The TITANIC—the Titan of the seas. She was the result of a dream that would end in a nightmare. J. Bruce Ismay, the President of the White Star Line, and his friend Lord James Pirrie, Chairman of Harland and Wolff Shipbuilders, were the two visionaries who would dream her into existence. In their dreams, she would be the biggest, most luxurious and fastest ship afloat. The Titanic would be outfitted with the latest in marine technology and safety equipment. Passenger comfort, too, would receive every consideration, including luxurious staterooms, elaborate dining rooms, graceful winding staircases, four passenger elevators, one of the first swimming pools on an ocean liner, a gymnasium, lounges and bars, plus other amenities making the Titanic a floating palace.
To enclose this marvel of marine engineering, a hull 882.5 feet in length and having a beam of 92 feet would be required. It would be constructed of one-inch thick steel plates rigidly fastened together with three million rivets, which in themselves weighed twelve hundred tons. Three huge propellers would drive her in her quest for speed. In the unlikely event they were needed, she was equipped with anchors having a total weight of thirty-one tons. From her keel to the top of her four familiar funnels she measured one hundred and seventy-five feet.
Everything about the Titanic was impressive, including her passenger list. It included some of the most wealthy people of 1912 and gave reason to her being called “The Millionaires’ Special.” They would enjoy every amenity on this ship of the century. The second- and third-class passengers would also enjoy comforts not previously known by that class of traveler.
On the thirty-first of May 1911, 100,000 people had shouted themselves hoarse as they excitedly watched the huge black hull slide down the well-greased incline in just 62 seconds to float free of the dry dock in which she had been conceived. On the day of her departure from Southampton, she would have a weight of 50,000 tons and be driven by 24 boilers, each fifteen feet high. They would generate 215 pounds of steam per square inch and provide 50,000 horsepower. This sovereign of the sea had been built in the Harland and Wolff Shipyard, of Belfast, over a period of three years, by approximately 10,000 men of numerous skills and trades who received an average pay of ten dollars per week.
On board this floating city was an interesting group of 2,223 people embarking on a 3,000-mile journey. The passenger list named men and women who had crossed the Atlantic on numerous occasions and others who were on their first Transatlantic voyage and were very apprehensive about it. As Ruth Blanchard shared her concerns with the Purser, he assured her the ship could not sink, as its watertight compartments would keep her afloat in the event of an accident. What he did not tell her was that many of the watertight doors did not go all the way to the underside of the deck above. So it was possible that water could actually flow from one compartment to another to do its damage. The mother of seven-year-old passenger Eva Hart had made her feelings emphatically known when she stated she felt for a ship to be declared “Unsinkable” was flying in the face of God.
In command of this technological giant was Captain Edward J. Smith, a veteran Master with forty-three years on the sea. As the Commodore of the White Star Line, he was both proud and pleased to be invited to be in command of the Titanic on her maiden voyage before he entered retirement. He had every confidence in ships of that era and had once stated he could not think of a condition that would cause such a ship to founder.
The confidence of Mrs. Albert Caldwell was less obvious. When boarding she had asked a seaman, “Is this ship really unsinkable?”—to which he confidently replied, “Madam, God Himself could not sink this ship.” Tragically, for more than 1,500 on board, that statement would prove a vain boast in only four days.
The trip aboard this luxury vessel was routine for Mr. and Mrs. Isidor Straus. As the Founder and President of the Macy Department Store organization, Mr. Straus was able to look back over life from the vantage point of success. His many business and political accomplishments had been recognized on both sides of the Atlantic. Their wealth enabled the Strauses to cross the ocean at will, but to do so on the Titanic promised to be their voyage of a lifetime. Although life had been good, it was to end very, very soon.
Aboard the Titanic were the known and the unknown, the rich and the poor, the scholars and the scoundrels. Its lengthy passenger list covered every stratum of society, wealth and influence. On the upper decks were the first-class passengers, while in descending order were the second- and third-class passengers. When disaster struck, a large group of third-class passengers, located in the bow of the ship and at its lowest point, would be deprived access to the upper decks and safety. Within that helpless group were three young Irish girls. A seaman carried out his orders by refusing to let them move up a stairway to safety; that is, until an angry young Irishman forcefully demanded he unlock the gate and let the girls through. He did so very reluctantly.
Two thousand two hundred and twenty-three people were on board this super-ship heading for New York. Today, billions like you and me are traveling a more important route, not from Southampton to New York, but from time into eternity. Unlike the Titanic, there are no class distinctions ranging from first to third class. Our God, who oversees our great journey, sees but one class traveling this route and He classifies all as sinners. It is not a very pleasant name and description, but it is true according to the Bible. In Romans 3:2323For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23), we read, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” It is an all-inclusive statement covering all of humanity. None are excluded. All on the Titanic were passengers or crew. All of us on the journey of life are sinners. As of 11:40 p.m., on April 14, 1912, all on board the Titanic would need to be saved, and so it is on our journey through life. We, too, need to be saved, not from the frigid North Atlantic, but from the eternal abode of lost sinners the Bible calls “hell.” The good news is that there is One who is both willing and able to save lost sinners like you and me. To do so, He left heaven, went to Calvary, and there died for the sins of all mankind. By personally placing your faith in Him, you can have everlasting salvation. Jesus Himself said, “He that believeth (or places his faith) on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
Not all scheduled to sail on the Titanic were as enthusiastic as those who left Southampton. As the giant vessel was about to move from her berth, a small group of stokers who had been recruited for the trip were late arriving for departure, and after arguing unsuccessfully with an officer at the gangway cursed him and stood bewildered as the ship moved smoothly into the channel. Their positions had been filled by last minute replacements who had gathered at the pier, hoping for just such an opportunity.
In contrast to their disappointment were the feelings of the family of Rev. Walter Duff when they heard of the Titanic tragedy. Six months before the Titanic was due to sail, Mr. Duff had booked passage on the unsinkable ship for his wife and four children so they could join him in America. However, the weeks of separation from her husband were too much for Mrs. Duff and she changed her booking for a ship that was sailing earlier. The family arrived in America the day the tragic news was announced. How thankful they were that God had led them to book passage on an earlier ship which had provided them with safe travel.