God’s plan is a great mystery; it will be revealed to us. —General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson

Gods and Generals

Introduction

With America on the brink of war, the movie Gods and Generals offers people of faith an important, his­torical perspective. The film raises relevant and timeless questions about the cost of war, the importance of prayer, and the will of God.

3 Key Characters, 3 Key Battles, 3 Key Questions

Those steeped in Civil War history will be thrilled by the filmmakers’ attention to detail. For those less familiar with the Civil War, Gods and Generals can be viewed as the story of three key soldiers and three key battles.

The story is told primarily through the faith and actions of Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, and Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain of the Union Army. Each leaves beloved family and reluctantly takes up arms. Each prays for divine bless­ing on behalf of their soldiers marching into battle. Each hopes to remain firmly within the will of God.

This epic film covers three major battles that served as turning points in the Civil War. Gods and Generals begins with the surprising victory of the Confederate Army led by General Jackson at the Battle of Bull Run. Next, General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army resist the Union forces in Fredericksburg. Finally, the Confederate victory at Chancellorsville results in the devastating loss of Jackson.

How to prepare for Life’s Battles
Lessons Learned from the Battle of Bull Run

SCENE 1: Before Thomas Jackson goes off to war, he and his beloved wife, Anna, gather near the fireplace, looking for strength and comfort. They turn to the Bible and read 2 Corinthians 5:1— “If our earthly house were dissolved, we have a building made by God, eternally in the heavens, not built by human hands.” Jackson prays: “Almighty God, grant that if it be thou will, avert the threatening danger and bring us peace, keep my love in thy care. Bring us all at last to the joy of thy eternal kingdom.”

QUESTION: Why, when faced with a moment of crisis, is it important as Christians to keep an “eternal “. perspective on life?

SCENE 2: On the peaceful morning of July 21st, 1861, before the Battle of Bull Run, General Jackson surveys the green fields of Virginia and offers this prayer: “Dear Lord, this is your day, you have admon­ished us to keep it holy. If it is your will that we fight this day, then your will be done. I ask your protection over Anna, your faithful ser­vant, my loving wife. I ask you to shine your face upon her on her 30th birthday. Dear Lord, you have called me to this place and this hour far from my home and my loved ones. I am ready Lord, your will be done. It is your sword I will wield into battle, it is your banner I will raise against those who will desecrate our land. If it is my time to come, then I will come with all the joy in my heart. Amen.”

QUESTION: For all Christians, “Thy will be done” is a hard prayer to pray, and harder to lit­erally mean. With all of the ups and downs of life, how is it really possible to say “Thy will be done” in both the peaks and valleys?

SCENE 3: After the Confederate victory, General Jackson surveyed the field. Finding hun­dreds of Confederate soldiers dead, a soldier asks: “General, how is it you can keep so serene and stay so utterly insensible with a storm of shells and bullets raining about your head?” Jackson replies: “Captain Smith, my religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death, I don’t concern myself with that. But to be always ready, whenever it should overtake me. That is how all men should live. Then all men would be equally brave.”

QUESTION: Do you lead your life that way? If not, why not? What are some ways that you could learn to live life in this manner? Would that mean you can be reckless in the way you choose to live?

How to Determine the Will of God
Lessons Learned in the Battle of Fredericksburg

SCENE 1: General Robert E. Lee is briefed on the Union army’s position and the Confederate soldiers’ prepara­tions. After studying the plans, he declares: “These deployments are sound. The rest is in God’s hands.”

QUESTION: Lee did everything possi­ble to fully prepare for what God’s will would be the following day. In your own life, what actions do you take to prepare yourself for what tomorrow brings?

SCENE 2: As the Union army crosses the river into Fredericksburg, Colonel Lawrence

Chamberlain refers to Julius Caesar’s prayer before he marched on his own beloved

Roman people. “0 Thunderer, 0 Jupiter, 0 Rome equal to the highest deity, favor my plans, not with impious weapons do I pursue you, here am I Caesar, conqueror of land and sea, your own soldier everywhere, now too if I am permitted. The man who makes me thy enemy, it is he who will be the guilty one. Here I abandon peace, farewell to treaties, from now on, war is our judge. Hail Caesar - we who are about to die, salute you.”

QUESTION: The quote asserts that “war is our judge” — that God’s will is ultimately revealed by the particular outcome of a moment in time. Is it possible that when bad things happen to good people, that it may, in fact, be God’s will? Are both the good and bad that befall us God’s will, or are they instead just random life events?

SCENE 3: A slave woman, left behind by the Southern family that she serves, offers a prayer on behalf of the Union soldiers who’ve overtaken the house. She quotes from Esther 4:13-14, ““Think not to thyself, that thou shall escape. Then shall deliverance arise. Who knows whether thou hast come to the kingdom for such a time as this.” She expresses His deepest hope: “Esther had to save her people too. I love the people you chased from this house. The Bells is good people. I was born a slave and I want to die free. Heaven help me. May Cod bless you all.”

QUESTION: The slave woman is clearly conflicted - one the one hand, she loves her slave owner “family,” but thanks to her Union Army liberators, freedom is finally in her grasp. How are we as Christians to determine if opportunities placed in front of us are Cod’s will? When confronted with a hard life deci­sion, how are we to know which choice is the one Cod wants for us?

Living under the Sovereignty of God
Lessons learned in the Battle of Chancellorsville

SCENE 1: Colonel Lawrence Chamberlain explains to his brother why they must fight. He says, “An army is power. Its entire purpose is to coerce others. We have seen more suffering than any man should ever see. The end must justify the cost. War is a scourge, but so is slavery. It is the systematic coercion of one man over another. That is no excuse to tolerate it here. If your life or mine is part of the price to end this curse and free the Negro, then let God’s will be done.”

QUESTION: The men who died in the Civil War (as in all wars) never got to see the final results of that which cost their life. Does God have plans for your life that are bigger than you?

SCENE 2: While the Confederate army won a victory at Chancellorsville, their inspirational general, Thomas Jackson, was accidentally shot by his own soldiers. Robert E. Lee grasped the enormity of the potential loss of the general and what it might mean to the outcome of the war. He declared, “He has lost his left arm, but I have lost my right.” In his tent, reflecting upon their ‘victory,’ Lee says: “Surely, General Jackson will recover. God will not take him now, not when we need him so much. Tell him that I prayed for him last night as I never prayed, I believe, for myself.”

QUESTION: Did God answer Lee’s prayer, or did it go unanswered?

SCENE 3: Despite Robert E. Lee’s prayers, Jackson develops pneumonia, which fatally complicates his recovery from his gunshot wounds. As Jackson lies dying, he requests his loving wife Anna to “Pray for me. But in your prayers, never forget to use the petition, ‘Thy will be done”

QUESTION: With Jackson’s death, was God’s will accomplished? Though both North and South faithfully prayed, did God take sides in the war? What does the Bible communicate about the overall will of God and whom He consistently champions and defends?