All language subtitles for The UnXplained Special Presentation S01E23 1080p WEB h264-EDITH_track3_[eng]

WILLIAM SHATNER:
A sacred artifact,

imbued with divine power.

Holy relics
that can heal the sick.

And ten deadly plagues sent
by the hand of God.

To billions of people
around the world,

the Bible is a sacred text,

believed to be
directly inspired by God.

But some events recorded in
holy scripture defy explanation,

and raise
profound mysteries of faith.

For instance,

does the evil entity
referred to as Satan

actually exist?

And can humans really channel

divine forces
to perform miracles?

Well, that is what
we'll try and find out.

♪ ♪

High atop a plateau overlooking
the Allegheny River

sits Saint Anthony's Chapel.

Every day, Christians
from all over the world pass

beneath its tall spires
and rounded arches

to participate
in devotion and prayer.

However, it's not the outside
of Saint Anthony's Chapel

that makes it such
an inspiring destination...

...but rather the inside.

Because within this church lies
something that is quite unusual.

A collection
of thousands of bones

that once belonged
to Catholic saints.

FATHER NICHOLAS VASKOV:
When you come here

and you walk in and you see

these beautiful gold
or brass reliquaries

and just how vast
the collection is,

which include anything
from part of an arm bone

or a leg bone,

to the skulls
and the full skeletons,

it really is just overwhelming.

At Saint Anthony Chapel
there are over 5,000 relics

and this collection is second
only to the Vatican.

So here at Saint Anthony's,
it really is a unique experience

to come and see
the relics of saints.

SHATNER:
The relics of Saint Anthony,

Saint Demetrious,

Saint Stephana

and Saint Theodore
among many others

are kept
in Saint Anthony's Chapel.

JONATHAN YOUNG:
Saint Anthony's is
quite a place.

They have items that come

from the four corners
of the world,

mostly the Holy Land,

and they're all protected there,

and we can see these relics.

You can see
a little of the holy there

in a tooth or a piece of skull,

which is a relic,
a piece of a saint.

A relic that you can actually
look at and be close to,

that's like a little bit of God
right there in the chapel.

SHATNER:
Millions of Christians consider

holy relics to be sacred

and it's well-known that
the bones of many saints are

preserved in cathedrals
throughout the world.

But how did such
a vast collection of relics

end up in a chapel
in Pittsburgh?

VASKOV: What makes
the collection of relics here

particularly unique

is the way in which they were
obtained by Father Mollinger,

who built the chapel.

He obtained them
in the late 1880s

because there were people
who just thought

that the relics had no value
and things were being discarded.

Father Mollinger had
a network of people in Europe

who were preserving the relics

and he would go
and retrieve them himself.

We have pilgrimages come in

at least once a week
if not more.

And what a gift it is
to be able to welcome them

and share this treasure
that we have here.

♪ ♪

SHATNER:
Each and every relic is
enclosed with a wax seal,

both to ensure its authenticity

and to protect it from those

who might wish to tamper
with the holy remains.

But why are holy relics

so coveted and revered
in the first place?

Why go to
such extraordinary lengths

to preserve these ancient bones?

KEN JEREMIAH:
All throughout Europe,
in churches,

you'll see these
bejeweled skeletons

adorned with gold, silver,
and expensive jewels,

that really look like
they're works of art

but strange works of art.

And the whole purpose
of this is because

there is this idea,
especially in Christianity,

that there is this inherent
spiritual power

that infuses the remains,

and that spirit has
to be honored.

KATHLEEN McGOWAN:
The bones of saints
and martyrs in Christianity are

of exceptional value,

and extraordinary power

according
to Christian tradition.

It was believed
that when a saint was

murdered for their beliefs

that their bones became
infused with their sanctity,

the essence of their grace.

ROBERT CARGILL: Holy relics,
specifically skeletal relics,

stem from this tradition

that the bones themselves
possess power.

And this comes from the Bible.

You have a story
in Second Kings,

in the Hebrew Bible,
in the Old Testament

of a burial procession.

And they were doing a burial,

and they saw
some invaders coming.

