to work the land of the Garden and care for it.  I conclude that space exploration has actually helped us better care for the goodness of the earth. 

But I am not certain where to draw the line.  How much space exploration is too much? Can we spend so much money and earthly resources to explore space that we are actually detrimental to human flourishing on earth? We’ll talk about that further in the next post.

Photo by NASA on Unsplash

Space Shuttle, Space X, Artemis and the billionaires – A Theology of Space Exploration, Part 2

January 28, 1986, was a day I will never forget. What happened that day scarred me.  I was in sixth grade, came in from recess, and a student who had been inside for recess drew a picture on the chalkboard of the space shuttle Challenger blowing up.  We were shocked, as was our nation.  In the days leading up to the launch, students across the country had been so excited because there was a special passenger on that Challenger mission. 

Christa McAuliffe, a social studies teacher from New Hampshire, was going to be the first private citizen in space, where she would teach lessons that would be broadcast by satellite to schools across the nation.  My school’s satellite link-up was in the school library, and we waited with anticipation for the day when McAuliffe would teach us from space.  Then Challenger exploded soon after its launch.  I have always had vivid dreams, and that one got me.  I had space shuttle nightmares for years. 

But I’m getting ahead of myself. This week I’m attempting to bring biblical theology to bear on the topic of space exploration. In the previous post I began a brief history of space exploration. With the retirement of the expensive and nonreusable Apollo Saturn V rockets, NASA envisioned a space transport system that would be reusable, hoping to explore space less expensively and more frequently.  We know the space transport system more familiarly as the Space Shuttle.  Development began in 1972, and the first shuttle mission blasted off April 12, 1981. 

Because of the Challenger tragedy, space shuttle launches were paused for 32 months.  But after loads of investigations, redesigns, and testing, on September 29, 1988, Shuttle mission STS-26 relaunched the shuttle program.  By that time, I was now in my freshman year in high school, and I remember watching the launch in school, having high anxiety that the shuttle would explode again.  I and probably many others breathed a sigh of relief when it was a successful mission.

But fifteen years later, on February 1, 2003, another shuttle, Columbia, broke up during re-entry.  Between the two shuttle disasters, 14 astronauts lost their lives.  After more investigation and safety correction, shuttles launched again.  The final Shuttle mission launched in July 2011, having flown 135 total missions. Over the its 30 years in operation, NASA’s shuttle program built six shuttles, using them for zero-gravity experimentation, deploying satellites, building the International Space Station, and famously launching the Hubble Space Telescope. 

Even though shuttles were reusable, they were still extremely expensive, and the loss of life was unfathomable.  In 2011 when the final shuttle mission returned to the USA, you’d think that, given the cost of life and resources, it might seem that our human fascination with outer space exploration was fading.  Not even close. 

Long before that last shuttle mission in 2011, a shift was underway.  Private companies began to take an interest in space exploration.  Elon Musk started Space X in 2002.  Ten years later in 2012, Space X flew its first astronauts to the International Space Station.  Since that time, Space X’s growth has been extraordinary. 

Space X is famous for its rockets that land upright on the ground or on boats in the water.  These advancements have allowed Space X to fly to space far more inexpensively than any government or company before.  As of this writing, Space X has launched 375 times, 340 of which have landed rockets safely so they are able to be launched again, and in fact 309 of Space X’s launches are on rockets that have been flown before.  Visit Space X’s website for updated numbers. Last week one of Space X’s Falcon 9 rockets broke the record for the most launches by the same rocket, 22 launches.  Maybe you’re wondering, what are they doing launching so many rockets?  In 2023, they launched 100 times.  By far, most of their rocket payloads are satellites for a variety of countries and companies, or supply and transport missions to the International Space Station.

Space X also has its own network of satellites, called Starlink, through which it provides internet service across the globe. When a series of Starlink satellites launch, they are often visible in the night sky, forming what appears to be a “train” of stars flying above in a straight line. These Starlink trains are visible until they reach their desired orbit and spread out.

