I'm reading 'How to Get Rich' by Felix Dennis at the moment. In the chapter about luck he begins with the quote made by "many army chaplains that have seen bullets fly".
It goes like this:
"There are no atheists in the foxholes"
Just in case you don't know what a foxhole is, it's a hole dug out in the ground to give a sniper for instance, cover from enemy fire.
Sorry if I seem stupid but I can't figure out what it means. Can anybody help me?
2007-09-14 05:57:34 · 29 answers · asked by tuthutop 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
It suggests that anyone will find god when put in a perilous predicament.
2007-09-14 06:00:07 · answer #1 · answered by riderpops 2 · 10⤊ 1⤋
Admittedly, many people wait until times get really rough before they turn to God. A military chaplain from World War II explained that "there are no atheists in the foxholes." When life is rosy, people don't feel like they need God. But that often changes when things get messy, when we realize we're in the trenches.
2007-09-14 13:04:33 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's an old, old saying meaning that even the most staunch disbeliever in "God" will suddenly begin calling upon God to help him when he is stuck in a foxhole with the enemy all around, and he believes death is imminent. But there has never been a shred of evidence much less any conclusive proof that atheists in war consistently acted that way. It's a saying that falls into the category of "attention-getting one-liners" lol.
I happen not to believe in the existence of any mysterious invisible superbeing who happened to create us and who now manipulates the puppet strings of our lives. It wouldn't make a lick o'sense to me, if at a time of extreme and dire danger I would call upon such a mythical being to "save me", and I think it highly unlikely any a-theist would either.
We all use certain expletives and expressions that include the word "God" or "Devil" We hear them over and over again throughout the years of our lives, so it isn't very surprising that we occasionally use them ourselves......"What the Devil is going on?" "You Devil, you" "Ohhh God!" "God help him if I get my hands on him" and so on and so on. They are just expressions we use, because we have heard them so often, and we know that everyone else knows what we mean when we utter them. It does NOT mean that we automatically must believe in the existence of either God or Devil.
2007-09-14 13:12:13 · answer #3 · answered by sharmel 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Felix Dennis is seeking to contend that a belief in God and an after life is compatible with a desire to be more wealthy,
whereas certain religious preachers try to pontificate that anybody seeking to make money by praying to God or by use of the occult is misguided. But do not regard the views expressed in any book as necessarily in any way truth in this case it is just a personal opinion expressed to relieve what seems to be his personal guilt complex..
2007-09-14 13:08:34 · answer #4 · answered by Wamibo 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As most wars are caused through religion, people who dont believe in a god are not likely to be caught up in their fights.Athiests usually have a strong sense of identity , and would be unlikely to follow the masses into fighting for a cause.
The answers above are probably the right ones though.
2007-09-14 13:14:02 · answer #5 · answered by jugglermatt1 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
What it means is when a person is in the worst of troubles somehow they always seem to call out on God whether intentional or not....For instance when you see a robbery and everyone is down on the ground and hear people say "Oh God Please dont kill me" whether they are athiests or not...so its dangerous in a fox hole and everyman soon begins to believe in God!
2007-09-14 13:09:58 · answer #6 · answered by Yankeefan1986 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You could interpret that as meaning that in times of mortal danger or great stress every body prays for help even if in normal times they are not believers.
If you are facing possible death I guess it pays to pray just in case there is a God, it is called hedging your bets:)
2007-09-14 13:03:13 · answer #7 · answered by Michael w 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A lot of non-religious people aren't really atheists, they just aren't sure whether or not they believe in God. They don't think about it much. They don't go to church or pray or any of that stuff, they mostly just leave it alone.
But when they find themselves in terrible danger or a serious crisis, they pray! That's when a person finds himself being religious all of the sudden.
In a war, when you think you're going to die, that's when you are most likely to 'believe'.
2007-09-14 13:03:04 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Praying to god for survival. God exists only in the minds of men? when in desperation mankind prays, because they know no better. .There is no doubt in my mind that there is no god. If and when i am ever in desperate i will not change my views on this thing which i believe has plagued humanity for far too long.
2007-09-14 13:13:23 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It means that when the going gets hard you resort back to religion no matter how anti-religion you are. If you think you're going to die you pray to be saved. Simple as that. I have this quote on my wall for some reason that i can't remember
2007-09-14 13:01:31 · answer #10 · answered by boredcollegekid 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm imagining it's claiming that those subjected to the horrors of war very quickly find God. That it is intolerable not to slip into religious dogma when there is a very real chance you may die.
Conversely, one would be equally valid in arguing that war is of itself evidence of a lack of god.
Either way, I don't see how this will make you rich!
2007-09-14 13:04:55 · answer #11 · answered by Mat T 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