why is it said that there are no athesist in the foxholes?

Question

Why should, where you are at, make any difference.? The place and events which are happening in your life should not matter, if your true belief is that there is no GOD.

The Bible tells us that even the rock will cry out if we don't to praise Him. We cannot claim we were not raised in an enviroment to not know him because the Bible says our very surroundings will show of His existance. (Romans ) We can never claim that we weren't told of Him because God has put in each one of us a desire which cannot be fullfilled by anything else.

Answer 1

Christians are scared of Atheists, and vice versa.

Answer 2

***The first use of the statement "There are no atheists in foxholes" has been traced to Lieutenant-Colonel William J. Clear in a story of Bataan's final weeks, delivered during the "Army Hour" program over the NBC Red (Radio) Network in 1942.

This phrase is most often used to imply one of two things:

1. Its original usage seems to have been that people at risk of dying are inclined to believe in a god and pray to this god in the hopes that such a being exists and might save them from their plight (see Pascal's Wager).

2. More recently it has been used as an accusation that atheists are unpatriotic or disloyal or do not join or support the military.

Both usages of the phrase are likely to offend atheists, and especially atheists in the military: Atheistic combat veterans disagree with the former claim concerning the loss of atheism under the stress of battle, while the latter implication is disputed by statistical evidence that shows an equal proportion of atheists in the military and the civilian populations.**** Wikipedia

I believe in a Creator, the God mentioned in The Bible.
Atheists believe in no god.
Respect should be given equally to believe opposite of the other.
My belief and faith in God will not change an atheist's stance and vice versa.

Answer 3

Well, no matter what their religous beliefs, people tend to call out to God in extreme situations.



You give humanity too much credit. In my opinion (nothing to back this), our beliefs are shaped by the reactions of others. So, not so much where you are, but rather how you were brought up. Truly, most of the beliefs humans have (especially religous ones) are molded by others. People brought up in Christian families tend to keep or develop a belief in God eventually. People that convert to smaller religions generally do it because someone made them feel "out of the mainstream", if you will.

People become atheists for many reasons. Many times, it's because they weren't brought up in a religous environment and don't really think being religous is necessary. However, some develop this belief for the same reason some join smaller religions.

To answer your question: If those foxholes are filled with Christians, it's not likely that there are or ever will be alot of atheists.

Answer 4

The saying was coined during World War I when several well known atheist writers were called to active duty in His Majesty's Service. Once the shells and bombs started fallling, and people began dying, they realized their own mortality and changed their minds and hearts about God. Even some who did not specifically take part in the war, such as CS Lewis, began rethinking their stand on man's existence.

The point is that someone who is about to die and truly believes they are about to die, realize their mortality and the need for something beyond just this existence. If this is all there is, then there is no reason to do anything. If there is more, than we need to be doing what we can for that much longer piece of time.

Those who believe that there is nothing after this, will be the most miserable if they are wrong, and nothing if they are right. Those who act as if there is something after this life, will be prepared for the next, and if they are wrong, still nothing. Better to be doing something and be happily suprised, than be doing nothing and receive a nasty suprise.

Answer 5

Because maybe people get to death's door and do some rethinking of their understanding of God. If you have the knowledge that there will be a Judgment Day and that God will judge you for everything you've done or not done, then you'll rethink your belief systems. When we're on the brink of the Grim Reeper's clutches we really want to know what God will be pleased with. He wants relationship with us, wants to forgive us, wants us to be free (no religious legalism.)

Answer 6

This is one of those statements that's uttered as a truism. Apparently in the face of danger, everyone has a tendency to pray to get out. A lot of people take this to mean that everyone prays to God -- the Christian God. But people can be praying to anything or anyone or to nothing in particular. They are praying to survive; fill in the blank on who they're praying to.

Answer 7

I don't think its so much about having religion, but when you've got bullets whizzing around you, RPG's smacking the buildings next to you, artillery shells exploding, planes dropping bombs on you, men that are closer than brothers to you screaming "god oh god it hurts" as their blood just gushes out of them....

I better stop- but do you get the picture? You're just praying and hoping you'll come out alive and okay, whether it's to God or not.

Answer 8

When your friends are dying, when the shells are whizzing past, when fire and shrapnel are everywhere, a lot of people find belief in god.

It's not because war is somehow spiritual, it's because when the veritable hell that is warfare surrounds them, they need something to believe in.

Especially if that something puts them at ease about what happens to their friends, and what may very well happen to them.

Answer 9

Being in a foxhole does change your perception of life. I don't think that everyone in them will become believers. I think that some people will stop believing in God, seeing all the death and hatred around them.

Answer 10

It's an old adage that makes sense today. Practicing atheism is a joke nobody takes it seriously and when it counts most, those heathens toss their "beliefs" and cast about hoping God will lift them from peril!! LOL!

Then afterwards they compose themselves like God didn't save them or anything and they say," You can't prove it".

Answer 11

It's said because when you're in a foxhole, you can only pray that you won't be the next one killed, so you can 'find faith' in a foxhole by bargaining with God for your life.