“This is the world, the evil we live with, and yet the hero’s are here. That’s why they come, these warrior-monks, not just to protect the people, but mothers, for the sake of their children and future generations, who will one day have to face the world as warriors themselves. If not, the generations to follow will have to face far worse.” (Krish Thapa (Gurkha and former SAS Officer)
In direct illustration of the foregoing we need look no farther than the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014 and Ukraine in 2022, not to mention the Hamas massacre and kidnapping of Israeli civilians and foreign tourists on Jewish Passover, October 7, 2023. The fact is that not only does violence exist in the world today, but it’s increasing due to a lack of vision and political resolve in doing the right thing when everything’s gone wrong. Unfortunately, the political environment in which war is allowed to germinate is not simply because of conflicted interests, but the lack of a world vision that everyone might get on board with. Yet, the prospect of unity is still far removed when the general public can’t even recognize the need. Whether due to political expediency, popular opinion, or as willing participants in some grand scheme, the diffidence of the political sphere speaks more of self-interest than it does of building a better world
If religion and government is no longer the answer, then, what is? Faith made incarnate in the image of a conqueror, not a victim but an overcomer of this world and world’s to come. Yet, the necessity will never become reality until such a time as those who embody “The Warrior Ethos” arise. And as that process occurs in response to a calling, it is an internal process first and foremost, it can be likened to a transmutation wherein the base substance is formed into something eternal, before finally emerging like a moth from a cocoon, drawn by the light. As Christian theologian R.C. Sproul (1929-2017) put it: “The only way the Kingdom of Heaven will ever be made manifest on earth is if believers reflect that heavenly reality within themselves, not just spiritually, but virtually, by the way in which they live, think and act!“
CoupStick Chaplain 