NOVA on Chilean Rescue

Last night (Oct. 26) I watched a TV program on PBS about the rescue of the 33 miners in Chile. This NOVA program was very interesting, and took us step by step through the rescue effort. However, they didn’t tell the whole story, as often happens with the mainstream media. They left out the faith component for the most part.

Yes, a NASA psychologist who was interviewed did say that “faith” played an important role for the miners: faith in themselves, faith in their families, faith that efforts were being made to rescue them, etc. Then, almost as an afterthought, he added “and faith in their religion.” Faith in their religion!? What does that mean? You don’t have faith in a religion, or if you do, it is certainly misplaced faith. You have faith in God, not in a religion. That shows the ignorance of that NASA psychologist.

There were two other things totally left out of the story of the rescue. One item that was extremely important in giving the miners hope was the nightly Bible study. José Henríquez, one of the trapped miners who became the spiritual leader of the group, conducted nightly Bible studies for the men. That was never mentioned in the NOVA program, yet I suspect was critical in keeping the men focused.

The other thing, not mentioned or shown, was that many of the rescued miners were wearing a certain T-shirt when they came up in the rescue capsule. The shirts said ¡Gracias Señor! (Thank you, Lord!) on the front, and on the back was a reference to Psalm 95:4: “In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him.”

While we rejoice that God delivered these men from certain death in the depths of the earth, the media refuse to mention the faith component of this situation except for some passing references. Why does the media consistently eliminate God? I suspect it is because God isn’t politically correct, and by all means we must be PC. Will political correctness deliver this country from its troubles? I don’t think so. Let’s place our faith in God, not in man-made philosophies, and let’s acknowledge God and the role faith plays in so many lives.