The German army consists of approximately 17,000 people who are there because of conscription. As far as I know, there are several ways to avoid military service in Germany:
- being medically unfit to serve;
- having several siblings already serve in the army;
- having been significantly harmed by the german military in the past (generally Jews);
- on account of having been convicted a crime;
- being of too valuable a civil service (like firefighter, police);
- objecting to war on the basis of your conscience - and choosing instead to serve in some kind of civil help service for a year or so, or work in a developing country in some technical capacity for a couple of years; or
- studying theology.
The last one made me wonder. I agree that priests should not be forced to serve in the army. However, since studying theology is a valid option for avoiding the military (and probably one of the least dangerous, costly, and or difficult options for someone who cannot qualify for the first three), it makes me wonder what type of people have entered into the discussion of theology/Bible in Germany over the last fifty years. Germany has been a huge voice in biblical criticism/scholarship for many, many years. And it hasn't exactly been known for upholding the traditional Christian confessions or having a strong view of the inspiration of Scripture.
I have no proof that there is any connection between military conscription and German theology/biblical scholarship, at least not from a scientific perspective. But it bears consideration that when you have a possibly significant number of people entering into the discussion of the Bible who have studied it for a reason other than a love of God's Holy Word and a desire to share that with others - that the discussion would be pushed away from those things that the church is most concerned with.
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