Space X has set its sights well beyond launching satellites or ferrying astronauts to the International Space Station.  Over the last few years it has built the biggest reusable rocket in history, the Super Heavy, as well as a new reusable space transport vehicle called Starship.  Starship is larger than space shuttle, designed to carry payloads and humans to the moon and Mars.  Whereas the Shuttle launched on the back of a rocket and landed like a jet with wheels, Starship sits on top of a Super Heavy rocket, and then Starship will land upright like Space X’s other rockets.  Also, the Super Heavy Booster will be caught by a giant structure called Mechazilla with robot arms.  Space X has launched Starship multiple times, unmanned, still in the testing phase.  

Speaking of Mars, since NASA got out of the space shuttle business, it has still been involved in all sorts of missions.  NASA sends exploratory probes and vehicles around the solar system.  Maybe you’ve seen the probes’ close-up photos of Saturn, Jupiter, and the other planets, moons and asteroids.  Or perhaps you’ve watched video of robot rovers on Mars, including most recently a robot helicopter on Mars.

In recent years, NASA is looking again toward landing humans on the moon, and eventually Mars.  To do this, NASA created its own massive rocket, the Space Launch System, which in Nov/Dec 2022 sent an unmanned mission of the new Orion spacecraft to orbit the moon. These new moon missions have a new name, Artemis.  Artemis mission 2 is slated to be a manned mission to fly around the moon, possibly as early as September 2025.  Artemis 3 will attempt to land astronauts on the moon, later this decade.  Artemis 3’s Orion spacecraft will meet up with a Space X Starship in orbit around the moon, and the astronauts will use Starship to land on the moon.    

There is so much more happening in space exploration that some have declared that we are in a new space race.  Countries and private companies across the globe are working on all sorts of rocket and spaceship technology and vehicles.  Trying to find water on the moon.  Trying to find minerals on asteroids.  Recently scientists have found evidence of a massive ocean under the red, dusty surface of Mars? 

In this new space race, numerous governments around the world sent unmanned missions to the moon in the last year or so.  The USA on Christmas Day 2021 launched the James Webb Space Telescope, and we sent it into orbit not around the earth or around the moon, but around the sun!  Webb has given us clearer images and data from deeper into space than ever before. 

Then came the billionaries.  The founder of Amazon, billionaire Jeff Bezos, started a space tourism company called Blue Origin.  Blue Origin’s spaceship called New Shephard travels just past the Karman Line (62 miles above earth where space begins).  That’s no big deal, considering that the first astronauts broke that boundary in 1961.  What is new is that anyone can pay for a ticket on the New Shephard.  That is, anyone who has $1.25 million for a seat.  Or you can fly on Richard Branson’s bargain spaceflight company Virgin Galactic and their space plane for only $450,000 per ticket.  Apparently, waiting lists are long, so you better get on that. 

Another private company has recently been struggling to get in the space race.  In the next post we’ll learn about their story, which will set us up nicely to talk about the intersection of theology and space exploration.

Photo by NASA on Unsplash

Space Race, Moonshot and SkyLab – A Theology of Space Exploration, Part 1

Trivia question:  What major lunar event happened on December 14, 1972?  On December 14, 1972, US astronaut Eugene Cernan stepped off the surface moon, climbed up the ladder back into the lunar module Challenger, closed the hatched, blasted off, returned to earth, and humans have never again set foot on the moon.  That was 52 years ago. 

Though humans haven’t gone back to the moon, we have been exploring outer space nonstop ever since.  Nations and companies have spent massive amounts of money and energy in our exploration.  Is it worth it?  And what would God have to say?  This week on the blog we’re going to look at what the Bible says about space exploration.  Before we can examine what the Bible has to say about space exploration, we need to know, “What is space exploration?” 

Even before that, we have to answer “What is space?”  Where does space begin?  62 miles above the earth, a distance known as the Karman line, is the boundary between earth’s atmosphere and where space begins.  Therefore, space exploration started in the middle of World War 2, when Nazi Germany launched a V-2 rocket October 3, 1942, the first man-made object to travel past the Karman line. 

The foremost Nazi rocket scientist Wernher von Braun surrendered to American troops near the end of the war, and began helping the US military with rocket development.  He would be instrumental in helping create the US space program.  But it was not the Americans who would lead the way in the early years of space exploration. 

