WITH so much debate in the media about science and religious belief, some readers will be interested to learn of the following curious fact.
Immediately after Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon in 1969, his colleague Buzz Aldrin celebrated Holy Communion in the landing craft.
Buzz asked mission control for silence.
The first bread consumed on the moon and the first wine drunk there were the elements of Holy Communion.
This symbolic act was deliberate. The astronaut was sending the world the message Christian belief and science are in harmony together.
Science merely tells us how God makes things work, the Bible on the other hand tells us why we are here.
Many people in Britain imagine science and religious belief are incompatible but millions of scientists believe in God.
Sadly, whenever reference is made to science and religious belief in the British media it is often done so assuming there is conflict between the two.
In reality many scientists believe in God precisely because of their scientific studies and see true science as the friend of religious belief.
With this fact rarely mentioned it is no wonder the UK is one of the few places in the world where churchgoing is declining.
THE REV J WILLANS, Surrey
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