The Real Tragedy of the Titanic

The Titanic was a ship that initially earned fame as the largest and most luxurious ocean liner ever constructed. However, she instead came to be remembered throughout history for the tragedy that destroyed the ship.

On April 10^th, 1912, the Titanic left on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England with the intent of arriving in New York seven days later.

Instead, four days later, on April 14^th, 1912, disaster would strike. Earlier in the day, ships in the area reported that there were numerous large ice masses in the ocean and warned that ships should proceed with caution. However, the captain of the Titanic ignored the warnings and plowed ahead on the voyage, believing that his ship was unsinkable because it had been so well constructed and able to sustain any amount of damage.

Several hours later, the Titanic struck a massive iceberg, causing the entire ship to sink. Approximately three hours later, on April 15, 1912 at 2:45 in the morning, the Titanic came to her final resting place on the Atlantic Ocean floor just south of Newfoundland, Canada.

As the Titanic was sinking, many of the passengers were able to put on a life jacket, but they could not find an available lifeboat. On the Titanic, there were only twenty lifeboats aboard; enough to hold around 1,178 people which is about half of what was required to fully evacuate the 2,228 people on the ship. Most of the lifeboats when lowered into the ocean were only partially full; some were actually half-empty!

The passengers jumped or fell into the ocean, left floating in the frigid waters, crying into the night for help. Instructions had been given that the women and children were to board the lifeboats first; however they were ignored as the men shoved them aside to secure their own safety.

Again, there was room in the lifeboats for hundreds of them! That is why their fate is perhaps the most shocking human tragedy of that heart rending night when over 1,500 people died. Equally tragic, a large number of men were reported as survivors while a large number of women and children perished in the disaster.

Though those in the water continued to cry out for someone to rescue them, the people in the lifeboats just kept rowing away. They thought the rescue was too risky. So out of twenty lifeboats, only one finally turned back, in time to save only six passengers.

Three days later when the funeral ships arrived from Nova Scotia, they were greeted by a ghostly sight; 306 life jacketed men, women, and children floating in the water, frozen to death.

And why did they die? Not because the Titanic sank, but because the people who were already saved would not go back for the people who were not.

Jesus said; “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:15-16 NKJV)