Retired General tells Military Chaplains to be Inclusive or “Get Out”

David Wells, pastor of Pleasant View Baptist Church in McQuady, Kentucky, was recently barred from ministering to residents of a juvenile detention facility because he refused to sign a policy that said he could not refer to homosexuality as sinful. The Liberty Counsel is now assisting Wells as he sues for reinstatement:

“They have not accommodated him and they’re clearly trying to restrict a particular viewpoint,” said Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel…

Staver also said he  Read more

Mikey Weinstein Confuses, Contradicts Self in Debate with Ron Crews

Update: Chaplain Crews reports Mikey Weinstein plans to send “clients” into military chapel services to “monitor sermons.”  Crews also reports that groups are ready to defend chaplains subject to Weinstein’s attacks.

Last week TheBlaze posted a podcast from The Church Boys that included what they called a “heated” debate between Michael “Mikey” Weinstein and retired US Army Chaplain (Col) Ron Crews. The nearly 45-minute broadcast is largely Weinstein monologuing with his normal talking points to, or over, the hosts and Crews. (The audio is available below.)

For those that want the Bottom Line Up Front, the “debate” made clear that Mikey Weinstein doesn’t have a clear position, but he holds it very strongly and with great animus toward Christians.

“Perverts” and Marching Orders

For nearly half the show Weinstein railed against chaplains who would issue “anti-LGBT marching orders” and scream “perverts!” from the pulpit. No one seemed to really understand what he was talking about, and he never explained himself. It would seem he was attempting to set up a straw man that never really got going.

Strong Bonds and Marriage Retreats

Weinstein said it would be a “declaration of war” if a chaplain Read more

Heathens Continue Push for Military Recognition

Along with Sikhs, Humanists, homosexuals, and transgenders, another group seeking “official” US military recognition is heathens. Writing at Religion News Service, Kimberly Winston — normally RNS’s atheist hired writer — recounts the stories of self-described military heathens who want to put “heathen” on their dog tags:

Jeremiah McIntyre wants to be called a Heathen.

The 38-year-old Army sergeant follows the old Norse religion Asatru, in which the god Thor swings his hammer in the sky and Odin rules a heavenly place called Valhalla. Should McIntyre die, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs would allow a hammer of Thor on his tombstone.

But the Army does not otherwise currently recognize the active-duty soldier’s faith…

That much is true, as has been previously discussed more than once. Winston then digresses into what she perceives as affronts to the unrecognized heathen masses:  Read more

Navy Commander Tells Subordinates to Take Pride in Homosexual Community

US Navy Capt Ronald Ravelo and the USS Abraham Lincoln

The USS Abraham Lincoln, a Nimitz-class nuclear powered aircraft carrier currently undergoing a refurbishment in Virginia, recently held a “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender” celebration. One of the presentations came from Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Ryan Wampler, who said

Policies like the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ propel this Navy to be the finest in the world…I take pride in knowing that I am part of an organization that…is…setting examples for the rest of the country to follow.

It’s unclear how openly accepting homosexuality makes Read more

Supreme Court Restricts Marriage, and No One Notices

Update: As Chief Justice John Roberts predicted: Inspired by SCOTUS ruling, polygamous Montana trio applies for wedding license.

While some have hailed the US Supreme Court‘s ruling last week (available in PDF here) that expanded the legal definition of marriage to include homosexuals, few have noted Justice Anthony Kennedy’s careful wording that actually restricted the definition of marriage:

The Fourteenth Amendment requires a State to license a marriage between two people of the same sex and to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex… Read more

US Military Adds Sexuality to Equal Opportunity Program (Video)

As previously discussed, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter officially announced that “sexual orientation” was being added to the DoD’s equal opportunity protected classes, a list that includes race and religion:

I’m proud to announce that the Department of Defense has completed the process for updating its Military Equal Opportunity policy to include sexual orientation – ensuring that the department, like the rest of the federal government, treats sexual-orientation-based discrimination the same way it treats discrimination based on race, religion, color, sex, age, and national origin.

The video of his speech is available here.

In short, this means that if a person faces discrimination Read more

SECAF: Diversity, Moral Courage, and Barriers for Same-Sex Couples

In her address to the 2015 USAFA graduating class, Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James called on the new Second Lieutenants to

have the moral courage to stand up for what is right.

It is a worthy, if nearly clichéd, reminder to graduates. It is curious, though, if some parts of American society or American government can remember what “right” — or moral courage — even is.

Notably, every news article covering the 23-minute speech by Secretary James (including the official ones) noted one specific phrase, in context and in bold below:  Read more

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