What is an atheist chaplains anyway? I have no idea but 150 congress critters, Democrats all, think that the military needs them. Now.
OneNewsNow reports:
Two House Democrats – Colorado’s Jared Polis and New Jersey’s Robert Andrews – recently attempted to attach an amendment to the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act that would allow atheists and agnostics to serve as “nonreligious” military chaplains.
The amendment was turned away by a wide margin as 230 Republicans and 44 Democrats voted no. All “ayes” were Democrats. Ten House members did not vote.
Col. Ron Crews (USA-Ret.) served as a chaplain for 28 years and now serves as executive director of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty. “There is no such thing as an ‘atheist chaplain’ because chaplain means a person of faith, someone who brings faith to our military personnel,” he explains. “So we’re hoping that Congress will stand firm and that the Department of Defense will stand firm to maintain that chaplains must be persons of faith.”
The retired chaplain says while opposition to the idea still won out, he remains concerned that 150 Democrats voted in favor of the amendment. “They’ve gotten more votes this time than ever before – and that’s a concern,” he admits. “Plus the Department of Defense could enact having atheist chaplains if they so choose. This amendment would have required the Department of Defense to do that. But we are hoping the Department of the Defense will stand firm.”
Look. I’m sure there’s folks in the military who are atheists and need someone to talk to. It’s a pretty stressful life they lead. It seems to me that there are probably psychologists, psychiatrists, or just plain ol’ counselors they can access.
It’s just a bastardization of the term “chaplain” to have an atheist chaplain. It’s not the same. A counselor and a chaplain aren’t the same. They do different things. If it’s not different, then why do the atheists want their own chaplains. Here’s the thing – if they feel that atheists require different kinds of help and services that religious chaplains can’t offer why call them the same thing if they’re so different?
June 20, 2013 at 2:02 pm
This country is getting weirder every day. I need to quit reading the news. It is mostly bad and does not make for a good day. One thing it does do is remind me to pray as much as possible for humanity. Satan is getting a grip on all things everywhere, it seems. It causes me to have problems with my Faith. But in the end, we win. I keep reminding myself of that. Peace and God bless.
June 20, 2013 at 4:48 pm
Jared Polis is an in-your-face gay guy with a 'partner' and have even adopted an innocent child to indoctrinate into their perverted and atheistic lifestyle. Bad news.
June 21, 2013 at 12:46 am
This is the easiest way to turn your military into mindless atheistic stormtroopers that have no moral compass.
June 21, 2013 at 2:57 am
Speaking as a veteran and former chaplain candidate: A large part of how chaplains are used in the military is as counselors. Soldiers are not always sent to a psychiatrist immediately. So it would make sense that if you do not use a chaplain for solely or primarily religious purposes, you will eventually find someone to fill the slot who is not religious. It is not right, but it is the logical conclusion of the chaplaincy.
June 21, 2013 at 12:02 pm
I don't know about the other branches, but in the Army, units are also assigned a "Family Life Coordinator" who does fulfill the role of counselor. They are confidential, taking no names – meaning it's not on your record or health profile. Going to a psychologist or other mental health professional requires an appointment, tracking, notes, accountability. It is understandable why many service members and even family members would avoid that. Having someone available just to talk is a good thing, and that is the job of the chaplain. If there were not a secular option (family life coordinator), I could understand the call for a "secular chaplain" (I can not believe I actually typed that phrase).
But here's the thing: it's not like a small town where you have a bunch of choices and you go where you want to. My husband was a battalion commander with three companies under his command. In his particular command (a Warrior Transition Command – wounded and sick soldiers), he had between 250 and 500 people: healthy soldiers, sick soldiers, and civilians. He had ONE chaplain, and ONE family life coordinator. Because they did not deploy, his subordinates and their families could go to on base chapel services or off base churches and seek out whomever they wanted. Units that deploy do not have that luxury, and sometimes, even if there are some options in chaplains, access is limited. On my husband's last deployment to Afghanistan, he could attend Mass when he was in Bagram, but he could not go to the Catholic chaplain's Bible study because that chaplain was assigned to a different unit and the lead chaplain at that time felt that each chaplain should tend to the needs of his unit and not the needs of others of the same faith. But at least he could attend Mass, which was better than when he was in a FOB, because he had no chaplain at all unless one made the rounds.
So, if you have atheist chaplains, and the units to which they are assigned are deployed, you significantly reduce the options soldiers have for true spiritual guidance. Right now, my husband's chaplain is a Muslim. He would take that over an atheist at the hour of death, I'm sure.
June 21, 2013 at 7:57 pm
I must say that I can appreciate the rationale for atheist chaplains. The real lunatics are those who pretend that atheism is not a faith. I know more than a few atheists, and their claims to logic are absurd when on that topic. They suspend all rational thought, and spout utter nonsense that would embarrass any honest logician.