Chaplains Group Opposes Prayer Order

[CornField]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/29/AR2006032902207.html

An association that represents more than 70 percent of the chaplains in the U.S. military, including many evangelical Christians, is opposing a demand by conservatives in Congress for a presidential order guaranteeing the right of chaplains to pray in the name of Jesus.

The rising calls for an executive order are based on "confusion and misinformation," because Christian chaplains routinely pray in the name of Jesus, in public, thousands of times a week in military chapels around the world, said the Rev. Herman Keizer Jr., chairman of the National Conference on Ministry to the Armed Forces.

"This has been portrayed as though chaplains are not allowed to pray in Jesus's name, without any distinction between what they do all the time in worship services and what they do occasionally, in ceremonial settings where attendance is mandatory," Keizer said.

...

The calls for an executive order to protect the right to pray in Jesus's name have originated in large part from a rival association, the International Conference of Evangelical Chaplain Endorsers. Formed two years ago, it says it represents about 800 chaplains, exclusively from evangelical Christian churches.

Why would anything like this even get an audience in Congress?

[moobu2]

1. It’s all about the fake war on Christianity n/t

[intheflow]

8. You got that right.

Those poor persecuted Christians. No one is stopping them from praying, just stopping them from shoving their religion down other people's throats. :eyes:

[johnfunk]

2. but... but... but... Christians're bein' persecutated!

How DARE these Chaplains ruin the Eeevangelical Xtain narrative! The nerve!

[rodeodance]

3. so now they want a special right (to a right they already have)?

[BR_Parkway]

4. It's about time the non-wingnuts (who are the majority) started fighting

back against the takeover of their religion from the extremists who use it today for personal power and financial gain.

[Ian David]

5. Obviously, non-christians are not welcome in the military

Let's pass a law that says only Christians may serve in the military.

The rest of us can join private military contractors and make ten times as much money, while having the ability to pick and choose which conflicts to serve in.

[onager]

9. This atheist spent 6 years in the Marine Corps.

In those days, "atheist" wasn't allowed on our dogtags. Only "NO PREF" (no preference). Meaning, while I preferred "none of the above," if they insisted...I didn't care which variety of Witch Doctor came to babble over me in case of serious injury.

Or as we used to express it in the Marine Corps: "A sucking chest wound is Nature's way of saying you fucked up."

So...guess who ALWAYS got chosen to represent the unit at the annual Prayer Breakfast? Yes, me. That NO PREF was part of my Official SRB (Service Record Book).

Oh, for 2 of those years I was a Drill Instructor. I used to encourage my recruits to spend Sunday morning getting more familiar with their rifle, since it was more likely to be useful on a battlefield than Yahweh, Jesus, or Mohammed.

Unfortunately, the Battalion Chaplain noticed a Downward Trend in the ol' Worship Attendance Chart. So he cajoled the Bn. Commander into putting out an order that at least 50% of each recruit platoon would attend Protestant or Catholic Sunday worship services.

That gave me the fun of lining up my platoon and ordering alternate recruits to go to church with either the Cadilllacs or the Prostitutes.

"You're going to the Catholic Magic Show this week!"

"Sir! This Private is a Baptist, sir. Not a degenerate Papist!"

"That's funny. You look like you would enjoy spending Sunday morning on your knees scrubbing my toilet with a toothbrush in your slimy disrespectful cock-biting Baptist jaws. Now what does your Protestant Jesus think about THAT?"

"Private will be a Catholic this week, sir!"

"Excellent! You never know when one of our asshole politicians will decide we should invade Northern Ireland. And remember, Private...being multi-cultural is a help, not a hindrance."

:rofl:

(I exaggerated, but not by much...)

[htuttle]

6. Yet, they still aren't allowed to pray in Crom's name

...which would be a much more appropriate 'god' for a military chaplain to pray to.

What gives?

:shrug:

[shenmue]

7. What about 'no establishment of religion"...

is so hard to understand?