Tag Archives: southern baptist

Navy School Changes Command Under Divine Authority

As reported by the Navy, aptly named US Navy CAPT Steve Moses took over the Naval Chaplaincy School and Center at the end of March.  (Last year, it was CAPT Moses who said requiring US Sailors and their families to mirror Islamic customs during Ramadan “support[s] religious freedom.”)

The Navy Chief of Chaplains, Chaplain (RAdm) Margaret Kibben, was the guest speaker, and she had the notable quote for the day [emphasis added]:

She challenged Capt. Moses to, “Wear the mantle, and do so with authority, with the responsibility that has been granted to you by the One who is the author of all these things.”

Had Chaplain Kibben been a white male Southern Baptist (as Read more

On Christianity, Children, Transgenders, and President Trump

“Children should not be turned into pawns of culture war experimentation…

“There are good reasons to put boys and girls in different bathrooms and locker rooms and sometimes sports teams, reasons that don’t impugn the dignity of people but uphold it… Every human being knows that there are important, and necessary, differences between men and women. Without such recognition, women are harmed and men are coarsened…

“If anything, there’s much more of a case to be made that one can feel to be a different age than one’s doctor’s exam or birth certificate would show…It’s something else entirely if chronological self-identity is Read more

Sterling, Military Religious Freedom Get Support at Supreme Court

Court-martialed Marine LCpl Monifa Sterling has appealed to the US Supreme Court, alleging her religious liberty was violated when she was convicted for not removing Bible verses posted to her desk.

The Supreme Court has not yet agreed to hear the case — and there are already significant briefs being filed in her support.

Critics like Michael “Mikey” Weinstein have tried to frame her case as a Christian trying to inappropriately “expose” others to their beliefs — and thus deserving of court-martial.

However, people who actually support religious freedom — rather than advocate discrimination against Christians as Weinstein does — are coming out in support of Sterling.

This includes a substantial number of significant and high profile non-Christians. Those supporting Sterling’s case with amicus briefs include:  Read more

Chris Rodda Attacks Military Chaplains for Being Chaplains

In her writing, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s research assistant Chris Rodda has often struggled with both the truth and the ability to convey a clear, coherent, and supported argument — all while under pressure from her sort-of boss to make it sensational enough that people will read it.

Late in December, she tried to overcome those shortcomings in a piece at the Huffington Post.

She failed.

Her 2,500-word article — short, by Rodda standards — really needs go no further than the headline:

Gay-Bashing Chaplain Endorsers Admit That The Military Chaplaincy Is Disproportionately Anti-LGBT

It would have been more honestly titled  Read more

Christians and Voting for the Lesser of Two Evils

Update: While Russell Moore (discussed below) appeared to advocate abstaining rather than voting for an immoral candidate, Franklin Graham went on record for the opposite point of view, saying Christians may have to vote for the “less[er] of two heathens.”

Writing at Christianity Today, Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, discussed the moral situation some Christians may find themselves in at the ballot box — feeling as though they are having to decide between the “lesser of two evils.”

Moore essentially says that Christians cannot justifiably support either “evil.” The most notable part of Moore’s article was his use of the US military as an analogy to this Christian conundrum [emphasis added]:

Think of military service, another office of public responsibility, as an example. Members of the military don’t need to approve of everything a general decides to be faithful to their duty to the country.

But if they’re commanded to either slaughter innocent non-combatants or desert and sign up with the enemies of one’s country, a Christian can’t merely choose the least bad of these options. He would have to conclude that both are wrong and he could not be implicated in either.

It’s an interesting, if somewhat ill-fitting, analogy.

Yes, Christians (and every Read more

MajGen Dondi Costin Becomes Newest AF Chief of Chaplains

Chaplain (Col) Dondi Costin was promoted two steps to Major General and installed as the Air Force Chief of Chaplains in a ceremony on August 28th.

In a statement quoted in the Air Force Times, Chaplain Costin responded to the stories of his “memorable” invocations, which may give some insight into his opinion on “ceremonial prayer”:

Costin told Air Force Times that he spends a lot of time understanding each ceremony’s purpose and those being honored.

“Invocations aren’t just ceremonial placeholders lingering from a bygone era,” he said. “Rather, Read more

Mohler: US Military May Be Affected by Kentucky Clerk Ruling

Dr. R. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, wrote a commentary yesterday entitled “‘In this World You Will Have Trouble’ — Welcome to Rowan County.” He thoughtfully discussed the controversy surrounding Kim Davis, County Clerk of Rowan County, who has now been jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses.

The marriage licenses bear her signature as the state authorizing official for the union, and Davis has maintained that places her personal imprimatur on a “marriage” that violates her religious beliefs:

As Mrs. Davis and her attorneys have made clear, she has been willing for her name to be removed from marriage licenses in Rowan County, but she is not willing to put her name on those licenses so long as that would require her approval of same-sex marriages. But Judge Bunning made clear that he would be satisfied only when Mrs. Davis either issues marriage licenses in compliance with the Obergefell decision or resigns her office.

Mohler notes that, like many judicial decisions, they may have impact far greater than some may realize — including the US military:  Read more

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