Not getting it.
A godbotherer claims that Obama is driving all the Christians out of the military and sowing their fields with salt. His claims are short on citations, apart from a link-free date-free mention of the Washington Times.
But he does give a couple of examples.
If you are in the military today, you have got to be so careful about any expression of faith.
Even the slightest slip up can cause the authorities to crack down on you.
Just consider the following two examples which come from Newsmax…
In December, a chaplain for a Ranger training battalion was sent an administrative letter of concern after a soldier complained that he had promoted Christianity and used a Bible during a mandatory suicide-prevention training session.
Last month, a Navy chaplain was removed from his job and may lose his career after complaints about his private counseling during which he discouraged homosexuality and sex outside of marriage.
You mean a Christian chaplain actually “used a Bible” and “promoted Christianity”?
Not too sharp, is he. It was a mandatory suicide-prevention training session. That’s the issue. Obviously Christian chaplains can use a bible and promote Christianity, but they shouldn’t be doing it for mandatory training sessions. I’d prefer to be able to say they’re not allowed to. but that’s the very point at issue. Chaplains should be available but not mandatory.
Everything else he says is, frankly, bullshit.
I’m sure that if an atheist chaplain was assigned this duty and used the mandatory session to explain that there is probably no god and believing in one is a waste of time, this person would be fine with that, because the atheist is just expressing his truly held beliefs, right? Right?
It’s too bad I’m barred from re-enlistment. Otherwise it would be awfully fun to try to get a job as a chaplain, and neglect to mention that you were a satanist chaplain.
Here is one of the cases being referred to: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/04/22/navy-chaplain-censored-dont-pray-in-name-jesus/
I would think that with a “stellar 19-year career” he’d know how to follow orders by now O_O
they shouldn’t be doing it for mandatory training sessions
Suicide prevention!!! Was he giving the christian party line about suicide – that it dooms you to hell and eternal punishment for rejecting god’s gift of life? Does that strike anyone as effective counselling? A person who is depressed needs understanding, help connecting to their life (not threats about the ‘next’ life!) and company — not imaginary playmates and guilt, which is what christianity has to offer. I believe that the excuse the military offers for why there are chaplains at all is to support and counsel and comfort. For a suicide prevention class, offering christian views on sexuality and marriage is not just inappropriate, it’s malpractice.
If only.
And why is a chaplain running a “mandatory suicide-prevention training session”? Wouldn’t it be better to get a professional?
And why is a chaplain running a “mandatory suicide-prevention training session”? Wouldn’t it be better to get a professional?
Exactly. Given that the military is experiencing a pretty high casualty rate from suicide, and they are allegedly trying to do something about soldiers’ wellness and mental health, it’s kind of a kick in the teeth to send a crystal reader, tarot flipper, or chaplain to ‘help’. PTSD and suicide are serious problems and religion isn’t a serious answer.
I work in an environment that’s mixed: military and civilian. You can’t go a month without getting a mass (no pun intended) email about THIS religious service or THAT religious service that all are welcome to attend. All of these religious services are Christian. Moreoever, my office offers downloadable graphics that can be used on computer desktops. We have several themes including; state parks (nature scenes), computers (high-tech images), and holidays being three. We get no end of grief over the holidays–not the Valentine’s day or Thanksgiving or Fourth of July ones, but the winter and fall ones. Grown adults throw fits over the bonfires, candy corns, and pumpkins used to celebrate Halloween (because anything more typically Halloween like bats or skeletons were “too controversial”), and of course Christmas, which we highlighted with pictures of a lone pine tree in the snow, snowmen, and candles. This was not good enough–they demanded specifically Christian images and the words “Jesus Christ”, and my office was reported to the Chaplain’s office for the “persecution”.
Gah!! That’s awful.
Millenialists HAVE to find ‘persecution’ everywhere. They still believe that Jeebus is returning during their lifetime—2,000 years of fruitless waiting to the contrary—and ‘tribulation’ is a requirement for the Apocalypse.
So they are glad to shirk their real jobs and bang on their highchairs about being ‘oppressed.’