And they just threw the body

on top of the bones
of the prophet Elisha

which were already
lying on the ground

and as soon as the dead body
touched the bones of Elisha,

they came back to life.

So, obviously,
the bones of Elisha have

some life-giving property.

McGOWAN:
We also have stories
from the very beginning

of Christianity
about miracles related

to the bones
of different saints.

The bones of Saint Lazarus,
for example--

who was raised
from the dead by Jesus--

were highly coveted.

And there are legends
in Provence

that the bones of Lazarus were
brought in to people

who were sick and dying

and that utilizing the bones
in the presence of these people

with the right
kind of prayers would then

heal them
of this near-fatal illness.

TOK THOMPSON: There was a huge,
lucrative market

in medieval Europe
for saints' bones,

and different cathedrals
would be vying with each other

about who could have
the most important relics.

So even today, if you go
to the cathedrals of Europe,

any good cathedral will have

a few body parts
in there of saints.

SHATNER:
Ancient relics that can
channel the power of God?

For some, that idea is
a little hard to believe.

In fact, there are
many skeptics who claim

that supposed holy relics are
not even the actual bones

of Christian saints.

And yet, some of these relics
have been proven

to be quite authentic.

Of all the holy relics
that exist from the saints...

...perhaps
the most fascinating is

the skull of Mary Magdalene.

The relics and the skull
of Mary Magdalene have been

kept on display

in the Basilica of Saint-Maximin
in the southwest of France

since about the fourth century

and have been dated
and carbon-dated

and examined in a number
of different ways.

So we're pretty clear
that these are actually

truly the relics
of Mary Magdalene.

Now because
Mary Magdalene was present

for the resurrection
of Jesus Christ,

her relics were
considered to have

even more power and importance
than perhaps any other saint.

There was an understanding
that you could even potentially

bring somebody
back from the dead

with the relics
of Mary Magdalene.

There have been miracles
recorded for centuries

from people who were

in the presence
of Magdalene's relics,

and many people believe
that you could benefit

from the extraordinary sanctity

that was said to rest
in her bones.

And people who go
to revere her skull have

incredibly powerful
emotional experiences with it.

It really radiates a type
of grace and a spirituality.

And people walk away
from it sobbing.

People fall to their knees.

VASKOV: I've heard
many stories of people

who trust with all their heart

that the encounter they had
with the relics of saints

brought about healing
in their life.

In fact,
over in the Chapel Museum,

there are crutches and canes

and things that-that people
were able to cast aside

because they were healed.

If someone would doubt
whether this is real,

whether this is authentic,

I would just invite them

to talk to someone whose life,
even in the slightest way,

was made better

or made different
because of their encounter

with the saints

through holy relics.

SHATNER: To this day,
holy relics continue

to fascinate people
all over the world

and are held sacred
by billions of faithful.

But not all mysteries
of faith concern

objects that can be
seen in person.

Some have been lost to history,

like an ancient Jewish artifact

that was said
to have the power...

to destroy nations.

SHATNER: Every December,
millions of Jewish people

all over the world come together

to celebrate an eight-day
festival known as Hanukkah.

According to tradition,

during the holiday,

the Jewish faithful
light a candle each night

on a special candelabra,
called a menorah.

This sacred practice is referred
to as the Festival of Lights,

and it has been performed
for more than 2,000 years.

While Hanukkah is a happy,
family celebration,

the menorah actually
commemorates

an ancient Hebrew relic
that according

to the Old Testament
of the Bible

stood five feet tall,
was made out of solid gold,

and was said to be imbued

with the power of God.

TZADOK:
The Temple Menorah
is a sacred treasure.

The original Menorah was built

in the same time that was
the Ark of the Covenant.

The laws of the candelabra,
the Menorah, were very precise.

Those artifacts built
in the days of Moses

had a special power to them.

Not symbolically, but actually.

SHATNER:
Under God's instruction,
the holy Temple Menorah

was used to light a sacred place
of worship for the Israelites,

and was constructed
with seven branches

to represent
the seven days of creation.

Today, the menorah
used during Hanukkah

has nine branches to memorialize

one of the ancient relic's
great miracles.

