ENTOMBED 700 metres beneath the surface of the earth, 33 Chilean miners – some showing signs of depression and “severe dermatological problems” – each got a gift that’s really going to solve all their problems: a miniature Bible.
Carlos Parra shows off the Bibles before dropping them down a shaft to the trapped miners
According to this report, Carlos Parra, an evangelical preacher, arrived at the San Jose mine in Copiapo with 33 miniature Bibles that he had custom-manufactured to fit the dimensions of the small hole connecting to the trapped miners.
The miners were trapped by an August 5 collapse, and rescuers established contact with them by drilling a 6-inch-wide (15-centimeter-wide) hole to the shelter. That hole and two others are now lifelines, delivering supplies, communications and fresh air to the miners while they wait for an escape tunnel to be drilled.
Hat tip: BarrieJohn
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
August 31st, 2010 at 9:16 am
Evangelists always target those who’re at a low ebb.
At least the miners won’t go short of bumwad now.
August 31st, 2010 at 9:17 am
So rather than send the trapped miners books on how to survive below ground the zealots have given them the most useless book of all time – I suppose they could use it as lavatory paper.
Broadsword, you beat me by a minute!
O.T. Barry, some previous threads have an attack of the trolls.
August 31st, 2010 at 9:45 am
It reminds of a scene from “Deathwatch” where the xian offers to read at a mortally wounded soldier. The disdainful putdown is brilliant. Watch from about one minute in:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....re=related
August 31st, 2010 at 9:57 am
I think the pastor is to be congratulated on his thoughfulness. Toilet paper is always in short supply in such circumstances, and those packs look as if they are the ideal sheet size…
August 31st, 2010 at 10:05 am
Good ol’ christians, whenever there is a chance to ‘convert’ someone, (as history has shown normally at their weakest), they pounce.
Shameless.
The irony these parasites seem to miss is, surely the power of prayer should help? But as it DOES NOT WORK, lets just send in the bible instead.
Finally, when these miners are eventaully brought to the surface, alive, these fuckwits will claim it’s a ‘miracle’ whilst happily avoiding the fact it was their ‘god’ that caused the earth to move in the first place.
August 31st, 2010 at 11:25 am
I notice the pope is praying for them.
That’ll help.
Here’s an idea – let’s stop all the physical efforts to save them, let the prayer continue and let the miners read their new bibles, and let’s see what happens.
http://atheistblogger.com/wp-c.....8/pray.jpg
August 31st, 2010 at 11:46 am
It’s a wonder that they’re not going to lower some Jehovah’s Witnesses down to talk to them about “Jehovah God”! At least they’d be spot on when they started their : “Don’t you think things are in a dreadful state today?”
August 31st, 2010 at 11:53 am
I watched with mounting depression and exasperation the news report showing the local populace following the image of their “saint”, accompanied by the usual fanfares and other nonsense. OF COURSE they will hail the rescue as “a miracle” – it’s the way that they’ve been programmed to view things. What WOULD be a miracle, as Pete says, is if everyone stopped working, fell to their knees in prayer, and the men all came to the surface without human assistance. Even I might be converted by that!!
August 31st, 2010 at 12:07 pm
Instead of the Great Fairy in the Sky being prayed to they might ask why he got them into this hell in the first place. Six years ago I had a head on car crash; both cars write offs, myself a bit messed up, but survived and recovered thanks to safety belt and front and side air bags. A christian acquaintance said, in my son’s hearing, “There is no doubt that God saved him because he has some worthwhile purpose for him.”
My son’s reply, “You don’t suppose god could have used him for this worthwhile purpose without two cars being written off and all that pain and anxiety.”
August 31st, 2010 at 12:28 pm
You’re underselling the gift, it could come in handy, especially if the pages are soft. I think they’d have preferred a shit load of porn & whiskey myself though.
August 31st, 2010 at 2:11 pm
They should toss down some marijuana. Those bibles make for good rolling papers, and it would help the miners stay calm and relaxed until help arrives. Be more useful that way, at least.
August 31st, 2010 at 2:28 pm
Well obviously it’s too dark down there for the solar recording ones that will preach to anyone daring to line up for free rice.
