It was the kind of tragic event that distracts an entire nation, and in this case, much of the world waited in horror.
Thirteen miners a mile or so beneath the ground in West Virginia were trapped following a deadly explosion. For 42 grueling hours, a rescue workers tried to reach and save the men. And then, last night, came word of a miracle.
All but one of the men were found alive.
Before I went to sleep last night, I watched a news program that showed numerous people, including friends and families of the 12 men, gathered in front of a church and singing a gospel hymn: "How Great Thou Art."
But when I woke up, the news reports were solemn -- due to a miscommunication, all but one of the men were dead.
Tragic news, indeed. But all I can think about is the song. "How Great Thou Art." Do the people singing the song still believe in the message? And if so, isn't it a different message -- not how great God is for helping to save their loved ones, but how truly great his wrath is?
Why do we always make it about God? There was a terrible incident and several people died. Credit God, if you must, for creating the Heavens and the Earth, but why invoke his name when something like this happens? I guess we feel we must thank someone. Still...what song are these people singing now?
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I was going to comment about how religion is amazingly human-centric, and how I have a hard time believing that any being powerful enough to create the cosmos would care if a handful of miners lived and died, but you know what? Radar Love pretty much sums it up.
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