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Candles in the dark

Stories of faith in the Army & RAF

In the military

CANDLES IN THE DARK
Stories of faith in the Army & Royal Air Force
Compiled by Jim Elder Gill & Neil Innes
Christian Focus. 235 pages
ISBN 1-84550-093-8

It is difficult not to be moved by stories of conversion and the power of God in the daily lives of ordinary people. This book contains the personal testimonies of Christians who have served in our Armed Forces.

It relates some of the spiritual landmarks and times of difficulty in their lives. Many of the problems experienced reflect the difficulties facing believers who choose military service as a career. It is difficult to maintain spiritual growth and biblical standards when separated from a local church and forced to live under the constant gaze of the unbeliever in the barrack block. Many testify to the help of The Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Scripture Readers Association, which often acts as a quasi-local church and provides helpful fellowship and support. This book is intended to be evangelistic and ends with ‘Steps To Peace With God’ by Billy Graham. Although many will find this book helpful and inspiring, there are obvious weaknesses.

Many of the stories are too short to really enable one to enter meaningfully into their lives and experiences. Many reflect a man-centred view of salvation and therefore use unbiblical terms to define their experiences. There is too much emphasis on subjective feelings rather than using the Bible as our guidebook (Psalm 119.105).

One story causes particular concern. A mother was concerned for her son serving in Ulster and believed she received an assurance of his welfare through a verse in the Psalms only to discover a few hours later that he had committed suicide. This caused her to be ill for six months until she revisited the passage and felt that it was saying something completely different, that is, her son was converted before he took his own life. There is no evidence for this assertion other than her feelings and she now thinks her son is in heaven. We empathise with her sorrow, but her misuse of Scripture (sadly, not uncommon) is tragic and fosters false hope.

Trevor Baker,
a member of Grace Baptist Church, Astley, and former pastor of Jireh Baptist Church, Wigan; he now works with the Albanian Evangelical Mission