Put On Your Thinking Cap - The Helmet of Salvation (The Armor, part 13)

Thus far in our study of the Whole Armor of God, we have established that the Belt of Truth represents salvation by acceptance of Christ as Lord and Savior, the Breastplate of Righteousness protects us from the consequences of sin by engaging in good behavior, the “boots” of preparation get us ready to spread the gospel of peace, and the Shield of Faith adds a layer of protection which keeps us spiritually safe, even when all else fails. In this installment, we will look at the Helmet of Salvation.

At this point, alarm bells might be going off in your head. ..

Wasn’t the Belt of Truth all about salvation?

Is the helmet just a repeat of that?

Keep calm and read on, dear reader, because the Helmet of Salvation plays quite a different role in our spiritual lives than the Belt of Truth. We can understand this better by considering the function of the Roman soldier’s helmet, or galea.

Photo by R. Gino Santa Maria

The galea in its simplest form consisted primarily of a skull cap of iron or brass.  Some versions included cheek flaps made of leather or other perishable material, while others sported hinged cheek plates of iron or brass.  Regardless of the material used, the flaps tied together below the chin, both securing the helmet and adding protection for the cheeks, mouth, and chin.  Some models of the galea had a rear neck guard, while cavalry helmets often featured a full faceplate, with only eyeholes cut out.  All versions of the helmet included an inner liner (probably of wool) which provided vital cushioning for impacts.

But what about the spiritual symbolism? Three times in scripture, a helmet is linked to salvation. 

Choose Faith (The Armor, part 12)

I’m not a morning person. Waking up is a process, and my morning routine seems to happen with little or no conscious thought on my behalf. Sit up, put on my oversize fuzzy slippers, answer mother nature’s call, feed the cats, make the coffee. It’s the same every day, and I go through it without even thinking about it.

Or do I?

Even though I may feel (and look) like a mindless zombie first thing in the morning, each step of my routine is the result of a choice. I choose to get out of bed rather than sleeping in. I choose to put on the fuzzy slippers instead of going barefoot. True, going to the bathroom may be the unavoidable result of bodily functions, but I choose to do that before feeding the cats or making coffee. Everything we do is the result of a choice, even for one such as myself who, upon first waking, has more in common with the walking dead than Mr. Rogers.

What is life if not a series of choices?

Choice is an ever-present factor of human life. Nothing that you do happens without your choosing it. You chose your job. You chose what to wear this morning. You chose what to eat for breakfast - or you may have chosen to skip breakfast altogether. You chose to read this article (and I choose to thank you for doing so!). If any of the above decisions were made by someone else on your behalf, then you chose to let them make that decision for you.

As stated in lyrics penned by the late Neil Peart of Rush, “If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.” There is no escaping the presence of choice in your life. It touches everything that you do.

A Christian Response to COVID-19

At the time of this writing, we are in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic of 2020. Many people are scared, others are skeptical. Some are self-quarantined, many are practicing social distancing, and some few are brazenly defiant of any such restrictions.

And then there’s the shortage of toilet paper due to hoarding. To be honest, I’m still scratching my bald head over that one. Even under quarantine for 6 weeks, would you really need an entire case of toilet paper? I mean, my family of three goes through a 12-roll pack about once a month, but that’s probably TMI…

Food hoarding? At least I understand that one, even though it still creates serious problems for people who are unable to get necessities while others take way more than they really need.

It seems to me that there has been quite a bit of panic. For the moment, that seems to be subsiding, and I truly hope cooler heads will prevail. Panic is never productive and almost always leads to greater harm.

All of this leads me to my next point. I’m sure I will catch some flack from those who read my next paragraph and nothing more, but bear with me and read the rest of the article before becoming a troll, if you would.

Defending the Faith (The Armor, part 11)

The Shield of Faith is arguably the most complex piece of the whole armor of God. The problem is that faith is such a complex word with many, many layers of meaning. Faith is hope. Faith is trust. Faith is belief. Faith can also be a set of beliefs. The Bible tells us, “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) Faith is loyalty, confidence, assurance, and truth.  All of this… without even touching the topic of where we should place our faith.

It was with this awareness of the myriad definitions of faith that I opened my Strong’s Concordance to narrow down the possibilities and try to find out what exactly Paul was getting at by invoking the name of faith in regard to the Roman soldier’s shield. What I found was surprising.

We’ll get back to that later.

A Herd of Turtles (The Armor, part 10)

Wolves have long been one of my favorite wild animals. It’s not surprising, because I love dogs, I grew up owning dogs, and at times during my childhood, I spent more time alone with my dogs than with other kids my age. I have been described by numerous people throughout my life as a loner, so I suppose it makes sense that I have often felt a kind of kinship with the trope of the lone wolf.