On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first satellite into orbit around the earth, Sputnik.  It looked like an chrome silver over-sized beachball with four antennae.  A month later, the Soviets sent the first living creature to space, a monkey. 

This was the era of the Cold War, the epic battle between democracy and communism.  It was the USA and our allies versus the Soviet Union and their allies.  With Sputnik and the monkey, the Soviets had scored the first points in the contest to explore space.  Not to be outdone, the USA launched our first satellite, Explorer 1, on January 31, 1958. Six months later, July 28, 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, known more familiarly by its acronym, NASA, was founded as the US government agency which would lead our nation’s space exploration efforts.  With that the Space Race between the USA and the USSR was on!

Over the next few years, it seemed that the Soviet Union was beating the USA at every turn.  First to launch a satellite.  First human to orbit earth, April 12, 1961, Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.  The US was chasing.   A month later, on May 5, the first American in space was Alan Shephard.  Shephard made it to space, but he didn’t orbit the earth, so we didn’t match the Soviet achievement.  An American wouldn’t orbit earth until Feb 20, 1962, John Glenn. 

Then on September 12, 1962, US President John F. Kennedy made his famous declaration, “We choose to go to the moon,” launching a national mandate to land humans on the moon and return them safely by 1970.  But the Soviets were thinking the same thing, so the space race became a race to the moon.

Over the next three years, the Soviets continued to notch firsts.  First woman in space in 1963, first multi-human space flight in 1964, and first space walk in 1965.  The US would hit all those milestones in 1965, except for one, the first US woman in space.  We wouldn’t send a woman to space until 20 years after the Soviets, Sally Ride, 1983.  Back in 1966, the Soviets hit another major first, when they safely landed an unmanned spacecraft on the surface of the moon.  As if coming in second place wasn’t bad enough, in 1967 NASA suffered a terrible loss when the rocket which later came to be known as Apollo 1 caught fire on the launchpad, killing three US astronauts. 

Prior to the disaster of Apollo 1, the US space exploration program, though trailing the Soviets, was still making progress, including some firsts of its own.  Multiple US Gemini missions were the first to perform orbital docking procedures.  But after the Apollo 1 disaster, the effort to beat the Soviets to the moon was paused for 18 months.  In September 1968, the USSR scored another major victory, sending an unmanned spaceship to orbit the moon and return safely to earth. With the US space program grounded, and with the Soviets making numerous advances to the moon, it seemed just a matter of time until a cosmonaut would be the first person to walk on the moon.

NASA, however, had been hard at work behind the scenes, testing, fixing, and launching unmanned Apollo rockets.  In what is known as Moonshot, NASA made a gutsy push to beat the Soviets.  On Oct 11, 1968, the first manned Apollo mission was successful.  On December 24, 1968, NASA scored points in the space race, beaten the Soviets in sending the first manned Apollo mission to orbit the moon and return to earth successfully.  Just as our American Moonshot was succeeding, the Soviet space program experienced struggles. In early July 1969 their unmanned moon rocket exploded just after launch.

After years of playing catch-up, NASA was suddenly ahead.  On July 16, 1969 we struck the final blow, landing humans on the moon.  The USA would go on to launch six more Apollo missions over the next few years, landing humans five more times on the moon.  The exception was the famous Apollo 13 mission that had complications, never landing on the moon, but instead used the gravitational force of the moon to slingshot the impaired Apollo craft back to earth.  During those years, the Soviet space program had no response.

By December 14, 1972, when US astronaut Cernan left the moon on Apollo 17, the USA had clearly defeated the Soviets in the space race.  The race to the moon was over, but the space race was not.  The USSR diverted its attention to space stations, building a variety of small stations for military reconnaissance and science.  From the perspective of the USA, the Apollo moon missions were exceedingly expensive, and with no more race to the moon justifying that kind of expenditure (did it, in the first place?), the USA decided to race the Soviets in building space stations.  In 1973 NASA launched the Apollo Saturn V rockets for the last time, sending pieces of a space station into orbit, where they were combined to make Skylab. The purpose of the Skylab station was to do science in space.  It was larger than the USSR’s early space stations, lasted longer, and was occupied longer.  Skylab went out of service in 1979.

