USNA Chapel Ceremony Revisited

More than a week after the initial melee, the New York Times picked up the story on the Naval Academy chapel practice of dipping the US flag at the altar (previously noted here).

There is nothing significantly new in the article, though it does seem to indicate that the initial hysteria over the incident (generated primarily by Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation) was misplaced.  (For example, no one “disobeyed a direct order.”)

Interestingly, columnists are quick to reference the US flag code, which says the flag should never be dipped.  However, the US flag code is a guide, not a punitive regulation.  Previous attempts to make it punitive were struck down by the Supreme Court as unConstitutional.  Thus, while someone may disagree with the practice, it is not prohibited.

NYT reference courtesy of the Religion Clause, and recently updated on ADF.

Navy Officers, Sailors Disciplined for Cheating

According to a FoxNews article, 11 Navy members have been disciplined for falsifying tests they conducted on their nuclear reactor, as well as cheating on officer advancement exams.

It was just a little more than a year ago that the Air Force also had a cheating scandal regarding officer tests.  On that situation, a discussion on integrity, situation ethics, and “gouge” was previously posted here.

Weinstein Re-files Lawsuit

The AP has released an article describing how Weinstein dropped his lawsuit against the Army (discussed in previous posts 1, 2) so he could re-file it, adding an allegation that Specialist Jeremy Hall, his plaintiff, has been passed over for promotion as a result of the ongoing lawsuit.  The text of the new suit is not yet available.  As noted in the previous commentary, the lawsuit previously listed virtually every Christian ministry to the military as illegal entities, and continued to cite “Constitutional violations” about units that no longer existed.

As reported on the Religion Clause.

Weinstein Invited to USAF Academy as Islamic Expert

According to the Associated Press, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an organization that has lambasted the Air Force for allegedly supporting evangelical Christianity, is being invited to the AF Academy to present its view of Islam.  This follows the previous panel on terrorism, which had three panelists that the MRFF criticized for being Christian and unqualified.  (See previous posts, 1 & 2.)

Two invitees are members of the MRFF board.  Joseph Wilson was a Clinton era consultant on African affairs and acting ambassador to Iraq.  Reza Aslan is an academic teacher and writer on Islam.  Aslan recently went on the record (on a CNN blog) criticizing the Academy for hosting “fundamentalist Christians” during the last panel.

The third and final invitee is Weinstein himself, a Reagan era lawyer and founder of the MRFF. It is unclear what his qualifications are to speak as an “expert on Islam.”

Just as the MRFF accused the three “former terrorists” of ulterior motives, it seems unlikely that the MRFF–which has expressed no interest in Islamic issues–would be a legitimate source of “balance” for a previous panel on Islamic terrorism.  The MRFF has a political agenda centered on evangelical Christianity.  According to a San Diego news site (which implied that the MRFF was getting “equal time”), Weinstein has indicated that “deprogramming” may be a part of their upcoming panel–even though no accusations of religious impropriety occurred after the previous panel.

What is clear is that non-Islamic religious issues will be a focus of Weinstein’s visit.

As reported on the ADF and Religion Clause.

The Third Priority of Military Christians

This is the third in a series of articles on military Christians and life priorities.  The first addressed the necessity of the priority of God in a Christian’s life, and looked into the potential responses that others may have to that priority.  The second emphasized the importance of a military Christian’s family.  The third priority of a military Christian should be his career.

A military Christian’s third priority should be his job.  The job priority means assessing how decisions and actions will impact work, professional advancement, and a career.  For fighter pilots in particular, the word “job” is used and placed here in priority for a very specific reason:  being a fighter pilot is a job, it is not a life.

Fighter pilots generally enjoy their jobs and excel at them.  In the end, though, it is still just a job. Read more

Naval Academy Chapel Ceremony Derided

As covered on Military.com, some people are upset that a Protestant chapel service ritual at the US Naval Academy includes “dipping” the American and Brigade flags at the altar.

In particular, Michael Weinstein was upset that the Academy Superintendent, Vice Admiral Jeffrey Fowler, had issued an order that the ceremony stop, only to later allow it to continue.  In criticizing the reversal, Weinstein said, in typical fashion,

Vice Admiral Fowler…wins the ‘Fundamentalist Christian Most Intimidated Award’ for 2008…Such profound duplicity and cowardice fatally disgraces the U.S. Naval Academy…

The implication in the article is that the Vice Admiral had his order overruled.  (Given that the article also says the Admiral would refuse to return if not “obeyed,” which is an unusual thing for an officer giving an order to say, it is possible that an “order” was not given, but that he expressed a preference that is being misreported.)

It might be somewhat ironic that Weinstein, who founded the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), would back a military officer who attempted to dictate the rituals of a religious chapel service.  That very issue–that a state actor would direct a subordinate’s religious observance–was probably what led to the reversal, as such an order would be unConstitutional.

Also reported on Reasoned Audacity.

New Air Force Slogan: “Above All”

According to a press release, the Air Force has replaced its “No one comes close” with “Above all” for its future recruiting efforts.

No word yet on when Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation will sue the Air Force for using the title of a popular evangelical Christian worship song as its new slogan.

(Above All, written by Lenny LeBlanc and Paul Baloche, was popularized by Michael W. Smith’s 2001 Worship CD.  Weinstein’s 2005 lawsuit accusing the Air Force of advancing Christianity was dismissed.  He is currently using a lawsuit against the Army to accuse the Secretary of Defense of allowing the entire American military to become a vehicle for Christianity.)

Incoming Chief AF Chaplain Speaks About Trusting God

In an AF.mil article, the incoming AF Chief Chaplain speaks about the importance of trusting God, and the effect that has had on America.

There are people who think it inappropriate for the most powerful nation on earth to stamp ‘In God We Trust’ on every dollar bill, every coin and across every official seal.  There are people who believe trusting in God is nothing more than foolishness, superstition (and) weakness….America exists because of men and women who trusted in God.

It was trust in God that gave religiously persecuted families the courage to sail across the Atlantic and arrive in a new world far from the comforts of civilization.  It was trust in God that helped Puritans establish Massachusetts, led Roman Catholics to found Maryland as a Catholic colony, caused the Quakers to settle Pennsylvania, helped Catholic priests establish missions in California and gave strength and vision to our ancestors to build this nation.

It will be our trust in God that will keep our nation free and preserve us as a nation.

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