What does it mean to be truly human?

The award-winning movie, Hacksaw Ridge, portrays the true story of the World War II US Army medic with the 307th Regiment, 77th Infantry Division, Desmond T. Doss, who without firing a single bullet received the Medal of Honour. Doss was a brave, modest and strong-willed character that upheld an authentic belief in Christ. After returning from the fields of France during Word World I, his father, Tom, had become a drunk angry man who manifested violent outbursts and was haunted by the loss of his friends in the war. Desmond’s mother, Bertha, impacted her son through her long-suffering character and trust in God. Desmond’s life changed after a near fatal brawl with his brother, where he committed his life to serve God with a peaceful heart which ultimately lead him to be a pacifist. He met, fell in love with and married a vibrant nurse, Dorothy Schutte, from the local hospital. After the fateful Pearl Harbour attack, Desmond joined the army as a medical officer, but refused to carry a gun because he was a conscientious objector. His commanding officers and fellow soldiers harassed, bullied, beat and persecuted Desmond to the point of jailing him for refusing to fire arms. Desmond’s faith and commitment to pacifism was tested throughout his training. His strict adherence to one of the most sacred commandments, “thou shalt not kill,” was founded on his relationship with Christ and the value of human life.  Doss’ compassion was evident in the battlefield at Okinawa (Japan) as he single-handedly evacuated wounded soldiers from behind enemy lines, saving them from death or imminent danger. Desmond rescued dozens of wounded comrades, many of whom were considered futile to save from a steep and heavily fortified Maeda Escarpment, known as Hacksaw Ridge. 

The theological anthropology revealed in this movie is evident through the convictions and perceptions of Desmond Doss. From his youth, a framed poster of the Ten Commandments captivated his attention, particularly the illustration of the sixth commandment, a drawing of Cain murdering his brother Abel. His understanding of the human person was framed by the revelation of who God is with respect to himself. Our creatureliness is not self-evident but has to be revealed. Furthermore, our creatureliness alone cannot account for our humanness. Other creatures are created “after their kind,” but humans are created “in the image and likeness of God” and this fact renders us humans. Physical or mental abnormalities may diminish our creatureliness, but they do not devalue our humanity. However, killing a human is a direct attack on our humanity and personhood, and thereby an assault on God’s image bearers.

 Desmond’s unrelenting conviction for the preservation of life motivated him to pursue a medical career as well as to enlist in the army to be Christ-like by saving life rather than taking life. By joining the war, Desmond did not deny the existence of evil or the necessity of eradicating evil through military warfare. However, his inability to engage in combat against the enemy created contradictions for pacifists. One paradox to Desmond’s conviction included his inability to bear arms which hindered him from protecting the lives of his comrades, thereby putting them in danger of death. 

Armed with nothing but a bible, while facing heavy machine gun and artillery fire, Desmond repeatedly risked his life crossing alone into enemy territory to save wounded soldiers. After recusing and carrying wounded soldiers to the edge of the cliff, he singlehandedly lowered them down to safety, while praying, “Lord, please help me get one more.” It is estimated that he would have saved nearly seventy-five men, possibly more.  The insatiable desire to save “one more” person drove him to extreme exhaustion, risk and harm, but gave him internal energy to keep saving lives. Medically speaking, some of the soldiers whom Desmond rescued had little chance of survival, but his intrinsic value for the human person motivated him to risk his life. Human abnormalities do not mean that someone’s humanity is distorted or devalued, but abnormalities affect creatureliness. Desmond did not see discarded or dismembered bodies as being less human to warrant saving. He valued the human person, regardless of the physical state of the body. 

One of the most powerful scenes in the movie occurred when Doss encountered a wounded Japanese soldier while seeking safety within an enemy tunnel. His immediate response was not to kill or run away, but to aid this dying soldier. In a remarkable act of love, Doss valued the human person, regardless of their ethnicity or country, even if it was the enemy. He obeyed Jesus’ command to love your enemies literally. The person who differs from us the most is still as human as we are. Furthermore, the person we cannot stand or tolerate is still essential to us because all humanness is co-human. Sin never denies our humanness, but rather contradicts the integrity of our humanness. Desmond’s actions to his enemy upheld a theological anthropology that all humans are created in the image of God, and through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the restoration of the human relationship with God has been made possible. The image of God in humanity was obscured or contradicted in the fall, but not lost, because if the image of God was lost, then humans would be sub-humans and could be treated as sub-humans. During WWII, the Germans treated the non-Aryan race as sub-human. In return, animosity and disdain seeped into the Allies’ perception of their enemies, in this movie specifically toward the Japanese. The Japanese were considered sub-human and worthy of death. 

We are to remember that the image of God is not superimposed on humanity, but rather the image of God constitutes the human as human. The image of God is indefeasible no matter what. Even in the wake of the Fall, wherein people are disfigured, distorted, self-abused, or self-contradicted, they are still gloriously loved by God.  It does not mean that God and humans share the same being. We are creaturely, finite, and contingent, but God is divine, infinite and essential. God’s grace has removed the contradiction or distortion of our humanness, but not our humanness. God’s grace has been revealed to us so that we can become a witness and reflection of His grace to others. Desmond lived such a life of witness and reflection such that his fellow soldiers would not engage in combat until Desmond had finished his prayers and reading of Scripture. His comrades understood that Desmond was drumming to the beat of a drummer that transcended his own humanity. 

You can be an individual by yourself, but you cannot be a person by yourself. A person assumes that you are in a relationship with someone. A Christian is to be a loving person. We are charged to love, not just to understand. To love is to will the best for others with genuine affection. If we see humanity as co-human, we cannot love ourselves without loving the other person. What we call charity in North America is different from the Hebrew mind. The Hebrews believed that any excess possessions should belong to others. So, if the hungry, wounded or destitute has a claim on us and we deny them food or aid, we ultimately deny co-humanity. As such, Desmond Doss exemplified love and appreciation for the value of all humans and sacrificially gave himself like Christ for the preservation of life.

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