Christian soldier writers fused military elites with spiritual calling

Evidence

North had written American Heroes with the assistance of Chuck Holton. A one-time Airborne Ranger, Holton was a popular writer in the same genre. In 2003, Holton had begun reporting for the Christian Broadcasting Network as “adventure correspondent,” and that same year he published A More Elite Soldier. Stu Weber, stalwart of the evangelical men’s movement, called Holton’s book “Pilgrim’s Progress in camouflage”—an account of a soldier’s journey into manhood, and into spiritual maturity. According to Holton, “life is combat,” and combat wasn’t for the weak; in basic training, the weak were eliminated. When Holton put on his black beret it symbolized his status as a member of an elite group of warriors, a unit “set apart and held to higher standards” in order to defend the freedom of their countrymen, many of whom were oblivious to or ungrateful for their sacrifice. The pride Holton felt in being an elite soldier was inextricably linked to this concept of being set apart by God, “called out of the ranks of ordinary soldiers, and given a more difficult assignment to fulfill for Him.” In accepting this mission, Holton had entered a brotherhood of shared belief, hardship, and purpose. Of course war was distasteful, yet still “somehow glorious.” Most of life’s obstacles could be overcome “by exerting a little over ten pounds of pressure with a trigger finger.” Upon reflection, Holton realized that Jesus himself would have made “an outstanding NCO.” — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 490

Categorization

• CANDY: “Jesus himself would have made ‘an outstanding NCO’” is a punchy, tweetable absurdity.