Tag Archives: Religion

Sailors in Bahrain Celebrate Christmas without Christ

While recent changes in Air Force regulations and a favorable congressional hearing have given some groups a positive perception of the direction of religious liberty in the US military, it is worth noting that even that trend isn’t universal, and it hasn’t reversed some of the damage done over the past few years.

Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain recently kicked off the holiday season with its traditional tree lighting — absent one of its longstanding traditions. In 2012, Jason Torpy — an atheist and former Army officer — single-handedly persuaded the US Navy to ban a children’s “live Nativity” from the tree lighting ceremony.

The reason? According to Torpy, the kids

threaten[ed] US security and violat[ed] the Constitution.

It was probably “easier” for the Navy to surrender to Torpy and remove the children’s event rather than try to defend it for its positive value. Thus, plastic baby Jesus Read more

Army: Chaplain’s LOC Not Punishment

Update: Chaplain Lawhorn’s attorney responds to the Army characterization here, and Chaplain Lawhorn says

As is the case with every endeavor or circumstance in my life, my ultimate intention will be to bring honor to God. To that end, I will be praying and pursuing as this case and these circumstances continue to evolve.

The Army responded to the outcry over the story of US Army Chaplain (Capt) Joe Lawhorn being punished for sharing his personal story of battling with depression by saying he wasn’t, in fact, punished:

Maj. Gen. Scott Miller, commanding general of the Maneuver Center of Excellence, [said] in a statement on Friday: “A local letter of concern is not punishment. Rather, it is an administrative counseling tool, with no long-term consequences.”

So the Army is saying that an officer was ordered to report in to his boss’s boss, was told he was violating US Army regulations, and was told his personnel record would reflect this adverse response — but he wasn’t being punished?

Whether it is “punishment” within the military lexicon is ultimately irrelevant. The Army officially responded negatively to a chaplain only because an atheist complained that the chaplain said something religious — even when there was nothing wrong with him saying something religious. The chaplain’s lawyer maintains the official negative response is inconsistent with military regulations and the US Constitution — charges to which the Army has not yet responded.

The chaplain’s ecclesiastical endorser has likewise asked the commander to rescind the letter.

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Even Atheists Find Mikey Weinstein Unreasonable

Upon hearing that Michael “Mikey” Weinstein would be testifying at a congressional hearing on religious liberty in the military, atheist activist and former Army Captain Jason Torpy had a particularly biting retort:

When will the reasonable voices get their day in Congress?

Given that Weinstein is so often accused of being an atheist, and given the core ideologies (if not the methodologies) of Torpy and Weinstein generally align, it is interesting to see Torpy’s sharp response.

On the other hand, it should not be entirely surprising.  There has been bad blood between the MAAF and MRFF (particularly Chris Rodda) for some time.

It turns out Weinstein and his acolytes can be so vitriolic and derisive they alienate even those who agree with them.  And if you’re an ally with the gall to criticize the MRFF’s methods, they might even turn that vitriol on you…

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Former Ranger: Military now a “Social Experiment”

Chuck Holton, a former Army Ranger and author of A More Elite Soldier, in a recent interview:

“The military is being turned into this great social experiment and they’re not being allowed to go out and accomplish their mission – which is to defeat the enemy,” he said.

“Now they’re being told, ‘You have to defeat the enemy, but you have to do it without actually offending them,'” he said.

More at CBN News.

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Army Removes Chaplain from Retreat to Accommodate Same-Sex Couple

“After organizing, planning, and coordinating a Strong Bonds retreat for his Battalion soldiers that was to begin Friday, 12 September 2014, the…chaplain was notified [on] 10 Sept. a same-sex couple had just signed up for the retreat. Chaplains [of this faith group] cannot participate in such events because their historical, orthodox Christian theology and beliefs do not recognize same-sex marriages. To participate in events that in any way legitimize such unions is a violation of [their] statement of faith and doctrine.

“The…chaplain reported the problem to his commanding officer and suggested the couple be asked if they would prefer to attend a Strong Bonds retreat conducted by a chaplain who could specifically minister to their specific same-sex needs, a practice used by other chaplains in similar situations. The commander agreed. But the brigade chaplain, after being briefed on the situation, told the…chaplain (a) he could not ask the same-sex couple if they would prefer an alternative and (b) another chaplain would replace the…chaplain.

“When the…chaplain informed his commanding officer another chaplain would be conducting the retreat because he would be unable to attend it, the commander’s initial reaction was he wanted his chaplain to conduct the retreat and told the chaplain he would be fired if he could not do that. That threat Read more

Army Punishes Chaplain for Mentioning Faith

Update: Chaplain Lawhorn’s initial LOC is now available, and, as reported, it hinges entirely on (subsequently rescinded) violations of two regulations — and this interesting justification:

As a result, an individual in attendance wrote an article about the event on http://militaryatheists.org.

It would be interesting to see the Army cite a regulation that supports action against a Soldier because “a person wrote an accusation on the internet…”

Update: Now covered at the Army Times, the Christian Post, the Gospel Herald, the Daily Caller, and Opposing Views.  Atheist Jason Torpy responded to the “evangelical backlash” over his accusations against the Army.

The Liberty Institute is now representing a chaplain who was punished by the US Army for mentioning his faith during a unit training day:

On November 20, 2014, Chaplain Lawhorn conducted suicide prevention training [in which he] discussed his own personal struggles and how he used the Bible to successfully combat his depression. One of the soldiers in attendance complained to an atheist group about Chaplain Lawhorn’s presentation. In response…Colonel David G. Fivecoat, issued Chaplain Lawhorn a Letter of Concern alleging that Chaplain Lawhorn “advocated for…Christianity and used Christian scripture and solutions” and therefore violated Army regulations.

The complaint was shepherded by atheist and former Army Captain Jason Torpy, who published the complaint online 24 hours after the event — meaning it was public even before the Army had a chance to respond.  The Army may also have been influenced by the publication of the “scandal.”

In a seeming admission the commander might have gone too far, Col Fivecoat apparently called Army Chaplain (Capt) Joseph Lawhorn back Read more

Navy Order on Divine Services

The Commanders of the ships of the 13 United Colonies are to take care that divine services be performed twice a day on board and a sermon preached on Sundays, unless bad weather or other extraordinary accidents prevent.

That’s how the Navy chaplaincy began in 1775.

It seems times have changed a bit, haven’t they?
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Wheaton ROTC Under Review for Christian Requirement

Wheaton College — an unabashedly Christian university — has had an ROTC program since a few years after the close of World War II. Wheaton requires its faculty to be of the Christian faith, a requirement also levied upon its ROTC instructor, as the instructor is considered to be a member of the Wheaton faculty (though they are paid by the US military, not the school).

When the position of ROTC instructor was recently advertised among Army officers, the “must be of Christian faith” requirement caught the attention of a Soldier who pointed it out to Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s MRFF.  Weinstein was typically unmoved [emphasis added]:

Wheaton and its fundamentalist Christian ROTC unit are to the United States Constitution what a dog with a full bladder Read more

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