Its nomination for six Academy Awards and winning in two categories[1] confirmed the feeling of the public that they were dealing with a very good movie, in every way.
Without question, what makes Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge special and unique is the story of the unusual hero: one who has no superpowers but who does real deeds of rare courage, through which he saves dozens of lives.
“People like Desmond Doss are superheroes. Real superheroes don’t wear tights and aren’t surrounded by special effects, but all the action in their lives takes place on a higher, supernatural level. They look to—and appeal to—something bigger than themselves and then they go and do something superhuman.” These are the words of actor and director Mel Gibson, in an interview given to pastor Greg Laurie about the hero of the film Hacksaw Ridge.
During the Second World War, the American Desmond Doss served his country as a medic, without using weapons. His prayer: “Lord, help me save one more, one more” became the refrain of his heroic deeds from the day he single-handedly saved 75 wounded American soldiers from the Japanese in Okinawa. His gesture impressed not only his comrades at the front, but also those at home. Desmond Doss received the Medal of Honor from President Truman, the highest US military award.
The heroic deeds of Desmond Doss go beyond the elements captured in Mel Gibson’s film. If in other films the director tends to exaggerate or add impressive elements to better outline the hero of his action, in the case of Desmond Doss the producers decided to cut some facts from the life of the hero of the film, which, although real, narrated by eyewitnesses, seem fantastic, unbelievable. For instance, after Desmond Doss rejected a grenade thrown by enemies, 17 pieces of shrapnel penetrated his body. Desmond remained on the battlefield and waited for five hours until his comrade Ralph Baker arrived to offer help. Baker and other soldiers took Desmond on a stretcher and, under heavy fire from enemy tanks, tried to make their way to their own camp. As he was being transported, Doss saw another soldier fall to the ground, badly wounded. He rolled off the stretcher, giving him his place while he remained on the battlefield. While he was waiting for his comrades to return, he was shot in the left arm by a Japanese sniper. He improvised a splint from a gun bed and crawled another 300 metres to the safety of a first aid camp. From here he was transported to the hospital ship Mercy.
The motivation for his heroic deeds is given to us by Desmond Doss himself, who tells that, as a child, his family had a poster with the Ten Commandments illustrated. In the case of the 6th commandment—You shall not kill—the picture of Cain killing Abel deeply marked the conscience of young Desmond, who did not understand how it was possible for a man to kill his own brother.[2] The biblical model inspired and led Desmond Doss to decide that he would not kill, that he would not take, but save lives. Like no one else, he demonstrated his decision with complete consistency and even where it was almost impossible—that is, in the first line on one of the fronts of the Second World War.
Contrasting pictures
Whoever reads the Bible like Desmond Doss will see the tragedy produced by the strife and crime that arose between the first brothers on earth, Cain and Abel, and, implicitly, the condemnation of this attitude and deeds, which produces much suffering and unhappiness, even for Cain, the murderous brother.[3] Also, the passages about loving your neighbour “as yourself”[4] or those in which the believer is exhorted to love his enemies, to do good to them, and to pray for his enemies,[5] or those in which anger directed against brother is condemned[6] and hatred against him is equated with crime[7] show the nobility of the biblical model and its moral excellence. So, the effect on Desmond Doss’s conscience is not surprising.
But, in the same Bible in which God commands “You shall not murder”[8], from the same God, for different reasons, appears the exhortation addressed to the people of Israel for the complete destruction of a community.[9] To this we can add the more well-known direct interventions of the Divinity in the history of mankind: through the universal destruction from the flood, through the instant death of the challengers of Moses— Korah, Dathan, and Abiram[10]—or the liars Ananias and Sapphira.[11] The climax of the capital punishments administered by God, according to the Bible, will be represented by the final judgement and sentence, after which “death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire,”[12] which is “the second death.”[13]
Seeing the two plans present in Holy Scripture—on the one hand, that of absolute love for man, that of gentle morality, in which even negative feelings towards someone are condemned, and, on the other hand and in opposition, the plan framed by passages of capital punishment—we marvel once more at the choice of Desmond Doss. At the same time we can ask ourselves: is the conduct of the American hero more noble, more moral, and therefore superior to that described by the Bible in the case of God Himself? Does the actual character of Desmond Doss surpass the character of God? Did the copy beat the original?
If we were to ask Desmond Doss such a question, it would turn out to be a most inappropriate idea. His whole life was marked by faith in God, by worshipping Him and therefore by a holy respect, which would make the idea of his comparison with the Divinity ridiculous, especially in the situation where he, a man, is considered superior to the Divinity.
What was Desmond Doss reading in his Bible? Does God kill?
In the version of the Bible, first of all, God is described as the origin of life, the Creator.[14] Moreover, God is the Sustainer of life, or the Pronator—that is, as long as He gives life, beings live, and when He withdraws life from them, regardless of the circumstances, they die.[15] Scripture goes even further and proposes to its readers the resurrection, which, logically and consistently with the Bible, also comes from the Creator, from God.[16] Thus the Bible calls death “the enemy”[17] that will be defeated by the resurrection.
All these biblical expositions represent the foundation on which an answer can be developed to the question: Does the God who says “You shall not murder” kill?
Death, a sensitive topic for us humans, is both a simple and very complicated equation when it comes to God. Simple, given His power to bring about resurrection, and complex, due to His relationship and involvement in the process of dying. Death is a universal reality in our world. Does the fact that God allows all people to die without intervening to save their lives, despite His ability to do so, make Him guilty of breaking the sixth commandment? What does the Bible mean by breaking this law?
