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          EXAMPLE The most valuable gift you can give another is a good example. "For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you." (John: 13:15) In his autobiography, Armand Hammer known as much for his humanitarian efforts as for being chairman and CEO of Occidental Petroleum, an advisor to presidents from Roosevelt to Reagan, and an industrialist reveals the roots of his giving spirit: "My father had become a prominent and greatly love figure in the area. . .It was an almost ecstatic experience for me to...

story in dcmilitary.com: Thursday, May 7, 2009 ‘‘Tolerance in Islam” Chaplain’s Corner E-Mail This Article | Print This Story Chaplain (Lt. Cmdr.) Abuhena Saifulislam Naval District Washington The Quran is full of instruction and advice of how to be tolerant of others. Tolerance is one of the basic principles of Islam and a religious moral duty for Muslims. Tolerance in Islam does not mean “concession, compromise or indulgence.“ It also does not mean lack of principles, or lack of seriousness about one's principles. Tolerance according to Islam does not mean that we believe that all religions are the same. The...

          STRIVING FOR BALANCE In a university commencement address several years ago, Brian Dyson, CEO of Coca Cola Enterprises, spoke of the relation of work to one's other commitments: "Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them - work, family, health, friends and spirit - and you're keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls - family, health, friends and spirit -...

Remarks on apostasy and capital punishment under Islamic law by Harvard’s Muslim chaplain have become the center of a heated debate about whether Islamic and Western values can be compatible. In an e-mail to an unnamed student, the chaplain, Taha Abdul-Basser, stated that most traditional authorities on Islamic law agree that in countries under Muslim governance, the proper punishment for apostasy — that is, rejection of Islam by a former Muslim — is death. The e-mail was subsequently published online, and although Abdul-Basser has distanced himself personally from that position, the remarks have stirred a flurry of controversy and debate....

          GETTING UNDERWAY A young Ensign, who had just completed his first overseas deployment, was given the opportunity to "show his stuff" by getting his ship underway. As he yelled our commands with great confidence, sailors were running everywhere. In no time, the ship came out of the channel, headed for home. It was accomplished so well that he set a new record for getting a destroyer underway. He wasn't surprised when a seaman approached him with a message from his CO. . . he was surprised to find that it was a radio message....

He was a soldier to the end. His threadbare army tunic hung on the wall, and his room was filled with religious icons, rosaries and holy pictures. And when you spoke to him, his words were about the men he knew on the battlefields of France when he rigged up a makeshift altar on the hood of his jeep and said mass for them. The photos from the Second World War show these anxious men kneeling, their heads bowed, silent in the muddy fields just hours before they were sent into battle.... I'm speaking about an old friend, Rev. Mike...

Darwin’s quisling (Charles Kingsley) Clergymen betraying the faith they profess is not new. But perhaps none was as destructive as the famous author who smoothed the way for Darwin...

WASHINGTON (ABP) -- The U.S. Army Chief of Chaplains is being criticized for a proclamation calling for prayer and fasting on April 8, which coincides with the first night of Passover, a high holy day on the Jewish calendar celebrated by a traditional feast called the Seder. Maj. Gen. Douglas Carver, a Southern Baptist, issued a proclamation March 2 urging Army chaplains to pray and fast April 8 during a 120-day "stand down" period beginning Feb. 15 to focus on suicide-prevention awareness among soldiers. "As spiritual leaders we are called to be a people of prayer," Carver explained in Internet...

          .....He sent two of the disciples saying, "Go into the village opposite you, in which no one yet has ever sat; untie it, and bring it here. "And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' thus shall you speak, 'The Lord has need of it.'" .......And they brought it to Jesus and they put Jesus on it. And as He was going, they were spreading their garments in the road. And as He was now approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to...

          PERSISTENCE -- THE KEY TO SUCCESS? Walter Wintle once wrote: "If you think you are beaten, you are; if you think you dare not, you don't; If you'd like to win, but think that you can't, it's almost a cinch that you won't.If you think you'll lose, you're lost, for out in the world we find Success begins with a fellow's will; it's all in the state of mind.If you think you're outclassed, you are; you've got to think high to rise. You've got to be sure of yourself before you can ever win...

