Message of the Stars

Every day most of the world’s planetariums wow children with wondrous images of stars and galaxies, while an unseen narrator tells a seductive story that we are “children of the stars,” who evolved from stardust over billions of years.

But here and there around the globe, Christians are putting feet to their burden to tell the real message of the stars: The heavens declare the glory of God. One such point of light is the campus of Pensacola Christian College, which invites visitors to enjoy the same beautiful images, but with an entirely different message.

Since its opening in November 2001, the college’s 100-seat planetarium has reached tens of thousands. Four separate presentations preach the message of the stars.

One presentation, “Celestial Stained Glass,” focuses on the splendor of some of God’s most beautiful creations—nebulae. Another, “Stair Steps to Space” explores the methods that gifted people have developed to study the wonders of God’s universe. This program opens with the early scientists, such as Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler, and Galileo Galilei, who universally believed in a Creator (though not all were born again).

Each show refers to the Scripture’s many scientific claims about the heavens—and how modern telescopes and space probes have confirmed these claims. And each presentation points back to the most important work of all: salvation. God created this vast universe as a wondrous stage for His greatest work, sending His Son to die for our sins.

So if you’re ever in the area, make sure to visit, and encourage lost friends to join you. And if you have a burden to “preach the message of the stars” in your own region, you may not be able to afford to build a planetarium, but you can always go stargazing with friends, or even show creation-based astronomy videos in your own home!

When faced with the wonders of God’s universe, every viewer is forced to ask himself the same probing question, “What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?” (Psalm 8:3-4).