The Hebrew term for the verb “to kill” in the sixth commandment, Exodus 20:13, is ratsach, which describes premeditated murder, the most condemnable human crime. In the Old Testament, this verb is used in cases where a person intentionally strikes another with an iron, stone, or wooden tool, resulting in death.[18] Such actions always involve malicious intent, such as enmity or selfish gratification. When this happens, it is considered murder. However, the same Hebrew verb ratsach can also denote accidental, unintentional killing of a human being. The fundamental difference between a guilty murder and an accidental one lies in the motivation and the presence or absence of premeditation. If someone unintentionally killed another, they could seek refuge in a city of refuge.[19] These provisions were meant to control and mitigate the practice of individual revenge. Similarly, if someone caused the death of an aggressor in self-defence, they were not considered a murderer.[20]
Therefore, the sixth commandment refers to illegal killings, specifically those that are intentional. This verb ratsach is never used for capital punishment or killings in war. In these contexts, other verbs are used: mot, translated as “to put to death,” “to punish with death,”[21] and harag, meaning “to kill,” “to slaughter.”[22] The sixth commandment should not be interpreted in a narrow, exclusive sense regarding the loss of life.
In all these instances, we observe a consistent pattern: aside from involuntary cases, death is either a means of defence or a punishment for serious sins that, if left unpunished, generally threaten the existence of life. The Bible does not consider these forms of induced death as murders or violations of the divine commandment. As a comparison: in exceptional cases, when an ambulance rushes through the city, ignoring speed limits or other safety rules, it does so not to endanger its passengers but, on the contrary, to save lives. Similarly, when a police car is on a mission and disregards traffic rules by speeding or driving against traffic, it is not violating the spirit of traffic laws but acting to maintain order and uphold the law. These situations are common in our lives, and we understand them as such. In the same way, the Bible presents actions of limiting, punishing, or eliminating evil not as contrary to the spirit of the commandment, but in harmony with the divine law and even driven by it.
Divine interventions that may appear brutal are not characteristic of God and are described as His “strange work,”[23] done out of the necessity of preserving life. In extreme situations, Divinity applies extreme measures, but with the same moral purity found in the Bible. As a comparison, it took the Allied tanks to break through the walls of Auschwitz to liberate the poor prisoners because diplomatic appeals had no effect.
But if Desmond Doss found such biblical passages with their explanations, why didn’t he consider the war he enlisted in as just, where the invader must be repelled by force, thus bearing arms on the front lines against the enemy? The now-famous answer comes from Desmond Doss himself, as depicted in the film about his life: “With the world so set on tearing itself apart, it doesn’t seem like such a bad thing to me to wanna put a little bit of it back together.”[24] In other words, among the different ways to fight or support the fight against evil, he chose medical service, deciding to repair what others broke. On the front lines, there were few, if any, like him; therefore, his courage reached legendary heights. Thus, Doss supported the war, served his nation, and fought against the evil initiated by the enemies of his country. His support was highly effective, bringing confidence, encouragement, and inspiration to his fellow soldiers.
Desmond Doss’s decision not to carry a weapon and therefore not to take lives was not a judgement on others or the Bible. He did not theorize much about the situation but simply acted according to his conscience, for the benefit of his comrades, his country, and against evil. Initially, his choice attracted suspicion and hostility from his peers, but later they came to value him, sometimes delaying an assault so Doss could finish his prayer, and eventually, they repeatedly recounted his heroic deeds. The name of the devout Seventh-day Adventist Desmond Doss thus remains in history as a monument of courage and humanity.
Simple things for me
More than a legalistic debate about what is or isn’t permitted, the Bible frames this issue on the idea that God is the Creator, the giver and taker of life, and the one who can bring resurrection. Jesus Himself says, “I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”[25] Thus, the Bible shifts the reader’s focus from the general problem of life and death, which is in God’s hands and beyond the individual’s control, to the issue of one’s private life, the decisions the individual must make to enjoy resurrection and eternal life.
This focus on personal attitude must also be noted in the context of divine punishment. The fact that in extreme situations God applies extreme measures does not justify an individual’s taking justice into their own hands, nor does it serve as motivation for personal revenge. “It is wrong for the individual to take the law into his own hands. Vengeance belongs to God,”[26] says Tim Corsby in an article about the manifestation of God’s wrath. The Bible’s primary message is directed towards a personal attitude: what I am doing as a person here and now, leaving global, general issues to divine guidance.
Desmond Doss exemplifies that a careful reader of the Bible, who takes the calls for love and mercy—even towards enemies—seriously, navigates the labyrinth of the aforementioned biblical passages with ease and naturalness, applying the exhortations personally. This is how Doss came to be called a hero. He didn’t overly theorize; he acted as he had learned.
Doss’s practical discernment, shaped by the same value system of the Scriptures to which he adhered, is evident from his response to a challenge posed by a superior. The superior asked what he would do if he went home and found an intruder raping his wife and had a gun nearby. Wouldn’t he kill the intruder? Doss said he wouldn’t kill the intruder, but the intruder would not be happy to be alive when he was finished with him. Desmond had a sense of proportion—rape is not punished with a lethal injection even today.[27]
In conclusion, Desmond Doss’s extraordinary heroic acts, according to his own words, were inspired and supported by the Bible, which he held in high esteem. On an individual level, Doss was not troubled by the difficult biblical passages where capital punishment is commanded and carried out. He did not judge the grand scheme of God’s actions, which include judgement, death, and resurrection, because he could not intervene at that level. However, he knew that he bore full responsibility to choose good over evil, to protect the lives of his fellow men, and thus to live a life that was normal but never mundane.