With the retirement of the expensive and nonreusable Apollo Saturn V rockets, NASA envisioned a space transport system that would be reusable, hoping to explore space less expensively and more frequently. 

We’ll learn about that space transport system in the next post.

Photo credit NASA.gov

A theology of space exploration – Preview

Trivia question for you: Why doesn’t the International Space Station fall to the earth and burn up during reentry in the atmosphere?  Did you know the International Space Station is 357 feet long end to end, has a mass of 1 million pounds and would just barely fit inside a football field?  It has living space like that of a large six-bedroom house.  It’s so big, you can see it flying across the night sky when the sun reflects off it, making it look like a moving star.  Track it on this NASA website.  Back to my trivia question.  If the ISS is that large and heavy, how does atmospheric drag and earth’s gravity not pull it down?

The answer is that earth’s gravity does pull the station downward, always, as gravity does with everything.  Furthermore, though the station is about 250 miles above earth, there is still a minute amount of atmospheric drag slowing the station.  Those two factors, drag and gravity, always, slowly, pull the ISS closer and closer to earth.  The station falls about 1 kilometer every 10 days, easily enough to have brought the ISS down in the 20+ years since it was built (especially consider the fact that the lower it falls, the more atmospheric drags slows it, thus speeding its descent).  Given, gravity and drag, why hasn’t the ISS reentered earth’s atmosphere?  There is something keeping the station aloft.  Do you know what it is?  The answer is at the conclusion of this post.  

I’m talking about the ISS because this coming week on the blog because we’re taking a break from the Life of David series, and we are going to have a Current Events week about space exploration.  For more than two decades, the space station has been a major focus of space exploration.  Not the only focus, of course, as the USA, other countries, and private companies have sent probes to the moon, Mars, asteroids, and into deep space.  Those same countries and companies have big plans for the near future, not just sending probes and robots, but humans to explore space.  

While that might sound exciting to some (like me), others have misgivings about the cost (also me).  Consider the price tag of space exploration.  Some estimates report that in 2023, total global government spending on space exploration was $117 billion.  The US space budget alone was $73 billion in 2023. Now total the massive sums of money spent on space exploration every year since the 1950s. We’re talking trillions of dollars.  Is it worth it?  

Join me on the blog this coming week, as I seek to apply biblical theology to space exploration.  The purpose of current events weeks on the blog is just that, to attempt to think theologically about what is happening in the world around us.  I have thoroughly enjoyed studying for the blog posts this week because I love all things space.  If NASA invited pastors or theologians to become astronauts, I would seriously consider applying!  

But maybe you are not as excited about space as I am.  Maybe you are very skeptical about the emphasis on and cost of space exploration.  After all, we have so many problems here on earth.  That $73 billion the USA spent in 2023 could have done a lot of good toward fixing serious issues such as poverty, disease, energy, hunger, and housing.  I agree with that.  But I’m torn, because I also love space.  I regularly watch rocket launches, and whenever I take my dog outside on a clear night I look for satellites. My family got me a telescope for Christmas last year, and I’ve enjoyed close-up views of the moon.  But I also believe that $73 billion could do so much good to help people in need.

So how should Christians think about space exploration?  Does the Bible have anything to say about space exploration?  It does!  Even if you are not a fan of space exploration, I think this coming week’s blog series has the potential to speak to your life.  I’m looking forward to talking about it with you starting Monday.

Answer to the Trivia question about what keeps the ISS in orbit:  When the ISS dips far enough, the various spacecraft docked at the station which transport supplies or astronauts to the ISS will fire their engines, pushing the ISS back to the proper orbit height.  This boosting occurs on average once/month.

Photo by NASA on Unsplash

How Christians can avoid getting sucked into outrage culture – 1st Samuel 26 & 27, Part 5

We Christians are known for practicing the ethics of the Kingdom of Jesus: truth-telling, humility, selfless sacrifice, generosity, hope, peacemaking, and the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

Or are we?

