Immediately after splashdown, the four crew members of Artemis II boarded a U.S. Navy ship for evaluations. We can only imagine their relief after a successful mission and safe return.
As they traveled where no humans had gone before, they saw Earth setting behind the moon, and the moon eclipsing the sun. From their lofty perspective, the blue globe was itself a spaceship with its inhabitants hurtling together through a vast, dark expanse. Commander Reid Wiseman had trouble processing it all. “I’m not really a religious person, but there was just no other avenue for me to explain anything,” he said in a NASA press conference. “So, I just asked for the Navy chaplain to come visit us. When that man walked in, I saw the cross on his collar, and I just broke down in tears.”
It sounds like Wiseman had a shift in perspective, to say the least. Something about what he experienced in space resonated with the symbol of the Christian faith. It was a cathartic and personal moment he openly shared. But shifting perspective is not something that comes easy for humans and our cognitive biases.
Consider these. Confirmation Bias is when you only seek information that supports your prior conclusion. Belief Perseverance holds your conclusion even when evidence disproves it. Identity-Protective Cognition makes you think changing your mind is a betrayal of your identity or tribe. And there are many more. But sometimes new evidence overwhelms the thinking biases. Sometimes an honest look at old evidence humbles you and changes your mind.
The Bible gives examples of perspective shift. The “I AM” in the burning bush changed Moses’ perspective on what he was to do next. Job had much to say to God, but after God spoke Job repented in dust and ashes. When Jesus calmed the sea His disciples asked, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” When doubting Thomas saw the resurrected Jesus he said, “My Lord and my God!”
What might shift your perspective about God? We hear reports of nonbelievers having life-changing dreams about Jesus. Science produces data for which the most plausible hypothesis is the existence of a Creator. Disillusion with our modern times makes cultural refugees out of people who are taking a fresh look at Christianity’s truth claims. Even if none of these tell your story, new information, an inquiring heart, or an open Bible can shift your perspective and lead you on a Godward journey.
The view during the Artemis mission shifted Wiseman’s perspective Godward. The universe stretches so far beyond human grasp that even our boldest imaginations collapse into silence before its measureless expanse. Behind it all is the Word, symbolized by the cross. “All things came into being through Him … In Him was life” (John 1:3-4).