ASTRONAUT ARMSTRONG CONSIDERED FOLLOWNG JESUS GREATER THAN STEPPING ON THE MOON.
Neil Armstrong went to be with the Lord yesterday. He was a great American. He was a devoted Christ follower.
Of course, you wouldn’t know about Armstrong’s Christian faith from the obituaries published by such bastions of liberal journalism as the New York Times and Washington Post. They didn’t consider it worthy of comment.
Nor would you know that Armstrong loved the Lord from the perfunctory tribute offered by President Obama, who mentions Christianity only when it serves his political purposes (like defending his support for homosexual marriage).
But Armstrong’s life story cannot be told without mentioning his walk with Christ.
Indeed, perhaps the most under-reported story about Armstrong concerned his visit to Israel following his historic trip to the moon, where he made his one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind.
The American astronaut was taken on a tour of the old city of Jerusalem by Israeli archeologist Meir Ben-Dov. When they got to the Hulda Gate, which is at the top of the stairs leading to the TempleMount, Armstrong asked Ben-Dov whether Jesus had stepped anywhere around there.
“These are the steps that lead to the temple,” Ben-Dov told him, “so He must have walked here many times.”
Armstrong then asked Ben-Dov if those were the original stairs and Ben-Dov confirmed that they were indeed.
“So Jesus stepped right here,” Armstrong asked. “That’s right,” answered Ben-Dov.
To which Armstrong, the devout Christian, replied, “I have to tell you, I am more excited stepping on these stones than when I was stepping on the moon.”
The secular world remembers Armstrong as, variously, an aerospace engineer, a university professor, a Navy fighter pilot and, of course, as the first man in history to peer back at Earth from the surface of the moon.
But those who were closest to the famous astronaut – his widow, Carol, his two sons, Eric and Mark (from a previous marriage), his brother and sister, and other survivors – remember Neil Armstrong as a man of faith.
Yes, I am a Christ follower.
God bless you Kelly. My information comes from Ohio, where Neil Armstrong died a faithful member of the United Church of Christ. Rev. Jeff Davis, Pastor at St. Paul UCC in Wapakoneta, presided over an outdoor memorial service for the late astronaut whom, he confirms, was a devoted Christian. Of course, that bit of information couldn’t be found in any of Armstrong’s secular obituaries.
Glory to God Almighty the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The above mentioned statement “I have to tell you, I am more excited stepping on these stones than when I was stepping on the moon” is more historic than the one on the moon!!!
God bless his soul.
Thanks for the article, I will use it for our church website (Czech Republic).
Neil was a Deist, not a Christian. Stop with the religious propaganda, let the man rest in peace. Next think we know you’ll be baptizing the poor man post death.
The claim that Armstrong was a Deist is based on an occasion, all the way back in the late 1950s, when he applied to be a Boy Scout troop leader. When asked his religious affiliation, he replied “Deist.” But Armstrong’s faith life evolved in ensuing years and, by the time he became an Apollo astronaut, he was a confirmed Christ follower. And he died, not as a Deist, a fiction the atheist community promulgated with his passing, but as a Christian.
I would like to know where you got your information. I have read excerpts from his biography and it mentions his mother’s strong faith in Jesus, but it goes into her disappointment that he did not carry on that legacy with his boys. From what he has said, he sounds like he could be a believer. But, I can’t find anything concrete. Do you have any other resources?
Thank you for your comment and question Kelly. Are you a Christ follower?
JP with your permission: http://www.theranch.org/Lesson-21-What-happened-at-the-Southern.657.0.html. Also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Wall. This one is by the actual person he asked.
Thank you, Pastor.
I thought he was a man of faith but didn’t know for sure…I was very touch by this article. I too would be more excited to walk where Jesus walk than anywhere else! Thank you for this article!
You are most welcome. God bless.
What a great man of faith who quietly reflected God’s glory.
What a great tribute!