We know from history that,
in the second century,

before the Common Era,

the Greek empire
came into the land of Israel.

When the Greeks came,
they defiled the Temple,

and all of the sacred oil

used for the lighting
of the Menorah were destroyed.

AMIR HUSSAIN:
A group of Jews
who are under occupation revolt,

and they're able
to overcome the Greeks.

They're able
to reconsecrate the Menorah.

Except, of course,
they don't have enough oil

that you use as the fuel.

They have oil for the lamp
to light for one day.

Miraculously,
the lamp lights for eight days,

which, when we think about it,

doesn't seem like
such a big miracle.

But if you think about it,
from a Jewish point of view,

if nature is under
the control of God,

this is one of the signs
of God's favor.

SHATNER:
For even more dramatic evidence
of the Menorah's divine power,

some point to the fact that,
throughout history,

anyone who tampered
with this sacred relic

suffered dire consequences.

COLLINS:
In AD 70,

the Romans sacked Jerusalem,

and they carried off
all of the treasures

of the temple to Rome.

And this is celebrated

in the so-called
Arch of Titus in Rome.

You can actually see
on this relief,

the actual Menorah
being carried away.

And it's said that, thereafter,

Rome was sacked
by the Vandals in 455 AD.

The Vandals take the Menorah
back to Carthage.

And then,
that's sacked by the Byzantines.

And so, everyone that gets this,

at some point,
their empire gets destroyed.

And is there a sense of,
"Oh, is this because

God's providence
isn't with these people?"

TONY McMAHON:
The Menorah ended up
in Constantinople,

the capital
of the Byzantine Empire.

But apparently, the Jewish
residents of Constantinople

warned the emperor
that the Jewish God

does not like his treasure
being held by other people,

and the emperor
gets rid of the Menorah.

COLLINS: It was felt
that having the Menorah,

this item of incredible
divine power there,

was gonna bring destruction.

And thereafter, it vanishes.

SHATNER:
Could the Temple Menorah
actually have divine powers?

For now, we have only

the historical accounts
to consider,

as the Menorah has been lost
for more than a thousand years.

However, according
to one incredible theory,

the Menorah
might still exist today

and it may actually be hidden

deep beneath Vatican City,
in Rome.

COLLINS:
People have believed since
medieval times that the Menorah,

and also,
the Ark of the Covenant,

were kept in a cave,

beneath the actual site
of the Vatican itself,

suggesting that they were
hiding the Menorah,

and that this may well
have remained here

through to modern times.

Of course, the Vatican denies

actually possessing
this holy relic,

so we can only but speculate

on whether it is or isn't
still there today.

But if the Vatican does
still possess the Menorah,

why would they want to keep it?

Is it something to do
with the divine power

that it's thought to hold?

SHATNER:
Is it possible
that the Menorah,

and also,
the Ark of the Covenant,

are locked behind closed doors
at the Vatican?

And if so,
have these holy artifacts

been hidden because their powers
should not be tampered with,

as some believe?

If the blessing of God
was upon this sacred artifact,

then the blessing of God remains
upon this sacred artifact.

And indeed, those who would seek

to violate that "sacredity"

or dishonor it,

would indeed become subject
to the wrath of God,

which is not something
anyone would want to incur.

SHATNER:
The Holy Land.

For thousands of years,

religious pilgrims
of many faiths

have come to this sacred city
to express

their devotion to God.

But just outside
the walls of Jerusalem

lies the Valley of Hinnom,

an ancient place
of unholy worship

where evil deeds
were performed long ago

in honor of God's enemy Satan.

In the Book of Jeremiah,
God reports through his prophet

that people outside Jerusalem,

in a place called
the Valley of Hinnom,

are sacrificing their sons
and, also, their daughters,

and God explicitly says,

"I never asked you
to do this satanic ritual,"

and expresses that he's angry,
that there's going to be

a terrible punishment for this.

Historically speaking,
in the days of the Bible,

not everybody
was faithful to the Lord.

Satanism influenced
the Israelite community.

And what
they would do, literally,

was they'd create
a big pit of fire,

and they actually
would sacrifice

their firstborn male
through the fire.

