Category Archives: Religion and Culture

Military Jewish Lay Leader Derided

As previously noted, CAPT (USN) Neil Block is a Jewish lay leader who was personally involved in the investigation of alleged anti-Semitism in the Fort Benning community.

Now, Block himself is the target of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.  In an article written by Jason Leopold, Michael Weinstein has called for his “immediate dismissal by Fort Benning” for his comments “trivializing” the incident, which Weinstein calls an “Army hate crime”:

Mr. Block displays a truly alarming and willful reckless disregard for the truth of this tragic Army hate crime and subsequent cover-up…Mr. Block is apparently the current reigning Poster Child for Army religious predator apologists.

[In the interest of full disclosure, it should be noted that Leopold is a frequent advocate for the MRFF, and has received an award from them.]

The vitriol directed toward CAPT Block inspired an open letter [updated link] at Jews in Green.

Also noted at the Religion Clause.

Coming Soon: AtheistFighterPilot.com

Some who have visited ChristianFighterPilot.com have made accusations of exclusivism, favoritism, and even violation of the Constitution for mixing “church and state.”  At the extreme, conspiracy theorists have accused ChristianFighterPilot.com of being bent on world domination.  After all, only Christians would have the gall to so publicly mix their military service and religious faith, right? 

Actually, Christians aren’t the only ones integrating their faith and their service, and others, too, have “exclusive” websites featuring their faiths. Read more

Respect and Professional Conduct

Christians can and should be involved in public discourse, particularly with respect to Christianity in the public square.  This may mean that they will have opportunities to support statements with which they agree, refute those that they do not, and defend the actions of Christians against unjust or unfounded accusations.  Throughout such discourse, they must endeavor to do so with tolerance and respect for the beliefs and ideas of others.  While there is generally nothing wrong with a stern defense, it is sometimes easy to adopt prejudicial views rather than respond with consideration.  While Christians should be emboldened to speak the truth, even the recent “Evangelical Manifesto” took Christians to task for “expressing the truth without love.”

Christians should remember, too, that tolerance means to respect another’s rights to have different beliefs.  Contrary to modern interpretations, it does not mean that one has to accept those beliefs or agree to their opposing truth claims.  This was once simplified as respecting another person’s “right to be wrong.”  (Pluralism, on the other hand, asserts that there is no single “right” answer; in fact, opposing beliefs may be equally “right.”)

In the military, such respect for another’s beliefs is not only recommended, it is required.  While a civilian can run another person’s faith into the ground without recourse, a military member who did the same Read more

National Day of Prayer: May 1st, 2008

From the Presidential Proclamation,

Americans of many different faiths share the profound conviction that God listens to the voice of His children and pours His grace upon those who seek Him in prayer…I ask the citizens of our Nation to give thanks, each according to his or her own faith, for the freedoms and blessings we have received and for God’s continued guidance, comfort, and protection.

A background on the tradition can be seen here.

Some have complained that the National Day of Prayer has been “hijacked” by the “religious right.”  This perception is probably due to the fact that Christians have been the most enthusiastic about supporting the observance.  As explicitly stated by the National Day of Prayer “task force,” each American is free to observe the NDP as they desire, or not at all.  Though they are expressing this “tolerant” view, some participants of the alternative “inclusive” NDP plan to picket the observances coordinated by the NDP task force.

According to the Dallas Morning News, Air Force Deputy Chief of Chaplains Brigadier General Cecil R. Richardson will speak to a Dallas-area observance of the NDP on “Prayer as Our Tradition.”   As with all military associated events, “persons of all faiths, cultures and generations are encouraged to attend.”  General Richardson has been selected to become the next Air Force Chief of Chaplains.

Remember our Military this Easter

Easter commemorates our Savior’s triumph over sin, and we take joy in spending this special time with family and friends and reflecting on the many blessings that fill our lives…On this glorious day, we remember our brave men and women in uniform who are separated from their families by great distances. We pray for their safety and strength, and we honor those who gave their lives to advance peace and secure liberty across the globe.
                          – President Bush’s Easter Message, March 2008

 

As reported at ChristianPost, U.S. soldiers pray as they celebrate Easter with a sunrise service at Camp Victory, in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, March 23, 2008. (Photo: AP Images/Dusan Vranic)

Keep us safe…
As reported at AF.mil, “Airmen…at an Army camp in Southwest Asia bow their heads March 2 during a prayer before heading off on a convoy.” (USAF Photo/SSgt Patrick Dixon)

Though critics of religion in the military continue to oppose it, public prayer–in uniform, on duty, with Chaplains, civilians, and within mixed ranks of officers, enlisted, superiors and subordinates–remains an acceptable and protected form of religious practice, even in the US military.

Dungy to Return to “Pulpit”

“I look at this as a job, but I also look at it as a ministry…” – Tony Dungy, Colts Head Coach

The Indianapolis Colts’ head football coach Tony Dungy recently announced he would not retire, but would return to coach next season. 

Dungy’s outspoken Christian faith, the Colts’ 2007 Super Bowl victory, and his best-selling book have made him a unique and reluctant celebrity.  (See the “Perspective” section of this post.)  Dungy had been criticized for leading the Colts to 13 regular season wins this year, only to be eliminated in the first game of the playoffs.

The experience gives Dungy the ability to continue his Christian witness even though his team didn’t win–a reminder to people that being a Christian does not guarantee “success” (at least not by the world’s standards).

Religious Freedom Day, 2008

Religious Freedom Day takes place annually on January 16th by Presidential proclamation (2008).  The day commemorates the Virginia Legislature’s passing of Thomas Jefferson’s “Statute for Religious Freedom,” which occurred on January 16th, 1786.  Notably, this was before the Constitution (signed in 1787), of which Jefferson had no part, and the Bill of Rights (passed in 1789), of which Jefferson was one of the leading proponents.

Many on both sides of the issue consider the statute to be pivotal to the modern struggle of religious freedom and church/state separation.  It is interesting that the day gets very little mainstream media attention, particularly given the “culture wars” and church/state issues that have seemed so dramatic over the past few years.

The purpose and background of RFD can be seen on the privately-funded site ReligiousFreedomDay.com.

President’s Christmas Message, 2007

The President’s annual Christmas message can be viewed on the White House site.

During the Christmas season, our thoughts turn to the source of joy and hope born in a humble manger on a holy night more than 2,000 years ago. Each year, Christians everywhere celebrate this single life that changed the world and continues to change hearts today.

We also remember our brave men and women in uniform who have volunteered to defend us in distant lands. Many of those who have answered the call of duty will spend Christmas far from home and separated from family. We honor their sacrifice, ask God to watch over them and their families, and pray for their safe return.

As the President demonstrates, it is not improper for an official in a position of authority to acknowledge the unique tenets of a religious faith observance.  For those who are curious, the President also issued messages earlier on Hanukkah, Eid al-Adha, and even the non-religious Kwanzaa.  It is worth noting that each message was announced separately to honor the individual event on the occasion of its occurrence.  The President respected each celebration individually, and did not issue a combined “holiday” message that would have diminished the significance of the special occasions.

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