Posted on 09/17/2013 11:44:24 AM PDT by darrellmaurina
Can chaplains committed to historic biblical Christianity serve in the United States military? That question, though inconceivable to our nations founders, is now front and center. And the answer to that question will answer another, even more important question: Can religious liberty survive under Americas new moral order?
The repeal of the militarys Dont Ask, Dont Tell policy, coupled with the Supreme Courts ruling that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional, set the stage for this crisis. The full normalization of same-sex relationships within the U.S. military is part of the unprecedented moral revolution that is now reshaping American culture at virtually every level.
The crisis in the chaplaincy arrived with these developments. The presenting issue is clear: Can a chaplain committed to historic biblical Christianity remain in military service? Does the normalization of homosexuality require that all members of the military, including chaplains, join the moral revolution, even if doing so requires them to abandon their biblical convictions?
The answer, at least from the advocates of the moral revolution, is that evangelical Christian chaplains must goand Southern Baptist chaplains must go first. In recent weeks, the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, the endorsing agency for SBC chaplains, formulated a set of policies on these issues. These policies are required of all SBC-endorsed chaplains, and the guidelines are clear. SBC chaplains are to minister in line with the biblical convictions of the SBC and its churches as made clear in our denominations confession of faith, The Baptist Faith & Message. Chaplains are to offer respect to all, respect for the religious liberty of all, and respect for the religious diversity represented within the armed forces. But evangelical chaplains cannot deny or compromise the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As the document states: Responsible pastoral care will seek to offer repentance and forgiveness, help and healing, and restoration through the mercy and grace of Jesus Christs sacrificial gift of love on the cross.
At the same time, SBC endorsed chaplainsthe largest single group of non-Catholic chaplainscannot violate their own convictions by conducting or attending a same-sex marriage ceremony, and they certainly cannot bless such a union. They cannot minister in any context that would give the appearance of accepting the homosexual lifestyle or sexual wrongdoing.
In accordance with established U.S. military policy and law, all chaplains are free to minister in accordance with the teachings and beliefs of their own churches, even as they minister to all and respect the religious liberty of others. And yet, the great moral revolution of our times now threatens the continued service of chaplains committed to the moral teachings of historic Christianity.
That point was made abundantly clear in an article published on Monday, September 16, by Associated Baptist Press. The author of the article is Tom Carpenter, identified as co-chair of the Forum on the Military Chaplaincy and an elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA). Carpenter wastes no time in declaring his argument that Southern Baptist chaplains must immediately resign from military service. Given the guidelines set down by the Southern Baptist Conventions endorsing agency, the only honorable course is to resign from the military chaplaincy and return to civilian ministry.
Carpenter insists:
The North American Mission Board has turned the Army motto on its head. They have forced their endorsed chaplains into the untenable position of either serving God or country. Given that choice, as men (NAMB forbids women to serve as ordained chaplains) of God the only honorable course of action for most will be to resign their commissions and return to civilian ministry.
Carpenter then asserts:
If these Southern Baptist chaplains were civilian pastors, there would be no problem. As civilians, they undisputedly have an absolute First Amendment right to believe, preach and counsel in accordance with their denominational tenets. But they are not civilians, and have a duty to not only God, but also country. It is instructive that they are not salaried by the NAMB but by the American taxpayer.
Yes, and they do not surrender their constitutional guarantee of religious liberty when they accept a commission as a military chaplain. Carpenters group was on the forefront of advocating for homosexual rights within the military, calling for Dont Ask, Dont Tell to be revoked and for the Defense of Marriage Act to be struck down. At the same time, his group assured the nation that this moral revolution would not lead to any major exodus of chaplains from the Armed Services. In fact, they accused evangelicals of crying wolf in warning of such a crisis. Now, Carpenter is openly calling for Southern Baptist chaplains to join the moral revolution or get out of the military.
