god and war, part two
From the earliest of civilizations warfare was somehow connected to the gods. The ancient people believed that the forces that controlled the world - sun, rain, earth, growth of crops - were a divine force. Mythologies grew out of this, and some of the earliest mythologies began to compare all that happened on earth as a representation of what happened in the heavens.
War between cities and nations, which happened on earth, was thought to represent battles between deities in the heavens. So it was not just one brother killing another. It was a citizen of one nation fighting for his god. His enemy was a brother who was a citizen of another nation fighting for his god. War which grew out of a connection to the divine, now had become battles that represented the gods in the heavens.
As such gods were created who represented warfare. They were called upon by people to be their gods of war. Ianna (called Ishtar by the Akkadians) was the Sumerian goddess of war. Her story was one wrought with aggression, wrath, and vengeance rooted in betrayal and rejection. The ancient story warned people not to reject her at the risk of their own lives. A goddess with an attitude like this would be the perfect goddess to represent war. For the Sumerians war was associated with the gods.
The Egyptians had their own goddess of war. Her name was Anuke. She was pictured as a woman dressed in armor carrying a bow and a quiver full of arrows. She existed in the Egyptian pantheon before the dynastic period of Egypt. For the Egyptians war was associated with the gods.
Mars was the Roman god of war, not to mention one the most worshipped gods in the Empire of Rome. Roman soldiers were trained on the Campus Martius (The Field of Mars). A Roman soldier never went to war without having the name of Mars on his mind. For the Romans war was associated with the gods.
Has much changed since the beginning? Civilizations began by using the names, stories, and mythologies of their gods as reason for fighting wars. Today the names of gods are all over wars that are fought in our world.
During the Revolutionary War George Washington, whose faith in God is famous, gave a message to his troops in which he said, “…Let us therefore rely on the goodness of the cause and the aid of the Supreme Being, in whose hands victory is, to animate and encourage us to great and noble actions.” Across the ocean the King of the country he was fighting against claimed to be king, “… by the Grace of God.” Both sides were calling on the name of God.
The South African government who enforced the system of Apartheid handed out Bibles to its soldiers who were involved in enforcing racial segregation. Inside the Bibles issued to the troops was a message from the President which read, ”… of all the weapons you carry, this is the greatest because it is the Weapon of God.” Eugene DeKock who was head up the Apartheid death squads has spoken openly about the Bible studies he and his squads would have together.
Muslim extremists call on the name of Allah. These extremists have declared a holy war in the name of Allah against the infidels. In response world leaders have responded by using saying things like, “Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war, and we know that God is not neutral between them.”
Once again we see that both sides have couched themselves in rhetoric involving the divine. The wars that are fought today are still connected to the gods. Like the ancients we believe deep inside that our wars represent struggles among deities. In our own country we speak in military terms of God and Country.
War without the gods behind us would just seem barbaric. Without humans being mere pawns in a divine clash we would be reduced to people killing people. Brothers killing brothers. We need the gods to make sense of what we do to one another in warfare.
Without the gods humans would be killing one another over plots of land, resources, or money. We would attack one another out of fear, or because we feel threatened. Without the gods we would be taking our orders from mere mortals. The gods make sense of war. Or do they? The first time war broke out between brothers God spoke. He came to the gardener and said, “Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground.” I wonder, just what would this God have to say about warfare today?
War between cities and nations, which happened on earth, was thought to represent battles between deities in the heavens. So it was not just one brother killing another. It was a citizen of one nation fighting for his god. His enemy was a brother who was a citizen of another nation fighting for his god. War which grew out of a connection to the divine, now had become battles that represented the gods in the heavens.
As such gods were created who represented warfare. They were called upon by people to be their gods of war. Ianna (called Ishtar by the Akkadians) was the Sumerian goddess of war. Her story was one wrought with aggression, wrath, and vengeance rooted in betrayal and rejection. The ancient story warned people not to reject her at the risk of their own lives. A goddess with an attitude like this would be the perfect goddess to represent war. For the Sumerians war was associated with the gods.
The Egyptians had their own goddess of war. Her name was Anuke. She was pictured as a woman dressed in armor carrying a bow and a quiver full of arrows. She existed in the Egyptian pantheon before the dynastic period of Egypt. For the Egyptians war was associated with the gods.
Mars was the Roman god of war, not to mention one the most worshipped gods in the Empire of Rome. Roman soldiers were trained on the Campus Martius (The Field of Mars). A Roman soldier never went to war without having the name of Mars on his mind. For the Romans war was associated with the gods.
Has much changed since the beginning? Civilizations began by using the names, stories, and mythologies of their gods as reason for fighting wars. Today the names of gods are all over wars that are fought in our world.
During the Revolutionary War George Washington, whose faith in God is famous, gave a message to his troops in which he said, “…Let us therefore rely on the goodness of the cause and the aid of the Supreme Being, in whose hands victory is, to animate and encourage us to great and noble actions.” Across the ocean the King of the country he was fighting against claimed to be king, “… by the Grace of God.” Both sides were calling on the name of God.
The South African government who enforced the system of Apartheid handed out Bibles to its soldiers who were involved in enforcing racial segregation. Inside the Bibles issued to the troops was a message from the President which read, ”… of all the weapons you carry, this is the greatest because it is the Weapon of God.” Eugene DeKock who was head up the Apartheid death squads has spoken openly about the Bible studies he and his squads would have together.
Muslim extremists call on the name of Allah. These extremists have declared a holy war in the name of Allah against the infidels. In response world leaders have responded by using saying things like, “Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war, and we know that God is not neutral between them.”
Once again we see that both sides have couched themselves in rhetoric involving the divine. The wars that are fought today are still connected to the gods. Like the ancients we believe deep inside that our wars represent struggles among deities. In our own country we speak in military terms of God and Country.
War without the gods behind us would just seem barbaric. Without humans being mere pawns in a divine clash we would be reduced to people killing people. Brothers killing brothers. We need the gods to make sense of what we do to one another in warfare.
Without the gods humans would be killing one another over plots of land, resources, or money. We would attack one another out of fear, or because we feel threatened. Without the gods we would be taking our orders from mere mortals. The gods make sense of war. Or do they? The first time war broke out between brothers God spoke. He came to the gardener and said, “Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground.” I wonder, just what would this God have to say about warfare today?