The first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970. Many reasons are given for the birth of the Environmental Movement at this time.

Certainly, television was important. For the first time, all Americans could see the ugly face of pollution.

However, I believe that the picture—the Vision—that most encouraged the Environmental Movement was not a picture of the ugliness of pollution. It was a picture—a Vision—of the beauty of the Earth. It was a picture that the astronauts of Apollo 8 took in 1968—the now famous, iconic picture of the Earth rising over the rim of the Moon.

The Earth looked so vulnerable. So precious. Nothing but a fragile blue and white oasis, hanging all alone, shining in the Darkness.

The lifeless, dusty pallor of the Moon accentuated the lively, colorful glow of the Earth.

This new perspective on the Earth, Humanity and God inspired the reading of Scripture “to the people of Earth” by the Apollo 8 astronauts on Christmas Eve.

Christmas is a time to thank God for his gifts to us and to give gifts to others. Therefore, at a typical Christmas Eve service, people read from the Bible about the birth of Jesus—God’s gift to all Humanity that brings us joy and peace.

However, as the Apollo 8 astronauts orbited the Moon on Christmas Eve, they didn’t read about the birth of Jesus. They read about the birth of the Earth. They read from the very beginning of the Bible—from the first chapter of Genesis.

These bold explorers and brilliant scientists from America reminded all Humanity that God created the heavens and the Earth. They assured all Humanity that, after God created the Earth, God saw that it was good, that it was very good. They wished all Humanity a Merry Christmas. Then they closed their Christmas Eve service by asking God to “bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth.”

Through the eyes of the Apollo 8 astronauts, all humans saw the Earth in a new way—as God’s gift to Humanity. And all Humanity saw that the Earth is good, it is very good.

Through the eyes of the Apollo 8 astronauts, we could see that the birthplace of all Humanity is a “Garden of Eden”—a paradise that all Humanity must cultivate with love.

The Bible warns us that “[w]here there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18, KJV).

Fortunately, the Americans of Apollo 8 gave all Humanity a new Vision of the Earth, of Humanity, and of God.

It is a Vision of the Good Earth as God’s “Christmas present” to all Humanity.

It is a Vision of the Good Earth as the common birthplace of all Humanity.

It is a Vision of the Good Earth as a paradise that must not perish due to Humanity’s love of money and love of power.

It is a Vision of the Good Earth as a paradise that all Humanity must cultivate with love.

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This blog is based on pages 137-138 of my book, Visions of America (published in one volume with Visions of the Church). The note related to this blog is in my book, Visions of America.