There Are No Christians in Foxholes

It is an old adage that there are no atheists in foxholes. The idea plays well for theists who believe that in times of extreme pressure people will put their fate in God’s hands and fence sitters and atheists will join in prayer as a means of self preservation. Atheist soldiers have protested this charge and there are websites dedicated to atheists in foxholes. The reality of war, though, is that there are no Christians in foxholes.

by Edmund Ross

Inside a foxhole, behind a bunker, or in an air raid shelter there are plenty of people praying to their God to get them safely out of their situation.  However; give those soldiers the choice between God’s protection and artillery support and it will become obvious that faith in God has its limits.  Ultimately, soldier survival depends on other soldiers, men and women, doing their job.   If atheist soldiers get artillery support and Christian soldiers get God’s support there will be a lot more atheists in foxholes.

There have been some interesting cases in the history of warfare when soldiers have put their faith in God over military expediency.  In 1119 a Crusader Christian army marched out of Antioch to do battle with the Muslim army coming from Northern Syria.  They had neither adequate supplies nor adequate tactics yet marched into battle with what they considered the ultimate ace up their sleeve.  They entered the battle with a “true piece of the cross” as their protector.  A few hours later nearly all the Christian solders lay dead and the piece of wood was in the hands of the Muslim victors who later ransomed it back to the Christians.  Most of those knights probably would not have traded that piece of wood for another thousand warriors and drinking water.   Their rotting corpses are a testament to this bad decision.

One can go back even farther in history for a more dramatic example of warriors putting their faith in God at the expense of military sense.  In about the 12 century BC the Israelite army marched out to do battle with their enemy the Philistines.  On the first day of battle the Israelites suffered a horrible defeat losing about 4000 men.  The following day the leaders decided to bring in the “big guns.”  

With them they brought the ultimate symbol of God’s protection, the Ark of the Covenant.  When the day’s battle was over the Israelite army lay dead and the Ark was in the hands of the Philistines.  God must have had an off day.  The ironic end to this story is that seven months later the Philistines returned the Ark by strapping it to a pair of milk cows and heading them toward Beth-Shemesh.  And what did the Israelites do to demonstrate their thanks for the return of their sacred relic?  They slaughtered the cows.

One last example demonstrates the folly of faith over expedience and ended tragically the life of one of mankind’s true heroes.  In 1519 Ferdinand Magellan set out on his famous journey.  Facing unimaginable obstacles including almost no navigation maps, a lack of provisions and a mutiny, Magellan amazingly succeeded in finding a route to the Pacific Ocean which he successfully traversed.  Landing in what would be the Philippine Islands this heroic captain set about converting the locals to Christianity.  When one band refused he set out to demonstrate the power of His God.  He waded ashore with his faith in God and some poorly trained sailors (he left his well trained army behind).  Ferdinand Magellan and his protector God didn’t even make it to dry land, slaughtered in waist deep water by a bunch of heathens.  And thus, one of the greatest heroes in history died a senseless death thanks to putting faith in God rather than his fellow soldiers.

Christians can take heed in the biblical teaching that God helps those who help themselves.  The Bible teaches that they need not trade off God for practicality. This is the moral authority for trusting in their ability and their fellow soldier’s ability to survive in difficult situations.  

Unfortunately, the idea that God helps those who help themselves is not biblical.  It is from Aesop’s Fables and was quoted by Ben Franklin - one of the least Christian of the many Founding Founders who were not particularly fond of Christianity.  The Bible actually teaches exactly the opposite.  Fortunately most soldiers in foxholes don’t read those parts of the Bible.

This article was titled “There Are No Christians in foxholes.”  There are, in fact, some devout theists who rely on their beliefs at the expense of military sense.  They tend to be fundamentalist Muslims and the term used to describe them after their death is martyr.