Artemis... Is No God
Artemis - the Greek goddess of wild animals, the hunt, vegetation, chastity and childbirth.1
While the Greek goddess may not be openly worshiped anymore, her name has now been irrevocably linked to the lesser light, just as her mythological twin brother Apollo’s was in the last century. Even so, it was not without Providence showing Who is really present in the affairs of men.
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) has been focused on having a prolonged presence in space with the work of the International Space Station (ISS), so until recently lunar exploration took a backseat. The Artemis missions of NASA have changed that. They began with the first launch in 2022 when an unmanned spacecraft orbited the Moon and returned successfully for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972. The plan for the Artemis program is to establish an ongoing manned presence on the Moon. In upcoming missions astronauts will return to the surface, marking another generation of Moon exploration. As we press forward, may we never forget the sacrifice of many lives throughout our ongoing space program, and may we remember it is only possible by the ordered design and engineered forces at work in creation by the Lord God our Creator.
Many of you may have watched, as I did, as four brave astronauts were launched from the clutches of Earth’s gravity on April 1, 2026. It was hard to describe how proud I was as an American on that day. This country, founded on God-ordained rights and privileges, was the first and only country to place His image bearers on the surface of the lesser light years ago, and we are headed back again. We are literally doing what the Lord asked of us from the Genesis 1:28 mandate in studying His creation. As much as I know that not all who work for NASA have this worldview, there are several that do, praise the Lord! On Artemis II launch day, one of the four astronauts on board was our brother in Christ - Victor Glover, mission pilot.
The only time Artemis comes up in Scripture is Acts 19. Providence had placed Paul and his companions preaching and teaching around the great city of Ephesus, home to the Temple of Artemis. A riot almost ensued because so many people were coming to the Lord that those in charge of making the idols for Artemis were worried her name would be lost. In a way, that is exactly what was happening, because the name of the Lord was proclaimed in lives that had been consumed with pagan idol worship. That’s not unlike today as the pagan goddess name adorns a space program, and yet Providence placed one of His own followers right in the middle of the first human flight back to the Moon to proclaim His name, the name above every name, Jesus.
Victor continued to live his life of faith in Christ even while orbiting the moon. Part of the personal items he chose to take were his Bible and communion cups. He studied the Word and prayed while in orbit, as well as virtually joining his home congregation in worship. During an impromptu Easter message asked for by a CBS news interviewer, he emphasized man’s creation by the Lord and Earth as a “spaceship” in the universe for us to live on. He went on to share the two greatest commandments and the importance that Christ placed on them, love.
Just as we live in a pagan, fallen world as Paul did with pagan names and temples all around, Providence has placed us here to proclaim His name above all others. He asks us to share Who He is wherever He has called us, whether that be here on Earth or in space. Please join me in prayer for the many others like Victor who carry the Lord’s light within NASA and beyond. Blessings.
1 Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature. Merriam-Webster. 1995. p. 74. ISBN 9780877790426.
