Pete's Blog

"Susan, Eve's Daughter," said Father Christmas. "These are for you," and he handed her a bow and a quiver full of arrows and a little ivory horn. "You must use the bow only in great need," he said, "for I do not mean you to fight in the battle. It does not easily miss. And when you put this horn to your lips and blow it, then, wherever you are, I think help of some kind will come to you."

Last of all he said, "Lucy, Eve's Daughter," and Lucy came forward. He gave her a little bottle of what looked like glass (but people said afterwards that it was made of diamond) and a small dagger. "In this bottle," he said, "there is a cordial made of the juice of one of the fire-flowers that grow in the mountains of the sun. If you or any of your friends is hurt, a few drops of this restore them. And the dagger is to defend yourself at a great need. For you also are not to be in the battle."

"Why, sir?" said Lucy. "I think—I don't know—but I think I could be brave enough."

"That's not the point," he said. "But battles are ugly when women fight. . . ."

-C. S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia, p. 160. This is a single volume of all seven books, published by Harper Collins. It is from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, chapter 10.

I don't really have any comment on this one. I do find it interesting that he included this bit (which is not to say at all that I disagree with the sentiment). I wonder whether Great Britain in the Second World War had some controversy going on over women going into combat.

There isn't a Bible verse to point to that explicitly says that only men are to go into battle. But when you read the OT, it's only men who are sent to fight.

On this subject, Mohler has written,

From a Christian perspective, the concern about women in combat goes far beyond the pollsters' questions. If we truly believe that God created men and women for different but complementary roles and shows his glory in the faithfulness of men as primary protectors and women as primary nurturers, the entry of women into combat roles is an open rejection of God's purpose. As military historians document, every society throughout history has normalized the military service of men. Though women have known combat in isolated cases throughout history, the fact that such cases are rare is the exception that proves the rule. This wisdom is part of general revelation and thus the moral wisdom shared by virtually all cultures.

When women are injected into combat, the dignity of women is undermined. In the extreme conditions of combat, women are exposed to the very worst that human beings can do and a physical violence that exceeds the imagination. There is no shortage of arguments against this practice. Biological arguments document differences of physical strength and stamina. Psychological arguments consider not only the psychological profile of women in combat but the difference the presence of women makes on men fighting alongside them. Sociological arguments and economic considerations focus on the costs of women in combat roles. These arguments are important, but not ultimate.

It's neat that when I was public school kid, we had to read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Hopefully that'll keep happening and kids will keep being exposed to Lewis' Christian worldview.

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I do concede that Jael found herself in combat engaged (Jd. 4), but she wasn't sent into battle. Are there any other examples of women in combat in the Bible?