First Man Isn’t Religious. It’s not Spiritual. But It Is About Faith.

Last updated on: October 12, 2018 at 2:35 pm by Paul Asay

First Man Isn’t Religious. It’s not Spiritual. But It Is About Faith. 2018-10-12T14:35:58-06:00 Paul Asay

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Photo courtesy NASA

What is faith? According to Paul in Hebrews 11, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. … By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.”

That same sense of faith drew Armstrong and others into that universe—or rather, a growing understanding of the unseen, unwritten laws that governed it. They had, and we have, faith that, on some level, the cosmos makes sense. The moon will be in such-and-such a place at a given time. The gravity that binds us to earth can be broken with X amount of power. That if a rocket flies this fast on this trajectory for this amount of days, it’ll get there when we think it will.

That’s kind of amazing when you think about it. At a time in our culture when everything around us seems so chaotic, the universe itself operates by a certain set of principles, and we can rely on those principles. We can stake our very lives on them, just as Armstrong did.

Obviously, faith in science and faith in God are two very, very different things, and I’m sure Armstrong (who died in 2012) would be the first to say so. But they’re not so different as some might believe.

My pastor used to illustrate faith via a chair: Every time we sit in one, it’s an act of faith. We trust that it’ll support our weight. But it’s not an uninformed faith. We look at it to see if it looks sturdy enough to support us. Maybe we wobble it a little, just to make sure. We still ultimately must stick our butts in the seat (or not), but we don’t do it without some evidence.

The same is true with faith in God. Those of us who believe—most of us, anyway—believe for a reason. We see evidence of not just His reality, but His love. We read about it in the Bible and see it at work in our own lives. It might not be evidence that would convince everyone. But it’s enough for believers to trust in Him with their lives.

First Man isn’t a particularly religious movie. But when astronauts break through the earth’s roaring atmosphere into the tranquility of the cosmos beyond, or when Armstrong walks across the gray surface of the moon for the first time, the film conveys their inevitable awe and wonder of the moment—the transcendence of it. Armstrong feels it, we see, even if it’s not pinned to an organized belief structure. Many other astronauts have felt it, too.

“To look out at this kind of creation out here and not believe in God is to me impossible,” John Glenn said in 1998, during a flight on the space shuttle Discovery. And in the movie itself, we see a glimpse of a pamphlet bearing the words, “In the beginning, God …”

Faith is indeed the conviction of things unseen. But when we look, evidence is all around us.

Previous Post

October 9, 2018

Drew Brees Breaks Record, But His Post-Game Interview is Even More Inspiring

Next Post

October 17, 2018 Talking Film, Forgiveness and Faith with 'Change in the Air' Director Dianne Dreyer

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category books celebrities Editor's Choice games movies music news sports superheroes television Uncategorized

Select a Month May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 December 2025 October 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 September 2023 March 2023 February 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 December 2021 October 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 October 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was swallowed by a whale (great fish)?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Job Noah Jonah Abel

Books by This Author Books by Paul Asay

See All Titles »