The Necessity Of The Military Chaplaincy With Reference To The Namibian Context.

INTRODUCTION

From early days soldiers have looked to the church for spiritual guidance and support and in the practice of their faith have found comfort and strength in all difficulties and dangers. The Old Testament often refers to priests accompanying troops into battle: “Before you engage in battle,” states Deuteronomy 20: 2 - 4, “that the priest shall approach and speak to the people”. Another well-known example is found in Joshua 6: 2 - 5. In this passage, seven priests each carrying a trumpet, and marched in front of the covenant box around the wall of Jericho daily for six days. They were followed by other priests carrying the ark of the Covenant and finally came the troops (soldiers). On the seventh day of the procession priests blew the horns. After the sound of the horns, the troops shouted, whereupon the walls collapsed and the city was taken. In early Christianity we see no signs of Christian chaplains during the first centuries, since even outside of persecution times the church was barely tolerated by the pagan Rome. However, the New Testament accepted the legitimacy of the military profession. John the Baptist counsels the Roman soldiers on how to conduct themselves in their profession (Lk 3 : 14). Paul constantly uses military imagery (1 Cor 9 : 7; 1 Tim 6 : 12). Jesus praises the Roman Centurion (Lk 7 : 9). But military life became a problem for the Christians during the age of persecution, even though the toleration of Christians in Roman society would differ from emperor to emperor and from province to province (Priests’ Manual 1993: 9). Under such historical circumstances, it appears that no Christian priests cared exclusively for soldiers in those centuries. Christian soldiers had to seek out the local Christian community for religious support.