12 Sep 2006
Chaplain enters plea at court-martial

A press conference is not a religious service, no matter how you cut it. And his orders were clear: when offering prayers in a context outside of his specific calling's religious services, he was to offer them in a non-denominational and non specific manner. That's not too tough - I've lead prayers before very mixed religious groups and managed to avoid offending anyone.

But not only is his insistence on praying "in the name of Jesus" contrary to his specific orders, can you imagine the can of worms that would be opened if the military allowed all chaplains to offer faith-specific prayers in public forums? Imagine the howls from this fellow were he subjected to a prayer in the name of Allah. Or Odin. Hel, the military caught all kinds of grief just for allowing Wiccan services a few years back.

If this guy can't follow orders this simple, and understand the reasoning behind them, he doesn't belong in the chaplaincy at all.

AP - A Navy chaplain charged with disobeying orders by wearing his uniform at a White House protest pleaded not guilty at his court-martial Tuesday.

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21:42 /Asatru | 0 comments | permanent link