Atheism and the war
This week I fell in love with the family of Pat Tillman, the army ranger who was killed by fratricide in Afghanistan. As I listened to his brother Kevin give his testimony I was moved by his search for the truth and by the obvious intelligence of both him and his mother. As they described Pat again he sounded like a very likable young man. In a clip from the radio I heard Pat speak from the grave, his great-grandfather had been at Pearl Harbor and he said he had never done anything to deserve what he had and it was time to give back. As someone who also comes from a long line of military I respected that.
I also resonated with his mother when she testified that she was a history major and from her studies she couldn't understand the tactics the day that her son die. While I'm not a military historian, one of my mentors was and so before I came to the seminary the bulk of my ancient and world history was tactics and maneuvers in time of war. I never thought that I could be interested in that kind of thing, but when one has a talented teacher one can be interested in any subject. Mary Tillman asked why the troops were split up that day? Why wasn't the enemies truck taken out? Good questions.
So, I did what I typically do, I started to search the internet about the Tillman family. I read again Kevin's open letter that I had first read a year ago (?) and I was moved again by his reasoning. But then I started to find sites that talked about the Tillman's "spirituality". Curious whenever spirituality or religion is the topic I clicked on those. Most were blogs and some were news sites. But it was clear that people are obsessed by Mary's lack of religious conviction. Some are supportive like this guy's (but by the name of his blog, "Future of the Book" I first thought he would be a critic, however it turns out that he's an atheist and a sci-fi fan).
But it was in this this blog that I learned about the controversy.
As quoted in an interview from ESPN.com Army investigator Lt. Col. Ralph Kauzlarich is quoted as saying about the Tillman's atheism:
“When you die, I mean, there is supposedly a better life, right? Well, if you are an atheist and you don’t believe in anything, if you die, what is there to go to? Nothing. You are worm dirt. So for their son to die for nothing, and now he is no more - that is pretty hard to get your head around that. So I don’t know how an atheist thinks. I can only imagine that that would be pretty tough.”Asked by ESPN.com whether the Tillmans’ religious beliefs are a factor in the ongoing investigation, Kauzlarich said, “I think so. There is not a whole lot of trust in the system or faith in the system [by the Tillmans]. So that is my personal opinion, knowing what I know.”Asked what might finally placate the family, Kauzlarich said, “You know what? I don’t think anything will make them happy, quite honestly. I don’t know. Maybe they want to see somebody’s head on a platter. But will that really make them happy? No, because they can’t bring their son back.”
The things is whether Mary and Kevin or even Pat were atheists doesn't play into this story. Neither would it play into the story if they were Muslim, Hindu or Pagan. They have a right to the truth. One could say that they have a Godly right to the truth (as children of God), but they also have a civic right to the truth. Do I think religious belief could provide comfort to the Tillman's? Yeah, kinda so. I also think it would give them sustenance in this fight, just like it's provided sustenance to prophets throughout the centuries. But that doesn't mean that I think that they are even less driven or qualified or deserving of the truth? To be an American (and dare I say a citizen of the world) one has to be willing to accept the plurality in a way that sheds religious superority. While I may feel compelled to pray for the Tillman's (which I did before I found about their atheism), just as much I believe in their right to not seek my prayers.
Look as much of this war is about profits and war, and dominence and power and all of the other things that lead to war, we all know that religious belief is not innocent in this battle. Hasn't enough blood been shed over the battle to say who is right? Do we now need to block the investigation on the truth of a death of "our own" in order to protect some ideal? If that's what the ideal is about than I don't want any part of it.
The thing is whether he bargained for it or not King Josiah did what was right because it was right. Once he found the scroll and realized how far the people he strayed he got everyone in order not because he was raised into any religious belief. It was just the right thing to do. Or like Esther when she stood up to her husband the king (who really had been treating her like a concubine) and she asked for his help to save her people. What does this have to do with the Tillman's who aren't even in conversation with the Lord? It seems to me that neither of these cats had it planned to fight the good fight of faith, but it chose them. When Josiah read the scroll (found the truth) he didn't shy from the challenge. That's all the Tillman's want, to set the truth straight. When Esther was told of her people's need she put her own comfort aside and spoke truth to power... just as the Tillman's among others have been trying to do about this war. Finally, when given a chance to accept a hero's burial complete with silver-star the Tillman's couldn't be swayed.
