News-Record.com

From the things I've read, of the goings-on at the Air Force and Army military academies, I think it's both "possible" and "extremely likely" that there are places in the ranks where non-conformity with the Christian religion can become a hazard to life and/or limb.

I understand the eventual "ribbing," cause a lot of people take their faith or non-faith seriously. But the need for a body guard blows my mind.

Nancy, the need for a bodyguard shows people the lengths that evangelical Christians will go to have their way! Why this surprises anyone is beyond me.

Shalom

Nancy- translation please
you wrote" I understand the eventual "ribbing," cause a lot of people take their faith or
non-faith seriously"

what were you intending to convey with that statement ? I seriously don't get it and I must be missing something.

And, I'm surprised you're surprised by the need for a bodyguard and accounts of threats and intimidation. You must have missed a LOT of news articles- all documented- about discrimination by christians in the military against their fellow military-member Jews, atheists and other non-christians.
Here's an article about the good folks at the VA hospital in Iowa City ...http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/05/navy_conversion_070513w/

Alice, that was a pretty interesting story. Here's a link to it for those who have trouble with cut/paste business.

Aren't you glad you have a friend that knows enough HTML to be dangerous? :)

I meant good-natured ribbing or giving someone a hard time but not death -- like if I can't believe you're not a Cowboys fan and everytime the Cowboys win I send you an email with the score. Yes, I've heard of other heated disagreements and how some chaplain/others are overly zealous about their faiths and the whole situation with some of the academies, but I've honestly never heard of a soldier needing a body guard or getting a death threat.

"I meant good-natured ribbing or giving someone a hard time..."

Yes, one would HOPE that people who are on the same team (like at work, in professional sports or in the military) would be mature enough to accept such background differences and limit comments to the occasional joke.

Sadly, with the leadership up at the toppermost reaches (including the C-in-C) being so vocally and obviously supportive of the evangelical Christian brand of religion, it's hardly surprising that the followers have developed a sense of power and entitlement to pressure whoever they want, in whatever manner they feel like.

It should be stopped. And so long as it isn't specifically addressed by the top reaches of the military hierarchy, it will be seen as tacit approval. Things will only get worse.

Although I do not support any kind of personal pressure to be or become a Christian - or an atheist. I do think it is perfectly fine, and Constitutional, to seek to persuade through civil and accepted personal conversation one’s own deeply held convictions. That this is occurring, successfully, by Christians is acceptable and legitimate in a free society. That it bugs opponents of the Faith is unavoidable.

The military is a special adjunct of our, or any, society; in that it is a life and death situation, where the stakes are extremely high. It has been the case across the ages that armies have sought divine assistance in their very strenuous duties. Christian and Jewish prayer and worship services were commonplace in past American wars: Independence, Civil, WW I, etc. Churchill and Roosevelt, for example, and the entire ship’s company sang “Onward Christian Soldiers” on the deck of the vessel where they met to strategize for victory in Europe over the Huns. Public prayer was common, even in the halls of Congress. IMO this faith component was vital in our victories in WW II.

I realize that the issue is not the freedom of Christians to exercise their right to faith and worship, but the personal duress that ONE man experienced as an opponent of theism. And, as I said earlier, it is regrettable if he was in any way unduly pressured or intimidated. But these Christian soldiers are not mature, wizened theologians or ministers, and their desire for unity of faith, and victory over the enemy, is deeply felt. I applaud their desire to seek the assistance of God in their personal and tactical efforts. God knows, they need it! And it would be wrong to curtail Christian influences in the military simply to spare the feelings of those who do not share the Faith, as we need all the spiritual power we can muster to defeat the radical Islamist foe.

It is unfortunate that this young man was “evangelized” by atheists to abandon his faith. He, apparently, was not well-grounded in theology and apologetics. Many complicated and rigorous issues arise when reading the Scriptures, which study and faith make clear. Difficult issues can be twisted and distorted if good interpretive techniques are not applied, and fragile young faith damaged. And I doubt that an Islamic terrorist would stay alive very long if he openly doubted Islam or Allah, so atheists need to fight hard alongside their Christian cohorts if they value their lives! We need strong men of faith to fight this difficult and protracted war on terror. May God bless our military personnel in their faith and warfare, and also give them the grace to be civil and patient with those who disagree with their stand. The psalmist said it most poignantly:

“Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand.

