The ACLJ, the Christian counter to the ACLU, is “gearing up to assist in [the] battle…[over] free speech rights of military chaplains,” which it expects will get renewed interest from the newly elected Democratic congressional leadership. The ACLJ’s current emphasis is on a petition drive to obtain a Presidential Executive Order explicitly directing the military to allow its chaplains to pray in accordance with the dictates of their faith.
Mr. Michael Weinstein has said his “fight is far from over” in his self-described war against evangelical Christianity in the military, despite the recent dismissal of his lawsuit against the Air Force Academy. According to his blog, Weinstein believes that the suit was dismissed on a “technicality;” once that technicality is overcome, the suit will be renewed. Judge James Parker dismissed the suit because it contained only “vague allegations” and no evidence of harm from people who lacked standing—because they weren’t cadets. Weinstein was unfazed and said:
“Religious bias and the outrageous violations of the separation of church and state continue to spread rampantly throughout our military” and that the “military is full of evangelizing fundamentalists.”
Congress has passed the 2007 Defense Authorization Act and forwarded it to the President, who signed it on 17 October 2006. Generally only controversial as the battleground for district military pet-projects, the 2007 Act has become the unlikely forum for the continuation of the debate of religion in the military. In response to the recent changes in military policy regarding religion, the Republican-controlled House Armed Services Committee included language in the bill specific to the prayers of chaplains. From H.R. 1522 section 590, Read more
Christian fighter pilots face a unique challenge in their roles as “government officials” and religious individuals. The struggle is ongoing in large part because the American public is confused or misinformed about the correct relationship between religion and society. Weak Christian responses to these public misperceptions have failed to reverse the resulting rise of secularism in America.
Misunderstandings of the proper role of religion in American society have 200 years of history behind them and center on a few simple words in the US Constitution:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
The Military Christian’s Response
Updated April 2007. See bottom of page for most recent updates to this story.
Americans United for the Separation of Church and State (AU) is now representing Mrs. Roberta Stewart, the widow of fallen soldier SGT Patrick Stewart, in her dealings with the Veterans’ Administration (VA). Mrs. Stewart is a Wiccan and desires to have a Wiccan symbol (a “pentacle,” an encircled five pointed star) placed on a VA-funded memorial plaque. (Her efforts have also been reported in the Washington Post.) To be clear, Mrs. Stewart is not seeking a headstone to place on an unmarked grave, as she has scattered her husband’s ashes elsewhere. The plaque she seeks would be placed on a “Wall of Heroes” memorial at a veterans’ cemetery near Fernley, Nevada. When notified that her pentacle was not authorized, the VA offered to produce a plaque with no emblem, but Mrs. Stewart declined. The request for a pentacle was made in January of this year. In June, the AU corresponded with the Veterans’ Administration on her behalf and demanded a response within 30 days to “avoid litigation.” Read more
Daily spiritual struggles, constant challenges to a Christian’s faith, the potential for persecution: with so many negatives, why would any Christian even want to be a fighter pilot?
Many of the articles on this website deal with the pessimistic aspects of trying to be an authentic Christian in a sometimes immoral fighter pilot world. This was primarily a somewhat zealous attempt to “set straight” any “starry-eyed” would-be fighter pilots, and it failed to consider those who honestly know very little (good or bad) about the fighter pilot world. A dearth of positive articles may lead some to believe that there isn’t any good in being a fighter pilot and that there’s no respectable reason for a Christian to be a fighter pilot. That couldn’t be further from the truth. There are awesome and positive things about being a fighter pilot, and the fighter pilot world even has aspects that make it desirable as a Christian career. Read more
As noted in an Air Force article, on June 23 Rabbi Resnicoff finished his year of service as special assistant to the Air Force secretary and chief of staff for values and vision. In a Washington Jewish Week article, Resnicoff noted that “for some Christians sharing one’s faith with others is an essential part of their religion” and “the guidelines do not prohibit such free exercise.” Notably, Mikey Weinstein is quoted as calling Resnicoff an “unmitigated disaster.”
In my last year at the Air Force Academy I developed the same question that I’m sure every Christian in their last year of college does: what is God’s will for my life? While we would all be commissioned in the military, the variety of options available to us meant a plethora of possible career—and thus life—opportunities. Lt Col Stokka, the Officer’s Christian Fellowship staff member at the Academy, taught a lesson to the first class cadets (seniors) that I’m sure he did every year. In it he basically taught that we shouldn’t only seek God’s will when we have a significant decision to make. Rather, we should strive to live as God would have us live everyday. This is rooted in Romans 12:2,
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing, and perfect will.
If a Christian reads the Bible, stays in prayer, and seeks God’s will everyday, then the decisions that he makes should be consistent with the will of God. Rather than depending on emotions and feelings—what he feels God’s will is—he should make his decisions based on the word of God.
Lt Col Stokka assuaged some of our fears about our future assignments by relating some of his personal history. As an Air Force officer he faced reassignment every 2 to 4 years. Read more