Today is the 86th Anniversary of the Titanic disaster. On April 15, 1912, over 1,500 people perished when the “unsinkable” Titanic luxury ocean liner sank off the coast of Canada after hitting an iceberg. I heard on the news today that a church in Florida was supposed to have a “memorial service” in remembrance for the victims of the Titanic. While I’m not trying to discount the great loss of life to the Titanic victims, I wonder why this particular church is doing this. Are some of the survivors members at that church? Probably not. I believe that there are only 6 survivors still alive today. Did anyone at that church have a relative that died on the Titanic? Not likely. Has this memorial service been an on going tradition at this church to have a memorial for the Titanic or is this some type of recent step? More than likely it was just started this year. I can understand a memorial service for victims of war whether the victims were civilians or soldiers. Those people had a great impact on the outcome of history. But a memorial for the Titanic? This disaster didn’t have a major impact to the world’s history compared to the wars. Personally I think the church is having a memorial service because it is trendy. My guess is that they decided to have it because of the success of the blockbuster movie. It seems like everyone wants to get on the bandwagon to cash in on the Titanic. And yes, even churches seem to want to get into the act. While the church probably would not receive cash benefit from the service, it would receive free publicity (and obviously it already has because of the news story about the service).
I ask, why have a memorial for the Titanic? There is a danger in going along with trends of the world today. The bible speaks of this in Proverbs 14:12, which says, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Churches and individual Christians need to realize this. Churches should be the last organization to jump on something because it conforms to the trends of today. There is nothing wrong with having a memorial service for the Titanic victims. But I do question this church’s intent with this service. It seems that they are having this service for the wrong reasons. Churches should not do something because it is trendy and seems right, but because it IS right