This was performed
in the Valley of Hinnom,

which is actually the Hebrew
word today for "hell."

SHTANER:
What can explain
the shocking events

that took place
in the Valley of Hinnom

thousands of years ago?

Was it simply the result
of human wickedness?

Or is it possible that, as
the biblical accounts suggest,

Satan and his demons
were and still are

real entities that have
the power to influence people?

MIKKI BROCK:
Some people think of Satan
as "Beelzebub"

or "Lucifer"
or the "Prince of Darkness"

or "the evil one" or "Old Nick."

And some of these names
come from scripture.

A lot of them
come from folklore.

And if you think of Satan
as this ubiquitous figure

who's constantly tormenting
and tempting people,

then it makes sense
that the devil can be known

by all of these
different nicknames.

Is there really
a character of the Satan?

Well, the definition of that
is going to differ

between the major
world religions.

But fear of an eternal damnation

in the afterlife
has always been sufficient

to keep people religious,

and in line with the beliefs
of their religious clerics,

who warn them
that failure to comply

will lead to an eternity
of suffering and damnation.

Or in other words, the stories
from which this developed

were to teach moral lessons.

LAYCOCK:
Throughout history,
many religions have

interpreted the world
through the lens of having

a figure of evil, Satan,
who's responsible

for evil in the world.

According to
Christian tradition,

Satan was one
of the most powerful

and beautiful of the angels.

He rebelled against God,

a third of the angels
sided with Satan

and there was a war in heaven,

which Satan lost and
was cast down into hell.

Satan is the embodiment of evil,
a fallen angel

who tempts you to not
follow your best values.

He is a god of sorts,

and he can offer
something like that to us,

great knowledge,
control, mastery.

The stuff of transcendence.

Of course,
it will cost us everything.

After all, this is not
a straight shooter.

This is not somebody
who's going to tell the truth.

His job is to tempt you.

BADER:
Satan is believed to have
tried to tempt Jesus

when he was in the desert

with visions
of earthly delights.

So, Satan is continually,
throughout the Bible,

someone trying to draw people
from God to evil.

But the idea of Satan
flows throughout history

and across religions.

There is Mara in Buddhism,

who is a demonic king,
an entity representing evil,

and therefore,
would tend to take on

very frightening forms
which oftentimes

are mixtures
of human and animal.

There is Iblis,

who is the Islamic
representation of Satan.

So, we see this figure of Satan,

a singular entity
that is in charge of evil,

across religions and over time.

SHATNER:
Does this universal belief

in an evil,
tempting enemy of God

suggest that Satan,
by whatever name he's called,

is actually real?

According to one
of the most important

spiritual leaders in the world,

the answer is an emphatic "yes."

Pope Francis
publishes a statement

which contains a dire warning

for those who don't believe
in the existence of Satan.

The pope declared that:

Pope Francis has spoken more
about the reality of Satan

than the previous popes have.

And he often speaks about Satan
as a real person, of course.

And also, that he said,
"Don't try to argue with Satan.

"Don't get into a dialogue
with Satan because

he'll outfox you,"
which is good advice.

BROCK:
The current pope,
who people usually think of

as being this
sort of progressive figure,

he talks about the powers
of Satan as a literal entity.

But the devil is
still a very powerful force

who sort of lurks in
the bounds of our imagination.

BADER:
It's a common misconception

amongst academics
and secular people

that the devil
is an outmoded idea,

that it went away
in the Middle Ages,

and that couldn't be
further from the truth.

Very recent data
from the United States

shows that over
half of Americans

believe that the devil
is a real entity,

not merely an idea.

LAYCOCK:
I think that our ideas
about things

like supernatural evil
tend to depend

on the situation we're in

and what's happening to us
on a given day.

And ultimately, many people
say they absolutely believe

in the existence of Satan.

Whether you believe
Satan is actually real

or merely a symbol of evil,
the historical importance

of this supernatural figure
is undeniable.

The same can also be said

about a series
of devastating cataclysms

recorded in the Old Testament,

when the ancient Egyptians
were punished

by the powerful force...

of ten deadly plagues.

SHATNER:
At a staggering 4,130 miles,

this river that winds through
the deserts of northern Africa

is considered to be
the longest in the world.

