Remember when....?
Do you remember where you were when the first men walked on the moon?
It is always fun to ask that question at a party or as a class crowd breaker. Here are several sure-fire conversation starters:
1. Do you remember where you were when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated? (1963)
2. Do you remember where you were when Elvis was found dead? (1977)?
3. Do you remember where you were when Lady Diana and Prince Charles were married? (1981)
4. Do you remember where you were when the Federal Building was bombed in Oklahoma City? (1995)
5. Do you remember where you were when the World Trade Center in New York was attacked? (2001)
6. Do you remember where you were when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans? (2005)
Each of these questions generate many memories and bunny-trail comments. Even people that were not born when President Kennedy was assassinated, have much historical data to contribute to the conversation. Plus, we learn a lot about each other and our family background.
However, there is one question that is very controversial. Whenever I ask it, there will be someone that has strong feelings against it. The question is: Do you remember where you were when the first men walked on the moon? (July 21, 1969) While many people know where they were, there is a sizeable portion of adults that do not believe that it even happened.
Several theorize that the moon walk was an enormous hoax perpetrated by the United States government. They say that it was actually filmed in the “petrified forest” in Arizona, with the hope of fooling the Russians and the Chinese. Others feel that Nixon needed to justify the high costs and huge risks of the space program. By faking a walk on the moon, Nixon could win public sentiment for the program, while bragging that he had done what Kennedy could not do.
Never mind the overwhelming evidence that supports the moon walk. Disregard that Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin, and Neil Armstrong all publicly stated that it happened. Ignore the rocks and dust that they brought back. Pay no attention to the fact that an estimated 600 million people around the world watched the first man step on the moon. You would have thought that someone would have recognized the obvious location of the “petrified forest” by now. Check it out yourself on YouTube! https://search.aol.com/aol/video?q=youtube+actual+walk+on+the+moon&s_it=video-ans&sfVid=true&videoId=66D3492B8EF708EA8F1466D3492B8EF708EA8F14&v_t=webmail-searchbox
In fact, Aldrin often gave public testimony that he took Communion on the moon, and even read Scripture and prayed. He told Guideposts magazine: "It was interesting to think that the very first liquid ever poured on the Moon, and the first food eaten there, were communion elements."(September 13, 2012)
It is amazing to me that some people can stare at truth, and still doubt. Consider the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. There are many proofs, but I will mention six. There was the empty tomb (Mark 16), the encounter of Christ with the women (Matthew 28), Jesus entering a locked room (Luke 24), the sudden boldness of the Apostles (Book of Acts), 500 eyewitnesses who saw Jesus alive (1 Corinthians 15:6), and the risen Christ’s personal appearance to Saul (Acts 9).
Even today, some doubt the Resurrection of Christ. But there is far less proof that the Astronauts walked on the moon than there is that Jesus rose from the dead. Are you a doubter? One day Jesus met a doubter like you named Thomas in John 20:27, “Then Jesus said to Thomas, reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing." Reach out and touch Jesus today. Doubts will disappear, and you will always remember where you were when you found Christ!