C E N T U R I O N S G U I L D

A quarterly community newsletter published by Centurion’s Guild

For God and Country (in that order) Issue #2 - Winter 2009

that distinguished him as a body guard of that the night before a battle, Roman soldiers

St. Martin - Caesar himself. would report one by one to their commander
(Caesar Julian, in Martin’s case) to receive a
On a cold night during a harsh winter, riding monetary gift to inspire their dedication and

A Model through the town of Amiens, in modern day loyalty to the Empire.  Martin believed it to
France, Martin happened upon a homeless be dishonest to accept the gift, since as a
man shivering in the cold.   The elite guard Christian, he could not draw blood on the

Veteran had sympathy for this poor man, but what was battlefield.
he to do?  He had nothing but his splendid
uniform.  He decided to draw his sword and According to Sulpicius Severus, Martin’s
cut his magnificent chalmys in half and give a biographer, he said to Caesar:  “I have been
Commentary by Zach Cornelius portion to the shivering man.   your soldier up to now.  Let me now be God’s. 
November 11th is Veterans Day in the United Let someone who is going to fight have your
States.   In many countries this day is still bonus.  I am Christ’s soldier; I am not allowed
celebrated as Armistice Day or Remembrance to fight.” The Emperor did not take kindly to
Day.   Prior to the slaughter and the this request, and Martin was promptly
destruction of   Western Europe known as imprisoned for cowardice. Behind bars, in
World War I (and before France existed as a response to the charge, Martin offered to be
nation), November 11th was celebrated sent to the front lines. His jailers leapt at the
throughout modern France, and much of opportunity, thinking it a fitting consequence
Europe, as the day St. Martin was buried at for this seditious young centurion.
the city of Tours.
Statue of Martin, Bishop of Tours, in Overnight, the Gauls would successfully
Odolanow, by Jerzy Sobocinski. He is known negotiate a treaty, and no fighting would take
Named after Mars, the god of war, young to have insisted “I am a soldier of Christ, it is
Martin was forced to enlist in the Roman place. Dejected, his former comrades
not permissible for me to fight.” He was
army at the age of fifteen, an obligation he accused of cowardice despite offering to be discharged him from military service. Shortly
inherited through his father’s vocation.  sent to the front lines at Worms in 336 CE. thereafter the life of Saint Martin the hermit,
Military service was not particularly desirable monk, priest, and bishop began. He would
for the boy, as he had grown very fond of the This was not an easy decision for Martin.  He trade in his patriotism for piety.
Church by age ten, when he became a had naught to pass the poor helpless man, for
catechumen, over the protests of his parents. As Americans we somberly remember the
doing so was to disobey Christ, nor destroy
millions of our countrymen and women who
his imperial cape, which would surely incense
To his favor he was placed in a cavalry unit his Roman comrades.  It was at this point that have died in our country’s wars.  As people of
that served as the personal body guard of he realized that at times his allegiance to the Christian faith we can remember St.
Caesar. The scholae imperatoris, imperial Christ trumped that of his unit, Caesar, and Martin, who saw the shedding blood and
guard, was a position of honor and distinction.  the whole of the Roman Empire.   Shortly serving Christ as contradictory to one another.  
He would ride a powerful war horse and wear thereafter, he was baptized into the Church. He choose courageously to lay down his
the recognizable white chalmys or cape lined sword and take up his cross, even in the face
with lambskin as the uniform of the elite It wasn’t long after this event that Martin’s of certain death.  
guard.  He and his comrades would be known imperial cavalry unit was called up to fight
~ Zach, who shares the name of another Biblical
as the “men clothed in white.” It was this cape the Gauls in the city of Worms, against tribes
centurion, is a cofounder of Centurion’s Guild
that had invaded the Empire.  It was custom

