Religions > Atheism > Miners' friend turns on God: "What in the hell has God done for us?"
| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"satyr" |
| Date: |
04 Jan 2006 12:59:14 PM |
| Object: |
Miners' friend turns on God: "What in the hell has God done for us?" |
From the very small archive of honest and rational things said by
Christians...
From:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060104/ts_nm/minerals_explosion_dc
"It hit people's hearts so hard ... One guy said what in the hell has
God done for us, but just a few minutes before that we was praising
God, because they believed that they was alive," John Casto, a friend
of the miners, said on CNN.
The sadness and fury that came after news of the 12 deaths contrasted
with earlier jubilation after a man burst into nearby Sago Baptist
Church where family members were holding vigil, shouting, "It's a
miracle, it's a miracle!" and saying the 12 men had been found alive.
News of the 12 deaths came hours after church bells pealed and friends
and family of the miners celebrated and sang hymns when word spread
that 12 miners had survived. West Virginia's governor said there were
indications within 20 minutes the initial report of 12 survivors was
wrong. Friends and family were not told for about three hours
--
satyr #1953
Chairman, EAC Church Taxation Subcommittee
Director, Gideon Bible Alternative Fuel Project
Supervisor, EAC Fossil Casting Lab
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| User: "stoney" |
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| Title: Re: Miners' friend turns on God: "What in the hell has God done for us?" |
06 Jan 2006 10:53:28 PM |
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On Wed, 04 Jan 2006 18:59:14 GMT, satyr <RsEaMtOyVrE@infidels.org> wrote
in alt.atheism
From the very small archive of honest and rational things said by
Christians...
From:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060104/ts_nm/minerals_explosion_dc
"It hit people's hearts so hard ... One guy said what in the hell has
God done for us, but just a few minutes before that we was praising
God, because they believed that they was alive," John Casto, a friend
of the miners, said on CNN.
The sadness and fury that came after news of the 12 deaths contrasted
with earlier jubilation after a man burst into nearby Sago Baptist
Church where family members were holding vigil, shouting, "It's a
miracle, it's a miracle!" and saying the 12 men had been found alive.
News of the 12 deaths came hours after church bells pealed and friends
and family of the miners celebrated and sang hymns when word spread
that 12 miners had survived. West Virginia's governor said there were
indications within 20 minutes the initial report of 12 survivors was
wrong. Friends and family were not told for about three hours
Mine tragedy ends in confusion
By Jon Hurdle Wed Jan 4, 6:56 PM ET
TALLMANSVILLE, West Virginia (Reuters) - Joy gave way to grief and anger
on Wednesday when a West Virginia coal town learned that 12 of 13 miners
trapped in a mine explosion had died, three hours after friends and
family were mistakenly told that all but one had survived.
The one man survived after being trapped since Monday's blast that sent
lethal gases through the Sago mine in central West Virginia. Randal
McCloy, 27, was conscious and being treated for a kidney problem and
remained hospitalized in critical but stable condition, doctors said.
The way the news of the dozen miners' deaths was conveyed angered many
family members who stood vigil at a nearby church gripped by
apprehension, jubilation, then despair as the reports reaching them from
the mine shifted overnight.
"I feel that we were lied to all along," said Anne Meredith, whose
father died, adding that she planned to sue the mine owner,
International Coal Group Inc.
Company officials delayed a scheduled news briefing during the day on
Wednesday before detailing the chain of events.
Ben Hatfield, president of ICG, told a news conference: "I regret the
manner in which events unfolded. Communication problems only added to
the tragedy."
Hatfield blamed the earlier report on a miscommunication, and said the
company had waited until it could determine which of the miners were
dead or alive to tell the families.
Rescuers who descended into the mine had searched tunnels cautiously
before finding the trapped miners, who had tried to escape the lethal
gases and abandoned their transport car. The rescuers "found the miners
by being drawn to the sound of moans," Hatfield said.
Hatfield said the first word received from rescuers was that 12 miners
were found alive. Officials had been told not to pass on information
unless it had been verified, but that report set off a celebration that
spread to families at the church.
The moans turned out to be from the one surviving miner.
Forty-five minutes later, a second message was sent to the rescue center
contradicting the earlier report, saying there was only one survivor,
Hatfield said.
CLINGING TO HOPE
"The immediate reaction in the command center was that report of one
survivor might be erroneous," he said. "We clung to the hope that the 11
others might be in a comatose state."
Relatives celebrated for nearly three hours before being informed there
was only one survivor.
"It hit people's hearts so hard ... One guy said what in the hell has
God done for us, but just a few minutes before that we was praising God,
because they believed that they (were) alive," John Casto, a friend of
the miners, said on CNN.
Several Wednesday morning newspapers that went to press before the truth
emerged ran front-page headlines such as "Miracle in the Mine." "Alive!
Miners beat odds" was USA Today's headline with a picture of two smiling
family members.
The men had been trapped about 13,000 feet inside the mine since 6:30
a.m. (1130 GMT) on Monday.
Doctor Lawrence Roberts at West Virginia University Hospital told a news
conference McCloy's collapsed lung had re-expanded and that he had
communicated with his wife through facial expressions and squeezing
hands.
"I think youth always helps," he said, commenting on possible reasons
why McCloy survived while his colleagues, many of whom were much older,
had died.
Terry Helms, found dead near the site of the explosion, was the first of
the missing miners to be discovered. The later discovery of the empty
transport car farther away fueled hopes the 12 other men had escaped to
an area free of toxic gases.
On Tuesday, West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin publicly called for a
"miracle." On Wednesday one sign hung outside the local Donut Shop read,
"Only one miracle."
The sign was put up by employee Jacqueline Spangler, whose uncle, Marty
Bennett, 50, was one of the mine victims.
A candlelight vigil for the victims was set to take place at the church
at 6:30 p.m. (2330 GMT)
The coal company said it would set up $2 million fund for the families
of the dead miners and called for donations.
There was no explanation for the blast in a recently closed section of
the mine, which employs about 145 miners and produces about 800,000 tons
of coal annually.
Since October, the Mine Safety and Health Administration has issued 50
citations to the Sago mine, some as recently as December 21, including
citations for accumulation of combustible materials such as coal dust
and loose coal. The agency said it would investigate the explosion.
ICG Chairman Wilbur Ross told Reuters there were no plans to close the
mine permanently and that the tragedy would not alter company plans to
develop coal production at several mines it acquired last year,
including the Sago mine.
"We will not reopen the mine until we understand the cause and whether
there was a possibility of a repeat," he said by telephone from his New
York office.
(Additional reporting by Steve James in New York)
© 2006 Reuters
--
Fundies and trolls are cordially invited to
shove a wooden cross up their arses and rotate
at a high rate of speed. I trust you'll
be 'blessed' with a cornucopia of splinters.
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| User: "Santolina chamaecyparissus" |
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| Title: Re: Miners' friend turns on God: "What in the hell has God done for us?" |
06 Jan 2006 09:45:28 PM |
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satyr wrote:
From the very small archive of honest and rational things said by
Christians...
From:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060104/ts_nm/minerals_explosion_dc
"It hit people's hearts so hard ... One guy said what in the hell has
God done for us,
Fuckin' ingrate. God put coal thousands of feet down in the earth for
us.
but just a few minutes before that we was praising
God,
Huh. Sounds like Jesus on the cross.
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