idlemusings

Perhaps more of an idle musing than a story. But what if....
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What if Jesus were a soldier?

Look, don’t get mad at me. It’s just a question. I know religion is a bit of a sore point at the moment and that we’re supposed to be tolerant of all beliefs and of course that we shouldn’t question the word of God but rather just accept religious teachings as we are told them, you know, have faith and all that.

I really don’t mean to be blasphemous; I was just wondering that’s all. What if Jesus were a soldier? And I don’t mean what if Jesus wasn’t really Jesus but just some grunt instead who had decided that the best way to get his message across was by violence. He certainly wouldn’t be the first person to decide the best way to improve somebody’s life is to take it, but that’s not what I mean.

Okay, I haven’t started this very well and I can see you’re upset, give me a minute and I’ll try to explain. Imagine if you can that Jesus was conscripted into the Roman army. No, of course he wouldn’t want to be there but let’s just assume he had no choice. Oh I don’t know, compulsory military training or something, look just imagine all right?

So Jesus is a Legionary right, and he’s got to go off and fight, but he’s a pacifist isn’t he, so he’s not going to want to hurt anyone. But what happens when the fighting starts? Does Jesus just put down his weapon and let himself be killed, knowing that if he does so he will never get the chance to tell the World of his message from God? Or does he fight to preserve himself by killing so he can save his message to mankind? What price would he consider his message to be worth?

No it’s not a stupid question, I’m just saying that we know Jesus considered his message to be worth his own life but would he have considered it to be worth someone else’s? And if so, how many? Ten? Twenty? Millions? How do you balance the immortal souls of all mankind, against the soul of the enemy standing in front of you?

I know, I know, Generals have always had to make this type of decision, the death of a few to save the many etc, etc. Hell, even if the few are civilians it still makes sense. Well yes, of course Hiroshima is the obvious example. Sure it was horrible, but it was a necessary act of violence in order to end another act of violence; kind of a fighting fire with fire type of thing. But Generals are soldiers, they are fighting men, what I am suggesting is different. Jesus would know, really know how wrong killing is.

I don’t think he would be able to do it. I think he would let himself be killed, even if it meant that mankind never heard his message and lost the key to the gates of heaven forever, rather than hurt a single person.

And you know what else? I don’t think that he would have been alone in this. I think if you had put Buddha or Muhammad or even Gandhi in the front line they would have laid down their weapons and embraced their own deaths. I think that they would have left mankind to cope as best we can without heaven, if the only way they could give it to us was by killing. I think they would have gladly accepted their own mortal deaths, and ours, instead of that.

If I’m right here, and I think I am, how is it that we have all so lost sight of the fundamental truth of all religions and all prophets - that the way to God can never be found through violence? Not ever.

So what if Jesus were a soldier? I think he would make a bad one.

But what if Jesus were a medic? Now that would be sweet.

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The despair I can live with - it's the hope I can't stand...

-unfocused ramblings at - www.shsib.blogspot.com

midlandsmuse

Not sure if this is a story but I think a really nice story could come from it. Out of interest try to find a piece that was on the satirical website, The Onion.

They did an interview with God which saw him storm out saying, "Which part of Thou shall not kill don't you understand?" Very funny and certainly something you could take influence from.

And I'm not sure about the Gandhi reference. Remember he proposed and carried out "passive resistance". He did just take the beatings of the English soldiers without retaliation and effectively shamed them out of India.

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Debate is dead

Chris Miller

I liked this little read. I feel it qualifies very well as a story, one told almost in the 2nd person. It also developes the character of the narrator pretty well.

Philosophically, I found it simple, yet interesting. Reasonable. Accessible.

The only detail I would disagree with was the motivation behind Hiroshima. It was not to end a war. The war was over. Japan was already trying to surrendedr. And even if not, a demo would have cut it. The subsequent gratuitous bombing of Nagasaki would seem to bear this out. The US had spent billions (1940's dollars) developing a new weapon. Truman and his generals were afraid that if they never used it, future military funding would be hard to come by. Worked a treat too in this regard. One of the greatest war crimes and acts of terrorism the world has ever seen in my opinion.

Whew, sorry, didn't mean to rant.

I liked your story. Good voice. Clean.

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the fairwriting blogs

Barcelona Review story: http://www.barcelonareview.com/64/e_cm.html

ShotgunShotgun

What if jesus was even real!

But I enjoyed the read for the most part.

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As I took a deep breathe of smoke from my cigarette, and squinted my eyes, I pulled the trigger and the rest is a blurry mess of fury in my memory....... all I can remember saying is ShotgunShotgun....

bobbiego

idlemusings
I suggest sending this to the Science Christian Monitor...they may just find it as interesting and thought provoking as I did. Excelling musings.

Bobbie

Graff

I really liked this The only mistake I noticed was something that religious people would see. In the scripture, it says that the only reason the peasants didn't stone him before he got crusified, was because it was not "his hour". God wasn't going to let him die before he sent his message. I could be wrong about this, so correct me if I am. I'm not religious, this is just what I gathered from movies and books and such.

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"Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell." -- William Strunk Jr.

idlemusings

Can't help with the religious side I'm afraid. Although I am aware of the general premise behind a lot of religions I don't believe in any of them.

Is there a higher power - I don't know. But if there is I can't believe he (they, it, she) have any true representation down here on Earth.

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The despair I can live with - it's the hope I can't stand...

-unfocused ramblings at - www.shsib.blogspot.com