Once More into the Depths

The miners' tragedy in Sago, W.Va., struck an ancient vein of dread and hope

When Jesus died, so the Gospels say, they shut him up in a cave. He descended into hell. On the third day, his disciples found the stone to his tomb rolled away. He had risen, defeated death, stepped from the darkness into the light.

When the families of 12 miners trapped in a Sago, W.Va., coal mine found out last week that their loved ones had not survived, after being mistakenly told that they had, it was a cruel inversion of the resurrection story. For about three hours, their husbands, fathers and sons were, in their minds, brought back to life....

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