President Jimmy Carter “Leaves the Church”

Much has been made of former US President Jimmy Carter’s recent missive in the UK Observer entitled “The words of God do not justify cruelty to women.”  In it he says

[M]y decision to sever my ties with the Southern Baptist Convention, after six decades, was painful and difficult.

It was, however, an unavoidable decision when the convention’s leaders, quoting a few carefully selected Bible verses…ordained that women must be “subservient” to their husbands and prohibited from serving as deacons, pastors, or chaplains in the military service. Read more

Military Chaplain of the Year, 2009

Army Chaplain (Capt.) Rebekah Montgomery has been selected by the Military Chaplain’s Association as their Chaplain of the Year.  The Unitarian-Universalist is a member of the Maryland’s Army National Guard.  She is the brigade chaplain for the 58th Troop Command in Maryland, and also works at the National Guard Bureau.  About the difficulty of quantifying a Chaplain’s role, she said

“We don’t see the direct results, but we trust God is using us in a profound and positive way,” she said. “You can’t quantify how many divorces didn’t happen. You can’t quantify how many suicides didn’t happen.”

US Army Promotes Religion in Afghanistan

Despite controversies over religion in the military and the sensitivities of troops talking about religion with locals, the US Army has actually assigned a young Captain to do that very thing.

According to a Wall Street Journal article, US Army Capt James Hill’s job is to

turn Islam into a weapon against the Taliban.

Though the Wall Street Journal emphasizes the Captain’s religion (the article is entitled “The Baptist and the Mullah Launch a Faith-Based Attack on the Taliban”), Read more

Cause of Edwards F-22A Crash Revealed

As previously discussed, an F-22A Raptor crashed during a test sortie at Edwards AFB, CA, in March of this year.  The test pilot, Lockheed civilian contractor David “Cools” Cooley, perished in the incident.

While an official investigation has not been publicized to date, the Washington Post appears to have been given an answer.  In a marginally-related article on the future of the F-22 program, writer R. Jeffrey Smith notes that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates had been willing to purchase four more F-22s, but only four, to make the total 187.  One was to replace the lost F-22:  Read more

Update 2: “God and Country Festival” Flyby

As previously noted, the Air Force declined to support the Nampa, Idaho, “God and Country Festival” with a flyby, despite a 40+ year history of supporting the event.  The festival organizers now have a petition online.  The organizers make a point of saying

We want to make it clear that although it is unashamedly a Christian event, a major part of the Festival is honoring our troops who protect our freedom to assemble.

The decision has stayed in the news, and was even covered by Bill O’Reilly Read more

Air Force Chaplaincy Scholarships

As it did previously, the Air Force is again advertising scholarships for Chaplain candidates through its “Religious Professional Scholarship.”  According to one report, the scholarship covers tuition, books, and includes a monthly stipend. Applications are being accepted through September 1st.

As the Air Force stated initially, it appears that the current scholarships will be steered toward “under-represented” faiths, which at this point are Catholics.

Muslim Chaplains Impact US Military

In June, two Muslim military Chaplains from France and the United States met in Paris for a religious diversity conference.  The American Chaplain, Lt Commander Abuhena Saifulislam, is a US Navy Chaplain who emigrated from Bangladesh in 1989, becoming a Navy Imam in 1999.  He is endorsed by the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).  He was reportedly assigned to the Marines, making him the first Muslim Chaplain Read more

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