Tag Archives: evangelism

Chaplains Speak on Experiences

A group of chaplains speak on their experiences and what the chaplaincy means to them:

  • The ability to share their faith with those who wouldn’t otherwise have heard it.
  • Counseling a Soldier who comes in and said “I’ve been bad.  Can I ever be good?“
  •  A soldier was comforted by knowing he’d be able to worship even in combat, though he was killed before he could do so.
  • Taking cadets to “service” — during the 7th inning of a baseball game.

See the prior video as well.

Via Jews in Green.

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Book Review: Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy

Eric Metaxas
Thomas Nelson, 2010

Dietrich Bonhoeffer holds a place in Christian history not unlike William Wilberforce — a man that modern Christians should know, but one most are only vaguely aware of and can’t speak intelligently about. Eric Metaxas’ Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, though hefty at more than 500 pages, does an admirable job of communicating the story of Bonhoeffer’s life to modern audiences.

Bonhoeffer is well-written and is fascinating as a narrative that parallels, rather than focuses on, many of the stereotypical storylines of World War II.  While some of the details of Bonhoeffer’s life are interesting, such as his well-to-do upbringing in an essentially agnostic family, the theme most interesting and relevant to modern Christians is Bonhoeffer’s attempts to align his life with his faith.  Though Metaxas received some criticism, he did a generally admirable job of using Bonhoeffer’s own words to explain his faith-based reasoning.

Bonhoeffer is portrayed as a man who grows gradually in his faith as it relates to his life; he did not start out as an ardent political activist and wrap his Read more

Mission Aviation Completely Rebuilds Bush Plane

The blog of Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) describes how the group took a 1980 Cessna 206 and broke it down to its smallest components in an extensive rebuild effort:

[The] 1980 Cessna TU206, named HC-BMO, served 20 years in Ecuador… After accumulating almost 10,000 flight hours (about 1.4 million miles) we reassigned it to Africa. But first, we routed it through Nampa for a new engine and a major airframe overhaul…

We drilled out and replaced over 11,000 rivets to expose and check every square inch of every surface. We inspected each Read more

WSJ Cites Chilling Effect of Air Force Meeting with Weinstein

The Wall Street Journal had a fairly balanced article on the recent dust up over Air Force leaders choosing to meet with religious freedom critic Michael Weinstein at the Pentagon in late April.  Author Mollie Ziegler Hemingway accurately notes that there’s been a bit of sensationalism in recent headlines:

Initial reports on these matters were exaggerated, taken out of context or simply false.

But she also acknowledges that, exaggerated or not, there are still some valid concerns:

For one thing, the Pentagon statement clarifying that military personnel would not be court-martialed if they “evangelize” also said that “proselytization” is considered a [UCMJ] offense. Yet the definitions of those two words are almost identical…

Further, the WSJ piece notes that regardless of any hyperbole in recent claims, there remains concern over the mere fact the Air Force met with Weinstein:  Read more

US Military Clarifies Religious Freedom Policy. Again.

For the third time in a week, the US military released a statement attempting to articulate the DoD’s policy on religious freedom. In response to multiple media questions, LtCmdr Nathan Christensen issued the following statement [emphasis added]:

There is no DOD wide policy that directly addresses religious proselytizing. Furthermore, there is no effort within the department to make religious proselytizing a specific offense within the UCMJ, including under Article 134.

Service members may exercise their rights under the 1st Amendment regarding the free exercise of religion unless doing so adversely affects good order, discipline, or some other aspect of the military mission; even then, the Department seeks a reasonable religious accommodation for the service member. In general, service members may share their faith with other service members, but may not forcibly attempt to convert others of any faith or no faith to their own beliefs.

Concerns about these issues are handled on a case by case basis by the leaders of the unit involved.

In other words, the prior statement that did try to “directly address religious proselytizing” is…retracted?

The statement essentially reverts the DoD from the “new” (first, “uncomfortable,” then evangelism vs proselytizing) back to the “old” more Read more

US Military Clarifies Religious Policy, Disavows Weinstein Agenda

In another setback for Michael Weinstein’s vitriolic assaults on religious freedom in the US military, the Department of Defense issued a clarifying statement (full text below) disavowing Weinstein’s characterizations and accusations.

It did so in a unique way, however:

Service members can share their faith (evangelize), but must not force unwanted, intrusive attempts to convert others of any faith or no faith to one’s beliefs (proselytization).

(The DoD statement would presumably override the one from the Air Force the day prior, saying troops couldn’t share their faith if it made others “uncomfortable.”)

It’s an awkward turn of semantics, since most dictionaries don’t define “proselytizing” as being “unwanted” or “intrusive” (its a neutral term “to convert”).  Over the past few years, the term has been so often associated with “coercion” it has come to have a negative connotation.  (Weinstein’s research assistant, Chris Rodda, actually agrees the Read more

MRFF Objects to Doctor’s Afghanistan Rescue by Navy SEALs

Fresh off its fundraising efforts capitalizing on the death of former US Navy SEAL Glen Doherty, the MRFF is now trying to make waves over the latest death of an active duty Navy SEAL.  Michael Weinstein’s group objected to the rescue of Dr. Dilip Joseph in Afghanistan.

Why?  According to the MRFF, Dr. Joseph was the wrong religion.

Public reports indicate US Navy SEAL PO1 Nicolas Checque was killed in the successful rescue of Dr. Joseph, who had been abducted by the Taliban 3 days earlier.

President Obama said this about the rescue:  Read more

NBC Reports Trijicon Sights Still Bear Bible Verses

NBC recently updated the controversy of Bible references being inscribed on the side of Trijicon’s ACOG weapon sites sold to the US military (as well as other nations).

Nearly three years later — despite the military’s assertion that is making “good progress” — the code remains on many rifles deploying to Afghanistan…

For those unfamiliar with the original story, Trijicon makes industry-leading sights for weapons and has sold them by the hundreds of thousands to the military.  (They’ve reportedly increased marksmanship in the Army.)  On the side of the scope, the identification number is followed by an abbreviation that refers to a Bible verse.

As is Trijicon tradition, every verse makes some reference to “light,” as their sights use a form of ‘light enhancing’ technology.

Michael Weinstein complained in 2010 Read more

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