Tag Archives: Public Expression

US Military Provides Diverse Spiritual Support

A legitimate question that all new members of the military (or those aspiring to be) have is to what degree they will be able to exercise their religious faith while in the service.  Regardless of the service, the role of the US military corps of Chaplains is to ensure the troops’ access to free exercise of their religion, as well as act as a focal point for the protection of religious freedom within the military.  Such freedoms are restricted only as necessary by the needs of the military mission.

While an occasional complaint makes the news implying that the military supports only a single religion, a veritable plethora of counterexamples undermine that claim.  Recently, the Pulaski County Daily Read more

Letter Inspires Responses: God’s Role in Combat

A letter to the editor at the Stars and Stripes complained of offense when the paper quoted a soldier apparently expressing a belief in God (discussed here). The “non-believer’s” letter spawned a spate of responses.

Three responses directly addressed the original letter writer’s question.  The first attempted to explain the sovereignty of God by pitting free will versus God’s will, a complicated subject at best for the opinion section of a newspaper.  A second letter also taught a theological lesson, as well as bluntly communicating a Christian message.

The third addressed a more basic concept in the original letter, noting that God has allowed many to die–and live–when man cannot comprehend why.  The first sergeant makes an astute observation about the self-contradiction of the initial complaint:  Read more

NASA Broadcasts MercyMe, Newsboys

Ever since Madalyn Murray O’Hair of the American Atheists sued NASA in 1969, the relationship between the space agency and all things religious has been interesting.  Even forty years later, as noted here, American Atheists complained about NASA allowing Astronaut Patrick Forrester to carry a piece of Nate Saint’s airplane with him into space.

Still, NASA hasn’t shied away from all things religious.  A previous article noted that God of Wonders has been one of the more popular “wake-up songs” broadcast to the shuttle crew in space.  (Each crewman’s family can pick a song as the wake-up call for the start of each day.)  The most recent trip (STS-129) just ended, with space shuttle Atlantis returning to Earth just after Thanksgiving.  During the mission, the shuttle heard MercyMe’s I Can Only Imagine, the Newsboys’ In Wonder, and Bob Carlisle’s Butterfly Kisses, among several other songs for the crew.  Read more

Chaplain Brings Faith with Prayer

An Army Chaplain has made his mark by praying with soldiers before every convoy departs Al Asad, Iraq.  Chaplain (Capt.) Michael Lanigan is the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team Chaplain.

“I come out here every night, this is exactly what I feel like God has designed me to do–to bring faith to the fight in a place where men and women just need encouragement.”  Lanigan said that he does not inspire with just his words, but with God’s words, and that he believes that is a powerful thing.

The Chaplain also notes that faith, not his position as Chaplain, is what the Soldiers Read more

Sikhs Celebrate at White House

The White House blog details the Sikh celebration of the “540th anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak Dev Ji” that took place on November 13th.  President Obama did not attend (he was on the first leg of his Asia trip), and it does not appear he made a statement on the celebration.

The White House notes that this is the first Sikh celebration to occur in the White House.  It is not, however, the first time this event has been recognized Read more

Military Supports All Faiths, and Those with None

Despite the occasional accusation to the contrary, the US military is not a bastion of conspiratorial theocrats.  As is routinely shown even on this site, the Chaplains of the US military go beyond the call in their efforts to support all military members, no matter what religion (if any), and often no matter what nationality.

At Keesler Air Force Base, Chaplain (Capt.) Charles Mallory recently had an opportunity to organize a new group to discuss issues of belief.  The Chaplain was approached by an enlisted Airman about starting a discussion group that would ultimately be called “The Query of Orthodoxy,” designed to give  Read more

1 … 138 139 140 141 142 … 147