In ancient times,

the Nile was the center
of the Egyptian civilization.

But the Nile
is perhaps most famous

for being the site
of the Plagues of Egypt--

a miraculous series of events

that is recorded
in the Book of Exodus.

HUSSAIN:
In the Book of Exodus,
the chosen people of God,

the Israelites, are in Egypt,

and they've become
enslaved by Pharaoh.

And so here's God who sends
Moses to Pharaoh saying,

"Let my people,
my chosen people, go."

Pharaoh, of course, isn't
going to let his workforce go.

And so God sends
these ten plagues.

SHATNER:
As the story goes,

God turned the water
of the Nile River to blood.

When that didn't convince
the Pharaoh,

God rained down frogs
from the sky.

And he sent lice,
flies, pestilence,

and boils to harm
the people and animals.

Then God summoned a mighty
thunderstorm of hail and fire,

followed by a swarm of locusts
that covered the land of Egypt.

When Pharaoh
still didn't listen,

God created a darkness
that lasted three days

to fill the people's hearts
with dread.

Finally,
God sent the Angel of Death

to claim Egypt's firstborn sons,

including
the Pharaoh's oldest son.

Only then did the Pharaoh

finally set Moses
and his people free.

CARGILL:
According to the Bible,

God is clearly responsible
for the plagues.

However, you might
be able to understand

how the Pharaoh
might see these plagues

as coincidence,

as naturally occurring
phenomenon.

But when so many plagues
occur back to back,

then he's convinced.

It's a story about how God
wants people to be free,

and not oppressed,
and not exploited.

SHATNER:
Were the ten plagues
really acts of God?

Or can they be explained
by other means?

Many biblical historians agree

that before that question
can even be answered,

it must first be established
whether the ten plagues

actually happened at all.

There exists
an ancient Egyptian text

called the Ipuwer Manuscript...

...written at the time
that the Exodus

is supposed to have occurred

that tells us
that Egypt was afflicted

by what the Bible
describes as plagues.

It talks about the river Nile
turning blood-red,

it talks about plagues
of flies and locusts,

it talks about
boils on people's skins

and it talks about
cattle dying in the fields.

So, according
to the Ipuwer Manuscript,

the plagues of the Exodus
could actually have happened.

SHATNER:
But if the Plagues of Egypt
did, in fact, take place,

then how did so many
different calamities occur

in such a relatively
short period of time?

Some researchers suggest
that a natural disaster

may have been
the cause of the plagues.

PHILLIPS:
What's fascinating is
that many of the plagues

described in the Book of Exodus

bear an uncanny resemblance

to the effects
of a volcanic eruption.

For example,
when volcanoes go off,

you get volcanic ash clouds
that cover the skies,

day turns to night.

And then you get
something called iron oxide,

which is a red substance

that can be
thrown out of volcanoes,

and when it goes into the water,
turns the water red.

You might think
that frogs and flies

are nothing to do
with a volcanic eruption.

But what happens
is when a volcano goes off,

the larger predators are killed

by inhaling the volcanic dust.

And because of this,

smaller animals
that would have been eaten

by the larger predators survive.

So you end up
with millions of frogs,

flies, locusts, other insects,

that you wouldn't
have had otherwise,

just like the plagues
in the Bible.

MICHIO KAKU: If you have
the atmospheric anomalies

created by the eruption
of this volcano,

all of a sudden, everything
you're accustomed to seeing,

night and day,
and cycles of temperature

get thrown out of kilter

because of a major eruption
that has taken place.

That may have caused
the ten plagues

mentioned in the Bible
that afflicted Egypt.

SHATNER:
Is it possible
that the Plagues of Egypt

were caused by fallout
from a volcanic eruption?

Perhaps.

But what could explain
the tenth and final plague,

the death of Egypt's firstborn?

HUSSAIN:
There's no easy explanation
for this angel of the Lord

who slays
the firstborn of Egypt,

or why this happens,
other than this is God saying,

"Okay, here's the last straw."

But oftentimes,
the point of the story

isn't to talk about
scientific truths.

