Military Base in Iraq: A Faith Not Shared

[Synnical]

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080323/NEWS10/803230399/1175/LOCAL0102#gslPageReturn

A faith not shared

Although they face danger, few troops go to services, and one finds that 'dumbfounding'
By Will Higgins
Posted: March 23, 2008


Q-WEST, Iraq -- There is no escaping Easter at this military base in northern Iraq, yet many soldiers here are escaping it.

At the chow hall, banners proclaiming "Happy Easter" are everywhere, and the tablecloths are of an unlikely pink and purple Easter-egg/bunny-ear pattern.

There will be three services in the chapel today, and on Good Friday, there was a screening of "The Passion of the Christ" in the recreation hall.

There are 150 chairs in the chapel, and that's expected to be more than enough, even though there are about 4,000 soldiers on the base. Four soldiers sat in on "Passion," two of them sound asleep.

Many soldiers are deeply religious, but many more are not -- even though danger lies just outside the gate. Earlier this past week, a convoy hit an improvised explosive device planted by insurgents (the bomb exploded under a heavily armored vehicle, a tanklike ASV; no one was hurt).

"There are atheists in foxholes," says Kirtis Christensen, a software engineer from Fort Wayne and one of six chaplains deployed with the Indiana National Guard's 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

It isn't only Christianity that lies low here. The chapel hosts weekly services for Muslims and Jews, too; fewer than a handful attend.

More at link

-Cindy in Fort Lauderdale

[kineneb]

1. What if they gave a religion...

and nobody came?

(paraphrase of: What if they gave a war and nobody came? ...1960s)

[Synnical]

2. Follow-Up From Christianity Today: There Are Atheists in Foxholes

http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctliveblog/archives/2008/03/there_are_athei.html

March 24, 2008 2:43PM
There are Atheists in Foxholes

...intriguing theological sensibilities, too.

Derek Keefe

Will Higgins's report on attendance levels at Holy Week services at a military base in northern Iraq is intriguing on several levels. First, although there are some 4,000 soldiers stationed at the base, the chaplains deemed 150 chairs and 3 Easter services more than sufficient to accommodate the number of soldiers inclined to attend. A Good Friday screening of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ drew only four soldiers, two of whom snoozed their way through it.

While such anecdotal evidence from a solitary military base is by no means enough to establish statistical significance, it does at the very least challenge conventional wisdom that there are no atheists in foxholes. Looking around for other media coverage of Easter services among American military in Iraq, I found little of interest save a small collection of photos that revealed services most notable for their sparse attendance (Be sure to click on the third photo to see if you can identify the gun at the foot of the praying soldier's feet). Sergeant Christopher McFadden of Indiana National Guard’s 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team finds the low attendance "dumbfounding." "If you saw the possibility of dying in front of you," he continues, "now would be the time to open the door and at least look inside."

[magellan]

3. I imagine it's difficult to keep believing in a god

...when you've been consigned to unending hell.