On 24 December 1968, in what was the most watched television broadcast to date, the crew of Apollo 8 surprised the world with a reading from Genesis as they orbited the moon. The reading was according to the King James Version. December 24 is the 358th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (359th in leap years). ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... Apollo 8 was the second manned mission of the Apollo space program, in which Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot James Lovell and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders became the first humans to orbit around the Moon. ... Genesis (Hebrew: , Greek: Γένεσις, having the meanings of birth, creation, cause, beginning, source and origin) is the first book of the Torah, the first book of the Tanakh and also the first book of the Christian Old Testament. ... H:For other uses of King James Version, see King James Version (disambiguation). ...

Transcript

January 3, 1969 cover of TIME Magazine with the Apollo 8 crew

William Anders: Description Cover the January 3, 1969 TIME Magazine Source http://www. ... Description Cover the January 3, 1969 TIME Magazine Source http://www. ... January 3 is the 3rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... A pocket watch, a device used to measure time Two distinct views exist on the meaning of time. ... William A. Anders (born October 17, 1933) former National Aeronautics and Space Administration astronaut. ...

For all the people on Earth the crew of Apollo 8 has a message we would like to send you.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

Jim Lovell: James Arthur Lovell, Jr. ...

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

Frank Borman: Frank Borman (right) poses with Jim Lovell (left) and Bill Anders (center) for an Apollo 8 publicity photo Frank Borman (born March 14, 1928) was a NASA astronaut, best remembered as one of the three crewmembers of Apollo 8, the first mission to fly around the Moon. ...

And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you - all of you on the good Earth."

Lawsuit

A suit had later been brought by Madalyn Murray O'Hair, an atheist. The suit was rejected by the Supreme Court. Because of this suit, when Buzz Aldrin took communion on the lunar surface shortly after his landing on Apollo 11, he kept his actions secret for many years afterwards. Madalyn Murray OHair (April 13, 1919 – 1995) was an American atheist who founded American Atheists, and campaigned for the separation of church and state. ... The 18th-century French author Baron dHolbach was one of the first self-described atheists. ... The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the judicial branch of the United States federal government. ... Colonel Buzz Eugene Aldrin, Sc. ... Apollo 11 was the first manned mission to land on the Moon. ...

Trivia

• Clips of this broadcast were used in the VNV Nation song 'Genesis'.
• Samples of this can be heard at several points during 'The Deepening', a horror movie by Jim O'Rear and Ted Alderman.