The R.M.S. Titanic departed from Southampton, England, heading to New York City on its maiden voyage on Wednesday, April 10, 1912 at noon. At that time it was the largest ship in the world, the largest movable man-made object ever made. An extract from a White Star Line publicity brochure produced in 1910 for the Titanic and the Olympic stated that the vessels were designed to be unsinkable. On June 1, 1911, the Irish News and Belfast Morning News each contained an identical article about the launching of the Titanic’s hull. The article described the system of watertight compartments and electronic watertight doors and concluded that the Titanic was practically unsinkable. That year Shipbuilder magazine published an article on the White Star Line’s ships Titanic and Olympic, also describing the construction of the ships and concluding that the Titanic was practically unsinkable.
Passenger Margaret Devaney stated, “I took passage on the Titanic for I thought it would be a safe steamship and I heard it could not sink.” Thomson Beattie, another passenger, wrote home, “We are changing ships and coming home in a new unsinkable boat.” Walter Lord, in A Night to Remember,
states that a deckhand of the ship, seeking to alleviate the fears of a second-class passenger, Mrs. Sylvia Caldwell, told her that “Not even God could sink her.” Despite the absolute faith that some had in science and technology at the beginning of the twentieth century, the Titanic struck an iceberg on Sunday, April 14, at 11:40 p.m. Having been lauded as the safest ship ever built, the Titanic carried only 20 lifeboats, not enough to accommodate even half of her 2,200 passengers and crew. Less than two hours after striking the iceberg, the Titanic sunk. That morning of April 15, the Carpathia rescued 705 survivors. 1,522 passengers and crew had been lost.
The idolatry which existed in 1912 with science and technology still exists in many hearts and minds today. Individuals may trust science and technology to improve their lives, to deliver them from difficulty, to accomplish things that were previously thought unattainable. It hasn’t been quite 100 years since the Titanic plunged beneath the icy waves of the Atlantic. It remains as a warning to our generation against trusting in our own strength and wisdom and failing to glorify God. Despite the sinking of the Titanic, science and technology were still trusted as the answer to the world’s problems. The world was shocked when World War I erupted, yet it was nicknamed ““The War to End All Wars” because of the optimism that flourished at that period of history. Technology increased during the century, and with it, man’s inhumanity to man increased. Another world war, gas chambers, nuclear bombs, napalm and innumerable types of other human innovations were used to enslave and destroy those created in the image of God. The twentieth century stands as the bloodiest, most savage century of world history. Modern society should heed the ancient words:
“Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before a fall.”
- Proverbs 16:18
