A three judge panel in the DC Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that military chaplains who pray “in Jesus’ name” should suffer discrimination and denial of promotion by the U.S.military.
The “court panel has rejected an appeal brought by a group of former non-liturgical Navy chaplains who claim the Navy’s chaplain promotion process unfairly favors Catholic and liturgical Protestant chaplains,” reports One News Now.
65 evangelical chaplains have been suing the Navy since 1999, alleging that liberal chaplainswho sit on their promotion boards routinely “black-ball” their promotion boards for religious reasons.
Art Schulcz, an attorney representing the evangelical chaplains, said the court determined that any discrimination didn’t rise to a sufficient level to infer constitutional discriminatory intent.
“This court has officially approved discrimination as long as it’s not ‘stark’ – stark to be determined later,” he explains.
According to the attorney, the court also rejected his argument that the Navy’s promotion system allows one officer to effectively black-ball the promotion of any chaplain they don’t like.
“No record is kept of that,” he admits. “[But] if you are a Catholic and don’t like a Baptist or don’t like a charismatic, or if you’re liturgical and don’t like that particular brand of liturgicals,you can press the button and he will never get promoted. The Court of Appeals said that’s neutral on its face. That’s an absurd decision.”
Schulcz is asking the entire U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to hear the case, but he says if it doesn’t the only option is taking it to the U.S. Supreme Court.
[Dr. Chaps’ comment: How long, O Lord, shall we suffer? Now the courts approve the systematic elimination of chaplains who pray “in Jesus’ name.” Liberal senior Pharisees control the promotion boards, duty assignments, and evaluations of junior evangelicalchaplains, and drum them out, the same way they did to me in 2007.]
Let’s petition Congress to protect chaplains who pray “in Jesus’ name.”
Or you may choose our Free Petition Option Here.
No Jesus Prayers by Military Chaplains, say “Grinch” Senate Democrats. Take action!
Kyle Ebersole
Anti-Jesus Democrats in the Senate played the “Grinch” for military chaplains this Christmas,blocking legislation that would have clearly protected chaplains’ right to pray “in Jesus’name.”
The Democrat-controlled Senate Armed Services Committee, led by Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) just stripped out two good religious freedom amendments from the House version of the Pentagon Budget, (2014 National Defense Authorization Act, NDAA, H.R. 1960 and S.1197), and replaced them with empty promises to study whether or not religious freedom is under attack in the military since the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
In Conference Committee negotiations to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of the NDAA, sections 529 and 530 appear to have been dropped, no longer writtenin the new combined House+Senate version, which can be read here.
Watch! Dr. Chaps’ 7-minute TV commentary on the Senate debate on the right to pray “in Jesus’ name” for military chaplains–>
Section 529 was stripped, but would have clearly protected military chaplains’ right to close a public prayer outside of religious services according to his or her own faith.
Section 530 was stripped, but would have clearly protected troops rights to express their moral beliefs “except in cases of military necessity.”
Now instead, the new bill introduces watered-down language in Sections 532 and 534, to protect religious expressions of belief “unless it could have an adverse impact onmilitary readiness, unit cohesion, and good order and discipline,” or in other words, whenever a complainer feels like a Christian’s religiious expression “COULD” offend a homose xual, that religious expression can be punished, depriving Christian troops of their guaranteed First Amendment rights.
Sadly too, the new combined House+Senate version in fails to protect chaplains right to prayfreely, instead it commissions a future (biased) survey of chaplains (that will be written to confirm “no problems”) to determine “whether restrictions placed on prayers offered in a public or non-religious setting have prevented military chaplains from exercising the tenets of their faith as prescribed by their endorsing faith group.”
I predict chaplains will try to report widespread persecution in the survey, yet the Obama Pentagon will discover “no persecution” of Chaplains who pray “in Jesus’ name.” Mark my words. The survey will be biased, and designed to sweep “Jesus prayers” under the rug.
Let’s petition Congress to defeat this weakened NDAA, and restore the stronger religious liberty sections 529 and 530 from the House version of the bill.
Or you may choose our Free Petition Option Here.
Two Chaplains punished for praying “in Jesus’ name.” Take action!
Two military chaplains, one Army and one Navy, have been booted by the Veterans Administration from a liberal hospital training program because they prayed “in Jesus’ name” and quotes scripture in the classroom during academic discussion.
Christian Press reports that “A lawsuit alleges that the leader of a San Diego-based Department of Veterans Affairs chaplain training program severely mocked two Christian participants because of their faith. One of the chaplains eventually left the program voluntarily because of the treatment; the program leader eventually ejected the other participant.”
Watch! Dr. Chaps’ 7-minute TV commentary on the two chaplains punished for their faith in Christ, here.
“Chaplains Maj. Steven Firtko, U.S. Army (Ret.) and Lt. Cmdr. Dan Klender, U.S. Navy, entered the San Diego VA-DOD Clinical Pastoral Education Center program in August 2012.
“Shortly thereafter, the program’s supervisor, Nancy Dietsch, began to harass the two men for their beliefs. On various occasions and without provocation, she admonished them not topray in Jesus’ name or cite Scripture, sometimes pounding her fists on her desk, accusing them of ‘not giving a rat’s ass’ about VA patients and other members of the military, and threatening to fail them. She continued to openly ridicule them and their beliefs openly inclass.
“In February, Klender voluntarily withdrew from the program solely because of Dietsch’s harassment. Firtko, whom Dietsch placed on probation, received a letter dated Feb. 15 from the VA and Dietsch notifying him that he would be dismissed from the program March 1. Both Klender and Firtko filed formal complaints with the VA in July.
“The lawsuit, Conservative Baptist Association of America v. Shinseki, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, explains that all administrative options have been exhausted and that the harassment that the chaplains endured violates the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the Administrative Procedures Act, and the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”
[Dr. Chaps’ comment: I attended Chaplain school with Klender, and he courageously prayed “in Jesus’ name” as I did. Later we were both punished. My story in 2006 taking a stand for Christ, and now his in 2013. Well done Dan and Steve! I pray with you for justice, in Jesus’name.]
Now let’s petition Congress to STOP the persecution of military chaplains…
Or you may choose our Free Petition Option Here.
God Bless you, in Jesus’ name,
Chaplain Gordon James Klingenschmitt, PhD
Who is Dr. Chaps? Read bio here.
Prefer to donate by mail? Please write: The Pray In Jesus Name Project, PO Box 77077, Colorado Springs, CO 80970.