Posted on 09/14/2007 7:16:34 AM PDT by kindred
This continues to happen over and over again in the new age communist run government of America.
Clever sidestepping of the issues by “the hospital”. Note no actual person taking responsiblity for the decision.
“Those duties include being respectful of the different religious beliefs of our patients” Translation: Those duties include being respectful of (pandering to) the non-Christian patients by not mentioning Jesus.”
This directly contradicts the statement: “The hospital said it dismissed Harvey from his $48,000-a-year post not because he was praying in the name of Jesus Christ”
Changing the words and blurring the issue does not change the real reason which is transparent to anyone who looks.
***...guidelines from the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education teach respect for all religions. ***
Which means: Mention no heavenly Father believed by ANY religion. So, why bother praying?
If you want to preach your specific religion become an independent preacher and you can make your speech as religion-, sect- or denomination-specific as you’d like whenever you want. But when you take that money to be a chaplain you are promising to support the religions of all under your care equally. If you want to pray to Jesus in your official capacity, you have to limit that to your services and counseling for Christians. Likewise, you shouldn’t be doing prayers to Allah with Christians.
Don’t like it? Don’t take the job.
This was brought about because some left-wing Jewish chaplain got his panties in a twist.
This problem happens far too often. Chaplains who understand that lots of people worship God, but only Christians worship Jesus, and yet want their prayers before mixed religious groups to reflect their belief in Jesus as God.
Now, if you think it is appropriate for him to do so, how would you feel if non-Christians in the assembly then loudly yell out, “Jesus is your god, he is not my God! Jesus is not God!”, each and every time he used the name Jesus?
In doing so, they would be as disrespectful to his beliefs as he was to theirs. But he would have “started it.”
And that is why such Chaplains are hired with the title of “Chaplain”, not hired as “Priest” or “Reverend” or “Rabbi” or “Imam”, it is done so with the assumption that they will give a non-denominational prayer to God. Not to “Jesus” or to “Allah”, either, but “God”.
That means where the staff consists of persons of mixed religious allegiances, no prayer should be offered.
A Christian prays in the name of Jesus. Otherwise his prayers are worthless. If I have a Mohammeden pray at my bedside (which I wouldn’t) I don’t care who he mentions. Why would he pray to anyone but Allah? That’s his god.
Jesus said, if you are neither hot nor cold but lukewarm, he would spit you out. I expect my minister to have the courage of convictions, or he might as well be praying to the great mushpot in the sky.
I will concede, a person should be hired as a “Christian Chaplain” or a “Jewish Chaplain” so people will know what they are getting.
I am seriously looking forward to that not so far away day when Jesus takes his seat in Jerusalem and the question of who is God will never be asked again.
Maranatha.
I agree about the Chaplains. That was the original understanding about miliutary chaplains. That’s why some chaplains wear crosses and others wear stars of David. The problem is that the bureaucrats at DoD are totally confused.
Well, that IS the only way the issue will be settled.
Yep.
When I go to religious services of my Jewish in-laws, I don't care if they go "Hear O Israel the Lord your God is One".
This is more and more about Klingenschmitt. He seems to be eating up the media interest.
Is one necessary in a group function such as that? And even if the staff desires to have one, he can give a generic religious or spiritual speech. In a mix of Christians he can learn to give a non-denominational prayer too.
I wouldn't care either. But you are not part of their congregation. For a chaplain, every religious person there is part of his congregation.
If the staff agrees to a prayer, then they should accept whatever prayer the chaplain offers up. I am tired of the bullying by the disgruntled. minority or minority, who demand their way or no way. Those not wishing actually to join in the prayer, are free to keep knees unbent,. heads unbowed, and thoughts unspoken.
It the staff agrees to a prayer, the chaplain should re-read his job description and deliver a prayer that is applicable to the audience, which is apparently of mixed religions.
I am tired of the bullying by the disgruntled. minority or minority, who demand their way or no way.
Believe it or not, me too. But this is a case where the guy was hired specifically to honor the beliefs of the entire staff, Christian or not. It's backing our of your word, like joining the Army and then claiming to be a conscientious objector.
Those not wishing actually to join in the prayer, are free to keep knees unbent,. heads unbowed, and thoughts unspoken.
And that's exactly what I do when I am a guest among Christians. Non-Christians wanting respect for their beliefs often forget that such respect should go in both directions.
It would be better that if specifically Christian, Muslim, Jewish, etc., prayers are banned from military or civil functions, any other prayers, including ones to some universalistic deity, should not be recited. Additionally, Christians would be well-advised to use the power of the purse and boycott said hospital until its management relented on its rule prohibiting specifically Christian prayer by chaplains.
Most chaplain hires are specific as to being non-denominational, and though a Christian chaplain may pray to Jesus, his religion is also replete with prayers to “God”, most any of which are acceptable to other faiths. By saying “Let us pray to God”, he may in his heart feel he is praying to Jesus, but a Jew in attendance will feel just as at home in praying to the Jewish interpretation of JHVH.
However, if he offers up a prayer specifically to “Jesus”, that excludes the Jew from offering his prayer to JHVH at the same time. The mainstream Jewish understanding of mashiach (the messiah) has little, if anything, in common with the Christian understanding of Jesus as Christ (Messiah). Jesus specifically doesn’t qualify as mashiach as far as Jews are concerned, any more than Sabbatai Zevi, so in effect they would consider it a prayer to a man, not God.
A Christian Reverend can either offer up a prayer to God, but as far as other non-Christian monotheistic religions are concerned, if he offers up a prayer to Jesus, it is no different than a pagan offering. They cannot pray to God at the same time as someone prays to another god at the same time.
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