It's to talk about
human relationships.

It's about what do we do

when we're not living
in right relationship with God,

or with each other?

The story of the ten plagues
persists

because it's not about
the science of the miracle.

It's about freedom.

When God successfully gets
the Hebrews out of Egypt,

that's when they turn
to the heavens and say,

"God works in mysterious ways."

SHATNER:
In northeastern Egypt,

there's a 120-mile stretch
of the Red Sea

that separates Africa
from the Sinai Peninsula.

In addition to being one
of the busiest shipping routes

in the world,

the Red Sea
is also widely believed

to be the site of a miracle

that continues
to capture our imagination.

CARGILL: Following
the story of the Exodus,

Moses successfully gets
the Hebrews out of Egypt,

and they take off, but then
the Pharaoh, in his anger,

and in the realization
that he's lost his free labor,

says, "I changed my mind,
go get those guys."

And so, now the Hebrews
find themselves on the run

with this massive
body of water ahead of them

understood to be the "Red Sea,"

and the Egyptian army
behind them.

SHATNER:
According to the Bible,

as the Egyptian soldiers were
closing in on the Israelites,

Moses held out his staff
across the waters,

and God parted the Red Sea.

The Israelites are able
to walk across the sea.

And then Pharaoh's army comes
rushing in after them,

and the sea closes in,
collapses,

and kills them.

And so the story gets resolved

by Moses and the Israelites
escaping

through the miracle of God
with the parting of the Red Sea.

SHATNER: Biblical scholars point
to the parting of the Red Sea

as a story that is meant
to show that the power of God

can bring salvation
to those who are downtrodden.

HUSSAIN:
The parting of the Red Sea.

It's this amazing kind of
story because it very much

is this vengeful God...

...who has
this extraordinary power

saying, "Okay, here's
the reward for the righteous."

Moses and his people
are able to get free.

"Here's the punishment
for the wicked."

You know, Pharaoh and his army.

SHATNER: On the surface,
the parting of the Red Sea

may seem far-fetched

compared to other acts of God

that resemble
natural occurrences,

such as the Great Flood

or the ten plagues.

But there are some researchers
who believe

that there is evidence
to suggest

that the literal parting
of an enormous body of water

is actually possible.

And they claim a clue can be
found in the way the Bible says

God used his power
to part the Red Sea.

The biblical account
of the parting of the water

is told in Exodus Chapter 14.

And there's two key verses.

I will read them.

"Then Moses stretched out
his hand over the sea,

"and the Lord drove the sea back
by a strong east wind all night

and made the sea dry land,
and the waters were divided."

So there's this detail
in the account

that says how the wind blew,
and the water shifted,

and the dry land emerged
from the sea bottom.

SHATNER:
But what was the mysterious wind

that God used
to part the Red Sea?

Well, according
to some scientists,

it could have been
an unusual weather phenomenon

that is known as

"wind setdown."

When a strong wind blows
on a body of water,

the body of water shifts

all the water in one direction.

Now, on one side
it's called storm surge,

because the waters
are gonna build up there.

On the other side,
the level drops,

and that's called wind setdown.

Then when the wind stops,

the waters come back again

just like the Bible says.

One theory is
that Moses could have timed it.

He knew when the next
rush of water would come in.

And the Egyptians
would blindly walk

into the trap and get flooded.

DREWS: This kind of event
happens only by hourly timing.

And the Bible reports that God
told Moses to be at this place

and at this time and be ready
for what's gonna happen.

So the mystery here
is really in the timing.

SHATNER: Could the parting of
the Red Sea have been the result

of a weather phenomenon?

Some scientists believe
that it's plausible,

particularly since there
are multiple historical accounts

of strange wind activity

in this area.

In the year 1798,

Napoleon and his troops

were crossing
over the Red Sea area.

But then
water suddenly rushes in.

-(waves crashing)
-And Napoleon's troops

almost drowned as a consequence.

So some people think
that what happened

to Napoleon
and his troops might have

happened on a much larger scale

to the Egyptian army.

DREWS:
There is an account from 1882

where British General
Major Tulloch

was surveying along
the shores of the Suez Canal

in the eastern Nile Delta.

