I just finished watching the HBO miniseries, Band of Brothers (BoB).
War movies are a guilty pleasure of mine. I confess; I like explosions. But BoB was so full of character development, ethical questions, and other things that make you go, "hmmmm..." For example, short interviews of the actual WWII veterans depicted in the show introduce every episode. This series REALLY makes you admire the "Greatest Generation" for their selfless sacrifice and high idealism. The episode where they first stumble across the concentration camps will haunt and inspire me to justice for a long time. (I'm willing to bet that public sentiment about WWII made popular the use of war analogies in Sunday sermons for years to come!)
I've also been watching HBO's Generation Kill. It is a smart, critical look at the Iraq war that is irreverent and sardonic. High ideals are hard to come by. In fact, the producers parade the moral depravity of scornful, racist troops in ways designed to churn the viscera. Generation Kill makes BoB look like kindergarten. Present-day attitudes about war, in general, and about Iraq, in particular have even reached Trinity where war illustrations are met with some tentativeness in preaching classes.
So, when Ralph Winter writes that we should adopt a war-mentality about the allocation of material resources for the "war" (i.e. missionary) effort, what would you do? How would you contextualize that one in this day and age? What is the best use of war analogies today? Are there any?
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