Change of Command
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 C E
What Would You Do?
Book Review by Logan Laituri
The following is a restatement of the major
points made by John Howard Yoder in his
book by the same title (Herald Press, 1983).
The the stated question is the proverbial
challenge to any pacifist, Christian or
otherwise. Yoder crafts an excellent expose
of the fallibility of many of the arguments
that lie within that challenge, with the
second half of the book including essays and
statements of historic and contemporary
pacifists. We hope you will find the book as
provocative yet refreshing as we have
(Editor’s note: we can only playfully
imagine that the title is a thinly veiled pun,
playing off the popular “What Would Jesus
Do” slogan, but we cannot be entirely sure).
The first dependent assumption we may
identify is that of determinism on your part
– that you have the only decision to make,
and that it is only your decision that will
provide resolution. If you do not act, the
attacker will kill the victim, and your course
of action will end in the death of the
attacker. The accuser demands that the
attacker is motivated only by pure evil, that
there exists no hope of redemption.
However, no crime is ever without motive;
there is in fact something that will satisfy
any attackers’ purpose for violent action
(cooperating with their demand for money,
safe harbor, etc.). It is simply unreasonable
to believe that the only course must
inevitably lead to death (the victim’s at the
hand of the attacker, or the attacker’s at your
own hand). No course is predetermined; the
only limit to nonviolence is one’s own
creativity and commitment.
The second assumption is that of
omnipotence, that you have absolute
control and that your course of action will
undoubtedly result in success. We cannot
know for certain, in any instance, that our
own decision will unfold without event or
unseen consequence. Furthermore, both the
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N T U R I O N S G U I L D
victim and the attacker are assumed to be
incapable of sentient thought or free will;
their reflexes and instincts are considered
immaterial to the argument. It is
ridiculously optimistic to pretend that any
agent, acting in concert with such
unpredictable variables as a deranged
attacker and a terror-stricken assailant,
could enjoy absolute control over any
situation, violent or otherwise. Another
assumption related to omnipotence is that of
that the victim has no capacity to influence
omniscience, the idea that you know with
what must be exclusively my decision, it
absolute certainty how your course of action
becomes an act of self-interest disguised as a
will unfold. After all, the obligatory
virtue.
conclusion is that of death. You are
expected to be able to operate without
Stemming from the last issue comes the
doubt, a convenience no person in history
presumption of righteousness. Your actions
has ever been able to enjoy in such an event.
are immediately considered ethically
In any and all situations, we can be sure of
superior to those of the attacker. However,
only one thing, that we know nothing for
you lose any credibility as judge and jury
certain and must act out of consideration for
when your own interests and welfare are a
the unpredictability of the situation.
part of your decision. Your objectivity is
compromised. It is then that people often
A third assumption our inquisitor relies
claim, falsely, that their decision is
upon is individualism, the belief that only
effectively determined by the actions of the
my own interests are to be considered
attacker (“they made me do it”). Once the
relevant. However, the victim’s relationship
‘victim card’ is played, your actions become
to me must inform my decision; I should not
sanctioned by a fabricated sense of moral
act outside their interests. If the victim
superiority. Far from being justified, you
shares my commitment to nonviolence, it
become the evil you had hoped to conquer.
would not be their desire that I use lethal
After all, it is violence and hostility that
force to save them from whatever
produces the attacker in the first place. Such
catastrophe awaits them. If they do not
are products of a culture so misled about
subscribe to nonviolence, I would still argue
true justice that it teaches its members not to
that the desire to use a disproportionate
murder by murdering murderers. Those
amount of force against their attacker would
who would use violence so readily have
be founded in self-centrism (on the part of
seldom been shown the prophetic power of
either the victim or the defender), an evil
love to destroy fear. The Hitler’s of the
that already must have motivated the
world only know hatred and fear precisely
attacker. Put simply, true justice has in
because they have never been shown grace
mind even the interests of the criminal. A
and reconciliation. Even if it means
defender cannot not justify adopting the role
sacrificing my own life, I will not become a
of judge, jury, and executioner alone and
victim to the myth of redemptive violence.
hope to be protected by the claim of having
objectively served justice. Furthermore, ~ You can follow Logan on his blog at
when a person is reduced to a possessive feraltheology.wordpress.com
object, such as the case when it is assumed
Change of Command
 C E N T U R I O N S G U I L D