While it’s true that a lone wolf can be an effective hunter, such a beast will find itself limited to small prey. But a pack of wolves? That’s a different story. Wolf packs are among the most successful of nature’s hunting parties, able to bring down prey that would be impossible for (or even deadly to) a lone wolf.

Believe me when I say that life as a Christian is much the same way.

A lone Christian can make some impact on the world for Christ. Some would argue that it is in one-on-one contact and close relationships with non-believers that a Christian is able to share the Gospel most effectively, and they wouldn’t be wrong. But even so, all Christians need to have regular contact with other believers, lest they cease to be the hunters and become the hunted. Fortunately, there is a place where individual believers can go to recharge their batteries on a regular basis.

Yes, it’s the church.

Even the strongest and surest individuals need a support system. Indeed, as stated so succinctly by author John Donne, “No man is an island.” Living and working in isolation is difficult for social beings, whether they be wolves or humans. The work is tiresome, the resources scarce, and the rewards limited. But as part of a group (or pack), the Christian can find the strength and support to accomplish far greater things than the loner.

Photo by Neil Carey (license CC BY-SA 2.0)

An excellent picture of the power of a unified group of individuals comes from Paul’s reference to faith as a shield in Ephesians 6:16. While the Roman scutum was a formidable bit of equipment for the individual soldier, the collective strength of these shields when used in unison by an entire unit became the stuff of legend.

When outnumbered or facing a rain of arrows from distant archers, Roman legionnaires could unite in a special defensive formation known as the testudo, or tortoise formation. Soldiers along the perimeter of the formation would hold their shields upright, side-by-side, while those inside the formation would lift their shields horizontally above their heads, overlapping them to form a virtually impenetrable shell encasing the entire unit. The formation could maintain its position nearly indefinitely, and it could even move and advance into enemy lines while providing superior protection to the soldiers beneath the canopy of overlapping shields.

Complete Coverage (The Armor, part 9)

One of the primary goals of this study is to better understand the symbolism used in Paul’s references to Roman military equipment in his letter to the Ephesians. Why, for example, does he pair the shield with faith, rather than some other spiritual quality? And why is faith, which is so extremely important, placed fourth in this list of six items? The answers to both of these questions lie in the broad nature of the word, “faith,” as well as the equally broad coverage of the scutum itself.

Scutum In Action

The Roman soldier’s shield was a surprisingly versatile and effective piece of equipment due, in part, to its large size and relatively light weight. The scutum was large enough to fully cover a crouching soldier, leaving virtually no target available for archers except the shield itself, yet lightweight enough for a legionnaire to wield in one hand while brandishing a sword or spear in the other. The scutum quite literally overlaps every other piece of the Roman soldier’s gear.

In much the same way, faith has a broad array of functions in the life of a believer. Faith, in fact, has an impact on every other facet of our spiritual lives. Surely this is why Paul says…

“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”

~Ephesians 6:16 (KJV)

While the KJV translation of this verse begins with the words, “above all,” other translations use phrases such as in all things; at all times; in every situation; in every battle; in all circumstances; and in all this. Faith overlaps every one of the spiritual elements Paul refers to in his references to the whole Armor of God.

On Display: The Shield of Faith (The Armor, part 8)

If you love the near-infinite variety of wildlife found on our tiny blue-green planet (as I do), you are sure to have taken note of some of the more prominent features displayed by nature’s children. Perhaps you have marveled at the giraffe’s surprisingly long neck or have been impressed by the peacock’s striking plumage. Maybe the elephant’s flexible trunk and majestic tusks strike your fancy, or it could be that you are enamored with the magnificent mane of the king of beasts, the mighty lion. Whichever creature strikes you as being the weirdest, the wildest, or the most bizarre, it’s probably due to that one characteristic which sets them apart from the crowd. That creature’s most prominent feature marks it as special in some way.

Perhaps the most prominent feature of a Roman soldier’s gear was his shield. While the Romans employed a variety of shields even during the time of Jesus, by far the most iconic and recognizable of these was the scutum, a curved rectangular shield large enough to completely cover a fully grown man. The name scutum is derived from the same word which might refer to a turtle’s shell, and the protection afforded by a Roman soldier’s scutum was similarly as effective and complete as that enjoyed by the armored reptile.

Image by Parasit on Pixabay

The Roman scutum of the first century was a convex rectangular shield constructed of mostly wood and leather, commonly edged with rawhide to make the structure more durable. The handgrip was located in the center of the shield, with a circular cutout which allowed the handle (grip) of the shield to be as close as possible to the shield’s center of gravity. This placement allowed for better control of the shield when gripped with a single hand. The hand itself was covered by a boss, a piece of domed metal intended primarily to protect the hand, which would otherwise extend through the cutout, beyond the surface of the shield, when holding the handle.