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STUDY
GUIDE
God's plan is a great mystery; it will be revealed to us.
-General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson
INTRODUCTION
 Gods
and Generals, the screen adaptation of Jeff Shaara's heralded best-selling
novel and prequel to the acclaimed drama Gettysburg, is an epic
and sweeping portrayal of a nation divided at the start of the Civil
War. Beginning in early 1861 and continuing through 1863, just prior
to the Battle of Gettysburg, Gods and Generals illuminates heroes
on both sides of the conflict and chronicles the tremendous suffering
and bravery on the battlefields as well as the home front. The film
vividly brings to life not only the Civil War's legendary leaders,
but also the legions of anonymous soldiers and citizens who fought
passionately and courageously for their vision of unity and freedom.
Gods
and Generals deals with timeless questions about the will of God.
Does God take sides in a war? Does might make right? What does divine
justice look like?
MOVIES AND MINISTRY
 In
Isaiah 10, God uses the Assyrians to speak to his chosen people,
Judah. In Gods and Generals, God speaks through the Civil War to
communicate his hope for a free America. With this movie, people
of faith have an opportunity to speak to their culture, their friends,
and their congregation about the will of God for us today.
This
study guide will equip your community of faith to engage with one
of God's largest megaphones, the movies. Movies can teach. Movies
can motivate. Movies can spark discussions and change hearts and
minds. If you're familiar with acclaimed films like Chariots of
Fire, Dead Man Walking or The Apostle, then you know how powerful
and enduring on-screen portrayals of faith can be. Gods and Generals
will spark similar post-screening discussions about the nature of
God and the possibilities of faith under trial.
Gods
and Generals lives up to its title, dealing with competing generals
and their dueling hopes of securing the blessing of God for military
conquest. It contains numerous scenes of prayer and often refers
to the Bible. This study guide will allow you to highlight these
passages and draw out biblical understanding that viewers may otherwise
miss.
This
guide will enable you to see the film with your congregation and
lead an insightful conversation afterwards. It can be duplicated
for Bible studies, Sunday school classes, or small groups. Gods
and Generals is broad enough to be occasion for outreach yet deep
enough to encourage discipleship.
BEFORE
SEEING THE FILM
With
America on the brink of war, Gods and Generals offers people of
faith an important, historical perspective. The film raises relevant
and timeless questions about the cost of war, the importance of
prayer, and the will of God. You may wish to prepare your congregational
moviegoers with the following information beforehand:
3
KEY CHARACTERS, 3 KEY BA11TLES, 3 KEY QUESTIONS
 Those
steeped in Civil War history will be thrilled by the filmmakers'
attention to detail. For those less familiar with the Civil War,
Gods and Generals can be viewed as the story of three key soldiers
and three key battles.
The
story is told primarily through the faith and actions of Confederate
Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson,
and Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain of the Union Army. Each
leaves beloved family and reluctantly takes up arms. Each prays
for divine blessing on behalf of their soldiers marching into battle.
Each hopes to remain firmly within the will of God.
This
epic film covers three major battles that served as turning points
in the Civil War. Gods and Generals begins with the surprising victory
of the Confederate Army led by General Jackson at the Battle of
Bull Run. Next, General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army resist
the Union forces in Fredericksburg. Finally, the Confederate victory
at Chancellorsville results in the devastating loss of Jackson.
Before
your congregation views the film, help them to consider the following
questions:
What
is the proper Christian response to the threat of war?
Does God choose sides in battle?
How do we discern the will of God?
AFTER
SEEING THE FILM
The
biblical themes explored in Gods and Generals will be freshest in
viewers' minds directly after seeing the movie.
The
size of the group will likely determine the best place to direct
a post-screening discussion
- perhaps a church fellowship hail, a restaurant, or a family's
home. In each instance, acoustics that allow everyone to hear and
be heard will prove essential.
The
breadth of the movie can make leading a discussion daunting. We
suggest breaking the discussion into three distinct parts, connected
to the three main battles. Then, you can focus upon the practical
applications that arise from each-preparing for battle, testing
our faith, and discerning the will of God.
