www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Troops see God's hand in Iraq

Praise God, we definately aren't hearing this in the news!
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Troops see God's hand in Iraq

By CURT WAGNER
VIEWPOINT

The power of rationalization is a huge power we have to choose to believe what fits into our way of thinking. Our ability to rationalize is really put to the test especially when something happens that is hard for us to explain.

I am talking about something that seems supernatural and unexplainable like someone being protected in a miraculous way or someone being healed from a disease. Our mind begins to work to say such things are coincidences and we try to find some logical explanation.

These kinds of events pose no problem to people of faith, because we believe God is powerful and as the Bible says, "With God, all things are possible." The prophet Jeremiah stated, "Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You."

We believe God does regularly intervene in this world to exercise his power of healing and protection. There are some things that can only be explained as God's power at work among us.

To illustrate this, I want to share with you some events you will never find reported in the media. We have heard about many of our soldiers being injured and killed in Iraq, and we find it difficult to hear this news almost every day.

At the same time, God is at work among our troops in miraculous ways. Chaplain Carey Cash is a Naval Reserve chaplain who gave an address in Washington a little more than a month ago at the National Conference on Ministry to the Armed Forces. Cash has served as a chaplain to a Marine battalion in Iraq since the spring.

In this address, he gave first-hand accounts of some events that can only be explained as the hand of God.

"Mines exploding beneath vehicles full of Marines -- injuring none. Mortars falling down around us -- throwing men 15 feet in the air... men who got up without so much as a scratch. Rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) striking vehicles loaded with as many as 25 Marines -- harming none of them. Waking up to Iraqi machine-gun bunkers that we'd never seen in the dark. Marines getting run over by Humvees with not a single broken bone to show for it."

On April 10 in Baghdad, Cash was with a battalion given orders to seize a presidential palace. The enemy was waiting for them. More than 1,000 Fedayeen warriors hiding in buildings and rooftops unleashed an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 RPGs and too many machine gun rounds to count on the Marine convoy.

One company alone sustained 33 direct impacts from RPGs. For nine hours this battle raged, but by the end of the day, only one man had been killed and only 75 were injured, and most fully recovered. Many should have died, but it didn't happen.

You might say they just got lucky, but to the Marines who were there, there is no question in their minds that they experienced a miracle from God. Some of the Marines in that battle later talked about rockets heading for them literally curving in mid-air. Some seem to have been batted down by some unseen hand.

Countless RPGs never even exploded. One RPG even hit a Marine in the head, but it never detonated and only temporarily knocked him out. Some Marines showed Cash their vehicles full of bullet holes, filled with men, but not a single man was injured.

Cash describes it this way: "It cannot be denied. Someone was watching over us. And he was beside us and surrounding us, shielding us and defending us. And it wasn't luck, or good fortune or just some cosmic play of chance ... It was the Lord God himself."

Cash ended his address with a challenge that is crucial for all of us to think about. "The truth is we all face great enemies like fear, doubt, discouragement, temptation and despair. We all need a miracle and the kind of deliverance only God can provide."

If God can deliver our troops in the middle of a battle, he can deliver you from the enemies that attack you. His miraculous power is offered to those who will trust him. To find out more ... see you in church.

These are the opinions of the Rev. Curt Wagner of Hilltop Community Church, Mansfield.

But what about those who have been injured? The ones horribly disfigured and killed? The innocent women and children injured and killed? Their homes destroyed? Where was God's hand in that? Don

But what about those who have been injured? The ones horribly disfigured and killed? The innocent women and children injured and killed? Their homes destroyed? Where was God's hand in that? Don

What about the thousands murdered by Sadaam Hussien and his henchmen? They are buried in mass graves. Who knows how many will never be identified for proper burial. What about their families? What about the Kurdish people gassed and killed or permanently injured?

This just smacks of the facile "Gott ist mit uns" philosophy always used in war to justify one side.

It looks that way to me. Is the Reverend ready to admit the same explanation for any combatants from the other side who somehow escape death in some spectacular fashion?

God is not One to be drafted in this war, I think.

In IC XC
Samer

We must know that not all the doldiers are like those who shoot daisy cutters and live a confortable hotel life in their airplanes as we see them in TV saying "Oh no one will beat us, we're the best" and all this Nintendo talk.

Some pass a very sad life there inb the fields under not so good conditions. A news programme reported that aproximately 5000 soldiers of the US Army had resulted with a terrible psychological damage.

Particularly deplorable is the case of the mercenaries from Mexico, who risk their lives, their psychological and physical health just to get a nationality card and money (how deplorable!); even when most of them are not as poor as our peasants here, or like other workers who emigrate.

I am sure there are many good men there fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, who think they're doing what is good for their country and their people, because they trust their government and institutions.

Last week there was a very good programme about the soldiers of the US who went to Somalia and how they suffered. Their faith in God is sincere even when they're followers of heretical sects. they were figting for fair human values and maybe that was the case of President Bush and his soldiers in Iraq, moved by humanitarian causes in their hearts, but misled by political and economical ambitions of the New World Order and its global dictatorship.

if we're talking about injustices and massachres as our friend Paromer points out we would never end. The Pontian Greeks, the Kurds, the Armenians among the enormous massachres. But also "small" and hidden masschres like the massachre of Catholic Christians in Taos New Mexico in 1847.

The Protestants talk about their wonderful intervention in Kosovo and Iraq to stop abuses against Muslims. I wish they had had the same courage when Armenian and Assyrian Christians were suffering genocides.

All I can say to your responces is WELL!

Dear Mexican,

Thanks for your input.

The U.S. intervening in conflicts is a matter of "choosing your battles." This lesson we learn from our life experience. I believe our war with Iraq/Sadaam Hussein is the right thing to do to protect us and the world from terrorism. You probably don't agree with me, but I accept the fact that reasonable people may have differences of opinion.

I feel like a dolt. Tell me about the Taos massacre in 1847. I missed that when studying New Mexico history.

Best wishes for 2004.

Paul

Translated to Church Slavonic isn't this "S NAMI BOH"