God's Hiddenness in Combat: Toward Christian Reflection on Battle

The primary question at the heart of this book is: 'Where is God for the person in combat?' According to one well-known saying, there are no atheists in foxholes. Yet it is difficult for believers in a personal and caring God to locate God's place in the world of war. Another common saying —that 'war is hell'—seems more accurate if one accepts the basic definition of hell as God's absence. The complication here is that some combatants do sense God's presence. This study draws from numerous interviews, memoirs, letters, and archival materials, and reflecting on the crucifixion of Christ to consider how God can be both present in, and absent from, the world of war.