Customer Reviews

No Atheists In Foxholes: Reflections and Prayers From the Front

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I entered the Navy Chaplaincy in 1975, and served at OCS, with Marines in California, and on sea duty. When I went to Chaplain School, I was taught that as Chaplains we had one duty: To provide for our people. In some cases, such as general military counseling (I hate the Navy, I am having financial problems, etc), almost every Chaplain can do this; it is part of our seminary training, and living with our people in the same situations gives us that ability. But the real challenge was to provide for our people's religious needs. And here it got trickier. Obviously, there are many for whom we CAN provide directly for their needs. For others, our task was to connect the sailor or Marine with a Chaplain of his/her faith, or one close enough to help.

Serving as a Chaplain in the military environment is difficult; not only pastorally, but in terms of one's own faith and dedication. It requires generosity of spirit and a willingness to welcome others with whom you disagree. As a Christian chaplain, when we deployed, I needed to make sure that my Jewish personnel had the items they needed, if possible, for Passover. As a Protestant Chaplain, I needed to make sure my Catholic personnel had what they needed, including finding a Lay Leader, and making sure he had the supplies he needed to lead them. This is what we were trained for in Chaplain School.

In the last ten years, especially, too often this has changed. A new generation of military personnel and too many Chaplains, have latched on to the ideas that their "right" to proselytize all other personnel with their own brand of (usually "evangelical") Christianity takes precedence over everything else. As a result, the ability to pray inclusively, to support the rights of other faiths, and the rights of those of no faith, is being lost all too often. We have Christians, both Chaplains and lay people, often directly against military orders, trying to "witness" or "bring the Good news of Christ" to the Iraqis, for instance. At present the military is in turmoil over this issue.

It is against this environment that Chaplain McLaughlin's book comes as a true glimmer of light. He goes to show that a Chaplain can keep his own integrity, not go against his own faith, and yet be open and welcoming to all those with whom he ministers. He can witness with integrity, and find ways of reaching out to young people, predominantly, who are dealing, perhaps for the first time, with ultimate questions, of life and death, of faith and hopelessness, of boredom and terror, of all the things that go into the lives of the military with whom he serves. This book should be required reading for all those who would enter the discussion concerning the roles of Chaplains and religion itself in the Armed Forces, beginning with the Secretary of Defense, and the leadership of the military, both civilian and uniformed personnel.

The book is well written, and of excellent devotional material. It should be read slowly, reflectively, and many of the prayers can be adopted as our own. Chaplain McLaughlin has done a wonderful job with this! Bravo Zulu, Chaplain!

This military chaplain and Lutheran pastor has learned
to trust God's ways in the heat of war as he encounters
the faith and terrible struggles of soldiers battling in Iraq.
His blessings in many unique situations and the questions
the turmoil raises serve to call us to examine our own reactions.
Get ready to be disturbed, surprised, thankful, humbled.

Chaplains are pastors who risk their lives to give soldiers a spiritual shoulder to lean on in the crisis-filled area of the battle field. "No Atheists in Foxholes: Prayers and Reflections from the Front" is a collection of thoughts and reflections on the importance of religion in the Iraq conflict that rages on to this day. Telling stories of his times and offering poignant prayers, Chaplain McLaughlin tells a moving story of his times with his marines unit. "No Atheists in Foxholes" is a must for anyone who wishes to read about God in the Iraq conflict.

Chaplain McLaughlin has shared his experience in Iraq with prayers and personal reflections that capture the human and spiritual aspects of combat. As a retired Army Chaplain, I am so grateful for this resource that other chaplains can use in their ministry to our nation's military personnel. This is an outstanding book that anyone who wants an insider's view of combat ought to read. Hooah!

Chaplain McLaughlin's book is an interesting and engaging collection of stories, reflections and prayers. It brings to light many interesting stories about the war in Iraq.... many are inspirational, many are sad, many are amazing .... it will cause you to examine your own life, and hopefully make you realize the price so many others pay for our freedoms.

