Military Chaplains?

That's odd. DH and I used to attend midweek service on base when we lived near there, and one of the preacher's was an IFB Chaplain.

I think there may be Chaplains to specific faiths. I'm really not sure.

 

I don't remember much about it, but I do know that the times that I requested to speak to a Chaplain, I was asked whether I was Protestant or Catholic, so they had some of each. Also, I'm pretty sure there were Rabbis available on the larger posts.

At the time I don't believe there were any Muslim chaplains.

 

Chaplains are "ordained" by each denomination/religion. That means not only are there are Christian Chaplains, but Jewish Chaplains, Muslim Chaplains and Chaplains for other religions. What is going on is the military is trying to stop each of them from praying using a specific deity but to stick to something "generic". Our Christian Chaplains are being forced to leave out "in Jesus' name" from their prayers!

Check it out and sign the petition at

http://www.aclj.org/

 

Our church has a fill-in preacher who is the head chaplain for the VA Medical Center here. He is Reformed Baptist, but has the other city pastors/priests at his call when a veteran requests a specific denominational ordained clergyman.

He mentioned this requirement of leaving out "in Jesus name". I thought it was a request. He told me he would do no such thing.

"grateful" Dead, thanks for the link.

 

Thanks for the link.

People can help contribute Bibles to our Military here:

http://www.milmin.com/info/deploymentpartners.htm

 

My wife has a cousin who is a chaplain with the Navy in Japan. He is a balanced, IFB. He called the other day. He has freedom to do just about whatever he wants.
The military has chaplains for different faiths.
Our cousin Tim is a dynamic, charismatic kind of fellow who is also very bold.
Sometimes it is amazing how God will open doors to those who are not ashamed of proclaiming His name. Obstacles can be removed no matter how big if we press foward.

 

Here is a link to an article on Military Chaplains that appears in the current issue of The American Legion magazine. From my 32 year career (11 in command) as a ARNG officer I think the article is pretty accurate on what chaplains do. I got to know a number of chaplains in my career (in the Army battalion and higher organizations rate a chaplain and a chaplain assistant; one is assigned to the unit to minister to the units subordiate to the command). All were dedicated men who ministered to all Soldiers, yet remained faithful to Jesus Christ (I served with at least 2 Methodists and numerous Baptists - SBC & OFWB are dominant in this area). Bruce
http://www.legion.org/?section=publications&subsection=pubs_mag_index&content=pub_mag_feature

 

On my base, there are several Catholic, Protestant, two Baptist, a Rabbi, and one Muslim chaplain. We have two chapels and one synogogue.

I asked my Chaplain (Baptist in case you missed the whole title of this website) after reading this, if he was prohibited in any way in his work. He said, the US government requires me to be faithful to the defense of the Constitution, to not violate any articles of the UCMJ, and to be of good character of an Officer in the United States military. The rest is up to him.

I have heard him preach and have prayed with him, and I distinctly heard "in Jesus' name we pray..."

Military chaplians administer to the flock of military members seeking to worship in their faith. It is not a requirement in Basic training but you are offered the opportunity to worship each Saturday and Sunday. When the chaplains are forward deployed, they minister pre-mission, post-mission, and often are available to do last rites or attend to the imminent death should the member request it.

Other times, they offer counsel to victims of abuse, returning warriors, and are on hand for Red Cross message delivery (when members experience a death in the family, a chaplain is standing by for counsel). They run food drives during the holidays, and work with the local missions. They do retirements and commissionings. They do baptisms and funerals.

 

There is a difference between a military chaplain and a chaplain at hospital of nursing home. Sometimes there are restrictions placed on each of them. The military chaplain is obligated to follow the orders of those over them. In most cases, those restrictions are clearly delineated when the chaplain is hired. I am not defending those restrictions, but these folks generally know what they are getting into when they become a chaplain. The restrictions sometimes depend on what base or command a chaplain is at. There are many godly, doctrinally sound chaplains serving in our military today.

I have heard many a chaplain while serving in the Navy and have had many opportunities to serve as a chaplain during various types of ceremonies. I have never been restricted in what I say.

I had an opportunity to witness to a catholic chaplain at the Bethesda Naval Hospital as I waited in pre-op right before I had back surgery. It was obvious this man did not know the Truth. It was heartbreaking knowing the man who was going from bed to bed offering comfort had no idea of real comfort. He used a lot of words like hope ("I hope I'm going to heaven") and think ("I think I'm a good person").

Remember, chaplains are charged to minister to people to aid them in their own faith, not the faith of the chaplain.