Last week the Washington Times posted an article about Capt. Joseph Lawhorn, an Army chaplain. Chaplain Lawhorn has been rebuked by his commander for distributing information on Christianity during mandatory suicide prevention training.
The article reports:
His commander, Col. David Fivecoat, who heads the brigade at Fort Benning, Georgia, that molds new Rangers, issued a “letter of concern” on Thanksgiving. He took action after one soldier complained to the website MilitaryAtheists.org, which posted an article.
…Capt. Lawhorn had spoken and distributed one page of religious material to soldiers Nov. 20 on how his faith helped him overcome bouts of depression. Suicide in the ranks has been a major Army problem amid deployments to long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It seems to me that the Army has forgotten why it has chaplains.
The article further explains:
Gen. Miller said, “Regarding the issue expressed by someone during the class, the role of military chaplains is to serve the religious needs of military members of a unit and their families. Their role is not to provide religious instruction during non-religious mandatory training classes.
“Chaplains may appropriately share their personal experiences, but any religious information given by a Chaplain to a military formation should be limited to an orientation of what religious services and facilities are available and how to contact Chaplains of specific faiths.”
America has forgotten its Judeo-Christian roots. Fortunately, there are about 20 conservative groups that are supporting Chaplain Lawhorn in this case. One wonders if an Islamic cleric would have the same problem.