Sadly, across our country some Christians have chosen anger, meanness, spite, bitterness, and attack. We American Christians far too often in recent years, have allowed ourselves to get sucked into outrage culture. As I write this, the 2024 Paris Olympics concluded a week ago. The Paris Olympics’ Opening Ceremony included a scene that led some Christians to outrage. See the photo below. On top is a reproduction of Da Vinci’s famous Last Supper. Below is the scene from the Olympics, a transgender gathering that looks like Da Vinci’s painting. The organizers of the Opening Ceremony later stated that they intended no offense. But plenty of Christians were outraged.

I was at a gathering of Christians the day after the Opening Ceremony and one person expressed their outrage, claiming frustration that many people were now boycotting watching the Olympics because of the transgender display, and those people were going to suffer from not being able to watch the wonderful competition of the athletes. If you would like to read a powerful response to Christian outrage at the Olympic display, please read this article.

I recently heard a story about how some Christians acted in a way that is not in line with Christ. The story was from a podcast in which a Christian lawyer described an eye-opening moment he had defending a Christian’s freedom of religion.  Here’s what he said,

“I was working on a case [in which a] Christian had their constitutional rights violated. In other words, a government entity [a public school] treated the Christian in a way that violated the Free Exercise of Religion clause in the Constitution.  It was a classic case where [some Christians] would say we are being persecuted.”

The lawyer said that he took the case, he won the case, and justice was done. The US Constitution was upheld.  The Christian’s rights to freedom of religion were preserved.  Case closed, right?  No.

Here’s what the lawyer said happened next.  “Years later, I was interacting with somebody who actually worked at the school that we had litigated against.  The story they told was horrifying.  When this school took action, which did violate the rights of the Christian, they did it in part because the school didn’t know what to do.  They had received some bad legal advice from in-house counsel, but they didn’t have malice towards Christians. They were doing what they thought they had to do under the establishment clause of the Constitution to protect other students. The school was wrong on the law and they lost the case. But when they told the story of what they experienced at the hands of Christians, it was downright chilling. From death threats to screaming encounters at parking lots, to insults of family members. You know what it sounded an awful lot like? What we Christians would call persecution, if it was directed at us.”[1]

Imagine, rather than outrage, what would have happened if the Christians at the public school were loving, gentle, kind, patient, joyful, showing self-control and goodness.  Imagine if they would have taken time to listen to the school staff and learn their heart and intention. 

Let’s not be like the Christians who practice outrage. Instead, let’s be Christians who practice what Jesus taught, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”  We Christians treat people like Jesus treated people, such as when he was being nailed to the cross, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”  We Christians so deeply dwell in the love that God has for us, in the forgiveness that we have been given, that we are ready and willing to share that love and forgiveness to others. 

Is there a situation causing your feelings to rise up to anger, outrage, offense, and wanting revenge?  What can you do to show love instead? 

If you’re wondering, “What does this post have to do with a week of posts about 1st Samuel chapters 26 & 27?” here’s the link: Think about how David treated Saul. Need a refresher, read the post here. David viewed Saul from God’s point of view.  Saul should have caused David outrage and vengeance.  But instead he viewed Saul as God’s anointed.  Think about the people you struggle with.  See their faces.  Feel the emotion the people cause you.  Then imagine how God feels about them and treat them as God would with grace, mercy, love, kindness, and gentleness.

Also check out this helpful and humorous guide (from this blog) to dealing with outrage:

[1] From The Holy Post: French Friday: “Childless Sociopaths & Evangelical Outrage,” Aug 2, 2024.

Lego Cover Photo by Nik on Unsplash

How could David slaughter men and women…and lie about it? – 1st Samuel 26 & 27, Part 4

In the previous post, we read something very dark about David, who was supposed to be a man after God’s own heart. In 1st Samuel 27, we learned that David and his men go out on raids, slaughtering people.  Men and women.  Also, David clearly didn’t want his new king, the Philistine, Achish, to know about it.  David seems to be lying to Achish about what he was really doing.  In verse 10 David reports to Achish that David fought against his own Jewish people “the Negev of this place and the Negev of that place” when verse 8 tells us David was actually attacking non-Jews.  In these lies, David builds trust in Achish’s eyes.  Achish thinks, “David is my man.  I can count on him.  He is not an Israelite anymore.  He’s become an enemy to his own people.”  But David is lying to Achish.  David is not slaughtering Jews. 