          RESERVATIONS Recently, someone stopped by my office, handed me two sheets of paper, and said something to the effect of, "You're always sharing something with people; here's something for you." Then he was gone. Like so many encounters we have along life's way, this one was brief. But it left a lasting impression. And brightened my whole day. The article is definitely a "keeper." Originally written by Jonathan Lee for the Washington Post, it is entitled "Reservations of an Airline Agent." I've abbreviated it due to limited space, but the point is unchanged. Enjoy!...

          KEEP MOVING A college class was graduating on a hot and humid day. As the graduates walked across the platform and received their diplomas from the president of the college, he smiled, shook their hands, and said loudly, "Congratulations!" Then, in a much lower voice, one that was firm and could be heard only by the graduates, he would say, "Keep moving." He was only trying to keep the line moving across the stage, but his words were good advice for a lifetime: "Keep moving." After every achievement growing up, graduation, marriage, job promotion,...

A former chaplain with the Virginia State Police says he had no choice but to step down after a new policy took effect requiring generic prayers at department events. Last summer, Rex Carter and five others resigned from the volunteer chaplain program. The move came after a new rule was instituted that restricted prayers by the volunteer chaplains. Carter, who is still a State Police officer, said he had no other choice once he was told he could not pray in the name of Jesus. ~~snip~~ Recently, a State Senate panel killed a bill that would have prohibited State Police...

          PERSISTENCE -- THE KEY TO SUCCESS? Walter Wintle once wrote: "If you think you are beaten, you are; if you think you dare not, you don't; If you'd like to win, but think that you can't, it's almost a cinch that you won't.If you think you'll lose, you're lost, for out in the world we find Success begins with a fellow's will; it's all in the state of mind.If you think you're outclassed, you are; you've got to think high to rise. You've got to be sure of yourself before you can ever win...

          Onward Christian Soldiers! Onward, Christian soldiers, Marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus Going on before; Christ, the royal Master Leads against the foe; Forward into battle, See, his banners go. Onward, Christian soldiers, Marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus Going on before. At the sign of triumph Satan's host doth flee; On then, Christian soldiers, On to victory. Hell's foundations quiver At the shout of praise; Brothers, lift your voices, Loud your anthems raise. Like a mighty army Moves the church of God; Brothers, we are treading Where...

A former chaplain in Rwanda's armed forces was sentenced today to 25 years for the abduction, murder and sexual assault of Tutsi civilians by the United Nations tribunal set up to deal with the mass killings that engulfed the tiny African country in 1994. Emmanuel Rukundo was found guilty of genocide, murder as a crime against humanity and extermination as a crime, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) said in a press statement issued from its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. In mid-April 1994, according to the Tribunal, Mr. Rukundo, with soldiers of the Rwandan army, abducted and killed a...

          THE LOSER WHO NEVER GAVE UP For "Sparky", school was all but impossible. He failed every subject in the eighth grade. He flunked physics in high school, getting a grade of zero. He also flunked Latin, algebra and English. And his record in sports wasn't any better. Though he did manage to make the school's golf team, he promptly lost the only important match of the season. Oh, there was a consolation match; he lost that too. Throughout his youth, Sparky was awkward socially. It wasn't that the other students disliked him; it's just...

          WHY DO WE STILL HAVE SCARS? One of the greatest truths we can know in life is that God is always able and willing to forgive us for our shortcomings. All we have to do is ask for His forgiveness. And if God is willing, then we too, should forgive ourselves. Yet one of the greatest ironies concerning forgiveness is that the painful memories the scars of our past remain with us. We may wonder, "What's the sense in receiving forgiveness if the scars from the painful memory remain?" Maybe the question should be,...

          GROWING DEEP AND STRONG One day, my mother and I were working together in the garden where we were transplanting plants for the third time. Grown from seed in a small container, the plants had been transferred to a larger container; then transplanted into the garden. Now, because I was moving, we were transplanting them once again. Inexperienced as a gardener, I turned to my green-thumbed mother. "Isn’t this bad for them?" I asked, as we dug them up and shook the dirt from the roots. "Won’t it hurt these plants, being uprooted and...

          HIGH FLIGHT John Gillespie Magee, Jr. was a pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force. Shortly before his plane was shot down during World War II, he wrote a poem called "High Flight." The last stanza reads: Up, up the long delirious, burning blueI've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace,Where never lark, or even eagle, flew;And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trodThe high untrespassed sanctity of space,Put out my hand and touched the face of God. John Magee was only nineteen years old when he wrote these words. Today this poem is...