Capitalism: A Love Story

Movie Review by Kyle Caldwell
Michael Moore’s opus magnus
comes at the most appropriate of
times. Moore’s critique of the
practices of America’s current
economic system comes at a time
when our generation is beginning
to question the love affair
between faith and empire,
between evangelicalism and
America. The documentary opens
with a comparison of America’s
current situation to that of Rome’s
prior to its demise, the parallels
are haunting and aim to forewarn
us that if the need for change is
left unnoticed, America too could in partisanship, Moore critiques convictions and does so in a kind
suffer the same fate. both Republicans and Democrats and gentle manner. There is
who were involved in what he nothing too abrasive but Moore is
The high point of the movie calls “socialism for the rich”. quite forward in his conviction
comes when Moore addresses the that Jesus would not approve of
common religious rhetoric in Of course Moore offers ample our current economic practices
place that allows Christians to be amounts of humor and this time I which cause a foreclosure every
comfortable with the current believe he tops himself. Voicing seven and a half seconds.
economic practices of entities over scenes from the classic Jesus Capitalism: A Love Story is a
such as the Department of of Nazareth (1977) Jesus is made movie I would recommend every
Treasury and Goldman Sachs. to say to the paraplegic “I cannot socially concerned Christian see.
Both of whom were key players heal your preexisting condition” It is a long awaited critique.
in the economic “bailout” failure and other like statements.
we have become so familiar with. Moore’s definitely comes forward ~ You can keep up with Kyle at
But Moore’s critique is not biased with his Catholic Christian williamkylecaldwell.wordpress.com

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Change of Command 3
 C E N T U R I O N S G U I L D

I always considered
myself a Christian; I
attended youth group all
through high school, went
to church in Basic
Training, met regularly
with the Chaplains in my
various units.   But
somehow I knew I was
playing a game, just
skirting the threshold
between superficial
religiosity and genuine
faith.  It took a 14 month
deployment to Iraq to
think more seriously about
whether that stance was
doing myself or God any
good at all.  I thought long
Meet a Centurion
US Army Combat Veteran Logan M. Laituri
and hard about what I had
been a part of and what
being a Christian soldier
meant.   In the spring of
2006, I realized that being
a forward observer for the
artillery excluded me from
the Body of the Prince of
Peace; I could be one or
the other, but not both.  would return to the Middle
Facing a second
deployment, I wrestled
with the thought of
becoming a conscientious
objector (CO).  I had been
in the Army well over 5
years by that time, was a
decorated combat veteran,
a noncommissioned
officer, and a fairly
patriotic American.  I had
good, honest, caring
friends in the military that
I had no interest in
severing ties with.  As a part of the CO
Discharge as a CO was not
something I felt inclined
toward, but I knew I could
never carry a weapon
again.   Then one day, I
had an epiphany; I ask to
East without a weapon as
a noncombatant CO.  non-deployable.    perspective, as the same
 
The process was relatively
abrupt and disorganized,
due in part to my
commanders’ lack of clear
understanding of the
regulations governing
COs. Like Martin of Tours
before me, my
commanders accused me
of cowardice, even though
I was explicitly asking to
return to the front lines.  thereafter, finding my own
application process, I was
interviewed by a civilian
psychologist, who
diagnosed me with failure
to adapt to the military, of
being unfit to remain on
active duty, and who
suggested that I be made
My unit did not enjoy that
prognosis much, but
ultimately adhered to the
doctor’s recommendation.
As a result, I watched my
friends go to combat
without me in August of
2006.  Some of them did
not return. 
I would ETS shortly
way to the Middle East
with Christian Peacemaker
Teams.   For two weeks
our group travelled
throughout the West Bank
and East Jerusalem,
collecting information and
background on the conflict
there.   I had a peculiar
weapon I had pointed at
others in Iraq was being
pointed at me in Palestine. 
I learned the hard way that
when it comes to Christian
violence, the enemy is
always on both sides of
the gun.

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compliment one another, we must discern when and how each allegiance (to God
or to country) may without notice become mutually exclusive of the other. We CENTUR ION’ S GUI LD:
recognize that we must not serve two masters; that in loving one we may come to Logan Laituri - Army Veteran
hate the other. Centurions serve God while finding ways to conscientiously submit Zach Cornelius - Former Air Force Reservist
to their compatriots. Kyle Caldwell - Marine Veteran
James Tarter - Ohio National Guard

4 Change of Command