GROUP
STUDY 1
BULL
RUN-PREPARING FOR BATTLE
DISCUSSION STARTER:
In your own lives, what battles have you faced?
(E.g. marriage, childbirth, a medical scare, etc.) How have you
prepared?
1.
PREPARATION FOR BATTLE
 THE
SCENE: Before Thomas Jackson goes off to war, he and his beloved
wife, Anna, gather near the fireplace, looking for strength and
comfort. They turn to the Bible and read 2 Corinthians 5:1- "If
our earthly house were dissolved, we have a building made by God,
eternally in the heavens, not built by human hands."
Jackson
prays: "Almighty God, grant that if it be thou will, avert
the threatening danger and bring us peace, keep my love in thy care.
Bring us all at last to the joy of thy eternal kingdom."
QUESTION:
Why, when faced with a moment of crisis, is it important as Christians
to keep an "eternal ". perspective on life?
2. PRAYER
 THE
SCENE: On the peaceful morning of July 21st, 1861, before the
Battle of Bull Run, General Jackson surveys the green fields of
Virginia and offers this prayer:
"Dear
Lord, this is your day, you have admonished us to keep it holy.
If it is your will that we fight this day, then your will be done.
I ask your protection over Anna, your faithful servant, my loving
wife. I ask you to shine your face upon her on her 30th birthday.
Dear Lord, you have called me to this place and this hour far from
my home and my loved ones. I am ready Lord, your will be done. It
is your sword I will wield into battle, it is your banner I will
raise against those who will desecrate our land. If it is my time
to come, then I will come with all the joy in my heart. Amen."
QUESTION:
For all Christians, "Thy will be done" is a hard prayer
to pray, and harder to literally mean. With all of the ups and downs
of life, how is it really possible to say "Thy will be done"
in both the peaks and valleys?
3. AFTER THE BATTLE
Jackson
earned his nickname by standing "like a stone wall" while
under heavy enemy fire. Shot in the hand by the Union army, he persevered,
demonstrating uncommon bravery.
 THE
SCENE: After the Confederate victory, General Jackson surveyed
the field. Finding hundreds of Confederate soldiers dead, a soldier
asks: "General, how is it you can keep so serene and stay so
utterly insensible with a storm of shells and bullets raining about
your head?" Jackson replies: "Captain Smith, my religious
belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed
the time for my death, I don't concern myself with that. But to
be always ready, whenever it should overtake me. That is how all
men should live. Then all men would be equally brave."
QUESTION:
Do you lead your life that way? If not, why not? What are some ways
that you could learn to live life in this manner? Would that mean
you can be reckless in the way you choose to live?
CONCLUSION:
Preparation for battle in life begins with preparation for death
- in the promises of scripture, in the comfort of prayer, in the
assurance of eternal life.
GROUP
STUDY 2
FREDERICKSBURG-TESTING
OUR FAITH
DISCUSSION STARTER:
Is it possible to determine the will of God?
1.
PREPARATION FOR BATTLE
 THE
SCENE: General Robert E. Lee is briefed on the Union army's
position and the Confederate soldiers' preparations. After studying
the plans, he declares: "These deployments are sound. The rest
is in God's hands."
QUESTION:
Lee did everything possible to fully prepare for what God's will
would be the following day. In your own life, what actions do you
take to prepare yourself for what tomorrow brings?
2. WAR IS OUR JUDGE
THE
SCENE: As the Union army crosses the river into Fredericksburg,
Colonel Lawrence Chamberlain refers to Julius Caesar's prayer before
he marched on his own beloved Roman people.
"0
Thunderer, 0 Jupiter, 0 Rome equal to the highest deity, favor
my plans, not with impious weapons do I pursue you, here am I
Caesar, conqueror of land and sea, your own soldier everywhere,
now too if I am permitted. The man who makes me thy enemy, it
is he who will be the guilty one. Here I abandon peace, farewell
to treaties, from now on, war is our judge. Hail Caesar - we who
are about to die, salute you."
