Image: Adobe Stock – eyetronic
God’s Spirit Led Me Out of the Trap Question
By Burkhard Vogel
“But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.” (Matthew 10:19)
Military conscription was mandatory in our country. After my physical examination, I was also called up for military service. But I took the sixth commandment seriously, which says: “You shall not kill,” and exercised my right to refuse military service with a weapon. I had to submit my reasons for this decision in writing. Then I was summoned to attend an oral hearing on a set date.
Interrogation by the Review Board
Like a defendant, I stood before a panel of four men who began asking me critical questions to determine my true motives for refusing military service. They wanted to find out whether my religious reasons were genuine or just a pretext. But I repeatedly made it clear that I would never take a weapon into my hand, potentially putting myself in a situation where I might use it and end up killing someone.
The men constantly tried to corner me. In my heart, I prayed that the LORD would give me the right words so they could see that I take the commandment of the Bible very seriously. Then the conversation took a turn that seemed dangerous for me.
The Trap Question
They constructed the following hypothetical scenario and asked me:
“Imagine you’re flying in a fighter jet over your city, where your wife and children live. You see an enemy bomber approaching the city, clearly intending to drop bombs. You have the chance to shoot down the bomber before it reaches the city. If you do, you will kill people; if you don’t, you’ll share responsibility for the deaths of many people in the city, including your family, because you failed to prevent it. What do you do?”
I felt the pressure of this trap question, and I started to sweat. They wanted to bring me down and show me that no matter what I chose, I could not avoid killing. But at that very moment, a thought shot through my mind, and I spoke it aloud immediately.
Inspiration at the Toughest Moment
I said:
“My view of God has been shaped by the Bible. And my view of God tells me this: If God forbids killing in His Word through the sixth commandment, He cannot at the same time allow me to be put in a dilemma where I must kill no matter what. That would mean I’d only have to decide who I kill, not whether I kill. But that contradicts the image of God that the Bible gives me. So I am firmly convinced that the God I believe in would never put me in such a situation.”
I immediately realized that God’s Spirit had given me this answer — it had not come from myself. The result was a sudden deep silence in the room, and no one asked me anything further.
Application Approved
The men sent me outside while they deliberated. Shortly after, they called me back in and informed me that my application for conscientious objection had been approved.
I praised God in my heart and thanked Him for inspiring that answer — and that I had been able to personally experience the fulfillment of Jesus’ words in the Gospel of Matthew.
