Malaysia Baptist Theological Seminary (MBTS) live-streamed a Mid-Autumn Festival special lecture, telling the moving stories of Christian scientists.
Rev. Dr. James Hwang, a space scientist who had served in NASA for 15 years and now works in a ministry, reviewed the history of the moon landings to help a Mandarin-speaking audience to know the God who created the moon and stars in the lecture themed “When Apollo Met Chang’e1” as part of the MBTS series “Faith, Science and Culture”.
Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month each year, a full moon night, and it fell on the 21st of September in the Gregorian Calendar this year. Moon-viewing has not only been a long-standing tradition of the Mid-Autumn Festival but also a common theme in poems and folk literature in Chinese culture.
Earning a doctor's degree in engineering from Lamar University in the USA with 25 years of experience in engineering, Dr. Hwang started by quoting the well-known verses of Chinese poet Su Shi’s Mid-Autumn poem: “People experience sorrow, joy, separation and reunion. The moon may be dim or bright, round or crescent-shaped”. Hwang then explained the movements of the moon and the earth and continued by sharing Bible verses Genesis 1:14-15, Psalm 104:19, and Psalm 8:3-4 to highlight God’s creation and mindful design of the heavens and the earth.
As the main feature of the talk, he shared the history of moon landings. In 1961, President Kennedy announced the Apollo Program was to land humans on the moon within 10 years. The first attempt Apollo 1 failed in 1967 in a rehearsal launch and three astronauts died, one of whom had previously expressed the wish to land a Bible on the moon.
“Out of the ashes of the tragedy came the Apollo Prayer League with a mission to land a Bible on the moon,” he added.
From then on, many scientists had made efforts to achieve the Apollo Program. Among them, Wernher von Braun, known as the father of the space rocket, and Chinese American scientist Dr. Frederick Dawn, had both given moving Christian testimonies.
Wernher von Braun once said, “My experiences with science led me to God. They challenge science to prove the existence of God. But must we really light a candle to see the sun? Through science, man strives to learn more of the mysteries of creation. Through religion, he seeks to know the Creator.”
As the developer of a non-flammable EVA suit and as the only Chinese in NASA at that time, Dr. Frederick Dawn was under great pressure after the failure of Apollo 1. He worked day and night and had a stroke in the end.
He testified, “God healed me. God is a living God! All that I was able to accomplish is by God’s grace. May glory and honor be to him.”
On the Christmas Eve of 1968, Apollo 8 became the first crewed spacecraft to make the first circumlunar flight. The three-astronaut crew did a television broadcast when orbiting the moon on Christmas Eve, where they read the first ten verses from the Book of Genesis.
Apollo 11 was the first spaceflight that landed humans on the moon. Buzz Aldrin, one of the three astronauts, took the communion after landing on the moon as a gesture of thanksgiving. Before taking the bread and the cup, he read two passages from the Bible, John 15: 5 and Psalm 8: 3-4. These verses became the first verses read on the moon.
At the time of Apollo 13, 512 Bible copies on microfilm were packed on board, with the intention of leaving these on the lunar surface. However, two days into the mission an explosion in an oxygen tank severely damaged the spacecraft. In face of this crisis, President Nixon called for prayer vigils around the world. Thousands of people prayed in Times Square, at Chicago’s Board of Trade, at the Wailing Wall of Jerusalem and in St. Peter’s Square. In the end, the three astronauts made a narrow escape and returned to the earth safely, and they gave thanks upon landing at Iwo Jima.
On February 5, 1971, as Apollo 14’s lunar module touched the surface of the moon carrying the first lunar Bible, the quest and mission of the Apollo Prayer League was finally realized. Many of the Apollo program astronauts experienced God in space in one way or another, and several became Christians and later served God in the ministry.
China's Chang'e 4 spacecraft carrying the Yutu-2 rover was launched on December 8, 2018, and successfully completed the world's first soft landing on the far side of the moon on January 3, 2019. The US Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has been in lunar orbit for 10 years, captured precious footage of the Yutu-2 rover on the moon- “Apollo met Chang’e”.
Dr. Hwang who served at NASA as an engineering manager for 15 years and also holds a doctoral degree in ministry and apologetics from Dallas Theological Seminary ended by quoting Michael Collins’ prayer, an astronaut of Apollo 11: “Creator of the universe: Your dominion extends throughout the immensity of the space... Save us from our arrogance as we forget that our achievements are grounded in you. Protect our travels beyond the reach of the earth that we may glory evermore the wonder of your creations. Through Jesus Christ, Your Word, by whom all living things came to be, who with you and Holy Spirit lives and reigns, One God, forever and ever, Amen!"
Dr. Hwang is an assistant professor of missions and practical theology at Logos Evangelical Seminary, senior adviser at Far East Broadcasting Company (a Christian mission organization), and has been a conference speaker and Bible teacher for over 20 years.
