Yuri Gagarin - First Man in Space (article) by Susan K. Smith on AuthorsDen

Quote: When I orbited the Earth in a spaceship, I saw for the first time how beautiful our planet is. Mankind, let us preserve and increase this beauty, and not destroy it!

Stamp 2011 Gagarin/wikipedia.com

April 12, 1961...

On that date in history, Russian cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, became the first man in space, as seen in this brief clip below:

(reference: https://youtu.be/7iMa03BApcQ )

And after this historic flight, it was reported he had said:

I flew into space,
but didn’t see God

No surprise at time. The former USSR was considered an atheistic country. Very hostile toward religion.

But this quote has later been disputed, as it originated from Nikita Khrushchev. Not Yuri Gagarin.

[reference: Did Yuri Gagarin Say He Didn’t See God in Space? ]

Even in an atheistic Soviet Union ...

Faith blossoms in unexpected places...

Yuri Gagarin was a Christian, a baptized member of the Russian Orthodox Church. No secret to his close friends. As one attested:

He always confessed God
whenever he was provoked,
no matter where he was.

[reference: Yuri Gagarin – went into space and found God! ]

The rest of the story is told here...

(reference: https://youtu.be/m4XvKmEV9Rk )

Commenting on his trip into space:

When I orbited the Earth in a spaceship,

I saw for the first time

how beautiful our planet is.

Mankind, let us preserve

and increase this beauty,

and not destroy it!

[reference: First man in space; first man to orbit the Earth. ]

Sadly, Yuri Gagarin perished in a jet crash, March 27 1968. He did not live to see another First Man. The first man on the moon, July of 1969.

Neil Armstrong

And Armstrong also passed from this earthly scene in August of 2012.

Now high above in the heavenlies,
both these first men

Yuri Gagarin...

Neil Armstrong...
see God's face.

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Other posts in the series:

Faith (part 1) - Star Trek and Christianity (2016)

Faith (part 2) - Founding Fathers' Faith and the Fourth of July (2017)

Faith (part 3) - Halloween 500 years ago (2017)

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Photo: Stamp 2011 Gagarin/wikipedia.com

Web Site: smithsk: Faith (part 4) - Yuri Gagarin

Hiraeth- (noun) - a deep, wistful, nostalgic sense of longing for home; a home that is no longer or perhaps never was. A yearning and wistful grief fo

Reviewed by m j hollingshead

Reviewed on April 16, 2019

I enjoyed reading your informative article. I remember when Gagarin made his trip into space

never stop writing

m

Reviewed by Ronald Hull

Reviewed on April 15, 2019

Well very inspiring, from the famous poem, "to reach up and touch the face of God," merely going into outer space and landing on another planet as an extraterrestrial took a lot of hard work, perseverance and faith in science and technology to get the deed done. We all could have prayed forever and still be earthbound. We were not given wings or rockets as part of our bodies to leave this earth by God or any other source of origin. Going to space requires risk. It is very deadly, "out there." But we must go like we always have and find out the origins of things� Have faith, if you will, in science overcoming or God. I prefer science, as dull as it is, over God.

Ron