He describes how the wind blew
all night long from the east,

and he had to go into his tent
and hunker down.

The next morning,
he reports that the natives

were walking around
on dry ground

where the previous day
they had been in their boats.

Immediately,
it flashed to his mind,

this is like
Moses and the Israelites

and the parting of the Red Sea.

ROBERT RUSSELL:
The miracles of the Bible

in some way reflect our...

limited knowledge
of the way the world works.

People didn't have the science

to describe
the underlying events in nature,

and even now,
we don't have enough

knowledge to know
why some events happen.

The point is that scientific
knowledge of natural processes

doesn't exclude
God bringing them about.

God acts through these events.

SHATNER:
2,400 feet below ground,

dozens of miners toil

in the sweltering darkness
of the San Jose Copper Mine.

(miners shouting, clamoring)

Suddenly,
the earth above them shifts

and dislodges a boulder the size
of a 45-story building.

The massive boulder
comes crashing down,

causing the mine shaft
to collapse,

and blocking the ramp
that leads up to the surface.

MARC ARONSON:
There were 33 men in the mine
at the time of the accident.

On the surface,

they knew that there had been
a terrible accident.

But it was not clear

what that meant
for the men down below.

SIMON ROMERO:
The outside world had no idea

if they were alive or dead.

People were really on edge.

They were watching this around
the world on television.

It's really something
that people were following

very, very closely.

SHATNER:
Search and rescue teams quickly
began to drill into the rock

to try and free the miners,

but progress was slow.

For days,
the world watched in suspense

as rescuers desperately

continued to drill
in search of the miners.

ARONSON: It was nearly
impossible to find the men.

Because nobody can see
through the earth.

And the maps were outdated.

And that meant,

as one of the drillers said,

"We're drilling blind."

SHATNER:
Finally, after 17 long days,

one of the rescuers' drills

uncovered evidence
that, incredibly,

the miners were still alive.

The miners had found
some red paint

so that when
the drill came down through,

they could paint
on the drill to show

that "we are alive."

In the drill, they sent
a note out that said in Spanish,

"Estamos bien
en el refugio, los 33."

"We are okay in the refuge,
the 33 of us."

(cheering, shouting)

ROMERO: And that really
just changed everything.

SHATNER: To combat
their feelings of helplessness,

the trapped miners turned
to their last remaining refuge.

Their faith.

ROMERO: One of the things
that really struck me about

why they were able
to make it, uh, for so long

was their religious beliefs.

They really felt like

prayer was
one of their strategies

to help them
make it through this.

ITALO BROWN:
Literature documents

that faith is a significant
factor in survivability.

Sometimes it's individual faith.

Sometimes it is
faith of a community.

The hard part is,
there is no science

that we have
that absolutely defines it,

but faith has

real tangible results
for many people.

RAMANI DURVASULA:
For the Chilean miners,
many of them were men of faith

as part
of their day-to-day lives.

So praying together,
having that collective energy

was just enough hope to keep
a person going for another day.

SHATNER:
After 69 days,

the rescuers finally created

a hole big enough
to extract the miners.

Then as the world waited
with bated breath...

(cheering, clamoring)

...the men were brought up
one by one.

And astonishingly,

all 33 miners

made it out alive.

(cheering, clamoring)

But perhaps
what's even more incredible,

is that they were rescued
two months sooner

than everyone expected.

And the miners firmly believed

that this unexpected
turn of events

showed that a higher power

had intervened on their behalf.

ROMERO: The power of prayer
played a crucial role

in allowing these 33 miners
to make it.

It's even been said
that God was the 34th miner.

Um, several of the men who were
trapped down there said that.

They really felt like
their belief

in God was
why they were rescued.

Were the Chilean miners

saved by their prayers to God?

Ultimately,
it's a mystery of faith.

And just one of many examples

in a long line
of miraculous events

attributed to the intervention
of the Almighty.

For thousands of years,
people have believed

that a divine being,
beyond human comprehension,

is present in our world.

And just like sacred acts
portrayed in the Bible,

or mysterious events we can
only describe as "blessed,"

the power of faith remains

unexplained.

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