When the last of the doomed Chilean miners met the fresh, clean air of the surface, many people worldwide breathed a sigh of relief and rejoiced in the miracle they witnessed. CNN’s Facebook page was overrun with comments regarding the ordeal – that’s where I noticed a major problem.
The majority of the comments were in the form of:
“This is proof that God performs miracles!”
“Thank you Lord for rescuing the miners!”
“Praise be to -insert deity here- for the effort!”
What?
I’m sorry, I may have slipped into a state of advanced slumber for 69 days, but I distinctly recall five men descending into that shaft and rescuing those miners. I also recall, just vaguely, hearing reports of people working tirelessly just to find out how to drill into where they were trapped. And I think somewhere there were some people fighting tooth and nail to make sure those men stayed alive.
You know what’s conspicuously absent? The hand of God reaching into the mine and pulling them to safety. I don’t remember seeing that, but everyone tells me that’s what happened.
Even more egregiously, conspicuously absent was the hand of God pulling the perished Sago, West Virginia miners to safety. In fact, there have been 728 mine disasters (accidents that claimed five or more lives) since 1875 in the United States ALONE that I don’t remember ever including God’s likeness in a rescue operation.
My point? While these rescue teams fought tirelessly to save these guys in Chile, God got all the credit. It was a “miracle.” Was it a miracle that he put them there in the first place? How about the other 728 mine disasters in the U.S., was this benevolent, miracle-producing saint with them?
No.
He wasn’t with them any more than sobriety is with Lindsay Lohan and celibacy is with Paris Hilton.
Make no mistake, I respect faith and religion and all that jazz. However, when a time comes where people who work their tails off to save lives take second place to an inanimate object, I get frustrated and even more depressed about this culture. We all wish to mention God first when something spectacular and great happens, yet we rarely give him even honorable mention for things that go awry.
So now, I will give credit where credit is truly due: A million thanks – and that’s still not enough – go to you, the Chilean rescue team, for working your asses off to save the trapped miners. You showed exemplary effort, determination and will, and need to be held in high regard – the HIGHEST regard – for your perseverance.
Some may say this is an unfair attack on people’s beliefs. You see, the unfair thing would be to mock me and say I’m being stupid for writing this. There are hundreds of comments and articles praising God. It seems that every time someone tries to give an atheistic perspective of things, people of faith claim they’re being attacked by intolerance. I’m just giving you the other side of the story – take it or leave it.
