posted 12-24-2020 08:29 PM               

Both Mike Hopkins and Victor Glover, who are currently aboard the space station, spoke to the media about how they planned to keep their faith while in orbit. Hopkins discussed it with the National Catholic Register in 2017 before his first expedition. Glover spoke to The Christian Chronicle prior to his current mission.

Dionna [Glover] will get a special iPad that she can use to communicate with Victor and videoconference with him.

"One of the things I was hoping, before this pandemic, was that she would take it with her to church and just log in, and I could just sit there and watch and kind of just sit next to her in worship services," Victor said. "We'll see if they're back in regular, physical services soon or not."

Either way, cyberspace will make family worship possible for an astronaut in outer space.

posted 03-24-2021 04:39 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Cooper95:
Many religions deny the existence of space, isn't it?

---

posted 03-25-2021 12:29 AM               

I think frequently those not actively involved in a theologically based belief system think of the term faith as referring to the process of accepting a certain set of assumptions or a worldview without any substantiating facts or basis (like the little boy who said "faith is believing in something you know isn't true"); this sometimes is called "blind faith". But such a faith generally has no place in a critically thinking "person of faith's" worldview. Rather, such an individual generally has a systemically coherent view that is empirically and experientially supported. As an engineer, this is how we always approach developing our models and concepts, whether they be to implement new hardware, or to define our thoughts around ultimate reality.

Considerations such as the following two are illustrative of the many sorts of reasons one may cite as rational reasons for a broader view than simple materialist philosophies of everything. For example, one might thoughtfully consider whether it's conceivable that there's an uncaused "first cause" of everything. Causal analysis implies something in our reality had to be first (regression only goes so far, something had to be there first, eternal as it were) - either the material universe, or a timeless/matter-less Entity, and the implications of either are staggering. And since we seem to have some pretty good science implying that the universe had a beginning about 13.7 billion years ago, reasonable thoughts may be that It is something other than the universe that is eternal.

Or, what is frequently referred to as the "fine tuning" of the universe. Significant evidence seems to show that the constants of physics appear to have been finely tuned to an incredible degree. For example, the ratio of electromagnetic force to gravity, expansion rate of the universe, mass density of the universe, and the Cosmological Constant are just a few of these constants. Unbelievably small deviations in the respective constants would either prevent the universe from existing now (not having matter), or be unsuitable for life, at least as we know it.

There are many great intellects on both sides of the issue, so it doesn't seem to be a matter of cognitive ability or knowledge. Many space researchers and explorers are (or were) devout and sincere believers in a transcendent reality (what some may refer to as God). Two come to mind immediately: Werner von Braun and Charlie Duke.

Von Braun was as ardent supporter of his religious faith. Among many quotable things he shared, was a response he made when asked about science versus faith - "They challenge science to prove the existence of God. But must we really light a candle to see the sun?" Just one of many articles he wrote on the topic of his religious thought is entitled "Why I Believe in Immortality" (it can be found in his writings).

Charlie Duke later became known as a motivational speaker and having traveled and shared his faith extensively. I personally had the opportunity to speak to him about this when I met him at KSC during the 50th anniversary celebration of Alan Shepard's first flight.

These are just two of many.

Note that these comments are not to argue that anyone must accept a religious conviction, but merely to attempt to explain why there are those within the scientific community who believe that their religious faith is a central (and wholly rational) part of their life.

posted 03-26-2021 05:06 PM               

Some of the names under astronomy and astrophysics will be familiar to this cS space community.

posted 03-29-2021 06:43 AM               

Regarding confession, as with other Catholic sacraments, it must be ministered in person. There is a way, however, to receive absolution when the possibility of in person confession isn't available, with the expectation that one will go to confession at the earliest possible time. This became a more common issue during the current pandemic, as many parishes closed confession or considerably limited availability. This article explains the option better than I could, and would have been an option for Mr. Hopkins.