Tag Archives: Jewish

US Army Chaplain Ministers to Afghan Soldiers

A chaplain deployed to Afghanistan has taken it upon himself to go above and beyond: he not only ministers to US and NATO troops, but also local Afghan troops:

[US Army Chaplain (Maj)] Dawud Agbere is the only active-duty Muslim U.S. Army chaplain in Afghanistan and one of just four in the Army. As such, he’s in high demand for holding services, counseling U.S. and NATO soldiers – Muslim and others – and overseeing chaplains in smaller units. But in the last few weeks, Agbere has created a new role for himself: a Muslim ambassador from NATO forces to the enlisted soldiers of the Afghan National Army.

The impact the chaplain can have on the local troops may be significant; Agbere’s commander even went so far as to call him their “secret weapon.”

The article is an interesting read.  It also makes you wonder what the reaction would be if a Christian or Jewish chaplain similarly spoke with Afghan soldiers about his faith.

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FFRF Objects to Ohio Holocaust Memorial Design

Update:  The memorial was approved, though some expect a lawsuit.  It seems some in the atheist community are hesitant to criticize the memorial out of fear of being accused of insensitivity or anti-Semitism (a hesitation not seen when the issue is a cross, rather than a Star of David).  A commenter on another site had a fairly objective observation:

When symbols are used to represent historical/cultural events, the fact they are religious should not be a sole justification for not using them — only when the intent of the symbol is to promote a religious viewpoint do they become a problem.

In fact, to tell Jewish Holocaust survivors that they cannot be represented by on the most import icons of their internment and murder would be a terrible insult…Jews were forced to wear a Star of David on their exterior clothing to mark them for abuse by the Nazis…

The next logical question, then, is whether a cross can adorn a memorial if its purpose is “not to promote a religious viewpoint.”

Also at Foxnews.

Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, the husband and wife team that make up The Freedom From Religion Foundation, have called on their supporters to fill the gallery in the Ohio State Capitol today as a meeting is held on a proposed holocaust memorial.

The FFRF’s objection?  The Holocaust memorial contains a large Star of David, which raises “constitutional concerns.”

Despite the FFRF’s apparent revisionist thinking, Read more

Michael Weinstein Sees New Christian Conspiracy in Old Regulation

In a little noted message in April, the US Marine Corps quietly tweaked their uniform policies.  One of the changes dealt with the wear of religious items.

According to the Marine Times,

According to the changes announced in Marine administrative message 207/13, signed April 17, Marines may now wear:

– Articles of religious apparel that are not visible or apparent when worn with the uniform.
– Visible articles of religious apparel with the uniform while attending or conducting religious services or while in a chapel or other house of worship.
– Visible articles of religious apparel with the uniform, but only with special approval.

The Marine Times staff writer, James Sanborn, was in awe Read more

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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Atheist Call their own Monument Mere Counterpoint, Attack

The group American Atheists recently installed a granite monument in front of the Bradford County courthouse in Starke, Florida.  The group placed the monument there as the result of a compromise, after a local Christian group refused to remove their Ten Commandments monument — and then both groups filed First Amendment lawsuits.

David Silverman, the American Atheists president, called his own monument a “counterpoint” and an “attack.”

“We’re not going to let them do it without Read more

USCIRF: Afghans Need More Religious Freedom

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom said Afghanistan has improved, but it still suffers from poor religious freedom:

Afghans still can’t debate religion or question prevailing Islamic orthodoxies without fear of being punished, a U.S. commission said in a new report on Tuesday…

The environment for exercising religious freedom remains “exceedingly poor” for dissenting members of Afghanistan’s Sunni Muslim majority and for minorities, such as Shiite Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs Read more

Weinstein Media Coddling Gets Noticed, Disavow Demands Increase

For years Michael “Mikey” Weinstein has had the friendly ear of the media.  His comments have often gone unchallenged and his credibility — including his motivations and background — have been ignored.  The recent dust-up over his meeting at the Pentagon has undone that, thanks in part to Weinstein’s consistent “over the top” behavior.  The Get Religion blog, which frequently covers issues of the media and religion, notes that Weinstein is

a player in this story….and some greater journalistic scrutiny of [his] rhetoric…is in order.

That scrutiny seems to be happening.  Last week the focus was on military policies; this week, Michael Weinstein himself has been hammered from all corners for his history of vitriol and hate — and virtually every article uses his own words to drive home the point, with little need to elaborate.  The  question remaining is, again, why he merited a meeting with senior military leaders.

The Colorado Springs Gazette — hometown paper to the US Air Force Academy — reprinted an editorial from the Washington Examiner questioning the “strange alliance” the Air Force has with Weinstein: Read more

Army Disavows Presentation Supporting Weinstein Ideology

The news of a US Army briefing seemingly supporting a doctrine of Michael Weinstein — and the firm decision by the Army to disavow the presentation — made surprisingly wide press this weekend.

At issue was a briefing given by a US Army Reservist on “Extremism and Extremist Organizations” (PDF, with notes) which listed “evangelical Christians,” “Ultra-Orthodox Judaism,” “Sunni Muslims” and “Catholicism” alongside “al Quaeda [sic]” as “religious extremism.”  (In fact, evangelical Christianity was at the top of the list.)  The briefer was apparently a Military Equal Opportunity officer, ironically enough.

An attendee of the briefing — who describes himself as an evangelical Christian — took issue, obtained a copy of the briefing, and provided it to the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty (CARL) and the military Catholic Archdiocese:

“Men and women of faith who have served the Army faithfully for centuries shouldn’t be likened to those who have regularly threatened the peace and security of the United States,” retired Col. Ron Crews, Read more

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