A profile of the Christian soldier, Gen. William Boykin, discussed here some days back:
“And then when I thought that things could not get any worse than they already were,” Boykin recounted, “my wife of 25 years . . . walked in and said, ‘I don’t love you anymore, you’re a religious fanatic, and I’m leaving you.’ “
Huh.
alex said on November 6, 2003 at 11:22 am
How fitting such a man should be cannon fodder in such dubious enterprises as the War on Iraq. I say let him stay.
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danno said on November 6, 2003 at 12:42 pm
He sounds a bit off kilter to be in such a high position. Me thinks he needs to be mentally evaluated!
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Nance said on November 6, 2003 at 1:38 pm
He doesn’t sound off-kilter to me, but he does sound like the sort of Christian I could never, ever be — the sort who sees God as his personal manservant, a deity who will perform miracles at the snap of your fingers, as long as you “honor him in prayer” when you’re not ordering Him around:
Boykin is confronted with two non-working radios. He says, “God, fix this radio so I can warn my friend of danger.” The next radio works. Hallelujah, a miracle.
Boykin’s arm is shot. A doctor says, “You’ll never have use of that arm again.” He prays, the arm heals. Was the doctor wrong? No, God fixed it.
I notice how often people like this swing in the other direction, as Boykin did when our Somalia mission went into the the toilet. He cursed God and lost his faith that day, he said; I guess when you’ve come to believe that God sits personally on your right shoulder, waiting for your orders, it’s a logical conclusion.
The part about the black marks in the pictures of Mogadishu is just about typical of how his mind works, though. A flaw in the film? No! SATAN!!!
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danno said on November 6, 2003 at 4:01 pm
I see that type of christian often. When things go right, it was God’s good, but when they go wrong it was satan or God doesn’t exist. It’s like having a deity of convenience! Your god should be both a God of good and not so good, right?
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Dan McAfee said on November 7, 2003 at 7:01 am
Well said, Nancy.
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