“There are no atheist is fox holes,” first coined during the Second World War, points to the fact that people often turn to God in times of extreme stress when they feel powerless. On the other hand, many people’s faith has been challenged by the horrors of war, especially wars waged by so-called believers.
The history of believers killing others in the name of their God is a great scandal. Sometimes it is the result of theological arrogance, but it usually is the ultimate prostitution of religion for political and economic goals. The history of Europe includes centuries of Christians waging war on other Christians. This is not just a Shiite and Sunni problem.
The Catholic just war tradition has a presumption against war because of its destructive and uncontrollable impact on combatants and noncombatants alike. Unhappily that presumption has often been ignored, as have the other conditions for a just war.
The horror of war can be challenging to ones faith unless one believes that God does not want war. Our God is a God of love, not hate. He is father of all people, not just our side. That means that we are all brothers and sisters, even those we are trying to kill.
Soldiers in fox holes and humvees turn to God, but so should we. We should all pray for peace.
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