This goes on for 16 months.  And the story of 1st Samuel chapter 27 ends there.  David is no longer hunted by the Israelite King Saul.  David, his men and their families are safe in Philistine territory.  But I have to admit that I get a bad feeling about chapter 27.  David is no longer the hunted, he has become the hunter!  And though he isn’t killing his own Jewish people, he is killing men and women, while lying to Achish about it. 

What is going on here?  How can David be so adamant about not killing evil Saul, even as Saul is trying to kill David (as we saw in this post), and yet, here is David leading his army in killing men and women in raiding parties?  I think something is off about this. 

Some scholars justify David’s slaughter of the people mentioned in 1st Samuel 27, suggesting David was fulfilling God’s promise to give the land of Palestine to Israel.  Remember the Exodus story when God frees the nation of Israel from slavery in Egypt and says that he is going to bring them to the land of their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the land of Canaan, the Land of Palestine, the Promised Land?  God kept his promise.

The people of Israel, after being freed from slavery, wander in the desert for 40 years and finally make it to the Jordan River, which is the border to the Promised Land.  They cross the Jordan, then fight the battle of Jericho, and little by little Joshua leads the people to occupy the Promised Land.  Except that the Israelites didn’t complete the job. 

They allowed numerous people groups to remain in the land, and that led to centuries of skirmish and war.  Throughout 1st Samuel, we have seen regular conflict between the Jews and Philistines.  The Philistines were not the only group that Israel battles.  Some scholars believe that David wants to fulfill God’s promise to Israel of taking full possession of Palestine, and so David essentially restarts the conquest that had been on pause for hundreds of years.  Thus these scholars see no problem with David slaughtering men and women in nearby towns and lying to Achish about it.

But I have to ask, no matter why he is doing it, is David doing the right thing slaughtering men and women. My opinion is that lying and murder are always wrong.  David knew that from the Mosaic Law, from the Ten Commandments!  Or can we say that this was all okay in God’s eyes, because David was protecting his men, their families, and continuing the conquest of Palestine that God had commanded Joshua centuries before?

Maybe.  I have a really hard time with justifying David’s actions by saying, “God told me so.”  Some scholars suggest God told ancient Israel to purge the land because he wanted to provide a clean start for a nation that had been enslaved for over 400 years.  Others say God wanted Israel to eradicate injustice in those pagan cultures, some of which sacrificed infants during worship.  Still other scholars don’t believe the Old Testament stories of purging are literal history because God’s heart is not in line with purging.  Finally, there are scholars who believe we just need to trust God, though we might not understand his ways. 

There is no doubt that there is much more to God in the Old Testament than commanding Israel to purge foreign people.  There are plenty of places where God commands his people to practice radical justice, mercy and grace to foreigners.  My conclusion is that stories like these in the Old Testament are messy.  And I am thankful that there is a New Testament.

What I’m getting at is that you and I are not under the covenant agreement between God and Israel called the Mosaic Law.  That was only between God and ancient Israel.  After the days of David and his son Solomon, Israel would go on to break that covenant.  God would declare that covenant broken, and Israel was exiled from the land.  Eventually God brought them back to the land, and he promised that he would make a new covenant. 

He kept that promise in Jesus.  This is why Jesus said to his disciples, at the Last Supper, when he taught them to observe communion, he said the cup represents, “my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”  Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, then, we enter into a new covenant, a new agreement with God.  No longer is God in covenant agreement with a biological people who live on a geographical piece of land.  Instead, his covenant is with the church, which is the body of Christ, all those who are true disciples of Jesus. 

There are terms of that new covenant.  Those terms are the expectations that God has for his people, the church. We are to live like Jesus lived.  Christians do not send armies to geographical territory to build God’s kingdom by lying and murdering the inhabitants.  The kingdom of God is not advanced by human military might, or human political might.  The kingdom of God is advanced as humans, flowing with the Fruit of the Spirit, proclaim the Good News of Jesus in both word and deed to the people in communities where we live, work and play. 

