USAFA Football Player First to Proclaim Homosexuality, and Faith

Widespread news stories are covering US Air Force Academy football player and sophomore Cadet Bradley Kim for publicly announcing his sexuality:

A defensive back for the U.S. Air Force Academy’s football team came out Friday as the first openly gay football player to play for one of the three major U.S. service academy teams.

Sophomore Bradley Kim announced his sexual orientation to teammates, on social media and in OutSports.com, the Colorado Springs Gazette reported.

The response is being described Read more

ACLJ’s Skip Ash, Jay Sekulow Rise to Counter Mikey Weinstein

The ACLJ has recently begun to more firmly establish itself as one of the most articulate and assertive defenders of military religious freedom, specifically as it pertains to the attacks on religious liberty by Michael “Mikey” Weinstein.

Two weeks ago, Skip Ash (who has already written some lengthy and well-cited rebuttals to Weinstein and his acolyte John Compere) wrote an article detailing how the ACLJ had stood in opposition to Weinstein’s attacks on Bibles in POW/MIA displays. Noting Weinstein’s MRFF had sent yet another letter demanding an investigation (after their first demand was denied), Ash notes the ACLJ also wrote another letter to the DoD, saying

Our purpose, as always, is to educate DOD IG personnel on what the Constitution actually requires and permits vis-à-vis such displays and to refute the broad (though, admittedly, consistent) Constitutional misinterpretations of the MRFF and its supporters. The MRFF and its supporters grossly misunderstand what the Establishment Clause requires, and they too frequently interpret freedom of religion to actually mean freedom from religion.

As has been noted in the past, such Read more

FE Warren Air Force Base Commander Pulls Bible from POW Display

Update:  “Shame” from the Washington Times.  Also at the Baptist Joint Committee., with more vitriol from the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

I lived on what I referred to as faith. There were four. One was faith in myself. Two was faith in those around me. Three was faith in my country. And four was faith in my God.
– US Air Force Capt (Ret) William Robinson, the longest-held enlisted Prisoner of War in American history

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein is again gloating about his success in persuading a military base to remove a Bible from a POW/MIA remembrance table.

But it isn’t the giant scandal it may seem.

For Weinstein, POW displays are the gift that keeps on giving. There are Read more

Marine Commandant Describes Using Religion During Iraq War

Gen Robert Neller, Commandant of the Marine Corps and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently attended an iftar meal ending Ramadan fasting in Baltimore. Generally speaking, such events should be non-events, though senior military leaders publicly attending religious events occasionally brings criticism (normally when they’re Christian events).

One notable statement from Gen Neller [emphasis added]:

Neller shared some stories about his travels as a Marine to places where he was the minority as a white, Catholic American. He spoke about using what he knows about Islam to find common ground with Iraqi leaders during a year spent in Anbar province.

“We’re all sons of Abraham – why are you fighting me?” Neller recalled telling them.

It’s a fascinating statement on several levels. It’s a valid Read more

Unbroken Sequel Will Finish the Story

Angelina Jolie made Louis Zamperini famous with the movie Unbroken, which, while a good movie, left a major portion of Zamperini’s life to roll in the credits: his post-war descent into anger and alcohol, and his salvation at a Billy Graham crusade that became the path forward in his life.

A new movie out this fall aims to finish that story:

The Billy Graham Evangelical Association previously filled in those blanks with a documentary.  The USAFA Class of 2018 chose Zamperini as Read more

Chaplains Lead Paratroop Jump: All Things Through Christ

An official Army article describes a fascinating tradition of the Army honoring the patron saint of paratroopers, Saint Michael, with a parajump training event:

The Saint Michael’s Jump is meant to celebrate the airborne community’s patron saint and promote spiritual resiliency across the Division.

Perhaps most interesting is the fact the jump is explicitly a chaplain’s event:

[T]he Saint Michael’s Jump is significant in several ways, starting with the way a paratrooper qualifies to get on the jump.

“You have to go through a spiritual training event with Read more

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