The world was captivated last week by the suspense and then the tragic end to the story of the five people killed in the submersible trying to visit the wreck of the Titanic. Have you seen a depiction of it?

Someone who had actually ridden in it said it was very crude. To make it go down, the passengers would crowd to the front. To make it go up, they would crowd to the back. (There were thrusters, of course, but the ship’s attitude was apparently controlled by weight distribution.)

To ride in it you had to sign a waiver that included the word “death” three times on the first page. Another part of the waiver explained that it “…has not been approved or certified by any regulatory body.” The vehicle was known to be dangerous.

Peggy Noonan’s piece about the Titanic and the doomed submersible in the Wall Street Journal, Saturday, June 24, is instructive. The catch-phrase is:

The story of the [Titanic] has everything. Splendor and perfection meet a sudden, shocking demise.

The most insightful paragraph includes a reference to the Fall in Genesis 3:

The Titanic story is linked to themes as old as man. “God himself couldn’t sink this ship.” “If we eat the fruit against his command, then we’ll be in charge.” “Technology will transform the world; it’s a mistake to dwell on the downside.” It’s all the same story. In the search for the submersible this week Britain’s Telegraph quoted retired Rear Adm. Chris Parry of the Royal Navy. Why, he wondered, would anyone get into a “dodgy piece of technology” like the submersible? “It is fundamentally dangerous, there was no backup plan, it’s experimental, and I’m afraid to say there’s an element of hubris if you want to go down and do that.” Everyone thinks he’s unsinkable. – Peggy Noonan

“…themes as old as man…everyone thinks he’s unsinkable.”

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. (Proverbs 14.12, ESV)

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. (Psalm 2.1 – 4, ESV)

PS There is an alternate view, of course, that of the need to explore. There was a scientific objective in this last voyage of the Titan. I’ve written before about continuing to explore in the face of tragedy.