Some trust in chariots, and some in horses (guns and tanks); but we will remember the name of the LORD our God: they have bowed down and fallen, but we have risen and stand upright.

Save, LORD! May the King answer us when we call.”

Psalm 20: 6-9 NKJV

To deny the God of all the earth, and to demean His Anointed will assure our ruin and defeat.

" It is unfortunate that this young man was “evangelized” by atheists to abandon his faith. He, apparently, was not well-grounded in theology and apologetics.'
Reading comprehension issues, no doubt.
It was an atheist who received death threats from TRUE Christians.
And an Orthodox Jew who was told that if he only believed in and had faith in Jesus, he wouldn't need the pain meds- and who was, while hooked up to a heart monitor, repeatedly harassed by a True Christian Hospital chaplain.

So, according to Torquema.. oops, Nikos. threatening to kill those who don't believe in Jesus is just fine. And harrasing those in pain is just " ministering to the unchurched."
Thanks for the clarification there, Nikos.

Many experts and soldiers alike credit the bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki for ending WWII.

They were made possible largely thanks to the theories of one agnostic Albert Einstein; several non-practicing Jews and atheists in the Manhattan Project; and, of course, necessitated the destruction of hundreds of thousands of Buddhists and Shintoists.

Oh, it is true, they were ordered dropped and then actually delivered by Christians.

yeah, praise the lord and pass the ammunition.

"So, according to Torquema.. oops, Nikos. threatening to kill those who don't believe in Jesus is just fine. And harrasing those in pain is just " ministering to the unchurched."
Thanks for the clarification there, Nikos."

How utterly absurd. You never cease to amaze me, Alice, with your motive-reading and presumptuous, mean-spirited insinuations. I NEVER condoned threats or harrasment; but rather condemned them, saying:

"I do not support any kind of personal pressure to be or become a Christian"

and: " . . . also give them the grace to be CIVIL and PATIENT with those who disagree with their stand."

I do contend that it is Christians' free-speech right to convey their faith to others; and vice versa – wisely and kindly.

"Jeremy Hall says the military has become a Christian organization." SO - the public schools have become a humanist organization! Of course, the "military" has NOT become a “Christian organization.” That Christianity has wide-spread influence in its ranks is just something humanists and atheists will have to live with, just as Christians have had to live for years with a plethora of atheistic, anti-Christian university profs, and an anti-biblical public school system. Perhaps now you understand why Christians are so upset about the official sanctioning of godless, atheistic ideologies in the schools. It cuts both ways, you know.

As I said above, you should understand that these Christian GIs are young and immature in their faith; as are all young GIs. Christianity is, by its very nature, a sharing faith. Some are not, and have no impulse to share their faith with others. But Jesus gave the Great Commission to the Church, and Paul urged, and modeled, evangelism throughout his epistles. That SOME of these young men and women are unwisely zealous in their MO is not surprising – or shouldn’t be. But it would seem that many are all too ready to crucify these impassioned, yet unwise, young Christians for their indiscretions and sins, while ignoring those who sell drugs, commit sexual sins, etc. Anyone can advance their beliefs and agenda but Christians, it would seem.

Plus, there are apparently a great number of Christian GIs; which inevitably increases the probability that some will over-reach the bounds of restraint and civility. But I also assert that SOME of this has become anti-Christian bias. I accept your opposition to my pro-Christian views in this discussion. I do not deny them, and accept the vitriol it seems to generate. Nevertheless, you have wrongly accused me of accepting and supporting those who inappropriately expressed their faith and zeal, and should apologize. Your criticisms of particular wrong behaviors are certainly justified, but your contempt for Christians, just because they’re Christians is no different from racial prejudice or anti-Semitism.