Can Evangelical Chaplains Serve God and Country?
There was a time in American history when the Christian chaplain led many desperate souls to hope in Christ. Today, to be both Christian and a chaplain is becoming a contradiction in terms, at least according to the policies of the U.S. government.
Al Mohler posted an important article highlighting this very challenge, writing in part to respond to another article on the same theme. He says,
Moreover, the historical opposition to homosexuality in the military, with its accompanying STD's and physical trauma, seemed to be common sense until recently.
One thing is clear: the world's opposition to biblical morality continues to rise, placing Christian chaplains in an increasingly untenable position. Incredibly, we find ourselves moving into a time when a chaplain can provide no counseling according to his conscience and approval for activities he knows is wrong.
The time may indeed be near when chaplains will need to resign rather than follow orders, and those hurt most will be those who die on the battlefield outside of their caring words of truth and life.
Al Mohler posted an important article highlighting this very challenge, writing in part to respond to another article on the same theme. He says,
Make no mistake — the moral revolution driven by those who demand the total normalization of homosexuality and same-sex relationships will not stop with the crisis over military chaplains. But at this moment, the chaplains are on the front lines of the great cultural and moral conflict of our times. This is a moment of crisis for the chaplains — but it is also a moment of crisis for the entire nation. If religious liberty is denied to evangelical Christian chaplains in the military, if they must surrender their convictions or their commissions, then religious liberty is lost in America, and the chaplains will be but the first casualties of this loss.Mohler notes that our nation's military, not the Southern Baptists, have placed our chaplains in an unethical position. While one may argue whether the guidelines the SBC placed on its chaplains where too strict or too lenient, the question is not what Christians have believed throughout time. Christians tether themselves to the unchanging Word of the Creator of mankind, which clearly denounces certain behaviors as sin.
Moreover, the historical opposition to homosexuality in the military, with its accompanying STD's and physical trauma, seemed to be common sense until recently.
One thing is clear: the world's opposition to biblical morality continues to rise, placing Christian chaplains in an increasingly untenable position. Incredibly, we find ourselves moving into a time when a chaplain can provide no counseling according to his conscience and approval for activities he knows is wrong.
The time may indeed be near when chaplains will need to resign rather than follow orders, and those hurt most will be those who die on the battlefield outside of their caring words of truth and life.
