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Every child dreams of being an astronaut and heading off, out of our atmosphere and into space to explore the vast expanse beyond the clouds. As kids it seemed like the most exciting thing possible, but now it feels a bit dull. There’s nothing out there – just millions of empty, floating miles, with sporadic, inhospitable planets providing respite from the eternal vacancy. There’s no TV, no Twitter, no sunbathing, no parties, not even any sausage rolls – all the things that add flavour to our existence are absent. The tagline for Alien famously said, ‘In space no one can hear you scream’, but perhaps the truth is that in space no one can hear you sigh. So bearing in mind how our entertainmentdriven culture seems at odds with the inescapable boredom of the beyond, what is it that is so compelling about space travel? Space tourism is a growing phenomenon but what is it in humanity that gives us this ache to expand our horizons?
• Would you want to go to space? Why or why not?
• What attracts you to it or puts you off?
• What do you think you’d miss most?
The other side of space travel is that there’s so much awe and wonder to be found on our own planet, we’ll probably never get close to experiencing all of that – yet still we have our head, almost literally, in the clouds, with dreams beyond our atmosphere. Christopher Nolan’s recent film, Interstellar (see above), focused on this – the hope for and future of humanity lying outside of this planet, and in the stars. • Would you rather visit everywhere on Earth or go into space once?
• Why do you think the idea of space travel is so appealing?
• Do you think mankind will ever leave this planet?
• How do you think this ties in with what Christians believe?
A lot of people seem to think that the Bible story ends with mankind floating off to heaven and abandoning this planet, but the Bible paints a different, more surprising picture, one that challenges the way we lead our lives here and now. Read Revelation 21:1- 5 and then discuss these questions:
• What surprises you in this passage?
• If heaven is coming to Earth, what difference does that make? Does it make a difference?
• Should it change the way we live now?
• Right at the start of the Bible mankind is called to be stewards of creation. If Earth is going to be made new, what can we do to bring about that redemption of creation in our everyday lives?
