Tag Archives: Chaplain

Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis Compared to Conscientious Objector

As previously discussed, Dr. Albert Mohler noted the issues facing now-jailed Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis will eventually be faced even by members of the military.

Over at Breibart, editor (and Liberty Institute attorney) Ken Klukowski also used a military comparison to Davis’ protests:

Ever since the founding of the republic, the U.S. military has allowed those who religiously object to the use of deadly force to be assigned to noncombatant roles in the military so that they never have to pick up a weapon…

Here, however, the parallel would be if a conscientious objector were nonetheless assigned as an officer in command of an infantry unit, and then that officer ordered all the troops under his command to set aside their weapons and refuse to fight, just like their commander. The officer Read more

MajGen Dondi Costin Becomes Newest AF Chief of Chaplains

Chaplain (Col) Dondi Costin was promoted two steps to Major General and installed as the Air Force Chief of Chaplains in a ceremony on August 28th.

In a statement quoted in the Air Force Times, Chaplain Costin responded to the stories of his “memorable” invocations, which may give some insight into his opinion on “ceremonial prayer”:

Costin told Air Force Times that he spends a lot of time understanding each ceremony’s purpose and those being honored.

“Invocations aren’t just ceremonial placeholders lingering from a bygone era,” he said. “Rather, Read more

Navy Reverses, Rules for Embattled Chaplain Modder

For the past six months, US Navy Chaplain (LtCmdr) Wes Modder has been fighting for his career after his commander, CAPT Jon Fahs, requested he be “detached for cause” (PDF) and then defend why he should be retained in the Navy. The primary charge was he “failed to show tolerance and respect” when he made certain statements about sexuality.

Last week, the US Navy Personnel Command informed Captain Fahs that his request for Chaplain Modder to be Detached for Cause was denied, as was his request for Modder to “show cause” to remain in the Navy. Rear Admiral David F. Steindl wrote (PDF):

Your request for detachment for cause in the case of LCDR Modder…has been reviewed and is disapproved. I have found the evidence of substandard performance in this case does not meet the standard of gross negligence or complete disregard of duty… LCDR Modder will not be detached for cause.

In other words, the Admiral said CAPT Fahs was wrong.

To be “detached for cause” (DFC) in Read more

Mohler: US Military May Be Affected by Kentucky Clerk Ruling

Dr. R. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, wrote a commentary yesterday entitled “‘In this World You Will Have Trouble’ — Welcome to Rowan County.” He thoughtfully discussed the controversy surrounding Kim Davis, County Clerk of Rowan County, who has now been jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses.

The marriage licenses bear her signature as the state authorizing official for the union, and Davis has maintained that places her personal imprimatur on a “marriage” that violates her religious beliefs:

As Mrs. Davis and her attorneys have made clear, she has been willing for her name to be removed from marriage licenses in Rowan County, but she is not willing to put her name on those licenses so long as that would require her approval of same-sex marriages. But Judge Bunning made clear that he would be satisfied only when Mrs. Davis either issues marriage licenses in compliance with the Obergefell decision or resigns her office.

Mohler notes that, like many judicial decisions, they may have impact far greater than some may realize — including the US military:  Read more

FRC Releases Latest Religious Liberty Report

The Family Research Council released an updated version of its “Clear and Present Danger” (PDF) (previously discussed in January). There are a variety of new issues added, including the removal of the POW table at Patrick AFB over the presence of a Bible, the Navy Gideon Bible kerfuffle, Col Marquinez’s banned article, Chaplain Joe Lawhorn’s punishment, Mikey Weinstein’s “Blessed Day,” Chaplain Wes Modder, Maj Gen Craig Olson, and court-martialed US Marine Monifa Sterling.

One of the more interesting ones was actually an “old” case recently added [emphasis added]:

Soon after the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy was repealed, an Army chaplain of Lieutenant Colonel rank received an e-mail copy of a published article presenting some thoughtful points about the whole DADT debate, from a senior chaplain who was a Colonel. The Lieutenant Colonel chaplain thought it was a good article and sent it to his subordinate chaplains.

It was intercepted by his chaplain Colonel supervisor who indicated she was very angry Read more

US Army Chaplain will Deliver 9/11 Sermon

Update: The ChristianPost reports on the sermon here.

The Parish of Trinity Church includes St Paul’s Chapel, which sits near the site of the World Trade Center attacks in 2001 and survived unscathed. “The little chapel that stood” became a sanctuary for the rescue and recovery workers.

This year, the Parish inaugurated a “Reconciliation Preaching Prize competition” that

required all entries to address texts from Isaiah and Matthew — one calling for a future without war and the other instructing people to lay down their spears for plowshares.

While it seems a bit odd to say a sermon won a “prize,” the prize was the honor of delivering the sermon on September 11th at the chapel.

The winner Read more

Mikey Weinstein Fails to Intimidate Air Force Chaplain (Video)

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein continues his self-declared “war” on Christians in the US military, but he is finding it increasingly difficult to coerce US troops to accept his demands.  Much of the military has discovered the best response is simply to stand up to him. Weinstein’s only tool is intimidation, and when it fails, he is toothless.

In an apparent effort to play to the July US Supreme Court decision on homosexuality, Weinstein recently claimed in a blog and subsequent interview that he would “prosecute” chaplains if they preached something that did not pass his muster [formatting original]:

If chaplains believe that they MUST publicly and visibly preach to their troops a message that their LGB comrades are sexual-deviant “sinners” because of their “choice” to be gay, then these views are fatally noxious and totally destructive to unit cohesion, good order, morale, and discipline in the armed forces.

Despite Weinstein’s attempts to restrict the free exercise of US troops, chaplains are free to preach the tenets of their faith — and they have continued to do so.

In fact, just a few days prior to Weinstein’s ultimatum, Air Force Chaplain (Capt) Sonny Hernandez spoke eloquently and forcefully on the Gospel during Read more

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