The Wisdom of Chaplain Caskey

A Disciples of Christ minister by the name of Thomas W. Caskey was reluctant to join the Army at first. He was quite happy with his duties as pastor of a church in Jackson, Mississippi. After some persuasion from a high ranking friend in the Confederate Army, he was commissioned as Chaplain in the 16th Mississippi Cavalry.

Caskey found the chaplaincy to be a challenge. He had to learn to craft sermons that encouraged his men to be good soldiers and make his own ministerial supplies in the field. Apparently he was not satisfied to be a non-combatant and simply talk to men about being good soldiers; he also demonstrated being a good soldier in that he even took up arms! He was was nicknamed the "fighting parson" by the soldiers to which he ministered!

Something Caskey wrote really stood out to me today. I believe he was a wise minister in that he understood that we mortal men cannot presume to know the hidden councils of God. The following excerpt is from his memoirs. I believe the point is well made and should be heeded by those of us today who are tempted to think that we know God's hidden will:

"Some of my preaching brethren told the soldiers that our cause was just and that God would fight our battles for us. I never did feel authorized to make such statements. I believed our cause was just, of course, but I could see as clear as a sunbeam that the odds were against us, and , to be plain, I gravely doubted whether God was taking any hand with us in that squabble.

I told some of the preachers who were making that point in their sermons that they were taking a big risk. I asked them what explanation they would give, if we should happen to get thrashed. I told them such preaching would make infidels of the whole Army, but I didn't want to checkmate the ministry in case we should come out second best.

I think a preacher should always leave a wide margin for mistakes when it comes to interpreting the purposes of God outside what has been clearly revealed in the Scriptures. It is not good policy for a one-horse preacher to arbitrarily commit the God of the Universe to either side of a personal difficulty anyhow.

I told the soldiers plainly that I didn't know exactly what position of God would take in that fight. The issue was a personal matter between us and the Yankees, and we must settle it, as best we could, among ourselves."

Looking back, we can see that Chaplain Caskey was justified in his cautious approach to the subject of discerning God's will during the South's War for Independence. Caskey was correct in telling his fellow chaplains that preaching that God would fight their battles could have negative consequences if the South was to lose the war. There was a risk that the men could become bitter and disillusioned about God if their campaign was not successful.

I know of a Pentecostal pastor who had a deadly form of cancer. Naturally people all around them were praying for God to intervene in his situation and heal him of the cancer. They were convinced God would heal him. I even heard his wife say they were "claiming the healing in the name of Jesus." They were certain the will of God was for him to be miraculously healed, but they were wrong. The pastor died from the cancer, and a while later, his widow began living a life of outright sinful rebellion to what God had clearly revealed in Scripture!

Perhaps this would not have happened had they taken the Biblical approach and prayed "Lord, thy will be done" instead of presuming to know what God had not revealed. I fervently believe we must heed Chaplain Caskey's advice and be extremely careful that we don't put words in God's mouth or get caught up in acting as if we know the hidden councils of God. To do so may have dire consequences.

What are God's future plans for the United States? Will the South rise again? Will America win the so-called War on Terror? Will God heal a person of cancer? When will Christ return?

Quite honestly: I don't know the answers...

However, I am convinced that whatever God purposes to do -He is right! I dare not even speculate about the hidden council of God. In fact, it's really none of my business. I am responsible to teach, preach, and obey those things in which God has clearly revealed in the Bible.

"The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law." -----Deuteronomy 29:29

(This article can also be found on my Confederate Chaplain blog)

Information on Chaplain Caskey found in the book Faith in The Fight: Civil War Chaplains