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On 12 March 2007, General Peter Pace (bio<\/a>), Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, gave an interview to the Chicago Tribune<\/em> in which he was asked his thoughts on the current “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy of homosexuality in the military.\u00a0 Part of his reply has been the center of some debate:<\/p>\n “I believe that homosexual acts between individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts\u2026 I would not want it to be our policy that if we were to find out that so-and-so was sleeping with somebody else\u2019s wife, that we would just look the other way, which we do not. We prosecute that kind of immoral behavior.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Literally hundreds of internet “blogs” and other media sources have pontificated about the General’s comments already; here are the salient points:<\/p>\n The intricacies of military policies on homosexuality are, truthfully, a topic for another time (and as noted above, have been discussed ad nauseum in the media).\u00a0 Instead, it is worth discussing what Christian fighter pilots and others like them can learn from this recent event regarding what they can and cannot say or believe in the military, and how others will view a Christian’s beliefs and actions.\u00a0 (For the record, it’s worth noting that “religion” hasn\u2019t really entered the debate because the General attributed his beliefs to his “upbringing” and not a religious view.)<\/p>\n Can<\/em> a military Christian express his moral (or religious) views?<\/strong><\/p>\n General Pace did nothing illegal or impermissible; in fact, he primarily expressed support for upholding the law.\u00a0 A military Christian is free to do the same.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Should<\/em> a military Christian express his moral (or religious) views?<\/strong><\/p>\n In the typical fighter pilot fashion:\u00a0 it depends.\u00a0 There is a time and a place for everything.\u00a0 Sometimes another issue is the important factor.\u00a0 For example, General Pace may have distracted the public from the topic at hand by mentioning his personal views.\u00a0 Arguably, the interview may never have been noticed if not for a “controversial” statement.\u00a0 On the other hand, in an appropriate situation, or if a military Christian is asked for his moral view, he should not fear expressing it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Should a Christian apologize for an “offensive” moral view?<\/strong><\/p>\n To believe something is moral is to believe an absolute.\u00a0 It would be hypocritical to subsequently apologize for that absolute belief.\u00a0 Those that demand apologies are, in essence, proposing an alternative and equally “offensive” moral position.\u00a0 It is also worth noting that while some organizations have berated General Pace for “denouncing” the service of military members (the Washington Post<\/a>), he actually did no such thing.\u00a0 He confined his comments to homosexual behavior (again, consistent with the law).\u00a0 Likewise, in the clich\u00e9d tradition of “hate the sin, love the sinner,” Christians who choose to express an “offensive” moral view should carefully consider the criticism they may be expressing, even inadvertently.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Christians who state their beliefs in public may face public criticism.\u00a0 That does not mean, however, that Christians should alter or deny their beliefs.\u00a0 One internet commentator went so far as to express shock that the military would be “so concerned” with “morals.”\u00a0 Dr. Tony Beam, director of the Christian Worldview Center, said that recent events have virtually sounded the death knell of morality in America.\u00a0 He rightly points out that since society believes that “absolute truth” effectively no longer exists, they must also believe that nothing can truly be immoral.<\/p>\n In such an age of moral relativism, it is paradoxical to some people that the military be infused with the highest moral standards.\u00a0 It seems some would suggest we empower the military with the ability to choose life or death but not the ability to tell right from wrong (because, they contend, there is no “wrong”).\u00a0 Some of that criticism is rooted in the belief that “popular morals” are based in Christianity.\u00a0 If advocating a moral stance somehow implies Christian beliefs, some feel that it must be avoided.\u00a0 Given US military history (and even recent events) in which normally honorable troops have committed egregious crimes, it would seem a ridiculous assertion that moral conduct–Christian or not–not be emphasized in the military.\u00a0 The US military’s most shameful moments have occurred because of a lack of moral values, not because of the presence of Christian ones.<\/p>\n When necessary and appropriate, a military Christian can and should actively advocate a moral position.\u00a0 Still, his greatest tool remains his personal moral example.\u00a0 He should never feel the need to change or deny his beliefs.\u00a0 On the contrary, a Christian military member can have an immense and positive moral influence on both his unit and, ultimately, the military as a whole.<\/p>\n Return to<\/em> God and Country<\/a>. On 12 March 2007, General Peter Pace (bio), Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, gave an interview to the Chicago Tribune in which he was asked his thoughts on the current “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy of homosexuality in the military.\u00a0 Part of his reply has been the center of some debate: “I believe that homosexual acts between individuals […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[219,1281,149,2,198,1520,45,17,10],"class_list":["post-96","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-government-and-religion","tag-dadt","tag-joint-chiefs-of-staff","tag-marines","tag-military","tag-morality","tag-peter-pace","tag-politics","tag-religious-expression","tag-religion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\nGo to<\/em> ChristianFighterPilot.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"