A military press release describes the interesting story of three California National Guard soldiers who were able to take part in the pilgrimage to the Church of the Black Madonna in Kosovo.
Alongside the Balkan pilgrims…three California National Guard Soldiers [said the] trip was more than just an excursion to see the sights of Kosovo, but a journey to a higher calling. Read more
President Barack Obama hosted an iftar at the White House Tuesday night, celebrating the end of Ramadan. Among the guests were Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Navy Chaplain (Lt. Cmdr.) Abuhena Saifulislam, the second Islamic Chaplain in the US Navy, and Elsheba Khan, whose 20-year-old son, Army Spc. Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, was killed in Iraq on 6 August 2007.
Chaplain Saif, a Bangladeshi immigrant, was one of two Chaplains Read more
In the vein of the American Atheist’s complaint against NASA, a variety of similarly-minded groups continue to bring accusations of wrongdoing against government-associated religious organizations. For example, the ACLU has criticized the Gideons providing religious materials while in some association with a government entity (including the Gideons’ interaction with the US military).
Controversies notwithstanding, the ubiquitous nature of the Gideons ministry almost inevitably leads to the never-gets-old joke:
How do they get those Bibles in all those locked hotel rooms?
Well, in 1996 evidence arose that the Gideons were successful in getting a Bible into one of the most inaccessible nightstands in the world; in fact, it’s not even in the world. Read more
On August 26th, NASA published a fairly detailed article on what the astronauts were taking up on Discovery when it finally launched last week, as well as the historical precedent that allowed astronauts to take up personal items (as noted in the previous post).
Two days after that article, American Atheists issued a press release criticizing NASA’s decision to allow Mission Specialist Patrick Forrester to take up a part of Nate Saint’s airplane. The group said the action was a “violation of the separation of church and state,” as well as Read more
According to their press release, the Liberty Counsel has asked the US Navy to reverse a decision in which “religious speech” had to be removed from a “Navy for Moms” website. In addition, according to the Liberty Counsel,
Navy for Moms community guidelines were also recently revised to prohibit the posting of religious discussions except for prayers offered for sailors.
These kinds of restrictions on private speakers using a government-sponsored forum are not required in order to avoid a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Read more
Updated: Obama’s proclamation can be read here. Text below the fold.
This year’s National Day of Prayer is Thursday, 7 May 2009. As discussed every year at about this time, the President proclaims a National Day of Prayer on the first Thursday in May in accordance with Public Law 100-307 (history).
Much ado was made of President Obama’s failure thus far to make the proclamation, in addition to questions that circulated over whether he would continue the tradition of hosting an observance at the White House. (Former proclamations by President Bush, which normally preceded the day by several weeks, have been removed from the White House website.) It has now been reported that Obama will make the proclamation, as required by law, but not host a White House observance of the day.
Last year Michael Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation threatened to add military associations with the National Day of Prayer task force (a private group) to his DoD lawsuit, though he never followed through on his threat. Read more
Cross Training Publishing, 2000.
Topic: Autobiography / Christian Living
Fisher DeBerry was the US Air Force Academy’s head football coach for 23 years. He turned the USAFA football team into a national powerhouse, and he riled some people for his outspoken Christianity while working with young military cadets.
DeBerry’s book is part autobiography, part witness. It describes his upbringing and career as head coach, and also his philosophy as a Christian in public life. He describes his life as “the Three F’s: Faith, Family, and Football”–in that order. He describes many of the conscious choices he made to encourage faith and family priorities in those he worked with and coached. He speaks of the value of children, parenting, and the importance of school teachers–something few people may know DeBerry did before coaching college football.
His chapter on “Faith” is a wonderful read in which he says “we have our missions fields right here,” and encourages Christians to “spread the word daily by how we live and conduct ourselves:”
You don’t have to beat your chest and proclaim “I’m a Christian” to everyone you meet. But you have to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. Being a Christian has everything to do with how you approach life and the way you treat people.
Your Christianity isn’t just about what you say, it is shown by the consistency of how you live your life.
Unfortunately, the book isn’t produced with the highest quality editing, and those who have no interest in the US Air Force Academy or its football program may find some of the book uninteresting.
This book was written before the lawsuit and controversies over religion at the Air Force Academy, which cited and frequently criticized DeBerry’s outspoken Christianity as football coach.
Recommended. It has wonderful pearls of wisdom and guidance, though some of its subjects are slightly niche. It does have some Christian living advice that would be pertinent to the military Christian. It’s a quick read and worth it, though those bored by football or USAFA may have to skim some parts.
This book is available from Amazon. (This site is an Amazon Associate and may earn from qualifying purchases made through Amazon referrals.)
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General Schwartz took over as the new Air Force Chief of Staff today. His assumption of command received far less fuss than did the news of his original nomination.