PENTAGON MAY COURT MARTIAL SOLDIERS WHO SHARE CHRISTIAN FAITH

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by KEN KLUKOWSKI 1 May 2013 7613 POST A COMMENT VIEW DISCUSSION
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.
Breitbart News legal columnist Ken Klukowski is senior fellow for religious liberty with the Family Research Council and on faculty at Liberty University School of Law.

Bad.

VERY BAD

not sure how it can even fly really, with the reversal of DADT, how can they go on to make people have to hide their religion but be able to be open about their homosexuality,,,

makes no sense,,,


feels oddly like even more of a move towards a Babylonian America,, where people should be 'free' to do whatever they want, except believe in a religion or share it,,,,


we will see how it 'progresses',,,

Wow! "And the land of the free" more & more that line just doesn't fit you guys!

Now I can see that stoping an individual from, say pushing there Faith on someone, fair enough

But as far as somebody wanting to drop on the floor 7 time's a day and pray, that would be bull chit

If there is no house of prair then who should care if these consenting adults get together

I say put that one guy on the front line somewere....( I don't know N. C. , Iran , possible realitys

that these poor people have to think of), and see if he would find the need for a prair

So that would mean, hand in your Bibles ?

Well that couldn't be worse than sending someone half was across the world to kill or be killed that isn't

old enough to drink or vote. Not to mention all these middle east vets that are unemployed & homeless.

With PTSS ect.


"There's always room at the top

if you can lean to smile as you kill

If you want to be like all those folks on the hill"

(Politicians! the silent killers,)

Working class hero, john Lennon......... Greenday does a great cover, lennon sings last to lines

Thank you,

Canada

Poor guys. Why do they even messed with what they are gonna do by faith. They are willing to battle their lives just to defend a country. They shouldn't be treated like that unless if they seriously commit a crime. These guys was being held on the neck by the government.

Terrible. We are taught today to be "Tolerant" of everything EXCEPT Christianity.

What happened to "Freedom of Religion"?

AS Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin said:

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.”