Combat soldiers kill in battle, what do you think it does to their souls?

Question

This question is more about taking a life and less about war being justified or not.

Answer 1

If the soldier believes in the reasons they are fighting it is not that bad. I am a combat vet who has had to kill as part of my service, I was lucky that I only had to do it once and it was someone that was about to kill a child, so I have very little guilt but I know others that have had problems.

The military does train you to deal with it but it is always difficult to kill (unless you are a psycho)

Answer 2

Its kind of hard to answer your question without touching on some level of war justification. It really is. I mean like - just out and out murder is wrong and not always the same as killing for a reason.

Except in cases of rogue soldiers going on their own to kill for thrill, a typical soldier kills only as ordered and in self defense. His commanders stand with the brunt of the guilt if he is guilty of misjudgment.

Without soldiers a country could be invaded - and soldiers sometimes serve to aid other countries and unfortunately blood has to be shed, because the aggressors never hesitate to shed blood. Its a sad thing that a soldier would have to kill - but who wants to live in slavery or being brutalized by aggressors?

No life should be taken - but logic dictates to preserve life from a enemy who murders without blinking an eye - violence has to be met with violence. I cite Iraq insurgents who kill their fellow Muslims just to get back at the United States. Its not justifiable.

Soldiers who only kill in the line of duty (and not on their own whim) should not feel guilt - but many do.

Answer 3

well if there is a heaven - it will have us westerners going to it for the most part. We dont legalize beating women as the muslim does. We have a system of laws - of checks and balances that allows for some accountability while in the muslim lands there is no law - only barbarians and the military dictatorship. The fact that bush is on the way out shows that we have accountability. I think our coalition soldiers have a better chance of seeing heaven than the muslim ones

Answer 4

If you're really interested in this question, I'd recommend researching Just War Theory and the Law of Armed Conflict (LoAC). Basically, the idea has been around for millenia, but Christian monks codified it in Jus in Bello or Justice in War and Jus ad Bello or Justice for/to War.

Also, there's an idea called moral equivalence for soldiers fighting in regular wars like WWI and WWII wherein common soldiers on both sides of the war shed the moral responsibility for killing other soldiers as they are merely instruments of their government and defending themselves, their families, and their countrymen in good faith, not joining just to kill.

So as long as they're not committing war crimes (rape/torture/murder of legitimate non-combatants), then their souls are clean as far as I'm concerned...

Answer 5

Taking the life of some one who is trying to end mine is perfectly acceptable, my soul would be perfectly happy with it. Likewise taking the life of someone who was trying to hurt/kill my family/buddys is acceptable. Taking the life of a scumbag who has killed an innocent (in combat or on death row) also perfectly fine. If I'm wrong, whatever higher power there is will sort it out later and I acted with good intentions. Look at it another way, would you shoot a dog that had just bitten your children? Would you even feel a little bit bad about it? I wouldn't.

Answer 6

Nothing. It's more like a movie in memory, or a video game in doing it. Iraq was kind of like a dream. Strawberry fields forever, you know? Where nothing is real. It wasn't a big deal at all, in fact it was fun. I liked it, and I'd like the chance to kill again someday. Maybe after I get through college.

Answer 7

I don't think it's really that hard to kill a person. It might feel unnatural at first, but I don't think it's terribly hard to deal with emotionally. From what I've seen, unrequited love, the loss of someone close, or physical abuse seem to have far greater emotional consequences.

Answer 8

I think it must leave them with a lonely, desolate feeling. But then, they are militarily trained (brainwashed) to kill, so some may not feel so against it as others. If I ever took a life like that, I seriously believe that I couldn't live with myself anymore.

Answer 9

IT DEPENDS ON WHO YOUR TALKING ABOUT. OBVIOUSLY THE ENEMY SEES IT AS WHOLELY JUSTIFIED AND SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE. STATUS IS GAINED BY SUCCESSFULLY ATTACKING AND DESTROYING THE ENEMY. PLUS THEY HAVE THE ADDED SIDE BENEFIT OF ALL THOSE VIRGINS IN PARADISE.

Answer 10

It depends on whether or not they are in right standing with God before they die.