Tag Archives: atheism

Punished Chaplain Requests Accommodation, Gets Support

Below:

  • Jewish Endorser Backs Punished Christian Chaplain
  • Chaplain Lawhorn Requests Religious Accommodation
  • Commander Denies Request to Rescind Letter of Concern
  • Atheist Soldier Derides Christian Faith

Jewish Endorser Backs Punished Christian Chaplain

Yeshiva Pirchei Shoshanim, a Jewish endorsing agent for US military chaplains, has publicly backed US Army Chaplain (Capt) Joseph Lawhorn — a Christian chaplain punished for sharing his personal story of how faith enabled him to weather depression [emphasis added]:

[YPS] believe[s] the Letter of Concern is inappropriate and will have negative consequences on all military chaplains…

YPS supports the right Read more

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…

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

Too Few Atheists Buried at Normandy? (Video)

Are there too few atheists buried at Normandy?

It’s an interesting way to phrase the complaints about crosses and Stars of David when they pertain to representations of the iconic cemeteries of American soldiers in Europe.

Quoted in a Washington Times article by Valerie Richardson entitled “Anti-religion group gripes about lack of atheists buried at Normandy,” Sam Grover of the Freedom from Religion Foundation had this to say:

“It is unfortunate that the iconic headstones at the Normandy cemetery do such a poor Read more

AF Band Flash Mobs Smithsonian with Christmas Songs (Video)

This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing:
Haste, haste to bring Him laud,
The babe, the son of Mary.

Continuing a tradition begun last year, the US Air Force Band “flash mobbed” the Smithsonian and performed What Child is This? and Carol of the Bells, to the delight of the crowd:

The Air Force Times Flightlines blog noted that the official Air Force Band website said the first song was Greensleeves.  While Greensleeves is the same tune as What Child is This?, the vocalists were clearly singing the lyrics to the latter.

Military members can Read more

Congressional Hearing on Military Religious Freedom, Hostility

As previously noted, the House Armed Services subcommittee on personnel invited five civilian witnesses to provide testimony on the state of religious freedom in the US military last Wednesday.

Attending were:

  • Michael Berry, Liberty Institute attorney who acted on behalf of cadets at the US Air Force Academy this year
  • Retired Chaplain (Col) Ron Crews, an outspoken advocate for military religious freedom
  • Travis Weber, Director of the Family Research Council’s Center for Religious Liberty, US Naval Academy graduate and former Naval aviator.
  • Rabbi Bruce Kahn, a retired Navy Captain and Chaplain, a founding member of the Equal Rights Center, and an advocate for homosexual “rights.”
  • Michael “Mikey” Weinstein, founder and sole employee of his Military Religious Freedom Foundation, engaged in a self-described “war” against Christians in the US military.

Contrary to some predictions, it wasn’t really a contentious meeting. What the hearing did reveal was the committee members were Read more

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