(reading) Christians in the Great War

in these last few weeks--when I'm not working (which is most of the time)--I've been trying to read.

I've been reading up on the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer because he interests me in several respects: he was one of the most influential theologians of the 20th Century, he grew up during WWI (an era which I'm writing a 'novel' about), and I believe that borrowing from both of these elements could help give me a useful frame work for the 'novel'.

I was hoping to see how a famous Christian and his family grappled with the Great War--and how it changed their outlook on both God and Life. it's not too surprising to learn that Bonhoeffer became a pacifist as a result of his childhood experiences during the war.

I'm also reading a book called 'the Cross and the Trenches' which details the role of military chaplains in the British and American armies during WWI. one of the more interesting details is that the British chaplains suffered less than half the casualties of their American counterparts. this is interesting because, relatively speaking, American chaplains were present for perhaps 20-25 percent of the time that British Anglican chaplains were... and it was the Anglican chaplains that were singled out by soldiers as being particularly loathesome in their avoidance of combat and 'shirking' soldierly duties.

I was reading about one especially popular chaplain in the English army named Evers--who's full name appears to have been Mervyn S Evers who served as chaplain for the 9th Service Battalion of the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment. interestingly enough, this appears to have been the same regiment (different battalion, the 13th) that J. R. R. Tolkien served in.

unlike most chaplains he stayed with this battalion during the entirety of the war. the only time he was seperated was on account of injuries or being sent to HQ for special duties.

he was, in spite of his conservative upbringing, a very enthusiastic preacher who "threw my whole heart and soul into it". he apparently adhered/aspired to a 'clean manly' versin of Christianity and was a self-proclaimed "Evangelica" who felt that "any religion worth having must be personal and there must be a commitment to Jesus Christ as one's personal Lord, Saviour and Friend."

"if you're going to get your point across, you've got to establish a relationship of friendship and once you've done that then whatever your message may be it takes a line not 'holier than thou,' but rather, 'I've found this real hope to me, personally, spiritually, and I've passed it on to you.'"

the fact that he was able to get 200 troops to participate in Holy Communion at a given time was pretty remarkable. a battallion varies (depending on time and place) between 500-1,500 men.

another interesting quote

"well, of course, the Army Authority was completely stupid. They said that the proper place for chaplains was behind the line... I lived with the Regiment. I slept with the M.O in the dugout... and when it came to an offensiv eI went over the top with the men and helped evacuate the wounded."

in one instance he carried (but did not fire) a machine gun into the No Man's Land to help reinforce a position, and on many occassions carried back numerous wounded.

in a seperate, but similar perspective, one British chaplain said that in order to have a bigger impact on soldiers that 'sermons should be short, real, and practical' and there needed to be 'less starch and more brotherhood'. undoubtedly Evers adhered to those basic tenants already.

he appears to have been involved in an organization called "the Christian Union"--although I can't connect that organization to anything in the present day.

I've been trying to research the role of the church in the lives of German servicemen during the Great War, but there's precious little direct information on that in the English language.

I'll delve into the art books later.