Make no mistake, the moral revolution driven by those who demand the total normalization of homosexuality and same-sex relationships will not stop with the crisis over military chaplains. But at this moment, the chaplains are on the front lines of the great cultural and moral conflict of our times. This is a moment of crisis for the chaplains; but it is also a moment of crisis for the entire nation. If religious liberty is denied to evangelical Christian chaplains in the military, if they must surrender their convictions or their commissions, then religious liberty is lost in America, and the chaplains will be but the first casualties of this loss. Southern Baptist chaplains have been singled out in this call for mass resignation, but they will not be alone. Thousands of Roman Catholic chaplains are committed by their church to the same moral convictions. Chaplains representing other evangelical churches and denominations will find themselves facing the same moment of decision. Muslim and Jewish chaplains who cannot endorse homosexuality and same-sex marriage will face the same challenge.
In reality, it is the entire nation that now faces this crisis. Is America ready to demand that military chaplains choose between serving God and serving their country? We will soon know the answer to that question. We will also know the answer to another, even more urgent question: Where will every Christian church stand on this matter? The great theological divide between those churches and denominations committed to biblical Christianity and those who are given over to the spirit of the age has never been more clear. Indeed, the divide grows clearer day by day.
Also clear is this: Southern Baptist chaplains cannot surrender their commitment to Christ in order to maintain their commitment to ministry within the Armed Services. Furthermore, Southern Baptists will take their instruction from their own churches, not from those churches and denominations who are wearing out their knees bowing to Baal.
Nothing happens in Reformed circles without a committee!
Can chaplains committed to historic biblical Christianity serve in the United States military?
Well they have for decades. But in the new queer military of President seeks they will be driven out.
Thank you, Jim, for the ping. I certainly don’t speak for all chaplains, but, as a retired Army chaplain, I do have a career as a military chaplain to reference.
First, it might seem to civilians that this is a new issue. It really isn’t. It is the same issue as “praying in Jesus’ name.” The issue: “Shall chaplains adhering to biblical Christianity follow the dictates of their faith group or of the state?”
Some might not see this as the same issue. They will tell us that neutrality is easily attainable by saying “Dear Lord” instead of “In Jesus’ name”, and that God knows we actually mean “Jesus” by “Dear Lord.”
Could we not use a similar intellectual dodge with gay marriage? Could we not say, “By the laws of the state we declare you married?” instead of saying “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I now declare that you are husband and wife?” Wouldn’t God in that case also be able to sort through our mumbo-jumbo sophistry to the heart of what we really believed? Wouldnt that, too, be neutral?
Here is the point: forced neutrality is always a violation of free exercise of religion. In fact, forced neutrality is an establishment of religion. It has its own tenets, its own liturgy, and its own doctrine. And it is enforced by the state every time a biblical chaplain is coerced by command influence or technical chain influence into saying “In God’s Name” instead of “In Jesus’ Name.” After all, one’s efficiency reports are being threatened, and even an average efficiency report amounts ultimately to a pink slip from your raters.
Next, does anyone really believe the Founders thought the public square should have neutrality police ensuring that Catholics didn’t hand out literature about Mary, and that Baptists didn’t hand out literature about immersion baptism? Do we believe that the Founders instructed these neutrality police in the public square to change their message to: “Oh thou Genderless One to whom we appeal!” or “You must have neutral rituals of your choice performed!” (Does anyone really think that was the cry of Gabriel or of John the Baptist?)
The Founders did not advocate for a state neutral religion, instead they advocated “free exercise of religion.” Note first that this does not say “free exercise of worship.” Worship suggests only the ritualistic side of religion that is generally considered to be held inside “houses of worship.”
Note second, that “religion” is all encompassing of the tenets of a particular faith group. This says the Founders thought it was far better to just live and let live, than to try to police every aspect of religious life. In other words, an American was expected to be an adult about religion. An adult knows that different religions have different requirements, and an adult knows he should expect to have religion intersect his pathway every now and then. His response? Keep walking or stop and converse. Above all, it’s a question of which is better: free thinking on these things or governmental religious police?
This gets us back to the military chaplains.
