Is there a Christian perspective on the exploration of outer space? What about the questions that drive our imaginations -- the possibility of life on other planets -- even to consider going there? What about other questions involving our comprehension of the immensity of the universe and humanity's tiny place in it? Will the scientific knowledge gained by space exploration undermine the Christian faith? Or might we instead by considering the heavens bring glory to God?

"In orbit you view Earth and the vastness of space," said Col. [Jeffrey] Williams, and see that "we are an infinitesimal speck in light of the Creator Himself." This is profoundly humbling, but the vastness of the creation is a testimony to the infinite power and majesty of the One who called it into being. This sense of our smallness and God's unlimited glory is important for self-centered, self-absorbed human beings to realize. "One of the problems inside the church, said Col. Williams, "is that we forget this."

During the past three decades, the consensus behind this wondrously effective social program has collapsed. The result has harmed countless American children for whom there is no disaster quite like being born out of wedlock and growing up in a single-parent household.

Almost two-thirds of the nation's poor children are in single-parent households. A child raised in a never-married household is roughly seven times more likely to be in poverty and five times more likely to be welfare-dependent. He is at greater risk to have emotional problems, fail academically, abuse drugs -- and experience everything else you hope a child would be spared.

In past eras, if parents were very imperfect or even corrupt, their children still had a reasonable chance of "growing up straight," since the rest of society still more or less reflected Judeo-Christian values. The youngster could bond to a teacher, minister, mentor or organization that could provide some healthy direction and stability.

But today, because of the near-ubiquitous corruption "out there," if parents fail to properly guide and protect their children, the kids get swallowed whole by the child-molesting monster we call culture.

The institution of marriage has been weakened to the point that a proposal to safeguard it legally could not be dismissed as redundant or superfluous. Indeed, given the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision legitimizing sodomy and the Massachusetts Supreme Court's ruling sanctifying gay marriage, a pro-active approach to rescue traditional marriage is essential.

I don't buy the argument that marriage has eroded as part of an inevitable evolution of our moral fabric. Countercultural warriors have been waging a war against traditional values as part of a deliberate and sustained effort. Their success, despite their small numbers, is proof that activism and persistence work.

No other aspect of their faith is as important to conservative Protestants as worship: prayer, visible and frequent, is what attracts them to church. But worship in conservative Protestant America rarely involves introspective efforts to honour a supreme being whose concerns are other-worldly. "Lord, give me a clean X-ray when I go for a mammogram next week" or "God, help the search committee find a new pastor for the church," are some of the forms taken by prayer at one Baptist church in New Jersey. At an evangelical church women's group in the suburbs of New York City, each participant has a chance to ask God to respond to her concerns, and, as she does, others take notes so that they can pray for their friends during the week. Those concerns, moreover, are anything but other-worldly: most involve health, money, and real estate, along with issues facing the church. We should not doubt the meaning that worship has for conservative Christians. But nor should we ignore the fact that, judging by how many believers express themselves in prayer, these are people who believe that God helps those who focus on themselves.

To be sure, millions of youths are in the grip of something destructive, but the corporate aspect is just the visible part. Behind both the corporate manipulators and the youths caught in their selfish and shameful influence lurks another, much more formidable and all-pervasive "marketing campaign" -- a malevolent dimension that has no one's best interests at heart, and which is programmed to devour all in its path, from the highest to the lowest.

Space haters often get it wrong. In 1926, British scientist, A. W. Bickerton, noting how much power it would take to escape Earth's gravity, assured us that space travel was impossible. Days before Apollo 11 carried the first men to the moon, demonstrators decried the waste of money. Still, there's something troubling about the space lovers' use of analogies for answers.

Yes, we conquered inhospitable Everest, "because it's there." But there are no Everest condos, and lots of climbers died. Is Mars California, or Everest? It makes a difference. Whaling ships carried repair equipment, but that was cost effective because whalers brought back whale oil. Will a moon base lead to profitable mining, or will it always be an expensive outpost? And don't forget how many whalers went down.

Space lovers take it for granted that space conquest can be understood on the model of earthly exploration. But while terrestrial analogies may illuminate, they prove nothing. If Mars is like Everest, we'll get glory -- but little practical benefit, much expense, and great danger. If Mars is more like the American frontier, we'll get a fundamental transformation of the human environment, massive practical benefits -- and great danger. Space lovers look up and see California. I see something between Pasadena and Mt. Everest -- but ultimately, a great deal closer to Everest.