1. Chang’e in Chinese mythology is an “immortal”. After taking an elixir of immortality, she flew up to the moon and continued to live there.
- Translated by Grace Song
2021年9月24日，马来西亚浸信会神学院在网络上举办了中秋节特别讲座：信仰、科学、文化论坛系列讲座之《当阿波罗遇见嫦娥》，邀请了太空学家黄嘉生博士，让大家从人类登月的角度认识神。
黄嘉生博士带着大家了解了人类的登月史。1969年7月，是人类第一次登陆月球，迄今为止，已经有12为宇航员登月。黄博士以创世纪1：14和诗篇104：19，为大家分享地球的公转、自转和月球的公转等知识点。
1961年，美国总统就宣布要在十年内登陆月球，但是登陆月球的过程并不是一件容易的事情，阿波罗一号就失事了，3位宇航员因此牺牲。此次事件后，他们成立了阿波罗祈祷团契，立定使命要把圣经带上月球。
此后，为了解决诸多困难，很多科学家为此付出了坚信的努力。这其中包括太空火箭之父范博伦、唐鑫源等。这两位都是虔诚的基督徒。范博伦曾说过：“经由科学，人努力的来了解创造的奥妙；经由基督信仰人能认识到创造者是祂自己。”
唐鑫源是一位华人，阿波罗一号失事后，他作为太空控制中心为一个中国人，总希望自己比美国人做的好，因此太累而中风、半身不遂，幸亏神医治了他。他自己感慨到：“神是又真又活的神。……正因为神特别恩典与带领，我才能有今天这一点小成就，愿一切荣耀都归给祂。”
1968年12月24日，圣诞节前夜，阿波罗8号进行了人类第一次离开近地轨道，并绕月球航行的太空任务。在圣诞夜时，三位太空人在月球轨道中向地球做了电视直播，并分享了创世纪1：1-10节。
阿波罗11号，人类第一次成功登月。三位宇航员的其中一位巴兹·奥尔德林在飞船上领了圣餐。在登月前，他与自己的牧师交流，想要用领圣餐的方式纪念这次登月。在吃圣餐的饼和杯之前，奥尔德林念了两段经文，分别是约15：5和诗8：3-4。
阿波罗13号，前总统老布什亲手把512份打包好的缩印版圣经交给宇航员，并请他们代上月球。谁料发射后两天，服务舱的氧气罐爆炸，太空船严重毁损，失去大量氧气和电力。面对这样的情况，美国总统请求全世界为三位宇航员祷告。数千人在纽约广场、芝加哥股市交易所、耶路撒冷的哭墙和圣彼得广场祈祷，教皇带领5万人为宇航员安全发回祈求。最终，三位宇航员经历九死一生，返回地球，舰长带领他们献上感谢的祷告。
1971年2月5日，当阿波罗14号登月舱降落，圣经第一次降落在月球表面，阿波罗祈祷团契的任务和使命终于实现了。
此后，多位登月的宇航员都经历了创造主存在的确信，并成为基督徒，为福音事奉主。
2018年12月8日，中国嫦娥4号携带着玉兔二号月球车发射升空，19年1月3日成功完成世界首次在月球背面软着陆，并成功进行探测。在月球轨道运行10年的美国月球勘测轨道飞船拍下了玉兔二号月球车在月球上的珍贵画面。
最后，黄博士以阿波罗11号宇航员迈克尔·柯林斯的祷告为结束：“宇宙的造物主，你的治理广大整个浩瀚的太空。求你引导护卫那些寻求和探索其奥秘的人。……求你饶恕我们的傲慢拯救我们，尤其是当我们忘记我们的成就都以你为根基时。因有圣灵的恩典保护我们，而能有超越地球的旅行，让我们可以永远荣耀你创造的奇迹。奉耶稣基督，所有的生命都由祂而造，与圣父和圣灵同在的主，唯一永永远远活着统治的真神，阿们！”
黄嘉生博士，是美国德州州立拉摩尔大学人工学博士，也是25年经验的研究工程师。他前后15的时间，服务于美国太空总署，休斯顿太空中心并任研究发展主管，领导38位科学家工程师。成立了8间研究室，多次夺得太空中心研究奖。曾发表太空机器人研究论文十余篇，并应邀于多所大学和研究机构讲学。他也是达拉斯神学院教牧护教学博士，在美国牧会、负责福音机构、并应邀任特惠讲员、执教神学20多年。
从人类登月认识造物主 | 马来西亚浸信会神学院中秋特别讲座
Malaysia Baptist Theological Seminary (MBTS) live-streamed a Mid-Autumn Festival special lecture, telling the moving stories of Christian scientists.