Apparently, someone is suggesting the military should have governmental religious police. Presbyterian Tom Carpenter thinks so. He even thinks the governmental religious police should conduct a pogrom of those who don’t follow some “US Neutral Religion” that he has elevated in his mind to a place of authority. Is this kind of idea a state religion, an establishment of religion?
Of course it is. It is even obvious that it is.
Enforced neutrality is not free expression. In fact, it is an establishment of religion. The Founders, on the other hand believed in live and let live, in being adults in an adult world, not in children triangulating in coalition with a greater parent against other siblings in order to enforce ones own views on everyone else.
They believed that assembled groups or lone individuals could hear an “Amen”, a “Praise Jesus”, a “Hail Mary”, a “Shalom”, or even a “Hare Krishna” and put it in the context of an adult world.
I think they were right.
What an excellent piece of writing. Thank you! I will use this in the future when I express my opinion on this issue.
Being a military chaplain right now has to be a difficult thing.
But the men and women in the military need their chaplains.
Medal of Honor for US Army chaplain Father Kapaun
Army chaplain to get Medal of Honor posthumously (Fr Kapaun)
Chaplain Fr. Emil Kapaun: The Good Thief
Chaplain gets Medal of Honor 62 years after death (Outstanding story)
New: "The Miracle of Father Kapaun: Priest, Soldier and Korean War Hero"
Students Try to Banish Catholic Chaplain >From Campus for Anti-Gay Stance
Archbishop Broglio Delivers Homily of Thanksgiving for Service and Dedication of Pope Benedict XVI
Father Emil Kapaun to be Awarded Medal of Honor
New auxiliary bishop for military archdiocese, Bishop-designate Robert J. Coyle
February 3rd - Four Chaplain's Day
We Have to Go Where The Suffering and Dying Are [Military Chaplains]
We See the Lord in Combat - Remembering Servant of God Father Vincent Capodanno
Lawmakers Claim Air Force Culture Becoming 'Hostile Towards Religion'
Get in Line or Resign Admiral Tells Military Chaplain
A Halo and a Medal for Emil Kapaun?
Prison Mates Promote Cause of Heroic Korean War Priest
Recognition Finally for a Warrior Priest's Heroics
ACTION ITEM ALERT! Pres. Obama, through a minion, attacks Catholic chaplains once again
Airborne Forces Priests Will Make Parachute Jumps During Their Training [Russia]
Religious Speech in the Military: Freedoms and Limitations
Soldier, Chaplain, Shepherd (Auxiliary Bishop Rick Spencer of the U.S. Archdiocese for Military)
Catholics Seek to Boost Number of Priests Serving as Chaplains
Catholic Chaplain Finds UK Troops in Afghanistan Hungering For Religion
U.S. troops in Afghanistan
Cross removed at base in Afghanistan
Mass During Wartime
The Traditional Latin Mass -- in Afghanistan
Uncle Sam attracts more (Catholic) military chaplains
Evangelical Chaplains Refuse to Marry Gay Couples on Military Bases
Over 2,000 Evangelical, Orthodox Chaplains Join Catholics in Opposing Pentagon on Same-Sex Marriage
2,000 Evangelical, Orthodox Chaplains Join Catholics in Opposing Pentagon Directive on SSM
No Same-Sex Weddings at West Point's Catholic Chapel, Says Military Archdiocese
Conflict between Pentagon and Catholic military chaplains brews over dont ask, dont tell
The (Catholic) Church's Noblest at Ground Zero
More men asking about becoming military chaplains
Catholic Caucus: Fr. Emil Kapaun: The Good Thief
Catholic Military Chaplains: America's Forgotten Heroes (Ecumenical)
Fr. Emil Kapaun Beatification Cause Heads to Rome [US Army Chaplain]
Two US Soldier Priests
Chaplain Groups Ask Military to Create Religious Liberty Protections
Australian Padre helps deployed soldiers tackle life challenges (Former SAS soldier turns chaplain)
Army says chaplain is first killed in action since 1970
Army Chaplain Dies in Afghanastan
With God in Iraq: A Day in the Life of a Military Chaplain
Soldier's Death Led Catholic Priest to Become Chaplain
Mass at National Shrine to honor Servant of God and heroic Navy chaplain
Prison chaplain remembers ("Behind the Walls with the Man Behind the Stole")
"Thanks God... and Thanks Mom" (Senate chaplain recalls his mom's amazing last day on earth)
Priest a wartime legend (Most decorated chaplain in Canadian army history dies at 106)
Catholic Navy chaplain shares story of Iraqi conversion (from 12/04/07)
see post #23
Thank you for your kind words, CC. Please pray for all faithful chaplains in all branches of the military.
