No Religious Liberty for US Military?

A DISCLAIMER UP FRONT:  The odd spacing in this blog is not by my neglect or ignorance.  For some reason, "Blogger" will not save the spacing I have entered in this blog.  Thank you for understanding and for reading my blog.

       So that you will understand from whence my viewpoint is derived, let me give you a little personal background.  I enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1968.  After training, I was assigned to the U.S. Army Security Agency, a communications intelligence agency (similar in scope to the National Security Agency), earning the Meritorious Service Medal.  After a number of years as a member of the ASA, I was assigned to the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC).  Later, I became a member of the U.S. Army Recruiting Command, earning two Army Achievement Medals, two Army Commendation Medals, one Meritorious Service Medal, the Gold Recruiter Badge, and the Army Recruiter Ring.  Also, I was assigned to an infantry division for a while.  Altogether, I served on active duty in the U.S. Army for a little over twenty years.

I am proud of my service, and I realize that my successes were by the grace of God.  He protected me through that twenty plus years and gave me favor with most of my superiors throughout that time.  When I first enlisted in the Army, I was a nominal Christian.  After about fourteen years active duty, I became a true, born-again Christian.  During my tenure as an Army Recruiter, I enlisted many young men and women into the Army.  Today, though I honor our military members, I would NOT recommend any Christian become a member of the Armed Forces of this country.  My reasons follow.

Shortly after I retired from active duty, under the direction of then-President Bill Clinton, the “Don’t Ask; Don’t Tell” policy came into being, allowing openly gay and lesbian people to enlist in the military services.  Prior to this, simply answering on the application for enlistment that he/she had participated in any homosexual acts was an immediate disqualification.  Under President Barack Obama, this policy has been abolished.

It appears now, however, that the policy of “Don’t Ask; Don’t Tell” has been reinstated.  This time, though, it applies to Christians, especially evangelical Christians.  There was already an unofficial (I think) war being waged against Christians in the military, but lately it seems to have become official policy.  Some examples are listed below:

·         The Air Force censored a video created by a chaplain because it included the word “God.”  The Air Force feared the word might offend Muslims and atheists.

·         A service member received a “severe and possibly career-ending reprimand” for expressing his faith’s religious position about homosexuality in a personal religious blog.

·         An enlisted service member received a career-ending punishment for sending personal invitations to his promotion party which mentioned that he would be providing Chick-fil-A sandwiches due to his respect for the Defense of Marriage Act.

·         A senior military official at Fort Campbell sent out a lengthy email officially instructing officers to recognize “the religious right in America” as a “domestic hate group” akin to the KKK and Neo-Nazis because of its opposition to homosexual behavior.

·         A chaplain was relieved of his command over a military chapel because, consistent with DOMA’s (Defense of Marriage Act—a federal law) definition of marriage, he could not allow same-sex weddings to take place in the chapel.

·         An enlisted service member was threatened and denied promotion by a senior Non-Commissioned Officer for expressing–during a personal conversation–his religious belief in support of traditional marriage.

There are numerous other examples that could be listed, but these are certainly enough to show a pattern of anti-Christian sentiment existing in the U.S. military.  Last month Coast Guard Rear Admiral William Lee told a National Day of Prayer audience that religious liberty is being threatened by Pentagon lawyers, and service members are being told to hide their faith in Christ.  Now, to make matters worse, the Obama administration has issued a Statement of Administration Policy (SAP) on H.R. 1960, the National Defense Authorization Act of 2014.  Among other items, the SAP includes as an objection to the bill:

Expansion and Implementation of Protection of Rights of Conscience of Members of the Armed Forces and Chaplains of Such Members:  The Administration strongly objects to section 530, which would require the Armed Forces to accommodate, except in cases of military necessity, “actions and speech” reflecting the “conscience, moral principles, or religious beliefs of the member.”  By limiting the discretion of commanders to address potentially problematic speech and actions within their units, this provision would have a significant adverse effect on good order, discipline, morale, and mission accomplishment.  (Keep in mind that the administration doesn’t believe that allowing LGBT members to serve openly will have an adverse effect.)  The SAP includes a veto threat:  “…if the bill is presented to the President for approval in its current form, the President’s senior advisers would recommend that the President veto the bill.”

In other words, President Obama indicates that he will veto any bill that forbids his appointees or officers from telling a soldier he cannot mention Jesus during prayer or have a Bible on his desk, or that keeps those appointees from telling a chaplain (who is an ordained clergyman) what religious teachings he can do in worship services, or what spiritual counseling he can give to another soldier.

It has been said that there are no atheists in the foxhole.  However, if we continue to tell God that we don’t want Him present in our lives, eventually He will not be present in the foxhole with our soldiers.  Neither will He keep His hand of protection on this nation.  God is long-suffering, extremely patient.  However, He is also a just God, and His patience is not never-ending.  At some point, our nation will have to suffer His judgment, if we continue telling Him to get out of our lives.  That point is not far away, either.  I am not so foolish as to speak for God.  Neither am I going to predict that date of His return.  Still, His word indicates that it is soon.  As a nation, we have thumbed our collective nose at Him entirely too much.  Do we really want God to remove His hand from us?  When He does, we are on our own.  Frankly, I much prefer God’s hand of protection on us.  That has served us well for over 200 years.

 

        Although the percentage of people in the United States who are truly “born-again” Christians has dwindled over the years, we still have a commission.  We can read it in 2 Chronicles 7:14:  “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”  It doesn’t take all the people; it takes only God’s people.  Let’s join together and obey 2 Chronicles 7:14.  Will you join me?