Do Military Chaplains "Sell Out" God's Truth?

This past Sunday I attended a military chapel, and heard what probably could be inarguably classified as a "watered down" sermon.Well, recently I found out that U.S. Military chaplains take an oath when they enter military service that says they will not "prostelatize", and that they will remain sensitive to the beliefs of others. This seems a wordy way to say that they will not profess to have the only Truth, or that they will not work to spread their religion among the military members. This has also seemed to be the case in the actions of most of the chaplains I have met.Now, I will have to find out exactly what this oath says, and what chaplains specifically agree to, but this seems like a sell out for "ten shekels and a shirt". What service is it to God when you agree not to proclaim his Word as the Truth?Have any of you had any experience with this, or have any insight on it?Grace and Peace...

I'll have more to say later, but for now -You could gun to my head and blow my brains out and I wouldn't give an oath against evangelism and the great commission. In my opinion, this would be tantamount to publicly renouncing and denying Jesus Christ.

I have been in the military for 13 years. The messages I have heard have not been on the tip of the spear any more than most sermons I have heard in the average church. I have only been saved the last 3 1/2 years, so I don't remember the sermons from boot camp at all (they must not have been that good).I have looked into being a chaplain, but the only thing that concerns me is sort of what you asked about. I won't give mass to someone, and I think even as a Protestant chaplain, you have to cater to the needs of all military members in your group, regardless of their view. I couldn't bring myself to do this. I am not positive of this, but I think it is pretty safe to say that's the way it is. Very politicolly correct.

Hi groh_frog...!I'm not totally certain, but I thought that there were not any restrictions concerning the messages that chaplains preach -- as long as it is in line with their aforementioned beliefs or doctrinal sway. My dad was a military officer for 20+ years, and he attended some services that he told me reminded him of the "hell, fire and brimstone" preaching of "old revivalists." I imagine that there might be restrictions while serving in combat situations (or in foreign nations), just like certain denominations (like the Assemblies of God) must uphold to be allowed into certain nations (such as Muslim nations). If you look further into this, or if you happen to find the particular oath that you mentioned, I would like to know. Please keep us informed! Thanks! :-)

I think some of this is being discussed because of the recent Air Force controversy regarding the subject. Here is an article from Oct. 11th Reuters News Service. As far as I understand - at this time Air Force Chaplains are being forbidden to evangelize at all. What is surprising is that I have not heard about any chaplains being discharged or resigning for disobedience to this. Chinese pastors will sit in prison and endure torture for 20 years while their families starve for lack of a male provider and all they have to do is sign a piece of paper that says - I renounce Jesus. I would love to hear about Air Force chaplains who are willing to go to jail over this issue. It would be terribly sad and a disgrace if there weren't any.WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force said on Tuesday it has withdrawn ethics guidelines to its chaplains that allowed them to "instruct and/or evangelize" members of the military not affiliated with a particular religion. Air Force Academy cadets have complained that evangelical Christian leaders on campus used their positions to push their religion and one Jewish graduate, who has a son enrolled at the academy, filed suit in federal court last week to force the chaplains to stop proselytizing.The Air Force said a Code of Ethics statement issued by the Air Force Chaplain Service in January stated: "I will not actively proselytize from other religious bodies. However, I retain the right to instruct and/or evangelize those who are not affiliated."The Air Force said these guidelines were "withdrawn for further review" on August 10."It was pulled to be reviewed following the release of the interim religious guidelines that were put out" on August 29, said Air Force spokeswoman Jennifer Stephens.These guidelines warned against promoting any particular religion in official communications or meetings, athletic contests and ceremonies and cautioned against pushing "religion over non-religion."A team from Yale Divinity School said in April it had found evangelical Christian proselytizing commonplace at the Air Force academy, in Colorado Springs and described a chaplain telling cadets they would "burn in the fires of hell" if they were not born-again Christians."The U.S. Air Force is committed to defending the rights of all of our men and women whatever their beliefs," said Stephens.The Air Force issued a report in June stating that the had academy failed to accommodate minority religious beliefs, but there was no overt discrimination at the college of about 4,000 cadets, which produces junior officers for the Air Force.The report stated that some faculty and staff inappropriately expressed strong religious views and Jewish cadets on campus faced anti-Semitic comments.

I was poking around to try and find some more info on this, and stumbled across an article about becoming a military chaplain. Part of it I found interesting:"But that is the extent of your duty to the Church. It is decidedly subordinate to your primary duty -- ministering to those (of whatever denomination) entrusted to your care. A military chaplain must be prepared to provide for the free exercise of religion for all the members of the Armed Forces who come under their care, regardless of denomination or religion. They must be able to provide a wide range of religious services and pastoral care to those in uniform and to their families, regardless of faith preference."I'll talk to a chaplain today to see if I can find the acual oath that's undertaken.Grace and Peace...

I don't disagree that there are some very useful chaplains, but I do have a problem with agreeing not to preach the full Word of God in hopes of appeasing some. YeshuaIsMyGod, I you're right that at times you have to disobey the law in order to do right. But to agree to a law that undermines your faith, and then disobey it shows a person to "be a fountain of both salt and fresh water". I don't agree that it's right to twist like that in the hopes of something.I want to say that I also respect the fact that you want to become a chaplain, or more so that you're planning on serving the Lord on the "forefront of the battle". But if you're forced to take an oath like that, what would you do?Grace and Peace...

Hey, I think that's the right answer. But the fact is, that weather in military service or not, there are many people out there that are just "selling out" God's Word like that. I think that the military provides an easy opportunity to be secure- to make a job out of the training you have once you do- good pay, nice retirement, good benefits. This can be a tempting offer. Now that's not the problem. It should be a freedom. But there are a lot of obvious politics that are coming into play on what pastors can, and do say, teach, even believe.I still haven't gotten a copy of the oath, but I'm gonna meet with the local chaplain this week, so I'll get it out.I think, again, to clarify what I see the issue being, it's like this: You have people who are willing to compromise no matter where you go. But is a requirement of becoming a chaplain that you are willing to do so?Grace and Peace...