When the deadliest pacifist in US history was asked how he single handily captured 132 enemy soldiers, he replied, “I surrounded them.” This is the story of Alvin York, a devout Christian who was first drafted into World War I and applied as a conscientious objector, but changed his mind after reading Luke 22:36. He believed that “He who hath no sword, let him sell his cloak and buy one.”

When his unit was decimated by German machine gun fire in France, he advanced on the position alone, feeling led by God. He used his tribes shooting skills from his Tennessee turkey hunting days to take out the enemy with deadly accuracy, one by one. When he ran low on rifle ammunition, six Germans charged him with bayonets, but he took out all six with seven shots from his pistol. When he reached the commanding officer, the man surrendered his whole unit in exchange for his life, and all 132 remaining men were marched back to camp and taken prisoner.

When you’re a one man army with the Lord at your side, they don’t just call you the deadliest pacifist. They call you Alvin York. His bravery and faith in the face of battle serves as a powerful reminder of the strength and determination of the human spirit.