Rev. Dr. James Hwang, a space scientist who had served in NASA for 15 years and now works in a ministry, reviewed the history of the moon landings to help a Mandarin-speaking audience to know the God who created the moon and stars in the lecture themed “When Apollo Met Chang’e1” as part of the MBTS series “Faith, Science and Culture”.
Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month each year, a full moon night, and it fell on the 21st of September in the Gregorian Calendar this year. Moon-viewing has not only been a long-standing tradition of the Mid-Autumn Festival but also a common theme in poems and folk literature in Chinese culture.
Earning a doctor's degree in engineering from Lamar University in the USA with 25 years of experience in engineering, Dr. Hwang started by quoting the well-known verses of Chinese poet Su Shi’s Mid-Autumn poem: “People experience sorrow, joy, separation and reunion. The moon may be dim or bright, round or crescent-shaped”. Hwang then explained the movements of the moon and the earth and continued by sharing Bible verses Genesis 1:14-15, Psalm 104:19, and Psalm 8:3-4 to highlight God’s creation and mindful design of the heavens and the earth.
As the main feature of the talk, he shared the history of moon landings. In 1961, President Kennedy announced the Apollo Program was to land humans on the moon within 10 years. The first attempt Apollo 1 failed in 1967 in a rehearsal launch and three astronauts died, one of whom had previously expressed the wish to land a Bible on the moon.
“Out of the ashes of the tragedy came the Apollo Prayer League with a mission to land a Bible on the moon,” he added.
From then on, many scientists had made efforts to achieve the Apollo Program. Among them, Wernher von Braun, known as the father of the space rocket, and Chinese American scientist Dr. Frederick Dawn, had both given moving Christian testimonies.
Wernher von Braun once said, “My experiences with science led me to God. They challenge science to prove the existence of God. But must we really light a candle to see the sun? Through science, man strives to learn more of the mysteries of creation. Through religion, he seeks to know the Creator.”
As the developer of a non-flammable EVA suit and as the only Chinese in NASA at that time, Dr. Frederick Dawn was under great pressure after the failure of Apollo 1. He worked day and night and had a stroke in the end.
He testified, “God healed me. God is a living God! All that I was able to accomplish is by God’s grace. May glory and honor be to him.”
On the Christmas Eve of 1968, Apollo 8 became the first crewed spacecraft to make the first circumlunar flight. The three-astronaut crew did a television broadcast when orbiting the moon on Christmas Eve, where they read the first ten verses from the Book of Genesis.
Apollo 11 was the first spaceflight that landed humans on the moon. Buzz Aldrin, one of the three astronauts, took the communion after landing on the moon as a gesture of thanksgiving. Before taking the bread and the cup, he read two passages from the Bible, John 15: 5 and Psalm 8: 3-4. These verses became the first verses read on the moon.
At the time of Apollo 13, 512 Bible copies on microfilm were packed on board, with the intention of leaving these on the lunar surface. However, two days into the mission an explosion in an oxygen tank severely damaged the spacecraft. In face of this crisis, President Nixon called for prayer vigils around the world. Thousands of people prayed in Times Square, at Chicago’s Board of Trade, at the Wailing Wall of Jerusalem and in St. Peter’s Square. In the end, the three astronauts made a narrow escape and returned to the earth safely, and they gave thanks upon landing at Iwo Jima.
On February 5, 1971, as Apollo 14’s lunar module touched the surface of the moon carrying the first lunar Bible, the quest and mission of the Apollo Prayer League was finally realized. Many of the Apollo program astronauts experienced God in space in one way or another, and several became Christians and later served God in the ministry.
China's Chang'e 4 spacecraft carrying the Yutu-2 rover was launched on December 8, 2018, and successfully completed the world's first soft landing on the far side of the moon on January 3, 2019. The US Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has been in lunar orbit for 10 years, captured precious footage of the Yutu-2 rover on the moon- “Apollo met Chang’e”.
Dr. Hwang who served at NASA as an engineering manager for 15 years and also holds a doctoral degree in ministry and apologetics from Dallas Theological Seminary ended by quoting Michael Collins’ prayer, an astronaut of Apollo 11: “Creator of the universe: Your dominion extends throughout the immensity of the space... Save us from our arrogance as we forget that our achievements are grounded in you. Protect our travels beyond the reach of the earth that we may glory evermore the wonder of your creations. Through Jesus Christ, Your Word, by whom all living things came to be, who with you and Holy Spirit lives and reigns, One God, forever and ever, Amen!"
Dr. Hwang is an assistant professor of missions and practical theology at Logos Evangelical Seminary, senior adviser at Far East Broadcasting Company (a Christian mission organization), and has been a conference speaker and Bible teacher for over 20 years.
1. Chang’e in Chinese mythology is an “immortal”. After taking an elixir of immortality, she flew up to the moon and continued to live there.
- Translated by Grace Song
Malaysia Baptist Theological Seminary Holds Lecture: 'When Apollo Met Chang’e'
