Tag Archives: Military

Chris Rodda Denigrates Beliefs of Chaplain Endorser

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s research assistant Chris Rodda has taken the MRFF attacks on military Christians to a new level. Weinstein and company have previously railed against Christians who expressed their religious beliefs, even if they did so in a church service. They’ve also blasted Christians for nothing more than having certain beliefs.

Mikey Weinstein’s research assistant, Chris Rodda.

Now, Chris Rodda has gone a step further, holding up for derision not expressed beliefs or even the beliefs of any particular service member. Instead, Rodda attacked cherry-picked (and misrepresented) policy statements from a chaplain’s endorsing agency, as if that implicated either a service member or religious freedom in general. Rodda’s characteristically rambling article at the Huffington Post is entitled “Ranger Chaplain’s Endorsing Agency: Women in Combat ‘Contrary to Nature,’ ‘Biblical Duty of Man to Defend Woman’.”

It’s worth noting that Rodda’s headline isn’t even true. Her quotes on nature and the duty of man came from the assemblies of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) in 2001 and the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) in 2002. The OPC and PCA are two of seven member denominations of the endorsing agency known as the Presbyterian and Reformed Commission on Chaplains and Military Personnel. Those assemblies are not any chaplain’s endorsing agency. Rodda appears to have chosen sensationalism over integrity, which is ironic for someone who focuses so much on debunking “liars.”

Regardless, Rodda writes as the representative of Read more

Military Religious Freedom at Ted Cruz Rally

A religious freedom rally hosted by GOP Presidential Candidate Ted Cruz last week in Iowa was focused largely on businesses who were sued or driven out of business by homosexual activists intent on forcing others to support their lifestyle choices.

However, there were two notable inclusions whose antagonist was actually the US government:

Former Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran, who was fired for his views in what Dr. Al Mohler said was evidence of “erotic liberty” superseding religious liberty; and  Read more

President Ponders God’s Judgment for the Nation’s Immorality

Over the past few months a significant number of Christian leaders have cautioned that God may judge the United States of America for its flaunting of sin, including the open support for and advocacy of the homosexual lifestyle and the epidemic of abortion.

Scoffers have roundly criticized and dismissed such statements, with one going so far as to ask why God would destroy America for homosexuality but not slavery:

If God were going to destroy America why didn’t he do it when we enslaved, brutalized, and murdered thousands of his children shipped over from Africa?

To be accurate, most mainstream faith leaders have said God will judge America, not (necessarily) destroy it. Is such a pronouncement really that fringe?

Ask President Abraham Lincoln.

Though less so today, years ago, many Read more

National Organization for Marriage Calls for Defense of Military Chaplains

The National Organization for Marriage, one of the primary groups that tried to defend traditional marriage in the United States, has become the latest non-military group to recognize the attacks on Christians in the military occurring because of the rise of socially endorsed ‘sexual freedom.’ Importantly, they noted these attacks are coming despite constant reassurances that acceptance of homosexuality would have no impact on those who didn’t agree:

Some radical activists who champion support for gay ‘marriage’ in the military have demanded that military chaplains who stand up for traditional marriage be dismissed from military service, told by the government to “get the hell out of the military chaplaincy” and calling Read more

Another Military Memorial Under Attack

Update: The creator of the monument explained the reason for his design here:

Al Larsen intended the small Latin cross in each silhouette to mark a grave — like the rows of white crosses at the Normandy American Cemetery in France, where more than 9,000 American World War II troops are buried.

“This is what it means to me,” Larsen said in an interview Wednesday. “It don’t mean no church thing.”

Americans United for the Separation of Church and State claims otherwise.

Todd Starnes at FoxNews highlights an effort by the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State to have a war memorial removed from a park in Knoxville, Iowa:

“It was clear to us it was a memorial to fallen veterans,” Mayor Brian Hatch told me. But it wasn’t clear to everyone.

About a month ago a citizen filed an anonymous complaint — arguing that the memorial was promoting Christianity and therefore violated the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Mayor Hatch told me the city council ignored the complaint.

“We didn’t take any action because it (the memorial) did not have any religious ties to us at all,” he said. “I only see it as a memorial to the veterans and it shocked me that someone could see it otherwise.”

The offended party apparently called the AU, and the fight was on.

Americans United has since published a snarky reply, noting Read more

Gettysburg Re-enactment Includes Chapel Services

An interesting article from the local Hanover newspaper covers the present-day re-enactment of Civil War military church services:

When a Civil War regiment marched into battle, it usually had more chaplains than surgeons backing it up.

Battlefield medicine may have been in its infancy, but religion was central to most of the men, and soldiers relied on faith to heal the spirit from the horrors of war.

“If you were in a potential battle area, you definitely wanted to make sure you went to church and didn’t want to go in there without that blessing,” said Kirk Davis, history director at Gettysburg Anniversary Committee.

In an interesting note:  Read more

Coast Guardsman Receives Pastafarian Gift at Retirement

Master Chief Petty Officer Bob Sebaste of the US Coast Guard had a retirement ceremony in June in which he was presented with an interesting gift [emphasis added]:

I retired recently after 29 years of service in the US Navy and US Coast Guard. The guys I work with know that I am an ordained minister in the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. For our holiday party, for example, I ensured that His Noodly Goodness was properly represented, as well as the Festivus pole and other more mainstream (mundane) religious symbols.

In any case, at my retirement ceremony, they presented me with this most excellent headgear, appropriately decorated with my CG rank insignia.

The concept of the “flying spaghetti monster” is Read more

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