Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Testimony 3: Paratrooper Religion

Chapter 3

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. (Hosea 4:6)

As I continued to grow and mature, there was very little spiritual input. I can even remember in High School how one of the local "Jesus Freaks" tried to convert me. I really was not a violent kid ,but I threatened the religious messenger with bodily harm if he didn't move out smartly. At the ripe old age of 17, I dropped out of High School and convinced my Dad to sign the Army Recruiter’s paperwork. I wanted to be an Airborne Ranger. So I left for Basic Training on the 4th of July, 1977. Nothing really jogged my memory of God throughout my training until Airborne School. Then I discovered that parachuting from a perfectly good airplane could be a very religious experience. The C-130 aircraft is the best chapel ever built. There are more prayers in a C-130 on Tuesday before a jump then there are in Chapel on Sunday morning. But, I thought it would be best to attend Chapel every Sunday anyway. Looking back, I don't remember anything the Chaplain said, but paying my dues and going to chapel was better than rubbing a lucky rabbit’s foot, right? Now, knowing what I do, if I had splattered on the Drop Zone, I would have gone straight to Hell.

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