Look I know that they aren't saints, but neither are the saints! Okay, good Catholic readers keep in mind that I am a Lutheran and we tend to take a pretty cynical point of view on the saintly actions of humans. What I don't mean to do is elevate these people to idolotry. But in the end it's just that I feel strongly that my right to believe is contingent upon their right not to believe. And finally I don't think their fight for the truth has anything to do with their faith.
I also resonated with his mother when she testified that she was a history major and from her studies she couldn't understand the tactics the day that her son die. While I'm not a military historian, one of my mentors was and so before I came to the seminary the bulk of my ancient and world history was tactics and maneuvers in time of war. I never thought that I could be interested in that kind of thing, but when one has a talented teacher one can be interested in any subject. Mary Tillman asked why the troops were split up that day? Why wasn't the enemies truck taken out? Good questions.
So, I did what I typically do, I started to search the internet about the Tillman family. I read again Kevin's open letter that I had first read a year ago (?) and I was moved again by his reasoning. But then I started to find sites that talked about the Tillman's "spirituality". Curious whenever spirituality or religion is the topic I clicked on those. Most were blogs and some were news sites. But it was clear that people are obsessed by Mary's lack of religious conviction. Some are supportive like this guy's (but by the name of his blog, "Future of the Book" I first thought he would be a critic, however it turns out that he's an atheist and a sci-fi fan).
But it was in this this blog that I learned about the controversy.
As quoted in an interview from ESPN.com Army investigator Lt. Col. Ralph Kauzlarich is quoted as saying about the Tillman's atheism:
“When you die, I mean, there is supposedly a better life, right? Well, if you are an atheist and you don’t believe in anything, if you die, what is there to go to? Nothing. You are worm dirt. So for their son to die for nothing, and now he is no more - that is pretty hard to get your head around that. So I don’t know how an atheist thinks. I can only imagine that that would be pretty tough.”Asked by ESPN.com whether the Tillmans’ religious beliefs are a factor in the ongoing investigation, Kauzlarich said, “I think so. There is not a whole lot of trust in the system or faith in the system [by the Tillmans]. So that is my personal opinion, knowing what I know.”Asked what might finally placate the family, Kauzlarich said, “You know what? I don’t think anything will make them happy, quite honestly. I don’t know. Maybe they want to see somebody’s head on a platter. But will that really make them happy? No, because they can’t bring their son back.”
The things is whether Mary and Kevin or even Pat were atheists doesn't play into this story. Neither would it play into the story if they were Muslim, Hindu or Pagan. They have a right to the truth. One could say that they have a Godly right to the truth (as children of God), but they also have a civic right to the truth. Do I think religious belief could provide comfort to the Tillman's? Yeah, kinda so. I also think it would give them sustenance in this fight, just like it's provided sustenance to prophets throughout the centuries. But that doesn't mean that I think that they are even less driven or qualified or deserving of the truth? To be an American (and dare I say a citizen of the world) one has to be willing to accept the plurality in a way that sheds religious superority. While I may feel compelled to pray for the Tillman's (which I did before I found about their atheism), just as much I believe in their right to not seek my prayers.
Look as much of this war is about profits and war, and dominence and power and all of the other things that lead to war, we all know that religious belief is not innocent in this battle. Hasn't enough blood been shed over the battle to say who is right? Do we now need to block the investigation on the truth of a death of "our own" in order to protect some ideal? If that's what the ideal is about than I don't want any part of it.
The thing is whether he bargained for it or not King Josiah did what was right because it was right. Once he found the scroll and realized how far the people he strayed he got everyone in order not because he was raised into any religious belief. It was just the right thing to do. Or like Esther when she stood up to her husband the king (who really had been treating her like a concubine) and she asked for his help to save her people. What does this have to do with the Tillman's who aren't even in conversation with the Lord? It seems to me that neither of these cats had it planned to fight the good fight of faith, but it chose them. When Josiah read the scroll (found the truth) he didn't shy from the challenge. That's all the Tillman's want, to set the truth straight. When Esther was told of her people's need she put her own comfort aside and spoke truth to power... just as the Tillman's among others have been trying to do about this war. Finally, when given a chance to accept a hero's burial complete with silver-star the Tillman's couldn't be swayed.
Look I know that they aren't saints, but neither are the saints! Okay, good Catholic readers keep in mind that I am a Lutheran and we tend to take a pretty cynical point of view on the saintly actions of humans. What I don't mean to do is elevate these people to idolotry. But in the end it's just that I feel strongly that my right to believe is contingent upon their right not to believe. And finally I don't think their fight for the truth has anything to do with their faith.