FAITH

I've been watching the commercial space program with keen interest as visionaries like Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos shape the future of space flight.  Space flight is unlike any form of transportation mankind has embarked upon in our long rise from the dust. I don't know why it terrifies us more than any other means of getting from point A to point B, but it does.  I guess I don't fear space travel because I was born during the birth of the space age.  I was born in 1955 and have seen the explosive journey to space through eyes of childhood wonder, and a growing sense of awe.  Seeing rocket boosters fly to the upper reaches of the stratosphere and return to land on wisps of fire and smoke is something I used to dream of as I watched old 'B' Sci Fi movies as a child.  At 64 years of age, I wonder how much more progress I will get to see.  I would love to see humans land on Mars before I pass this vale. 
You see, I'm a devout Christian who isn't afraid of science.  A matter of fact I embrace science as a reflection of the beauty of the Creator.  I never missed a shuttle launch, and as a child I watched every rocket launch of the Gemini, and Apollo Programs.  Then we stopped.  It was stupid!  So many of the good technological things we enjoy today were developed because of the space programs.  We lost faith in ourselves, and our technical prowess.  I know what caused us to lose faith, and it wasn't to do with rockets blowing up or near disasters in space. 
I'm going to shamelessly put a plug in for a trilogy I've written about the future in space, and you can read it chapter by chapter on my blog RaderWriter.  At the same time I want to speak about faith.  I want to specifically talk about Space X and their awesome push toward their dream.  What they are doing requires not only immense technical skill, vast financial resources, but it requires a vast faith in the vision that drives them. 
I know many of the scientists, and engineers would disagree with me about the source of their faith, but it is a gift of God.  We are a species who do more than hope!  Hope is great, but it doesn't launch rockets.  Knowledge is great, but it doesn't vision rockets.  Skill is great, but it doesn't propel rockets.  Faith does all that and more.  My marriage of faith and science is unique to me.  I had to create it at the young age of 13 as I contemplated using Schroedinger's wave law equation to discover the mass of a Neutrino.  At 13 I didn't even know what the wave law equation was.  My Uncle Jerry, a graduate of MIT used it in his Doctorate Paper to propose finding oil deep within the earth.  I just figured it would be a good tool to use.  I wanted to go to New Mexico State University on a weekend science symposium.  To go, you had to write a science paper and my paper was on Neutrinos.  I studied them till I was blue in the face, wrote my paper suggesting that we could place detectors in the Antarctic.  It was only eight pages long, and poorly typewritten.  When I got selected to go I was in shock.  To this day whenever I see the word Neutrino I have to stop and read the article.  Why am I saying all of this?
Because I believe that there is a huge disconnect between science and faith that doesn't need to exist.  It's the same disconnect I see happening as we become more angry at one another because of race, sex, or gender.  Religions separate us, cultures push us away from one another, and even issues of life separate us.  I believe in life, and I believe in each person's liberty.  These things shouldn't separate us, but they do.  I ache with sorrow because of the separation.  We can be so much more together than we are right now.  Sadly, I don't see it getting any better before it gets worse.  My world view is framed by a book called the Bible.  It is more than a history, more than a guidebook, it is a revelation of wonder. 
I've often wondered how the world is going to react when they discover microbes on our nearest neighbor Mars.  It would not surprise me.  Why?  Because I know our planet has been slammed by huge space rocks that sent much of our planet heaving into space.  I know they will find microbes just like those on earth, because they came from earth.  It is the same way I knew that a Neutrino had mass at 13 years old.  Some things are intuitive, and that too is a gift from God. 
I wish with all of my heart that I could visit Mars and look upon the soil of a distant neighbor. I also wish I had a physical image of a Neutrino instead of the indicators of its passing.  The same is true of my desire to see God face to face.  I long to see more than just the indicators of His passing.  I see His hand in the simple things just as surely as my Uncle could see oil as he measured sound waves passing through the earth. Finding microbial life on Mars doesn't shake my faith in God any more than finding microbes on our planet.  We're an arrogant species, filled with ourselves, and unable to even deal with one another let alone, God. 
I am optimistic, but realistic at the same time.  I want to see the day when we finally break the barriers that divide us as peoples.  I'm one of the privileged white males that seem to be at the center of every bad thing going on today.  In every generation, as mankind is ready to step beyond the limits of their frail existence and explore new possibilities we also demonstrate the need to blame others for our woeful shortsightedness.  I pray we'll live beyond this time in history where the fabric of our existence is being threatened.  As a Christian I know how this will end, but as a child of God I want a better ending.  There is a growing sorrow about what I see happening around me.  I'm old enough to let go of this life should I be threatened.  On the other hand, I have children, and grandchildren whom I wish to see live in peace and hope.  As long as the strident voices of anger and hate are given media attention this world is in peril.  This isn't a future I wish to see.  I want to  see Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos duke it out peacefully and develop the means to escape this world.  I hope to see the day when all of mankind realizes they are the DNA of God instead of the garbage of hate.  Our species must have peace with itself if we are to go beyond ourselves.  I know this thought violates the revelations of our Bible, but like Abraham I am begging God to hold back the judgement prophesied against us.  I am willing to grow old and die to see Him, while at the same time asking that no one experience His wrath for our wanton desire to kill each other. 
As I write this, I have my front door open and I'm watching the little sparrows combing through the dew laden grass for something to eat.  I don't know if they have wars, nor do I know if they have hope or faith.  Do they live angrily?  Do they do battle with each other?  Are we better being than they are?  Dear God in heaven, I don't know.  I hope we are.  Sadly, my passion for science is tempered by the knowledge that with every new scientific discovery, we discover a more terrifying way to destroy each other.  Science isn't the panacea for our worst inclinations.  Love is!!!   Still I hope for the joy of science while being realistic about what I've seen us do with it.  I hope we can move away from the precipice of prejudice, greed, and fear that envelopes us at this point in life.  Is my faith enough to say LOVE? Do sparrows love?  The Apostle Paul when describing the summation of his existence in Christ, wrote that three things abide.  That means they will go on beyond us.  Those three things are; Faith, hope, and love.  And, the greatest of these is love.