A Regent University doctoral student is studying the psychology of religious coping of military personnel following exposure to combat, and he’s collecting data using an online survey. While the survey may cause some to remember their combat experiences, the questions themselves are otherwise benign, if a bit fuzzy at times.
If you’re a combat-experienced believer in God, you can contribute to the data through the survey here.
Jews in Green reports on an interesting program that teams US military veterans with their peers in the Israeli Defense Forces to “heal” during a 10-day visit to the Holy Land. The program is known as “Heroes to Heroes.”
Heroes To Heroes Journeys to Israel gives American disabled veterans the experience of a lifetime and is designed to educate, motivate, stimulate discussion and bonding with peers, and be a springboard for emotional and spiritual healing both during and after the experience.
The trips are free.
It appears to be a unique and fascinating experience available to wounded “veterans from all services and all backgrounds.”
The state of California recently passed a law — SB1140 — that explicitly states clergy are not required to perform homosexual ceremonies. The law is naturally intended to protect those who might have faced attacks — potentially through equal opportunity or even IRS channels — against religious leaders who act on their faith in opposition to homosexuality:
A person…shall not be required to solemnize a marriage that is contrary to the tenets of his or her faith. Any refusal to solemnize a marriage…shall not affect the tax-exempt status of any entity.
Notably, no law required clergy to act against their faith. The law was a preemptive Read more
While there is a current controversy over how quickly President Obama called the attack on the US consulate in Libya a “terrorist” act, another similar scandal has simmered for nearly three years. In November 2009, a gunman yelled Allahu Akbar and opened fire in an Army processing center. He killed 14 people and wounded more than 30 more.
Despite his motivations and associations, his attack was classified as “workplace violence.”
As a result, the Soldiers wounded in that event and the families of those who were killed do not have access to Read more
Despite his claim that he grew his beard for religious reasons, an Army appeals court has ruled US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, accused in the 2009 Fort Hood massacre, may be forcibly shaved to meet US Army grooming standards.
The court also ruled that Col. Gregory Gross, the trial judge, properly found that the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act does not give Hasan the right to have a beard while in uniform Read more
As a Christian surgeon deployed to Afghanistan, some tragedies will forever be burned into my memory. One such experience happened during a mass casualty situation. A vehicle-borne IED detonated in a public place, killing several Afghanis and injuring eight, including a six-year-old boy…
Before long, the sound of two arriving Black Hawk helicopters thundered throughout the ER. The trauma teams quickly and skillfully began treating the incoming patients—securing airways, placing chest tubes, starting IVs, and taking X-rays while assessing injuries.When the boy was brought in…
Read more. You won’t be disappointed.
The North Dakota National Guard’s newest helicopter, the UH-72A Lakota, was dedicated in a ceremony in September that included a blessing by a “Native American spiritual leader:”
As part of the dedication ceremony, two Lakota helicopters were blessed by Native American spiritual leader and elder, George Ironshield of Standing Rock, and officially named “Eagle” and “Turtle” respectively. The Eagle symbolizes spirituality and hope while the Turtle is honored as a protector and healer.
Naming a helicopter “Turtle” is a bit awkward, but the meaning is understood.
Fortunately, George Ironshield wasn’t a Catholic Priest Read more
They say there are two things you can become while deployed: You can either spend all your time at the gym and become a hunk, or you can spend it at the free dining hall and become a chunk.
Now, it seems there’s a third option.
A homosexual female Soldier is trying to become a man.
Call her Keith. That’s the name this 26-year-old specialist, now deployed to Afghanistan, plans to take when she completes a transition Read more