Documentary on Astronauts to the Moon Highlights Profound Spiritual Experiences
"I believe Jesus Christ walking on the earth is more important than man walking on the moon." –Astronaut Jim Irwin, who had a "Road to Damascus" experience on the moon.
NOTE: The following is condensed from an article published on ASSIST News. To read it in its entirety, click on the link provided.
"It's a film about the experience of going to the moon, told by the people who went — in their own words," says David Sington, who directed the film. With the help of astronaut Dave Scott, commander of Apollo 15 and the first man to drive on the moon, the film team managed to assemble crewmembers from every Apollo mission that flew to the moon, and interview them directly on camera. The 10 astronauts — now in their seventies — come across as surprisingly reflective and human. Many spoke of the profound impression they gained from walking on the lunar surface and gazing back at a marble-sized planet Earth.
Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke, the 10th man to walk on the moon, makes an explicit declaration of his faith in Jesus Christ on camera. His spiritual revelation came after his retirement from the space program in the mid-seventies. Mounting pressures in business and his personal life caused Duke to grapple with life's ultimate questions. In 1978, after he attended a Bible Study about Middle East prophecy, Duke realized Jesus "really is the Son of God."
Unfortunately, the man who had the closest encounter with Jesus Christ on the moon does not appear in the film. "Sadly enough, the person who had the most profound spiritual experience was Jim Irwin, who died," says Sington. "He really had a 'road to Damascus' experience on the moon." Irwin died in 1991 from a heart attack.
In Irwin's book, To Rule the Night, he described his view of Earth from the moon, which looked like "a beautiful, fragile Christmas tree ornament hanging against the blackness of space." The beauty of the mountains of the moon moved Irwin, and he said he felt the presence of God during his moonwalk. "The moon has a powerful force; it seems to affect the feelings and the behavior of everybody. I cannot imagine a holier place," he wrote.
Some would consider the trip to the moon as one of man's greatest accomplishments, but Irwin had a different perspective. Afterward, he frequently said, "I believe Jesus Christ walking on the earth is more important than man walking on the moon."
Irwin retired from NASA in 1972 and founded High Flight, a Christian ministry. He traveled frequently and spoke to groups about the ways his experiences in space increased his awareness of the presence of God.
