From Faith and the Law [formatting original]:
On March 14, 1778, George Washington, then Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, approved the sentencing of LT Enslin on attempted sodomy of another soldier. General Washington called it an infamous crime Read more
Updated with BrigGen Lee quote on Michael Weinstein.
Sixty-six members of Congress called on Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta to investigate the US Air Force for an environment of “hostility towards religious freedom” — the fourth time in recent months they’ve made such an accusation.
The Congressional letter (PDF) essentially said that Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz’s September policy letter had created a “chilling effect” on religious freedom as Airmen attempted to comply with his guidance:
The decisions that have been made in reliance upon this policy go beyond what is required by the US Constitution. The First Amendment prohibits the establishment of religion; however, the mere discussion of religion or reference to God certainly does not rise to that level.
The Congressmen said the Air Force had “capitulated” to organizations Read more
Tomorrow the Pentagon will host the US military’s first-ever “gay pride” celebration.
The event will include speakers who will address the “value of gay service.”
The official poster was “proudly” distributed to a homosexual advocacy site by Lt Col Todd Breasseale of Public Affairs.
The military apparently had to be very careful in its wording of the event, because the “T” in LGBT, transgenders, are still prohibited from active duty military service, though it seems transgender civilians will be part of the “pride.”
Retired Chaplain (COL) Ron Crews of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty condemned the celebration and noted the interesting timing of the original announcement, coming just a day after the Pentagon publicized the fact it would no longer permit its service symbols to be used on military themed Bibles.
Presumably, in a spirit of equality, next month the US military will Read more
As predicted last November, Michael Weinstein went fishing for controversy over military-themed Bibles and finally managed to manufacture a scandal out of the nearly decade-old Holman series of military-themed Bibles carrying official military service seals.
But what that led to is even more interesting, for Weinstein may have let slip (again) his real target in his “war” against religious freedom in the US military.
For its part, the military says the decision to withdraw permission for Holman to use the seals was administrative housekeeping. Weinstein’s research assistant Chris Rodda cried malarkey, saying the military never would have revisited the permission if not for the MRFF inquiries.
As it has in the past, the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, representing 2,000 military chaplains, is calling on Congress to investigate why the military is so keen on bowing to pressure from the MRFF.
The end result is the Holman Bibles can be Read more
A chaplain at Fort Polk, Louisiana, has reportedly conducted a same-sex ceremony within the military chapel despite Louisiana’s ban on homosexual marriage:
U.S. Rep. John Fleming, R-La., said in a statement Wednesday that the “marriage-like” ceremony performed for two women by an Army chaplain shouldn’t have been allowed because Louisiana law doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage or civil union. U.S. Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., claims the ceremony violates Defense Department policy.
Congressman Todd Akin called it a clear violation of state law and military policies, while the participants (and the chaplain) got around that little problem Read more
Former US Army Chief of Chaplains, MajGen Douglas Carver, recently told a conference sponsored by the American Religious Freedom Program that the repeal of the policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has caused tension and questions over morality in the US military:
“I can assure you that a tension exists in this area,” Carver [said]. “For example, the Department of Defense no longer considers homosexuality a moral issue. [To the department,] it is an amoral issue. To them, it’s a concern of human dignity, respect, discipline and professionalism. However, a number of our chaplains and troops believe that homosexuality is a moral issue.”
Chaplain Carver also said there was an apparent increasing “intolerance Read more
A Memorial Day article at the Washington Post covers the service of a group of chaplains at Arlington National Cemetery. The chaplains recall their sacred service and their combat duty, to all members of the military.
Chaplain (LtCol) Keith Croom, the senior Army chaplain at Arlington, has seen the two extremes of that service:
He has been sworn at by dying soldiers and steeped in calamity and sorrow. He ministers to service members of all faiths, and to those of none at all.
“We have to understand that people don’t have to agree with any faith. They have a right not to practice, and I need to be OK with that,” he said. “I’ve had a guy say, ‘I don’t believe in your God,’ and he died right in front of me.”
On the other hand, the opposite occurred in Iraq in 2004: Read more
As noted many times here before, the integrity of marriage is something the US military and some outside organizations attempt to strengthen. Franklin Graham’s Samaritan Purse is starting Operation Heal Our Patriots to join the fight to defend military marriages, focusing specifically on the marriages of those who return wounded from combat.
The marriage enrichment program, featuring weeklong retreats to a remote, refurbished fishing camp in Alaska, begins next month Read more