Excellent post.
And echoed by the Archbishop of the Military and several other chaplains that I heard speak at a Serra Club Conference.....note Serra....Father Junipero Serra...a few years ago.
I think the PCUSA would like nothing better than for these fundamentalist Baptist chaplains to resign. This would open up the floodgates to the PCUSA perverted ways. The best thing in my opinion would be to stick around and, lovingly, stand by your convictions. But it’s hard to make a blanket statement. Everyone must do what they believe to be right in the eyes of the Lord, as long as they’re not compromising the position.
Some were bold like Elijah confronting Ahab.
Some served as the Lord’s spy in Ahab’s service.
Some hid in caves to escape Ahab.
They all were called by God and was doing exactly what God wanted them to do.
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Please ping me to note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of general interest.
This obviously applies to faithful Catholic chaplains as well as Evangelical chaplains.
As a Catholic, it is important to me to be able to get to Mass on Sundays. I had no problem with that during my time in the military in a variety of U.S. bases. Either we had a Catholic priest to say Mass on base, or we could drive to a Catholic church somewhere nearby.
But it is entirely another matter if you are stationed abroad, in a place of violence, or a Muslim country, or a war zone. You need a chaplain to say Mass and to hear confessions. If you are liable to get killed any time, you need these things badly. And if you get wounded or are dying, you certainly want a priest around as much as you want a medic.
I would assume much the same for Evangelicals, or for any traditionally minded Christians. Having a chaplain is a necessity in a war zone, if it is at all possible.
So, it’s all very well to suggest that faithful chaplains will have to get out of this new model army. But the cost would be devastating.
The United States government has absolutely no right to hire chaplains from any denomination or religion for the military or any other area of our government. If a believer joins the military and is blessed to witness or minister to other believers, they cannot be stopped. However, tax dollars should never be used to establish, support, or promote any religion or religious activity.
As for the prohibitions regarding prayer, no man can prohibit true prayer at any time, as it is the Spirit that makes intercessions with groanings that cannot be uttered!
.45 Long Colt: Do you affirm monergistic regeneration?
I agree with James Madison on this issue. See “Detached Memoranda”
“Is the appointment of Chaplains to the two Houses of Congress consistent with the Constitution, and with the pure principle of religious freedom?
In strictness the answer on both points must be in the negative. The Constitution of the U. S. forbids everything like an establishment of a national religion. The law appointing Chaplains establishes a religious worship for the national representatives, to be performed by Ministers of religion, elected by a majority of them; and these are to be paid out of the national taxes. Does not this involve the principle of a national establishment, applicable to a provision for a religious worship for the Constituent as well as of the representative Body, approved by the majority, and conducted by Ministers of religion paid by the entire nation.
The establishment of the chaplainship to Congs is a palpable violation of equal rights, as well as of Constitutional principles: The tenets of the chaplains elected [by the majority] shut the door of worship agst the members whose creeds & consciences forbid a participation in that of the majority. To say nothing of other sects, this is the case with that of Roman Catholics & Quakers who have always had members in one or both of the Legislative branches. Could a Catholic clergyman ever hope to be appointed a Chaplain? To say that his religious principles are obnoxious or that his sect is small, is to lift the evil at once and exhibit in its naked deformity the doctrine that religious truth is to be tested by numbers. or that the major sects have a right to govern the minor.”
Is this not also true of the military chaplaincy?
With all my heart
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