GOD & TEXAS: Locomotives collide
Come and see the “Duel of the Iron Monsters” as two 35- ton locomotives crash into each other at a combined speed of ninety miles per hour! What could possibly go wrong?
In the 1890’s, huge steam locomotives rumbled across Texas pulling cars painted with advertising and filled with freight and passengers. To attract customers, various promotional schemes were attempted, with mixed results. One of the most outrageous proposals was hatched by William George Crush, an employee of the Missouri Kansas & Texas Railroad (M.K.& T) or “Katy.”
Marketing invited people to watch two aging locomotives, each pulling six boxcars, crash into each other. At the point of collision, a grandstand was erected with an accompanying county fair style midway. It offered food service, cigar stands, game booths, and a platform for preachers and medicine shows. One locomotive was painted green, the other red, as they traveled state-wide publicizing the event located 15 miles north of Waco.
Overnight, the staging area was transformed into Texas's largest town, dubbed “Crush City.” An estimated crowd of 50,000 people packed the area on Sept. 15, 1896, overwhelming predictions. At 5 p.m., the two “iron monsters” raced towards each other at full throttle.
People cheered at the initial noise of the crash. Unfortunately, the boilers of the demolished engines exploded, spewing boiling steam and hot metal shrapnel into the crowd. Few could escape the horror. Three spectators died, and dozens were critically injured.
The great Crash at Crush illustrates the moral collision happening today between Biblical values and the perversions of the world. The late Dr. Billy Graham said, “We sense that something is about to happen. We know that things cannot go on as they are. History has reached an impasse. We are now on a collision course. Something is about to give.”
The soul of our nation is being threatened by those who oppose accepted Biblical values. The ongoing conflict between right and wrong is not without damage to seemingly innocent bystanders. Families are being separated, friendships are breaking, and the moral schism in the nation is growing.
The prophecy of Isaiah 5:20 (LB) is being fulfilled: “They say that what is right is wrong and what is wrong is right; that black is white and white is black; bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter.” Jesus exposed the problem in Matthew 22:29 KJV – “Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.” When we turn our backs on the Word of God, society worsens.
This moral collision can be stopped if we will return to the faith in God as spoken by former president and native Texan Dwight D. Eisenhower: “Without God there could be no American form of government, nor an American way of life. Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first, the most basic, expression of Americanism. Thus, the founding fathers of America saw it, and thus with God's help, it will continue to be.”
Stop the moral collision – return to God!
For more inspirational reading please visit:
To purchase the book GOD and TEXAS by David G. Rose visit: