Tag Archives: Jewish

Jewish Chaplain Gets Waiver for Beard

Rabbi Menachem Stern previously sued the US Army for accepting him as a chaplain candidate — and then unaccepting him when they realized he intended to keep his beard.

The Aleph Institute, a Chabad-Lubavitch organization that assists Jewish military personnel, Jewish inmates and their families, and Sens. Charles E. Schumer, Kristen Gillibrand and Joseph Lieberman sought to persuade top brass that the rabbi should be able to keep his beard.

As have many others, they cited Chaplain Goldstein Read more

Military Atheists Rally Around the Crossbuster

As noted before, some atheists, like many political or social activists, can sometimes become so engrossed in their presumed persecution they see offense where none exists.

Military atheists, for example, took a General officer to task when she made the fairly benign statement that military service requires you to believe in things “bigger than yourself.”  They derided a US military Chaplain for describing his duties as required by regulation.  In both cases, statements were attributed to the officers they didn’t actually say — it was just what the atheists thought they heard — a perception apparently skewed by an assumption of persecution.  Most recently, atheists brought up an old story about a Navy atheist who was “forced to permanently cover” a tattoo.  CTR2 Michael Wheeler had the logo of the band Bad Religion, the “crossbuster,” tattooed on his arm where it was visible, even in uniform:

Naturally, there was much consternation and implication of persecution on the part of the atheists.  In the end, a few who commented did correctly note a Read more

Pagans Get “Warm Welcome” at Lackland AFB, USAFA

A “pagan newswire collective” article on the religious environment in the US Air Force painted a picture of a tolerant, accepting, and respectful military treatment of even the most minority religions.

Really.

The pagan report is only the most recent outside observer to highlight the positive religious environment in the US Air Force.  Starting at Lackland Air Force Base:

“Our airmen…should know that the Air Force has gone to great lengths to ensure their spirit was nurtured while in basic training,” says Rev. Tamie Rieth…, the Wicca Distinctive Faith Group Leader (DFGL) at Lackland for just over 6 years.  Rev. Rieth is one of 5 instructors who lead the weekly Wiccan services for BMT trainees.

The article says 150 to 300 trainees attend the Sunday Read more

Removal of Army Chapel Cross an “Attack on Christianity”

An unnamed US Soldier in Afghanistan took personal umbrage at the removal of a cross from the local chapel.

U.S. soldiers assigned to Camp Marmal in northern Afghanistan said the removal of a cross from an Army chapel has created a “huge controversy” and at least one soldier called it a “direct attack against Christianity and Judaism.”

How Judaism plays into it isn’t exactly clear, but if the facts are correctly laid out in the article, he may actually have a point:

The chapel is used for general Protestant services and a Baptist church service. There is a smaller chapel used for other services. The camp also has a mosque and a German chapel that is used for Catholic services.

In other words, every faith group has a place to ‘call their own.’  What do you think the chances are the mosques are identifiably Islamic?

Irrelevant, some will say:  The regulation says Read more

US Army Removes Cross from Afghan Chapel

FoxNews repeats the Politico report noting the US Army pulled a cross off the front of a US military chapel at Camp Marmal, Afghanistan, which was dedicated just a few months ago.

Before and after courtesy photo originally published at Politico.com.

At first, this situation seems similar to the US Army’s removal of crosses from the chapel in Kosovo a few years ago.

However, the current issue is actually somewhat more complex.

First, US military policies are not necessarily Read more

Rabbi Supports Call for Atheist Chaplains

In reference to Capt Ryan Jean’s efforts to become an atheist lay/faith leader, Brad Hirschfield, a Rabbi and writer at the Washington Post‘s On Faith, explains “Why the military needs atheist chaplains:”

The U.S. military needs atheist chaplains. Why? Because members of the military have requested them, and the core value of the chaplaincy is to serve the needs of those serving our nation.

If it was that easy, every military base would have a Hooters Read more

Military Atheists Seek Status as Lay, Faith Group Leaders

Atheists in the US Army continue to criticize the Army’s Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program and its Global Assessment Tool.  One portion of it is intended to help Soldiers assess their spiritual fitness — to which some atheists have objected, both in letter and principle.  Much like their opposition to anything “bigger” or “higher” than themselves, the atheists’ objection to the principle of spiritual fitness has caused them to see offense even in non-“religious” questions, like whether or not their lives have purpose.

Capt. Ryan Jean wanted to perform well on the Army’s psychological evaluation for soldiers. But he also wanted to answer the questions honestly. So when he was asked whether he believed his life had a lasting purpose, Jean, an atheist, saw no choice but to say no.

Apparently military atheists claim no lasting purpose in their lives.  Honestly.

Unfortunately, the article conflates two separate questions with which Read more

1 … 36 37 38 39 40 … 56