21st Century Perspectives on War: A Concept as Old as Time

Whether you consider yourself a religious person and believe in God (or some higher power) or are not affiliated with religion, everybody believes in something.  Solidiers use their beliefs to make it through everyday struggles.  After reading several milblogs, poems, memoirs, novels, and watching several movies it is suprising how many references there are to faith. 

World War One poet Siegfried Sasson makes several references to god in his poems an example of this is his ‘They’ The Bishop tells us: ‘When the boys come back
‘They will not be the same; for they’ll have fought
‘In a just cause: they lead the last attack
‘On Anti-Christ; their comrades’ blood has bought
‘New right to breed an honourable race,
‘They have challenged Death and dared him face to face.”We’re none of us the same!’ the boys reply.
‘For George lost both his legs; and Bill’s stone blind;
‘Poor Jim’s shot through the lungs and like to die;
‘And Bert’s gone syphilitic: you’ll not find
‘A chap who’s served that hasn’t found some change.
‘ And the Bishop said: ‘The ways of God are strange!’In this poem he makes a humorous connection between tragedy and God by saying “the ways of God are strange” giving solidiers a sense of security, no matter if it gets so bad and your leg gets blown off causing the rest of your life to be spent in a wheelchair, “the ways of god are strange” and that was his plan for you. Another World War One poet that makes reference to religion is Edward Thomas in his poem This is No Case of Petty Right or Wrong: This is no case of petty right or wrong
That politicians or philosophers
Can judge. I hate not Germans, nor grow hot
With love of Englishmen, to please newspapers.
Beside my hate for one fat patriot
My hatred of the Kaiser is love true:–
A kind of god he is, banging a gong.
But I have not to choose between the two,
Or between justice and injustice. Dinned
With war and argument I read no more
Than in the storm smoking along the wind
Athwart the wood. Two witches’ cauldrons roar.
From one the weather shall rise clear and gay;
Out of the other an England beautiful
And like her mother that died yesterday.Little I know or care if, being dull,
I shall miss something that historians
Can rake out of the ashes when perchance
The phoenix broods serene above their ken.
But with the best and meanest Englishmen
I am one in crying, God save England, lest
We lose what never slaves and cattle blessed.
The ages made her that made us from dust:
She is all we know and live by, and we trust
She is good and must endure, loving her so:
And as we love ourselves we hate our foe.He makes religious references for reasons comepletely different then Siegfried Sasson.  Siegfried Sasson made his references relating to individual solidiers not the country as a whole.  Edward Thomas, on the other hand, makes his references to England as a whole “God save England” it does not matter if the reference to God is for an entire country or rather just for an individual the goal is to lift the spirits of believers and both of these poems do just that. The use of religion in poems is still popular even in the present war of Iraq, Jimmy Li is a Christian in the Marines and has written a series of twenty-one religious poems during his time in Iraq.  His first was Blair’s Field Stay:Oh Lord, I hate apathy.
How I despise lukewarm!
I pray that spiritually,
To the world I won’t conform.I wake up each morning,
To find myself again in,
Radio Speakers blaring,
Iraqi Freedom mission.Everyday seems the same,
No Sundays or Saturday,
Boredom seems to make things tame,
But everyday is a Monday.I just ask Lord God Almighty,
As I stay in Al Kut,
May I serve Him mightily,
No ifs, excuses or but.

He wrote this poem, one of the first nights he was in Iraq.  Later he stated “Those days were long with little shade during the day and little sleep at night.  The poem expresses a concern I have that the long routine would make me callous or lukewarm towards God.”  Jimmy Li is not the only individual that questioned his faith during a time of war.  Elie Wiesel questioned his faith during the Holocaust on page 45 of Night he states:  “Some of the men spoke of God: His mysterious ways, the sins of the Jewish people, and the redemption to come. As for me, I had ceased to pray. I concured with Job! I wan not denying His existence, but I doubted His absolute justice.” Also on page 65 after he watches a younger boy being hanged he states: “for God’s sake, where is God?” and on page 69 it seems as if he was going to give up all together “There was no longer any reason for me to fast. I no longer accepted God’s silence. As I swallowed my ration of soup, I turned that act into a symbol of rebellion, of protest against Him.”

When facing a major struggle such as during a time of war it is easy to begin to loose faith.  However, it is time like these that faith is needed the most.  It is imporant to remember to hang on to your beliefs during a time of need even though you feel as though you are being let down.

Sources

Marine For Christ

Iraq Truth Evangelical Assistance Ministries

4 April 2008

They

Siegfried Sassoon

4 April 2008

There Is No Case of Petty Right or Wrong

Edward Thomas

4 April 2008