Baptist Chaplain Coercing Baptisms?

Interesting.... the old saying.. "if you don't have Christ in your heart, all you got is wet", hopefully these articles are just sensational journalism, I can see someone saying this stuff tongue-in-cheek and then having this article spread all over. I guess I am giving the chaplain the benifit of the doubt until I hear a bit more. Thanks for the post.

 

This was mentioned in a previous thread and if accurate is very disturbing that a SBC chaplain would use such methods. I still question how accurate it is. Maybe we who are in the SBC should write the SBC Chaplaincy at dmullis@namb.net. and ask since they are accountable to us or visit website

http://www.namb.net/evangelism/cev/Default.asp

I hope this is just poor reporting but at least 3 newspapers have reported it and the Military is investigating the chaplain.

 

I can't speak for the Houston newspaper, but I can say with certainty that the Charlotte Observer is about as liberal a paper as can possibly be. Believe me, if they can show anything spiritual in a negative way, they will do so.

Looking Up,
Carol

 

RSR

To become a chaplain you need:

- a seminary degree w/ at least 90 semester hours of graduate-level work
- ordination
- denominational endorsement
- approval by the Board which commissions Chaplains

That isn't a narrow enough filter to keep out whacko's.

 

I would view these articles with a great deal of suspicion as well. Would a "Baptist" evangelist just offer to baptize anyone who showed up and wanted it... I have my doubts.

On the other hand, I received an e-mail a couple of weaks ago that pictured a baptism of a soldier by another soldier in the Iraqi desert. He was actually sitting in a pool that appeared long enough for him to lay back in that couldn't have been more than 12"-18" deep... definitely not 500 gallons of water. The pool was formed by digging a shallow hole and lining it with a poncho that were secured with sand bags. It didn't appear to be nearly comfortable enough for someone to do it "just to get wet."

 

I have no problem with evangelization by chaplains, with some definite limits, but if this is true, I think the guy is a little whacked out and I'm sure that once investigated he will pay for this---here and hereafter.

 

When I was a Canadian Army chaplain, we had to have formal theological training, ordination and officer training. I was a Baptist, but had to follow the Anglican Church (Protestant) procedures. Any baptisms by immersion were done in civilian churches and not military chapels.

On the battlefield, we were involved with personnel according to their spiritual needs..in life and in death, writing letters to their homes. I cannot conceive of trying to immerse anyone on the battlefield.

I cannot speak for the American chaplains, but the chaps I knew performed much the same as we did.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Joshua,

How would any expect the chaplaincy to keep out whackos when the Baptists can't even do it? ;0)

Mark Osgatharp

 

Thank you Haruo.

 

Good news from Haruo, thanks