Tag Archives: christian

Baptists Update Chaplain Guidance Post-DADT Repeal

Several news reports over the past few months note that faced with growing concerns from its chaplains, the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board — which sends chaplains to the US military — has updated its guidance in light of the repeal of DADT and the open service of homosexuals in the US military:

“Our chaplains want to uphold the authority and relevancy of Scripture while continuing to serve in a very diverse setting,” said Doug Carver, the retired Army major general who leads NAMB’s chaplaincy efforts. “We believe these updated guidelines will help them do that while still sharing the love and the hope of Christ with everyone.”

In short, SBC chaplains must conduct every part of their ministry in accordance with the Christian faith — which reflects the “historic, natural and biblical view of marriage…”  The specificity and clarity was praised by retired Chaplain (Col) Ron Crews of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty.

The guidelines also seem to specifically call out marriage retreats, like the US Army’s Strong Bonds: Read more

Chaplain: Christian Beliefs could be Considered Hate Speech

US Senate Chaplain Barry Black recently made waves for his daily prayers scolding the US Congress during the government “shutdown.”

Though it was just as newsworthy, another address by Chaplain Black — himself a former US Navy Chief of Chaplains — was lost in the simultaneous hubbub over Michael Weinstein and his meeting with the US Air Force.

In his address to the Heritage Foundation in April, Chaplain Black noted plainly that Christian doctrine might one day be considered “hate speech:”

Military chaplains…may have problems Read more

Chaplains Group Sues VA over Religious Freedom

In a fascinating case, the Conservative Baptist Association of America has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Veterans Affairs, essentially alleging that a VA chaplaincy training program is intentionally preventing them from sending chaplains to VA and military medical centers:

The actions of the Secretary within the San Diego VA-DOD CPE Center establishing a secular, humanist and holistic religion which excludes mainstream Judeo-Christian beliefs discriminates against CBAmerica Chaplains, prevents them from practicing their religious beliefs, have forced them out of the program and will, if not corrected, prevent future CBAMERICA Chaplains from completing the program and practicing their faith in the health care facilities serviced by the program.

The VA-DOD CPE Center is responsible for preparing chaplains to serve in military and VA medical facilites around San Diego.

The lawsuit (PDF) relies on the experiences of two CBAmerica chaplains, Read more

Weinstein Attacks Allen Willoughby, Promotes Courage for Christ

The Associated Press picked up on Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s complaint about Allen Willoughby, an athletic trainer at the US Air Force Academy Prep School who sent Weinstein an email after Weinstein’s complaint about “So Help Me God.”  As published by Weinstein’s ally Pam Zubeck at the Colorado Springs Independent, the email said:

…God will always be a part of the US Military even when you are gone to meet him face to face. You know you can do a lot for the homeless veterans out here but you could care less about them but when it comes to Christians you are willing to fight against us, well you will never win and so you know the war has already been won. I am on staff at USAFA and will talk about Jesus Christ my Lord and savior to everyone that I work with. Do something productive with your life and Stop harassing the fine people at USAFA. I really pray for your soul.

Zubeck provocatively titled her blog

Academy athletic trainer vows to proselytize on campus

Presumably, Zubeck is at least trying to appear to be a journalist, albeit one who apparently does not deign to use a dictionary.  As is evident to the rest of the world, the Prep School trainer did not “vow[] to proselytize.”

For his part, Weinstein almost Read more

Thanksgiving, Hanukkah Coincide this Year

A few websites are highlighting the fact that Hanukkah aligns with the American Thanksgiving this year:

It last happened in 1888 and, according to one calculation, won’t happen again for another 77,798 years: the convergence of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah.

This year, Nov. 28 is Thanksgiving and the first full day of the eight-day Jewish festival of lights, which begins at sundown the previous night.

Jews in Green even provided some coloring pages for military kids that mixes the holiday references.

It will be interesting to see how this is treated during Read more

Chris Rodda Pens 3,000-Word Diatribe. TLDR.

Chris Rodda, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s paid research assistant, writes an occasional article for Weinstein’s MRFF.  Rodda considers herself a history buff, and her writings reflect that.  She is also exceedingly verbose, with many of her articles going on for pages even before she says ‘the reason I’m writing this….’

She recently struck again, in a letter to USAFA Superintendent LtGen Michelle Johnson that was co-signed by Weinstein.  The letter was clearly hers, as it lacked the alliterative vitriol or the acidic hyperbole characteristic of Weinstein’s writing.  (It also contained no gratuitous ellipses or the pastel colored font Weinstein so favors in his emails.)  She wrote it, ostensibly, to rebut a letter written by the ACLJ’s Jay Sekulow and Skip Ash:  Read more

Australians Rebuff Change to “Known Unto God”

It seems atheist Jason Torpy has an Australian ideological doppleganger.

Reports from Australia indicate the commission in charge of the Australian War Memorial had quietly planned to remove the phrase “known unto God” from the tomb of their unknown soldier:

The sandstone war memorial opened in 1941 to commemorate Australians killed in World War I and is among Canberra’s most popular tourist attractions.

[Memorial director Brendan Nelson] had proposed replacing the phrase “known unto God,” attributed to British writer Rudyard Kipling, with the inscription: “We do not know this Australian’s name, we never will.”

While some complained it was an intentional effort to “de-Christianize” Read more

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