Full Circle

Psalm 105:2 -- "Sing to him, sing praises to him! Tell of all his marvelous works." [HNV]

image: Institute for Creations Research [icr.org]

There in the strange shadows cast by the sun were the impressions of his space boots. Pressed firmly into the fine dusty terrain on the moon, Jim Irwin looked down at his feet. He had a job to do, he knew - but it was too much for him to continue without taking in the splendor that surrounded him. He was quietly thankful.

The day before they had experienced major technical problems with the rover. It simply would not budge. After checking the tires and the electrical components it boggled the team from Apollo 15 that they simply could not get the thing to start. Their mission was in trouble and there didn't seem to be a single thing they could do to alter their circumstances.

In the safe quiet of the lunar lander, Jim closed his eyes in utter frustration as the team prepared to sleep for the night. They had done all they could and in typical human fashion - he'd made the decision that when all else fails - pray.


The fight to complete the mission found Jim just standing there in the dust with our great blue marble spinning in the background. The people scurrying around down on Earth were oblivious to the miracle God had performed on their nearest celestial neighbor. When the team woke and checked the rover once again - it moved as if nothing were ever amiss. They had some catching up to do, but found that they were not too far off schedule. A silent prayer of thanks was offered up, and a wonderful little spark had been kindled deep inside Jim. 

He couldn't wait to tell his family. He couldn't wait to tell the world.


A silent Christian, Irwin once said to describe himself prior to his moon walk -  he was an educated scientist that leaned toward Darwinism. With a BS in Science from the US Naval Academy it doesn't come as a huge surprise that once the astronaut walked upon the moon - he would be excited to speak of his experiences. Who wouldn't want to relay all the wonders seen out in space? Who wouldn't want to talk about the rocks he'd found or the troubles with the rover?

What DOES surprise is that it wasn't his travels about which he was eager to share. In fact Jim repeatedly expressed that "[it is critically] important to recognize the Creator of this great planet and the universe in which it exists. After all, He is the one who created the laws of science that make space travel possible." 

There on the moon in the vacuum of space - Jim was touched by God. As he reached down to retrieve what would become the infamous "Genesis Rock" Jim was filled with awe for our Creator. Where others would see an advancement in scientific achievement Jim saw that there could be no denying Darwinism is wrong. He later said that walking on the moon in a scientific capacity did more for him in his relationship with Christ than did anything else in his life.

Jim said that: "Most of the rocks previously brought back from the moon were dark, dense basalt. Scientists knew that if the moon were composed entirely of this dense rock, it could not possibly be in its present orbit. It would be too heavy. They knew there had to be an abundance of lighter material, lighter in density and color. Our mission was to find a lighter rock from the mountains on the moon. While we were exploring…[we] found…a pure, white rock, the oldest rock brought back from the moon—part of the deep internal material which had been ejected to make the mountains—and the most important scientific discovery of our mission. The press labeled it the “Genesis” rock, for it confirmed the fact that the earth and moon were created at the same time, giving scientific proof of the creation story of Genesis 1:14-18"

image:  The Institute For Creation [icr.org]

Jim's life came around full circle in that moment as he held that big white rock in his bulky gloved hands. For him,  it was no longer about scientific discoveries - but Biblical ones. Jim once said that he felt the Lord sent him to the moon so he could get back to Earth to tell the world about Jesus.

And that's exactly what he did.

In 1972 Irwin left NASA and retired from the Air Force. He started the High Flight Foundation and focused all of his resources and energy toward showing people how Science - so often associated with Darwinism - actually points more toward the proof of God than anything else on Earth. 

Isn't that something?