This does not surprise me in the slightest.
August 31st, 2010 at 3:08 pm
If you are bored this weekend, and want some entertainment, may I recommend a video. This is a plug for a religious dvd!
A well meaning friend gave me ‘expelled’ to watch. It’s an hour and a half worth of argument for intelligent design. At the end, the argument for ID is, as you would expect, not scientifically answered.
By the way, it is edited to show R Dawkins to be the modern equivilent of Hitler, with the scientific community as the Aryan Master Race. As you would expect, the followers of ID are the plucky underdogs.
If it as not been done, I’m thinking of making a tshirt with the slogan IDiots.
August 31st, 2010 at 3:14 pm
@Tony e – I started watching that appallingly stupid and contrived film – but couldn’t get more than 45 mins in and was too annoyed at the lies. Actually if memory serves, there is a website called expelled exposed or summat – that adequately and conclusively blows their idiocy out of the water.
Also saw Religulous – which was marginally more entertaining – at leat I made it to the end – but bill maher is such a dick.
August 31st, 2010 at 3:29 pm
http://www.expelledexposed.com/
August 31st, 2010 at 3:46 pm
@Stargraves,
I made it to the end but had a headache for my trouble.
August 31st, 2010 at 4:28 pm
Well i’ve been well and trully beaten to the bibles for bog roll line, oh well
They could always take up oragami while down there though isn’t the hole big enough to send down some PSPs and a shitload of games that’ll keep them busy enough for a while.
@ broadsword, that bit in deathwatch is hilarious, deathwatch as a whole is an awesome movie for anyone who likes horror movies.
August 31st, 2010 at 6:34 pm
They have plenty of toilet paper now.
August 31st, 2010 at 6:42 pm
On each on the Bibles sent to the miners were highlighted a promised : “I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit … and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps.”
Many have found peace and hope reading that book. Maybe some of you should do the same. Those 33 miners need mental and spiritual motivation to be able to go those hard times. I have found that the Bible offers all of that and more.
Please do not mock or ridicule Christianity. True Christians respect and honor people’s free choice of conscience in matter of Religions. I respect the Atheist Religion. Please respect ours too. True Atheism is nothing else than a faith-based beleif for it is impossible to prove the none-existence of God.
On that, feel free to send your atheistic materials to those miners and see if they will be of much comfort…
In the mean time, I’ll be praying for them.
August 31st, 2010 at 8:00 pm
This is a blessing in disguise! They can burn the Bibles for heat!
August 31st, 2010 at 8:31 pm
These people are malevolently stupid. Did it never enter their empty heads to put together a package of stuff that would be really useful to a bunch of guys trapped underground, stuff that would be truly appreciated, and to include just one Bible as part of that package if they really felt the need? No, they thought it would be a much better idea to provide them with a Bible each and bugger all else.
August 31st, 2010 at 8:36 pm
I’d like to say this kind of loathsome, opportunistic evangelism was unbelievable in its lack of compassion and understanding. But sadly it isn’t. You can always rely on religiots to prey on the needy, desperate and hopeless amongst us. That’s what the hateful fuckers do best.
September 1st, 2010 at 12:19 am
A minor echo of what some religious nutcases sent to Haiti after the 7.0 earthquake. Same mentality. Or lack of.
September 1st, 2010 at 5:37 am
The miners already have a “spiritual guide”, one of them seems to be like an evangelical preacher (he isn’t oficially, but after all this be sure that evangelicals will take him as one). Sadly here in Chile the people is such a believer that everyone commends the works of every man and machine there, to GOD… and when somenthing good happens, they say “Thanks GOD” instead of “Thanks to all the workers and specialists for try to save them!”
September 1st, 2010 at 6:58 am
I wish they had dropped mines on bibles.
September 1st, 2010 at 7:34 am
It’s nice to see that these Christians are providing the miners with something to wipe their asses with. I was getting worried they’d have to endure this entire ordeal without toilet paper.
September 1st, 2010 at 7:36 am
Evangelists are plumbing new depths, and the miners have been shafted.
September 1st, 2010 at 7:57 am
Bring back the miners. Bury the bibles.
