Soldiers, Psalms, Bibles and Bombs: Praying and Publishing the Psalms during the Iraq War (2003–11)

This article explores how the Psalms were used by US service members, chaplains and churches during the Iraq War (2003–11). Drawing on interviews with veterans, memoirs, sermons, and other digital media, it analyses how the Psalms functioned during the conflicts categorizing them in four ways: 1) as talismanic objects; 2) as apotropaic prayers; 3) as triumphant language which could be appropriated; and 4) as producing dialectic doubt when reflecting on the horrors of war and the effect of moral injury. Noting a conspicuous absence of psalms with high theological utility (such as lament and imprecatory psalms), I suggest that the wartime utilization of these psalms reveals the unseen influence of Christian publishers and non-profit organizations, which have profoundly shaped the theological imagination of the US armed forces. These wartime examples contribute to a better understanding of the close, reciprocal relationship between the church and the military.