We practice the ethics of the Kingdom.  Truth-telling, humility, selfless sacrifice, generosity, hope, peacemaking, etc.

Sadly, across our country some Christians have chosen a different way that is not in line with Christ. We’ll talk about that in the next post.

Photo by Hasan Almasi on Unsplash

How David’s fugitive years finally came to an end – 1st Samuel 26 & 27, Part 3

In 1st Samuel chapter 27, verses 1-4, after David and Saul and their soldiers part ways, David still doesn’t believe that Saul has given up hunting him. As we learned in the previous post, Saul sounded repentant, but now in 1st Samuel 27, verses 1-4, David thinks Saul will change his mind and start hunting David again. So David asks the Philistine king Achish for help.

That tells us how much David believed Saul’s big talk about sorrow and invitation to David to come back to him.  King Achish of Gath receives David, his men and their families, and with that, Saul gives up the hunt for David. After what was likely at least a couple years, David is no longer a fugitive.

This episode might sound very familiar.  Didn’t David already go to the Philistines once before?  Yes he did.  Very briefly.  In 1st Samuel chapter 21.  That was right at the beginning of his fugitive years when David was desperate.  At that point, he had just recently fled Saul’s house, and David was totally alone.  For some strange reason David went to the same Philistine king Achish of Gath, the town where Goliath was from, Goliath who David killed, and whose sword David was bringing with him.  It was a desperate ploy, and David realized quickly that he was being very, very unwise.  Achish could accuse David of spying or some other evil plot.  So David pretended to be insane, and he left Gath nearly as soon as he arrived. 

Now in chapter 27, time has passed.  We don’t know how much time.  As I mentioned above, maybe a few years.  But it was enough time that David’s circumstances are totally different.  He is no longer alone.  He is leading 600 men, and he has clearly established himself as being at odds with King Saul.  Now Achish sees David as a potential ally. 

David is no longer a fugitive, and the Philistine king Achish accepts David.  Finally David and his men can have peace.  But what will life be like for David and his men living among their former enemies, the Philistines?  Will they really have peace?  Notice in verse 3, that David and his men bring their families with them.  Will they adapt to Philistine life and culture?  Can they settle down and start a new life?  Look at verse 5,

“Then David said to Achish, ‘If I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be assigned to me in one of the country towns, that I may live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?’ So on that day Achish gave him Ziklag, and it has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since. David lived in Philistine territory a year and four months.”

It appears that the fugitive Israelites will not be integrating to Philistine life and culture.  Which is not surprising, given the many statements in the Mosaic Law that God gave the people of Israel to be separate from the pagan people around them.  David makes the argument that the Philistine king wouldn’t want Israelites living in his royal city, so perhaps the king should just give the Israelites a town. 

Give them a town?  Doesn’t that seem like a big ask?  David sure has some boldness to be asking for a whole town.  The text doesn’t tell us if Achish is afraid of David, or if he doesn’t trust David, or if Philistines and Israelites couldn’t stand being near each other.  Whatever the reason, Achish is willing to give David a whole town.  Why would the Philistine king say Yes to such a big request?  Maybe Achish thinks it will be a great advantage to have the enemy of his enemy on his side.  You know that phrase, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”  Well the Philistines and Israelites have been at war with each other for a long time.  It seems that Achish views David and his men as basically no-longer-Israelites who are now enemies of the Israelites.  Achish views them as reinforcements.  But he doesn’t want them living in his town.  Maybe the Philistine people living in Achish’s royal city didn’t want the Jews living in their town. 

But what about the town of Ziklag that the Philistine king gives to David?  Were Philistine people living in Ziklag?  Maybe the town of Ziklag is a ghost town.  We can only speculate.  Whatever the situation was, David and his men and their families make it their home. Ziklag becomes a kind of military base for David and his men.  Read what happens in verses 8-12 after they move into Ziklag,

David and his men go out on raids, slaughtering people.  Men and women.  And he clearly didn’t want Achish to know about it.  Was David lying about committing murder?

We’ll discuss this in the next post.

