Is it true that there are no atheists when the bullets start flying ?

Question

I am a vetran that can say in most cases from what I have seen it is true , especially when someone you know has just died and people start thinking what if that was me , and what is next?

I searved in Somalia 1992-1993 as a paratrooper in 3 Commando , Canadian Airborne Regiment as a machine gunner.

Answer 1

if there is he sure changes his tune when things get hot , this one guy stood up one day stretched his arms out and said strike me dead J,C, you S.O,B, and claimed he didn't believe in god etc, about three weeks later during the tet offensive he got hit in the side just a scrape,but,there was a lot of blood, I have never seen anyone be converted so fast, he was praying to god to forgive him and please don;t let me die, our corpsman said he was not hurt bad so we all gathered around him and looked so forlorn and sad he thought he was dead for sure, so we all gathered around him and prayed for him as if he was mortally wounded,then the guys started filing out and looking so sad , we kept this up until we were relieved then i told him to get on his feet and lets go , he was so surprised, I told him now do you see how powerful prayer is , I don;t really know if he believed the prayer s healed him or what he thought, every time we got together after that we all laughed about it,

Answer 2

It is hard to be an atheist when as an atheist after this life is over there is nothing more. So when the bullets are flying and people are dying, at that moment when you know that your life could very well be over at any moment. It is hard to beleive that you are about to become nothing, and your awareness of your own existance is going to cease

Answer 3

No, I was an atheist when I went in, and one when I came out. During my time in the Corps, we were doing artillery training at the Stumps in Cali. The guns were way off target, and came within 300 meters of our position. We were in our holes calling check fire, and other things, into every radio handset we had. Not once in those moments that I though I might die did god cross my mind.

Answer 4

Probably not. I just read a book ("The Forgotten Soldier" by Guy Sajer) in which the author writes about how he envied those who found solace in religious belief when they faced death. Because he lacked religious training, Sager, who served in the German army on the Russian front in WW II, and a number of his comrades remained agnostic in the face of many horrors. His attitude was often reinforced by the vile fates which befell many of his "Christian" fellows.

Answer 5

It has been said, " there are no atheist in a foxhole" This is an addage from WWI. As they say, "the more things change, the more they stay the same!"

Answer 6

I don't know about that. But the saying is, "there are no atheists in foxholes". I can understand that. When death is a real possibility people suddenly find religion.

Answer 7

personally im an atheist and when the bullets start flying i dont even bother to think about it... when the dust settles i go back and play Halo with buddies. when one of my friends was killed all i could think of was revenge... but id say most people pray to someone when the **** hits the fan

ive been in alot of fire fights, and ive been hit with 7 IEDs never gotten a scratch on me (couple concussions though) worst was in the gun turret of a M1151 (humvee) i saw it to late (in a hole) and all i thought was **** this is gonna hurt

served Samarra 04-05, currently in Baghdad

Answer 8

I don't think I ever thought about it. We were just too damn busy trying to make the poor insugents meet their maker.

Answer 9

Sadly, once an atheists always an atheists. Because once you deny God and become an atheists you have committed the one and only deadly sin. So even when the bullets start to fly your still an atheists because God does not forgive blasphemy!

Answer 10

It was true with me "i cant speak for others though"!