Tag Archives: Public Expression

US Military Highlights Respect for Muslims

A report at FoxNews highlights a message from US Army Col. Kevin Glasz, brigade commander of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, regarding respect for Islam during Ramadan:

“This is a period of great personal restraint and commitment in addition to renewed focus on worship,” Brigade Commander Col. Kevin Glasz wrote. “I’d like to encourage you to learn just a little more about this religion, but more importantly, I’m asking you to be considerate and do not consume food or drink in front of our Muslim colleagues; it is a simple, yet respectful action.”

In contrast from policies governing US military personnel in Bahrain, which was highlighted here last month, the USUHS is in Maryland, and there are no laws in Maryland governing Ramadan.

Optimistically viewed, it is just a supportive statement from the military to help others respect the faiths of those around them. But as an anonymous Marine officer is quoted in pointing out, this kind of “supportive statement” is only used in reference to Islam:  Read more

Retiring Army Chaplain on Priorities

US Army III Corps Command Chaplain (Col) Matthew Goff recently relinquished his pastoral leadership and retired. He used the opportunity to provide his advice on how to “do well through all the days in your life:”

“Your first commitment in life is your commitment to God and the practice of your faith. The second commitment is the commitment to your family. Last, your commitment to this profession.”

God, family, profession.

His sage advice is similar to what many Christians are taught in their faith. (The same priorities are discussed in “Christian Fighter Pilot” is not an Oxymoron, and here.) You cannot have a right relationship with people if you do not first have a right relationship with God. To the second priority, the US military similarly recognizes a service member cannot faithfully fulfill their commitment to the Service if they are not fulfilling their commitments to their families.

Read more about Chaplain Goff’s ceremony here. Read more

Military Prohibits Recognition at Vacation Bible School

Update: Tony Perkins addresses the issue at One News Now. Also at the Christian Post.

Todd Starnes at FoxNews reports on the decision by a local National Guard armory not to be recognized at a local Vacation Bible School — because, they said, it would violate the military policies on religion.  (The Washington Times and others subsequently picked up the story.)

Bible Baptist Church in Carthage…decided to honor the military during their annual Vacation Bible School. The theme was “God’s Rescue Squad.” And each day of the week, the church invited local “rescue squads” to visit with the boys and girls.

The paramedics came on Monday and on Read more

Mikey Weinstein to Sue over Medal of Honor? (Video)

Last year Michael “Mikey” Weinstein threatened to sue the US Army because it exposed a group of Soldiers to a chaplain’s prayer, which the chaplain closed with

through Your holy name…

In response, Weinstein demanded the chaplain be disciplined and the Soldiers be given an apology.  Weinstein threatened an “aggressive” Federal lawsuit (as opposed to a benign lawsuit, apparently) if the Army refused his demands.

To be clear, Weinstein was willing to sue because a chaplain said “through Your holy name” during a prayer to a group of Soldiers in an auditorium.

Based on events just this week, will Weinstein threaten to sue again?

On Monday, US Army Chief of Chaplains (MajGen) Donald Rutherford prayed in uniform and on national television — and, shockingly, closed with…”in Your holy name.”  Just Read more

Fighter Pilot Retires to Become Full-Time Pastor

LtCol Eric Samuelson recently made the local Portland, Maine, news when he flew low level over his community on his retirement flight:

Flanked by two other F-15 fighter jets, Samuelson led the formation from Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield, Massachusetts, to northern Maine for low-altitude training. After buzzing Portland, they headed for the jetport, where more than 100 members of his church were waiting in a parking lot by the runway…

Samuelson has been a pastor at The Rock Church for some time, and the article noted he found no conflict between his roles as Christian faith leader and military Read more

Army War College Publishes Paper on Religious Hostility

The US Army War College published a monograph on the core topic of the US military’s “evolving culture of hostility toward religious presence and expression.”  The authors were Don Snider, a Senior Fellow in the Center for the Army Profession and Ethic (CAPE) at West Point and an Adjunct Research Professor in the Strategic Studies Institute at the U.S. Army War College, and retired US Army Col Alex Shine of the War College.

The paper, entitled “A Soldier’s Morality, Religion, and Our Professional Ethic: Does the Army’s Culture Facilitate Integration, Character Development, and Trust in the Profession?“, is clearly meant to be academic, but at 30 pages makes for a fairly easy – and worthwhile – read.

The authors focus on the influence of changing social values on ethics within the US military, as demonstrated in the increasing secularism in American society that is essentially hostile to religion:  Read more

Navy NCO Promotes “Gay pride” over “Twisted” Religious Dogma


US Navy Photo by MC3 Erik Foster

Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman Tom Guest (an E-8, or senior enlisted Sailor, for those unfamiliar with Navy rank) spoke at a homosexual/transgender “pride” event on the underway USS Bataan on June 25th. His topic was “What Exactly Do We Mean by GAY PRIDE?”

He provided a variety of potential answers, including

GAY PRIDE is about owning who we are, whether we are butch dykes, fem queens, or the always coveted “Straight Acting” gay.

Chief Guest also noted that the ship’s leadership had been supportive Read more

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