Photo by Matt Sclarandis on Unsplash

Why is it so difficult to admit we are wrong? – 1st Samuel 26 & 27, Part 2

Do you like to admit you are wrong? The biblical concept of repentance involves admitting that you are wrong, and generally-speaking, we humans don’t like to admit we are wrong. As we have been studying the life of David through the account in 1st Samuel, for a few weeks now, we’ve been following the story of how King Saul has been hunting David, trying to kill him. Likely, Saul has been on the hunt, and David has been the fugitive, for multiple years, in the events of 1st Samuel chapter 26.

When you’ve been taking a specific course of action for years, it can be extremely difficult to evaluate that course of action as wrong. You’re invested. You’ve been invested, perhaps for a long time. To repent, to admit that your course of action is wrong would mean that your past few years have been a waste at best, an awful evil at worst. If you’re Saul, you don’t want to consider anything other than the viewpoint that your hunt for David has been a good thing. Maybe you, reader, have felt that way as well. I doubt that you have been on a wicked hunt to kill someone, at least I hope not, but I suspect you have made choices you later came to regret. My guess is that you have felt the pain and frustration of not wanting to repent.

In today’s post, we’re going to learn how David finally gets Saul to repent. As we learned in the previous post, David and Abishai sneak into King Saul’s encampment while everyone is asleep. Undetected, they grab Saul’s spear and water jug, similar to how David cut off part of Saul’s robe in the cave episode.  They leave the camp silently and walk to a nearby hill. 

From the hill, David and Abishai call to Saul’s top general Abner. Waking them up with taunts, David asks Abner, if he is such a man, why didn’t he protect his king? Abner was probably angry at David’s taunts, but then David holds up the spear and water jug. Saul and his men turn to look, and sure enough, the king’s spear and water jug are gone. Abner probably had a rush of nervous anxiety come over his body.  Abner is like the secret service and he totally failed his mission to protect the king.  When David says to Abner, “You and your men must die,” that is precisely what could have been Abner’s fate if Saul wanted. As we have seen numerous times in our study of the Life of David, King Saul can overreact with murderous punishment.

But before Abner can say anything, Saul calls out, “Is that you, David?” Just as David made a plea to Saul in chapter 24 at the cave, he again makes a plea to Saul to reconsider the fugitive hunt.  David’s plea carries weight because he is saying it now having had two easy opportunities to kill Saul.  Here we see the wisdom of David.  He is totally innocent.  He has also acted with mercy and restraint.  Will he get through to Saul?  Will Saul see that his life was in David’s hands twice and have a change a heart?

Look at 1st Samuel 26, verse 21, “Then Saul said, ‘I have sinned. Come back, David my son. Because you considered my life precious today, I will not try to harm you again. Surely I have acted like a fool and have been terribly wrong.’”

Is Saul being serious? Last time this happened at the cave, Saul gave the impression of repentance, but David didn’t believe him.  David was right, because Saul kept hunting David.  But what about now?  Is this second merciful act of David going to have an impact?  It seems like it.  Saul even asks David to come back to him, promising that he will not harm David.  Let’s see how David responds.  Look at verse 22.

“‘Here is the king’s spear,’ David answered. ‘Let one of your young men come over and get it. The Lord rewards everyone for their righteousness and faithfulness. The Lord delivered you into my hands today, but I would not lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed. As surely as I valued your life today, so may the Lord value my life and deliver me from all trouble.’ Then Saul said to David, ‘May you be blessed, David my son; you will do great things and surely triumph.’ So David went on his way, and Saul returned home.”

Does David trust Saul?  He gives Saul’s spear back.  Saul seems genuine in his response of blessing to David.  But notice the conclusion.  David does not return with Saul.  Just as before at the cave, the two men go their separate ways.  David clearly does not trust Saul. 

But is Saul serious?  Is the fugitive hunt really over?  Is David a free man now? We find out in the next post.

For now, consider how David finally got Saul to repent. He showed Saul mercy. Twice. Through not killing Saul, when Saul wanted to kill David, it was as though David was holding a mirror up to Saul so Saul could finally see himself as he really was. Though it can be very painful, we need to see the truth about ourselves. We cannot become the people God wants us to be unless we have a true picture of ourselves. David gave Saul that true picture through mercy. Do you have a true picture of yourself?

Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash