GOD & TEXAS: Panic in Texas!
Remember the panic of 1910? Fearful people throughout Texas flooded their local churches seeking God’s forgiveness and mercy. Homeowners were stuffing cracks and keyholes hoping to prevent deadly gasses from entering. Others sought protection in anti-comet medications that were sold as “an elixir for escaping the wrath of the heavens.”
Named after Sir Edmond Halley, an Oxford mathematician, Halley’s Comet established an orbit of passing the earth approximately every 75 years. Even so, panic often accompanied its arrival. In 79 A.D. the comet was accused of causing the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the destruction of Pompeii. English historians blamed the Comet for causing the Black Plague in 1665.
There was distress in religious circles, too. A 1997 NASA news release regarding the coming of the Hale-Bopp Comet repeated the legend that Pope Callixtus III excommunicated Halley’s Comet in 1456 as an “instrument of the devil!” He reportedly ordered the Ave Maria to be repeated three times a day instead of twice, and to the prayer was added, “Lord save us from the devil, the Turk, and the comet.”
Much of the angst in 1910 could be blamed on French astronomer Nicolas Camile Flammarion. Flammarion theorized that the tail of Halley’s Comet was filled with toxic gasses that may well “snuff out all life on the planet.” This absurdity led to the promulgation of scam artists selling bogus life-saving tonics, pills, and anti-comet umbrellas!
During the passage of Halley’s Comet on May 19, 1910, fears were exacerbated when a 500-pound meteorite crashed into a field outside Charleston, Texas. No one was hurt, but people came from miles around to see it. Today, the meteorite is safely housed in the Patterson Memorial Delta County Museum.
Looking back, the main victim of panic was common sense. We may scoff at the hysteric response of people living in 1910. But folks living in modern times had their own attacks on sound judgment. Kids in 1952 were taught to duck and cover under their desks in case of a nuclear attack.
In 1999, the Y2K bug was projected to create havoc in computer networks worldwide. We were told to shut down our devices to mitigate the pending catastrophe. In 2003, Homeland Security raised the threat level to Orange fearing a chemical or biological attack. The government directed families to prepare a “disaster supply kit” including duct tape to seal off windows and doors.
History is awash with failed human wisdom. We think we can fix any real or perceived situation with our arrogant intelligence. Or, as Abraham Maslow said, “When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”
The truth is that “the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Corinthians 1:25 ESV). We must learn to “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5 ESV).
Trust God. He offers better protection than duct tape and anti-comet umbrellas!
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