Hi Onebigmonkey,
Von Braun choose an apt bible verse for his tombstone? Then surely you don’t know the Bible well. The term “firmament” I believe is only mentioned 14 times in the entire Bible. It’s means a protective dome over earth that is impenetrable. The verse he choose out of the entire Bible states the firmament did its job. How is this remotely apt for a man who supposedly spearheaded a manned journey through this supposed dome? It makes absolutely zero sense.
Lots of people today just use "firmament" as a synonym for "skies" or "heavens". They tend not to care that the ancient Hebrews thought of it as a solid dome. Much like people use the terms "sanguine" and "melancholy" without giving any thought to the theory of the four humors. Werner von Braun was probably one of those people.
Hi Von Smith,
Fair enough but the quote says the firmament showed its handy work. What handy work would that be then? Surely somebody putting this on their own gravestone would consider the implications and meaning of the phrase. This is a man who died 6 or 7 years after he sent man to the moon and these are thoughts he found the most important to convey to others on his tombstone. It's mind boggling. It is akin to Bin Laden converting to Catholicism on his death bed. Von Braun's epitaph says the firmament did its job. Full stop. And then fast forward 15 years, and Armstrong is babbling about "removing one of truth's protective layers". By this time, Armstrong is well aware some are doubting the missions yet he muddy's the waters even more with his cryptic thoughts that go unexplained. None of this makes a lot of sense.
But he could also have meant from the English Standard Version that has the verse as follows:
"The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork."
That, to me, is a pretty clear statement from him and referencing his involvement in the US Space program in general.