September 1st, 2010 at 9:28 am
@Nicolas Leclerc,
Surely it’s YOUR all powerful god what caused the mine to collapse, as, according to you lot (christians) everything that happens is part of his plan?
Please do enter into debate, but please do not use scripture to back up your arguments, it’s boring and predictable.
September 1st, 2010 at 9:37 am
@Nicolas Leclerc you do not respect us when you say we atheist are also a religion.
September 1st, 2010 at 9:48 am
@tony e
I can recommend this website for any visiting xians:
http://scienceblogs.com/omnibr.....wanted.php
Click on the image for full size pic.
September 1st, 2010 at 10:19 am
@ Broadsword,
Cheers for the link.
September 1st, 2010 at 11:00 am
Of course, we can all guess at which parts of the bibble Nicholas LeClerc’s read… I wonder how much spiritual comfort he draws from the destruction of the canaanites, malakites, ammonites… etc. And then there’s that weird bit about god (for no apparent reason) trying to kill Moses, but being appeased by the offer of his (or was it his son’s) foreskin. God’s like that.
He likes a bit of scrag end…
ZombieHunter check out ‘The Bunker’ if you liked Deathwatch. An underestimated little film, if you ask me.
September 1st, 2010 at 3:10 pm
Didnt god put them there in the first place. You cannot separate good things from bad. They are all supposed to be god’s will as far as believers feel..
So bibles are a waste of time.
I just want to wait and see if they are rescued much quicker when they have bibles.
Good idea they can use the bibles for toilet paper if they run out. Just realised that a similar remark has already been made.
September 1st, 2010 at 8:54 pm
On each on the Bibles sent to the miners were highlighted a promised : “I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit … and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps.†Many have found peace and hope reading that book.
And crushing disappointment when its fairy tale ending did NOT come about!
September 2nd, 2010 at 3:02 am
The fairy tale ending only ever comes if you have a lottery ticket. It’s another case of the religiots giving away their wholly book so they can refer to it as “the worlds best selling book”. No one’s ever actually bought one. They give them away with gay(?) abandon and hope that someone will read the wierd text and be converted to whatever version of the sky fairy belief system the bloke who sent the babbles to the miners, belongs to. The good news is, that if you read the thing, you’ll likely emerge an Athiest as it’s all so obviously total nonsense. So, it may lead to another 33 balanced Athiests. Go pastor!
September 2nd, 2010 at 4:41 am
The miners have just recieved their first hot meal in 33 days.
I’m sure the meatballs, chicken and rice arrived without dog’s intervention, who apparently only sent inedible books of little interest.
September 2nd, 2010 at 6:07 pm
hey, what’s the problem?! calm down, they need something with which to wipe their butt. Can you imagine going that long with no toilet paper? I can’t think of anything more worthy of wiping crap from someone’s butt than the pages of a bible. It’s a good thing this priest has done!
September 29th, 2010 at 6:41 pm
Thank you Nicolas for your thoughtful words. Christians do respect the rights and beliefs of others, unlike so many other religions. While many refuse to believe, God isn’t dependent on our belief in Him or our disbelief. He still Is and allows us to choose. How sad that some are so closed minded and without hope in their lives. Christians pray for these people too. If someone has never read the entire Bible and let it work in their life, how can they mock and condemn it! The many millions throughout history can’t all be wrong. Is there any other reading material that can claim the same??? At worst it is a waste of time and at best it is the hope of eternal life. Why miss out?
October 1st, 2010 at 12:35 pm
Praise God!-Thanks to Becky for saying it best. True hope is found in the Bible!
October 13th, 2010 at 10:39 pm
It is a pity that the language used is so cheap rude and nasty why are atheists so angry? Is the aanswer that atheists are afraid that it might be true?
Attacking the Christian God and accusing him of immorality is immensely problematic for those who have no objective standard of morality, yet are quick to judge. It is easy not to see their own inconsistency.
October 13th, 2010 at 11:16 pm
@ Marcus. How can giving someone a free gift of something that could be a comfort possibly “preying on the weak, needy and hopeless”. Don’t accuse christians of talking out their arse and then do it yourself.