Category Archives: Religion and Culture

Navy Reverses Restriction on Religious Speech

As previously noted, in June the Liberty Council wrote a letter to the Navy demanding the removal of restrictions on religious speech on its “Navy for Moms” website.

According to a press release, the Liberty Council received a reply from the Navy in which it announced the institution of new guidelines that removed the restrictions on religious and political speech in the Navy for Moms forum.  Liberty Council’s Mat Staver said

We applaud the Navy for responding by removing restrictions on religious speech. To forbid ‘Christian Chat’ as a chat forum for Navy Moms, under the notion that the name is too divisive for a public forum, was absurd. About 90 percent of Americans profess belief in God, and the majority of them are Christian. Of all places, religious freedom must be respected in our armed services.

Also noted at the Religion Clause.

Ambassador-Warrior Tebow’s Platform for Christ

Tim Tebow, the now-famous college football quarterback (previously discussed), is currently featured on the cover of Time Magazine, with the headline “Man of Many Missions.”  With a fruitful college football career and an outspoken heart for Jesus Christ, Tebow truly does have many (very successful) missions.  The champion college player had the option of quitting school and entering the NFL, but chose instead to finish his college career, in part because of

the platform that I had at the University of Florida, the opportunity that I had to minister to a lot of kids around the south, and the US for that matter, and just what was going on around the University of Florida, how much I loved it, how I loved being a Gator.

Tebow’s statements about the value of his witness express the very heart of Christianity, and of living Read more

Military Traditions of Prayer & Respect

The Air Force Times ran an article entitled “More 6-month tours” presenting the picture of longer combat tours for Air Force personnel.  The content is unremarkable, but what was interesting was the picture the AF Times used to headline the article, even on the site’s front page.  Taken by Petty Officer 2nd Class Todd Frantom, it shows a group of US Air Force Airmen praying as a group prior to “going outside the wire,” something the caption says is a “tradition” for every such mission.  (See picture and read more below the fold.) Read more

President Jimmy Carter “Leaves the Church”

Much has been made of former US President Jimmy Carter’s recent missive in the UK Observer entitled “The words of God do not justify cruelty to women.”  In it he says

[M]y decision to sever my ties with the Southern Baptist Convention, after six decades, was painful and difficult.

It was, however, an unavoidable decision when the convention’s leaders, quoting a few carefully selected Bible verses…ordained that women must be “subservient” to their husbands and prohibited from serving as deacons, pastors, or chaplains in the military service. Read more

Update 2: “God and Country Festival” Flyby

As previously noted, the Air Force declined to support the Nampa, Idaho, “God and Country Festival” with a flyby, despite a 40+ year history of supporting the event.  The festival organizers now have a petition online.  The organizers make a point of saying

We want to make it clear that although it is unashamedly a Christian event, a major part of the Festival is honoring our troops who protect our freedom to assemble.

The decision has stayed in the news, and was even covered by Bill O’Reilly Read more

Muslim Chaplains Impact US Military

In June, two Muslim military Chaplains from France and the United States met in Paris for a religious diversity conference.  The American Chaplain, Lt Commander Abuhena Saifulislam, is a US Navy Chaplain who emigrated from Bangladesh in 1989, becoming a Navy Imam in 1999.  He is endorsed by the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).  He was reportedly assigned to the Marines, making him the first Muslim Chaplain Read more

Update: No Flyby for Christian Patriotic Event

FoxNews has now picked up the story, previously noted, of the Air Force’s decision not to provide a fly-by of the “God and Country Festival” in Nampa, Idaho.  A “defense department official” repeated that the reason for the refusal was that it would have provided a “selective benefit.” Of note:

The Air Force was in charge of the decision-making process, meaning neither the secretary of defense nor President Obama weighed in directly, the official said.

Capt. Tom Wenz from Air Force public affairs told FOX News that past participation was due to the fact that the event was described only as a “patriotic tribute,” and the Air Force wasn’t aware until now of the apparent focus on Christianity, despite the festival’s name.

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