It has been perverted.
This is EXACTLY the time for Americans to join the military in droves and violate this illegal order.
It is against regulation to obey an illegal order, and there is no doubt this is an illegal order.
"Witnessing" (proclaiming Jesus to others) is a religious observance for every Christian denomination I know of, except for perhaps "The Primitive Baptist Church".
It is ILLEGAL for any governmental group to demand that a religious group NOT follow their religion's religious observances.
It was said best by Pope John Paul II: "No believer in Christ, no institution of the Church can avoid this supreme duty: to proclaim Christ to all people."
The Pope, of course, got that from Jesus, who in Mark 16 said: "15 He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation"
There can be NO DOUBT: "proclaiming Jesus" is MORE a religious observance for Christians than is most anything else in our Christian faith.
Telling Christians NOT to proclaim is no different than telling Christians that they are not permitted to practice their religion.
Army FM 1-05 says:
1-4. At every echelon of the force, the chaplaincy is the Army’s primary agency for ensuring the right to free exercise of religion for Soldiers on behalf of the commander. The chaplains and chaplain assistants, from the Chief of Chaplains down to battalion UMTs, fulfill this core and essential responsibility. Based upon the requirements of the operational mission, a Soldier exercises this right in a number of ways to include:- Worshipping according to one’s faith.
- Seeking religious counsel and care.
- Keeping holy days and observances.
- Participating in rites, sacraments, and ordinances.
- Practicing dietary laws.
One can't "keep observances" such as "witnessing", if one is prevented from doing so. The only way to tell a soldier that he/she can't "keep an observance" of his religion is to force him to follow a different religion.
We will not give in. We will not leave the field of battle to the socialists!
My 17 year old nephew was all set to join, we’ve changed his mind. Thank God
The awful proof that our military is being de-spiritualized is the soaring military suicide rate, which since more than four years ago has exceeded annually the number of service connected deaths due to enemy action.
Current command guidance for `suicide prevention’ makes absolutely no mention of the role of religious faith in granting to those who believe, the spiritual strength to resist adversity & despair.
People of faith are far, far less likely to kill themselves. Now, atheist FReepers, it is entirely possible to maintain one’s own survival based on nothing more than rock-solid inner resources, got it.
But as one of the more tolerant among you stated, individuals should not be deprived of their right to express their faith nor to draw solace therefrom.
This Mikey Weinstein is a raging anti-Christian fanatic. He probably isn’t too keen on observant Jews, either.
“I am advising young Americans NOT to join the U.S. military.”
No, they should join. Serve quietly, and observe. Learn well. Become very skilled. Then when this budding revolutionary guard is turned against the populace, they will better understand how to throw sand in the gears. If they happen to be in service at the time, so much the better.
Corrode the revolutionary sodomite enemy from within, the way they have us.
The military being unable to fully trust it’s own formations to attack Americans is a wonderful thing.
For the first time in five decades, I am advising young Americans NOT to join the U.S. military.
I’ve been doing that for the last three years too. A once noble calling... My Family traces members belonging to one service or another going back to the Revolutionary war.