Across the Pastor’s Desk

By the Rev. Todd Walsh, Grace Lutheran Church

April 14 and 15 is the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. I’ve had an interest in the ship and the story of the people connected to it since I was a kid. It’s an amazing story of human nature and a sad story of the failure of technology.

There are many stories of the people on the Titanic that stick to us. There is the heroism of so many who let others go ahead of them in lifeboats. There is the tragedy of families separated and loved ones lost and whole families lost. There is the sacrifice of crew members who tried to stem the flow of icy water and keep electrical power going as long as possible. The list goes on.

There are many stories that speak well still today. One of them is the story that played out before Titanic even sailed. It is the story of the lifeboats.

Harland and Wolff of Belfast, Ireland, built Titanic for the White Star Line. Officials at both companies knew the British Board of Trade regulations for lifeboats on ships were outdated and did not even come close to keeping up with the growing size of passenger liners. The regulations called for so many square feet of lifeboat space for the tonnage of the ship. The top end of that scale was 10,000 tons. The Titanic was 45,000 tons So the ship could have the same number of lifeboats for a ship of 10,000 tons even though it was more than four times larger. The regulations said Titanic could have lifeboat space for 960 people but carry 3,500 people. The seeds of a disaster were sown.

Two of Titanic’s designers, Thomas Andrews and Alexander Carlisle, got approval to have a new type of lifeboat davit designed that could lower four lifeboats instead of just one in the same davit. The davits would be built and installed on the Titanic.

Then came the discussion of the lifeboats themselves. Letters went back and forth between people at Harland and Wolff, the White Star Line and the Walen Davit Co. The number of lifeboats started at 64, then dropped to 48, then 32. Then came a 10-minute meeting in October of 1909. Andrews and Carlisle advocated for 64. Carlisle’s bother-in-law, Lord William Pirrie, chairman of the Board at Harland and Wolf, and Joseph Bruce Ismay, chairman of the White Star Line, made the decision. The Board of Trade regulations called for 16 boats; 20 would be installed on Titanic.

Carlisle resigned from Harland and Wolff over the lifeboat question. Andrews died on the Titanic. Pirrie missed Titanic’s maiden voyage due to illness. Ismay sailed on the Titanic and survived the sinking.

Thirty years ago the owner of the Walen Davit Co., which still operates today, released the company’s letters about the Titanic lifeboats. I heard his comments in a documentary years ago. I still remember the words: “Well, it comes down to a nasty little equation. What’s the value of a human life in money?” Titanic’s owners and builders decided it wasn’t worth the money to install lifeboats for everyone. They reasoned that they were obeying the letter of the law and there was no reason to spend more money on lifeboats. That reasoning cost 1,503 lives.

So this is an article about religion. My story here tells one tale of us answering the question, “What is the value of a human life? “

Consider what is perhaps the best known and beloved Bible verse and the answer that God gives to the question, “What is the value of a human life?” John 3.16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.”

Who has the right answer? God’s answer gives us life. May you seek God’s answers in your life and find the life that God gives.