QUESTION: The quote asserts that "war is our judge"
- that God's will is ultimately revealed by the particular outcome
of a moment in time. Is it possible that when bad things happen
to good people, that it may, in fact, be God's will? Are both the
good and bad that befall us God's will, or are they instead just
random life events?
3. A SLAVE'S PRAYER FOR FREEDOM
THE
SCENE: A slave woman, left behind by the Southern family that
she serves, offers a prayer on behalf of the Union soldiers who've
overtaken the house. She quotes from Esther 4:13-14,
"Think
not to thyself, that thou shall escape.
Then shall deliverance arise
Who knows whether thou hast come to the kingdom.
For such a time as this."
She
expresses His deepest hope:
"Esther
had to save her people too. I love the people you chased from
this house. The Bells is good people. I was born a slave and I
want to die free. Heaven help me. May God bless you all."
 QUESTION:
The slave woman is clearly conflicted - one the one hand, she loves
her slave owner "family," but thanks to her Union Army
liberators, freedom is finally in her grasp. How are we as Christians
to determine if opportunities placed in front of us are Cod's will?
When confronted with a hard life decision, how are we to know which
choice is the one Cod wants for us?
CONCLUSION:
For slaves hoping and praying for deliverance, God took a long time
to answer their prayers. But if war was the judge, then Cod ultimately
answered the prayers of the slaves through the actions of the Union
Army. It is through ceaseless prayer that life's problems are addressed.
GROUP STUDY 3
CHANCELLORSVILLE
DISCERNING THE WILL OF GOD
DISCUSSION STARTER:
What do the words, "Thy will be done," mean to you?
1.
ENDING THE SCOURGE OF SLAVERY
THE
SCENE: Colonel Lawrence Chamberlain explains to his brother
why they must fight. He says, "An army is power. Its entire
purpose is to coerce others. We have seen more suffering than any
man should ever see. The end must justify the cost. War is a scourge,
but so is slavery. It is the systematic coercion of one man over
another. That is no excuse to tolerate it here. If your life or
mine is part of the price to end this curse and free the Negro,
then let God's will be done."
QUESTION:
The men who died in the Civil War (as in all wars) never got to
see the final results of that which cost their life. Does God have
plans for your life that are bigger than you?
2.
UNANSWERED PRAYERS
THE
SCENE: While the Confederate army won a victory at Chancellorsville,
their inspirational general, Thomas Jackson, was accidentally shot
by his own soldiers. Robert E. Lee grasped the enormity of the potential
loss of the general and what it might mean to the outcome of the
war. He declared, "He has lost his left arm, but I have lost
my right."
In
his tent, reflecting upon their 'victory,' Lee says: "Surely,
General Jackson will recover. God will not take him now, not when
we need him so much. Tell him that I prayed for him last night as
I never prayed, I believe, for myself."
QUESTION:
Did God answer Lee's prayer, or did it go unanswered?
3.
THY WILL BE DONE
 THE
SCENE: Despite Robert E. Lee's prayers, Jackson develops pneumonia,
which fatally complicates his recovery from his gunshot wounds.
As Jackson lies dying, he requests his loving wife Anna to "Pray
for me. But in your prayers, never forget to use the petition, 'Thy
will be done"
QUESTION:
With Jackson's death, was God's will accomplished? Though both North
and South faithfully prayed, did God take sides in the war? What
does the Bible communicate about the overall will of God and whom
He consistently champions and defends?
CONCLUSION:
Ultimately, God's will emerged - in the accidental death of "Stonewall"
Jackson, in Robert E. Lee's battle at Gettysburg, in the victory
of the Union Army. While we may wonder about God's will in our individual
lives, God demonstrates throughout scripture that his will includes
loving our neighbors, caring for widows and orphans, and defending
the weak from injustice and oppression - even if that sometimes
means taking up arms to accomplish it.
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