Sergeant York - A Movie About a Great American

Ten years ago, throughout 2016, my wife and I visited and wrote about churches and bars in every state -- and a movie theater in every state as well. In addition, I wrote about films set or made in the area — more specifically, about how churches and clergy members were portrayed in films from every state.

In this 250th year of our great nation, it seems appropriate to post a film about a hero from the history of the great state of Tennessee. This is a great film that celebrates a great man.

Sergeant York (1941)

(First posted at moviechurches.com November 4, 2016)

When I was in elementary school during the Vietnam War, I wrote a letter to President Nixon, telling him that the war was wrong because the Bible said, "Thou shalt not kill.” I received a ten-page policy statement as a response, something I don't believe I ever read.

Last year I watched three films in the same week that raised the argument that becoming a soldier was wrong because the Bible says, "Thou shalt not kill." In the 2014 drama Calvary, a young man goes to a priest to discuss his intent to enlist in the army. The priest says that whoever signs up for the army in peacetime is a psychopath — "'Thou shalt not kill' does not come with an asterisk." — though he readily admits that self-defense is a "sticky" issue.

If the priest thinks there is no asterisk to "Thou shalt not kill," does that mean there is no distinction between swatting a fly, euthanasia, shooting a guard while committing a bank robbery, and shooting a terrorist who’s about to kill a child? That's clearly absurd.

In Friendly Persuasion (1956, starring Gary Cooper), a Quaker meeting is interrupted by a Union army major who challenges the congregation to fight in the war to maintain their rights. He is confronted by the same admonition: "Thou shalt not kill.”

Finally, in Sergeant York, Alvin York receives his draft notice but says he won't go because the Good Book says, "Thou shalt not kill."

For a couple of thousand years now, theologians have made sophisticated arguments for and against pacifism, just war theory and passive resistance -- but these three films never get far beyond my childhood theology.

God gave Moses the command, "Thou Shalt Not Kill." Moses proclaimed it to the Israelites and, eventually, it spread to the rest of the world. Moses had committed murder and suffered for that sin. He also received God’s commands to take His people to war – which makes me think there’s a bit more nuance to that commandment than is presented in these films.

(Sorry. I've gotten a little off topic from looking at the church in the movie Sergeant York...)

This story of the great World War I hero opens with the ringing of church bells. A Tennessee backwoods congregation is singing "When the Roll is Called Up Yonder" without instrumental accompaniment. Pastor Rosier Pile, played by Walter Brennan, is telling the story of the lost sheep, illustrating the story by telling about a local farmer who lost his sow.

Drunk men on horseback interrupt the service by shooting off guns outside the church. Alvin York (Gary Cooper in an Oscar-winning performance) is one of those men.

The preacher is also a local shopkeeper, and while at the store, Alvin's mother allows that her son could "use some religion." Pastor Pile agrees that "a little religion wouldn't do him no harm."

He meets up with Alvin, who is plowing a field, and points out that plowing around a rock makes it difficult to keep a straight path. Pastor Pile encourages Alvin to make a straight path in life and warns that "Satan's got you by the shirttail, and you need to wrestle him off."

York argues he can't do it, but the preacher tells him that the Lord can do it with him. Alvin says he isn't ready for religion, but the pastor says, "Religion will come when you ain't expecting it."

When York discovers he's been cheated out of good farmland, he mounts his mule to get revenge. He’s struck by lightning and makes his way to the nearby church. As he kneels in front of the church, the congregation breaks into “Give Me That Old Time Religion.”

York accepts that old-time religion and becomes a Sunday School teacher who tells his students that the Bible is God's book, adding, "there ain't nothing in it that ain't true."

When York is drafted to fight in the First World War, he says he won't go because "the Book's agin killing, so killing's agin the Book." Pastor Pile helps him file as a conscientious objector, but the draft board doesn't respect Pile's small independent church as part of a legitimate denomination. York's exemption is rejected.

As York goes off to the Army, Pastor Pile encourages him. "Put your trust in the Lord, and He'll look out for you." York proves to be a hardworking, ideal soldier, but he still says he will not kill. His officers say they respect his integrity, but encourage him to study U.S. history. He is granted a leave of absence, during which he reads the founding fathers and comes to believe it is okay to fight for freedom.

In all of this, Pastor Pile is quite supportive. Most of the rest of the film shows York's exploits as a soldier, winning every military honor in the Western World.

Pastor Pile may not be the deepest thinker, but he finds ways to use illustrations from nature and farming to relate to his people. He's concerned about his people, and his congregation seems to worship with joy. The pastor and the church help York become the great hero he was meant to be. I'd give the church in Sergeant York three steeples.

(In honor of the tenth anniversary of our trip, and more importantly, the 250th anniversary of our great nation, Mrs. Scrubb collected posts from the blog into a book celebrating films from sea to shining sea. Movie Churches 2016 is available at Amazon.)