War

What is war? Is it Hell, like the popular phrase? I don't know from experience, but I know that it is a nasty business. It is horrible, it is death and suffering. It is the product of a fallen world. "There will be wars and rumors of wars." It is, however, a fact and a presence in this world and it is sometimes a necessity. I believe that war, however, is not limited to this world. I believe that there is a spiritual war, and we are involved. We are warriors whether we want to be or not. I think that we often discount the power and influence of the spiritual world. We attribute things to coincidence and we tend to caricature the devil and his servants. We also tend to make angels into soft, feminine figures. Instead, when the Bible mentions angels, they are described as warriors. As having fiery swords like the angel standing guard at the garden of Eden. Angels are fighters. One angel wiped out the entire Assyrian army. Thousands upon thousands of soldiers. And I often forget or act like this does not affect me and that I can do what I want and sit on the fence. That is a dangerous mindset. Thinking that what I do doesn't matter. It does.

That was a tangent. I watched the Patriot last night. It is one of my favorite movies, even if it has been criticized for being inaccurate. Also, today I went to a fish fry in support of a soldier from my area who is being charged for his participation in the Iraq war. What is acceptable in war? War brings out the worst in people. You follow orders. It's for the good of the cause. Is an order good, is it bad? What happens if a soldier refuses to obey orders? Chaos. When does a soldier decide what orders to follow and what orders to disregard? Do they even have that luxury? Some things are obvious. Don't kill innocent women and children. Don't burn churches full of civilians. But what if you can't tell if the person is a soldier or not? What if they don't wear uniforms that distinguish them as the enemy? What if they are trying to kill you and will go to any length to do so? What if the enemy does not have the same scruples and moral code that you do? What if they don't follow the "rules of war?" What then? What then?

There was something to the old ways of fighting. With all the rules and "gentlemanly conduct." As the soldiers bayoneted each other and died in the field.