2025 #1
Twitter. There’s a part that’s good. There is a part that is bad, and there is a part that you wouldn’t believe. Twitter, along with other social media platforms can be used for good. But, there are a lot of things you can find on Twitter’s Christian circles that are not that good. Perhaps you have seen comments on social media that are contrary to the Christian worldview. I’d like to take a look at those statements and comments to see if we can give an answer.
“…you can’t believe in The Bible and space travel…”
When someone makes a categorical claim, one expects some kind of justification for that claim. Is there any Bible verse which, taken in context precludes mankind and space travel?
The Old Testament prophet Obadiah spoke about the character of the Edomites,
“3 Your presumptuous heart has deceived you—
you who reside in the safety of the rocky cliffs,
whose home is high in the mountains.
You think to yourself,
‘No one can bring me down to the ground!’
4 Even if you were to soar high like an eagle,
even if you were to make your nest among the stars,
I can bring you down even from there!” says the Lord.” (Obadiah 1:3-4, NET)
However, the prophet is giving an example of the proud thinking of a particular people and how God could reach them from any place. This is not a proscription against traveling in the sky or space.
The Psalmist wrote,
“16 The heavens belong to the Lord,
but the earth he has given to mankind.” (Psalm 115:16, NET)
The writer is speaking about the abode of God, the heavens, rather than the space above the Earth. Again, this is not a proscription against space travel.
Perhaps the writer was considering the account of the Tower of Babel.
4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens so that we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise] we will be scattered across the face of the entire earth.” (Genesis 11:4, NET)
The point of the account is not that man should not venture to the stars, but that man should not disobey God’s command to fill the earth. Pride, not a desire to explore space, motivated those sinful people.
To say that these passages, or any others, voice a prohibition against space travel is an example of eisegesis at its worst and must be avoided.
Are there truths that can be found in the space that we call the heavens?
The space above us gives evidence for God’s existence.
Moses wrote,
“1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1, NET)
The very first verse in our Bibles inform us that the universe had a beginning. The assertion that there was a beginning of the universe indicates that there was a transcendent Beginner of the universe.
Paul wrote,
“20 For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20, NET)
The entire created order shows us that a Creator God exists. The complexity and fine-tuning, which have been noted by believers and non-believers alike, point to a Creator that is timeless, spaceless, extremely powerful, and personal.
The space above us gives evidence that God seeks a relationship with humanity.
King David wrote,
“3 When I look up at the heavens, which your fingers made,
and see the moon and the stars, which you set in place,
4 Of what importance is the human race, that you should notice them?
Of what importance is mankind, that you should pay attention to them?” (Psalm 8:3-4, NET)
In viewing the heavens, David believed they highlighted the conviction that God was concerned about humanity.
The Bible cannot be misinterpreted to preclude space travel as the writer on X thinks. The message of the Bible is that He has created a universe to show that He exists and wants a relationship with us. That was accomplished by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We can enter into a relationship with the God of the universe through Jesus Christ.
Charles Duke was the Lunar Module Pilot on the Apollo 16 mission. In 1978, he became a Christian and it changed his life. He became active in Christian ministry. He put things into perspective when he said,
“My walk on the moon lasted three days. My walk with God will last forever.”
Mark Riser - Apologist 