The Savannah morning news., 1900-08-23
RELIGION IN THE BoER WAR

1t is well known to those who have
kept track of the war between the Brit
sh and the Beers in South Africa, that
on the Boer side of the struggle religion
has been an important factor, and though
it may be of little import in determining
the final outcome. it certainly has had
much to do with the stubborn rests tance
which the Beers have made. The Beers
religion reaches fanaticism; the Bible he
accepts literally as he does any conclu-
siOns drawn from it and enunciated by his
superiors in the church. What, then, has
been the effect of such religious influ-
ences as these in the South African war?
Evidently it has been to unity the Boer
army, though at times it may have made
the soldier depend too much upon super
natural aid. Even with the carelessness
incident to such faith it must be ad-
mitted that the Beers have given the Eng
fish some interesting lessons in military
strategy. The religious tie has been, I'M
questionably, a bond of union which, in
any event, made the Boer army far more
effective than it would have been with
out it.
Col Arthur Lynch of the Second Irish
Brigade, in the Boer army, gives. in the
current Independent, an interesting in
sight into this religious enthusiasm which
the Beers carried into the war with them
President Kruger, he says. is Christian
of quite primitive type" He is the chief
of the religious sect known as "Doppers.
a sect whose pride is to reduce the cere-
mony of religious service to its very
planest expression" The burghers have
always looked up to him somewhat as
religious as well as a temporal leader. 1t
has been his custom to append
some Biblical text to the mill
tary orders he issued, or to wire
some quotation from the Bible for
the benefit of the army on the eve of bat
tie. Joubert was. practically, just such
a Christian as Kruger, and would pray as
ardently after a defeat as after a victory.
OF such character are the Beers, though
the ordinary soldier, as a rule, has
laxness along with his religious fervor,
and frequently steals a horse or loots
farm house with the sincere belief that
his prayers and Bible reading absolve him
from all that is reprehensible. This, of
course, illustrates the Beers unbounded
confidence in the power of his religion
and with many it goes to such an
extent that they have asserted they saw
the Victorious Angel leading the
Boer army to success in battle.
There can be no doubt that such infiu-
ences as these have given the Boer
army unity and degree of courage
that has greatly improved its nat
urally rather primitive fighting quail
ities The Beers believed that their
battle was of Gods fighting through
themselves as agents, and that their sue
cess was as certain and as God-given as
was that of David over the Philistines and
Moabites. They expected success from
the start, and at the beginning of the war
they were surprised by the degree of it,
This only added to their faith in their
ultimate victory through the same source.
1t is no wonder, then, that the war has
been long drawn out, that it has already
lasted almost a year. Ii Is no wonder
that the struggle is not yet concluded and
that the burghers are still stubbornly
lighting, though scattered and reduced in
numbers and driven from their capital.
Faith in battle is a powerful weapon; it
gives courage and strength which are half
the fight. These are the qualities to-
gether with their good craftsmanship anS
knowledge of the country. that have en-
abled them to hold out against every
thing but overwhelming numbers