No Atheists in Foxholes - by Ch. Patrick McLaughlin, CDR, USN

Navy Chaplain McLaughlin has had a varied career in the US Navy, serving at Camp David, the Presidential Retreat, as well as in Iraq, serving the staff and patients at a Surgical Shock Trauma Platoon at Camp Al Taqaddum. This book captures reflections and prayers coming out of his experiences offering ministry to the people serving in these challenging locations.

The book is arranged in short chapters. The "Reflections" give insight into life in the military, sharing lessons such as the potential spiritual significance of Velcro to the importance of Red Bull. Intertwined between the "Reflections" are prayers written by the author which were offered to support and minister to his fellow troops.

I found reading this book to be a devotional experience. If you or a family member or friend is in the military, you will find this book very meaningful. You will garner a new appreciation of what military personnel and their families go through. Praying these prayers along with the Chaplain will help you develop a richer faith, a deeper compassion, and greater spiritual strength. You will find yourself praying for our military personnel and their families that God would grant them peace, strength and safety for their journey. You will also find yourself praying for the Iraqi people and the leaders of the nations of the world.

Any book that prompts the reader to pray for others is an excellent book, in my opinion. What do you think?

McLaughlin's book "No Atheists in Foxholes" is a book that focuses on Christianity on the front lines of the war on terror. The author uses his first hand experience as a Navy Chaplain attached to the Marine Corps to write about. The book has many stories from the front that will make any American proud and also demonstrates how much faith influences men in combat.
Much criticism for this book comes from the title. Yes plenty of atheists serve in our military but nowhere in this book does the author make a claim that all soldiers/marines are Christians. The title is nothing more than a catchy title that is meant to catch one's attention.
The book contains many of McLaughlin's prayers from the front that are intertwined with short two page stories. In my opinion I wanted more substance; don't get me wrong the prayers were interesting but the book left me wanting for something with more substance.
Overall this was a decent book that is worth purchasing. Do not be expecting an essay on why there are no atheists in foxholes, that's not what the book is about.

The author's stories lean towards his time while deployed with the Marine Corps, but he has stories about all the branches of the military. The book is eye-opening, inspiring, humbling, and heart-wrenching. Our son is a relatively new Marine still in training, who will someday be deployed. I'm glad my husband and I are reading this before he leaves, and I'm sure we'll refer back to it when he's out of country. No matter what your views are regarding any wars currently going on, every American should read this book! I highly recommend it!

Read the stories about the brave men and women involved in war and then pray for them. The format makes this an easy book to read in segments. The stories are heart wrenching and give a real insight for veterans, families or friends. If you know someone headed to Afghanistan this is the book for them and their family!

This is a thoughtful book on a very private and personal subject.

First-time author Patrick McLaughlin is a Lutheran pastor who has served two tours in Iraq as an active-duty Navy Chaplain assigned to both surgical shock trauma and mortuary affairs units with the Marine Corps - and prior to that, he served as President and Mrs Bush's chaplain at Camp David prior to - and during - the early stages of the war in Iraq.

As such Cmdr McLaughlin understands war, and its effect on the Marines who fight it. His book consists of fifty prayers he'd written in order to get him through some incredibly trying days - answering questions like "will I lose my foot", will I be OK" and "will I wake up again" from these young Marines must either challenge or reinforce one's faith in God, and this book opens a very private window into the war for the reader. One's political stance on the war is easily cast away when we read of his experiences outside the operating room as he writes "at these moments, the very real presence of God is felt among us."

But is there a prayer adequate when he gave blood to save a Marine, yet the surgery was unsuccessful ? Probably not, for as McLauglin writes "I stand quietly and watch as the priest prays over the body of this heroic Marine." Yet McLaughlin had another year of duty in Iraq, and those too-regular tragedies need to be pushed to the back of his mind as he readied himself for the next day.

This will be a difficult book to read for anyone who has a son, spouse, or daughter serving overseas as it describes in detail more of the war than the media will ever understand or the Marines or soldiers will share with a non-combatant. But it is highly recommended because now we know that our family members are in the good hands of Chaps McLaughlin and his fellow combat chaplains. You've written an awesome book, Chaps, thank you and Semper Fi.