Tag Archives: christian

The New Year & Challenges Ahead

Happy New Year from ChristianFighterPilot.com. 

Each year is a unique challenge to a military Christian.  Deployment schedules vary, family situations change, new faith challenges arise, and the rules on religious practice and expression in the military change.  ChristianFighterPilot.com has attempted to remain a viable and valuable resource for information as varied as “how to become a fighter pilot” and “military Christians and ‘church/state separation.'”  Many people have contacted CFP; some were like-minded active duty military, some were ROTC cadets wanting to know how to secure a pilot’s slot, and some were high school students wanting to understand the relationship between Christ and the military profession.  Chaplains, Army soldiers in Iraq, and even atheists and opponents to religion in the military have corresponded with and commented on the site.  Though small, the presence and ministry of ChristianFighterPilot.com is being felt.

As always, ChristianFighterPilot.com seeks to improve and expand.  If you would like to contribute content or commentary, or if you have suggestions for the site or ministry, please feel free to contact CFP, either through the form or email.  If you know of others who may be interested in the newsletter, site, or topics, please let them know about the website or forward the newsletter to them.

Each new year brings the traditional resolutions and, regrettably, a new wave of controversies.  Weinstein’s lawsuit Read more

The Controversy of Christianity in the Military

Some Americans believe that an “evangelical coup” is being mounted by Christians in the United States’ military.  The concept is absurd to mainstream America, which is why the constant tide of press releases by organizations trumpeting such a conspiracy is most often ignored.   

Many Christians agree that those who accuse them of attempting to establish an American theocracy are fringe.  While downplaying their conspiracy theories is wise, Christians cannot simply dismiss or ignore them.  Every now and then such accusationas erupt into “scandal,” as occurred at the Air Force Academy several years ago.  There are people in the United States today who honestly believe that Christians (especially those in the military) are a threat to freedom, democracy, and national security–and those people and organizations are part of the growing movement to impact Christians in the government and military today.

On a recent internet comment regarding “The Evangelical Christian Takeover of the Military,” one such person opined that  Read more

New Religious Lawsuit against the US Military

According to a press release, Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation has sued the military on behalf of an Army soldier.  According to the announcement, an officer harassed Army Specialist Jeremy Hall when he attempted to convene a meeting of atheists.  (The text of the suit is not yet available.)

Updated 20 September:  The text of the lawsuit is available here.  See the new post for latest commentary.

The lawsuit apparently names the Defense Secretary Robert Gates as defendant because the incident is evidence of “a pattern of military practices that discriminate against non-Christians in the military,” which he allegedly permitted in his role as Defense Secretary.

Much like his Academy lawsuit, it appears that Weinstein is attempting to aggrandize a discrete event into a larger opportunity.  A niche news article on the suit (which has yet to be seen in the mainstream media) indicated that the assertions meandered from the soldier to other unrelated issues, like alleged military support of civilian Christian organizations as well as the recent Pentagon IG report (previous commentary).  Weinstein himself has implied that this goes ‘beyond’ the two men, and said that  Read more

Book Review: God and Government

Charles Colson
Zondervan, 2007.
Topic: Church and State

God & Government is an updated version of Chuck Colson’s 1987 Kingdoms in Conflict. Subtitled “an insider’s view on the boundaries between faith and politics,” it is an interesting and generally centrist evaluation of the complex relationship between religion and the state.

The book is a worthwhile read for a military Christian for several reasons. First, Colson adequately addresses both sides of the “church/state controversy,” an issue that is constantly cited in arguments against Christian activity in the military. He acknowledges that there are some Christians who would like nothing more than to elect a President-Pastor, and some secularists who would like nothing more than to eliminate the public existence of religion. He maintains that Read more

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