Court-Martialed for Sharing Your Faith?!

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2013/05/01/Breaking-Pentagon-Confirms-Will-Court-Martial-Soldiers-Who-Share-Christian-Faith

The Pentagon has released a statement confirming that soldiers could be prosecuted for promoting their faith: "Religious proselytization is not permitted within the Department of Defense...Court martials and non-judicial punishments are decided on a case-by-case basis...”.
The statement, released to Fox News, follows a Breitbart News report on Obama administration Pentagon appointees meeting with anti-Christian extremist Mikey Weinstein to develop court-martial procedures to punish Christians in the military who express or share their faith.

(From our earlier report: Weinstein is the head of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, and says Christians--including chaplains--sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ in the military are guilty of “treason,” and of committing an act of “spiritual rape” as serious a crime as “sexual assault.” He also asserted that Christians sharing their faith in the military are “enemies of the Constitution.”)

Being convicted in a court martial means that a soldier has committed a crime under federal military law. Punishment for a court martial can include imprisonment and being dishonorably discharged from the military.

So President Barack Obama’s civilian appointees who lead the Pentagon are confirming that the military will make it a crime--possibly resulting in imprisonment--for those in uniform to share their faith. This would include chaplains—military officers who are ordained clergymen of their faith (mostly Christian pastors or priests, or Jewish rabbis)--whose duty since the founding of the U.S. military under George Washington is to teach their faith and minister to the spiritual needs of troops who come to them for counsel, instruction, or comfort.

This regulation would severely limit expressions of faith in the military, even on a one-to-one basis between close friends. It could also effectively abolish the position of chaplain in the military, as it would not allow chaplains (or any service members, for that matter), to say anything about their faith that others say led them to think they were being encouraged to make faith part of their life. It’s difficult to imagine how a member of the clergy could give spiritual counseling without saying anything that might be perceived in that fashion.

In response to the Pentagon’s plans, retired Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin, who is now executive vice president of the Family Research Council (FRC), said on Fox & Friends Wednesday morning:

It’s a matter of what do they mean by "proselytizing." ...I think they’ve got their defintions a little confused. If you’re talking about coercion that’s one thing, but if you’re talking about the free exercise of our faith as individual soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines, especially for the chaplains, they I think the worst thing we can do is stop the ability for a soldier to be able to exercise his faith.”

FRC has launched a petition here which has already collected over 60,000 signatures, calling on Secretary Hagel is stop working with Weinstein and his anti-Christian organization to develop military policy regarding religious faith.

**UPDATE**

The FRC petition has now exceeded more than 40,000 signatures at the time of this update.

I agree with the bolded. Forcing your views or beliefs on someone is far different than allowing someone to practice their faith and providing religious counsel for those who seek it.

This world is going to hell in a handbasket.

 

The government has been hijacked by an extreme anti-religious, anti-faith, and anti-traditional family elite that has now permeated all levels of government to fundamentally transform this country forever. Now that girls as young as 15 years will be permitted the morning after pill (without parental consent), Christianity is scorned and made fun of (not muslims of course) unrestricted abortion is the goal (especially for minorities, Thanks Margaret Sanger), taking away of parental controls, no school choice, take away your right to bear arms, coddling criminals for their rights and not yours, tax the hell out you for the lazy, open the damned borders for whomever want to come in to increase their own voting bloc and not for the good of the country and on and on and on. If you cannot see it, then America deserves what is coming. America is becoming a Third World nation. America that use to be is dying thanks to the extreme left determined to change her. Now, time to go fishing to see what we can catch. Where are the feminists to the coming Shari threat for world domination?

 

Anything from the folks at Breitbart.com is questionable. That is the site where they gave false info on the compensation of Black farmers and Shirley Sharod and don't give a rat's butt to Black voting rights.

 

Nothing to do with the rich becoming richer? Nothing to do with being global police? Faith has nothing to do with the armed forces, Nd the first Ammendment says government will not promote/respect a religion. Therefore promoting religeous views has no place in the armed forces.

Our immigration problems has nothing to do with our corporations hiring them for less to make a buck?

So the gays marrying, and women being allowed birth control is destroying America?

You my friend are a clown.

 

Promoting is the key word. It sounds like, from the article, that this will extend beyond promoting religious views. Military members should be allowed to practice their faith, and have someone of that faith available to them for religious counsel. That's different than the armed forces promoting any one religion.

 

What the fuck

Being in the military is hard enough as it is...

Lots of people pray together before going out on patrols or seek a blessing of the chaplain because they may not come back

Taking out religion makes a stressful job even more stressful

 

Yup.

 

I just read that Walter Reed had a policy in place that prohibited religious items like the bible

The policy got shit on by a senator and the retracted it like the very next day

People are wounded or dying and you don't want them reading a holy book for their own comfort

Wow

 

Exactly.

I mean, I'm a Christian and so I wouldn't want another religion forced upon me. But I would like the freedom to worship and believe and I can do so without insisting everyone else believe as I do. I'd also like the freedom to share my faith, if asked. Or give advice, if asked. And you're right - many people turn to faith in times of duress. As they say, there are no atheists in foxholes.

 

None of those things are proselytizing. I think the decision is right. Leave that shit out of the workplace. Some people already have a religion and don't want to hear about yours. Other people know that religion is some divisive bullshit and don't want to hear about any of them.

Nothing wrong with praying together, either in your own sect or interfaith for that matter. But pushing your religious beliefs or your political beliefs (or more likely the combo) shouldn't be allowed, especially when fighting an enemy whose religion is their main consideration. Gets too complicated.

 

yea, I was thinking the same thing.breitbart.com cant be trusted.

 

What exactly is untrue about it? Is it a military offense, or not?

 

breitbart is known for lying. they got caught before.

also, I was in the military and there were religuos people . there are chaplains of different faiths. Now, there are as in any business u can be hit up with harrassment if you are pushing religion when you have been told to chill.

the military is no different. on the job you dont push religion.

anyway, when it comes to brietbart...dont trust them.

 

No, I believe this one is true...A FOIA request was filed...

http://www.adfmedia.org/files/ProselytizationFOIArequest.pdf


Further, the Pentagon issued the clarification statement on it today.....

http://www.adfmedia.org/files/20130502PentagonEmail.pdf

Again, how can this be untrue?

 

I feel much better having read this last link. I didn't see how they could justify what was being proposed in the initial article.

 

Yes, it was just the official statement @ your OP. Yours sounded feasible to me from the start though. I think it's a terrible road they're taking, and I can see why Christians feel 'targeted' since this is a mainly Christian country.

IDK, sometimes, it's the Faith talks late at night that our soldiers need to keep them going over there.

 

if you understood the real-life threat of suicide/drug abuse etc that faces soldiers before/after deployments, you'd see how faith can make a difference when all else fails

i agree that 'pushing' ur religion onto others is a bit whack...i hate when people get in my face peddling their shit

however..trying to do stuff like potentially phase out Chaplains is wrong IMO

people are saying religion has no place in a job, but the military is a job like no other

i know if i had to leave my family, I would say prayers and hope they prayed for me, even tho I don't consider myself a really religious person

shit is scary

bringing a soldier up on charges because he offended you with his prayer is kinda asshatery

 

Phasing out religion is another piece of the big puzzle for a new world order. What better way to pit one against another and not single out a specific race. It's bigge than that. Eventually this country will be at a civil war (religious vs non-religious). Then the government will have to take control. A legal communism.

 

Yelp

 

u aint seen nothin yet