Responses to 'Among military chaplains, fundamentalism is taking hold'
Episcopal News Service. June 9, 2009 [060909-03]
Several readers have responded to the Opinion column "Among military chaplains, fundamentalism is taking hold" by the Rev. David Somerville, published May 27 on Episcopal Life Online.
The full text of Somerville's column is available here. Responses to the column follow.
Elizabeth Kelly • Bluffton, Ohio
Thank you for this well crafted article that clearly explains this important issue. I am a board certified hospital chaplain and sit on the Governing Council of the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy. We are working with military chaplains in our organization to support Clinical Pastoral Education and other training for military chaplains. It is not a magic cure but by their report progress is being made internally.
Of course your point is that we need to be making progress on the denominational side as well. Thanks for making this a priority.
Michael Gillum • Russellville, Arkansas
This is disturbing, but considering the news we've heard from the Air Force Academy the last few years, not surprising.
I first heard of Christian Reconstructionism in the '80s from a Bill Moyers' PBS series called God and Politics. Some of it is dated but if it's still available it is worth watching.
Here is a link to a good website on the basics of Christian Reconstructionism.
Some of its adherents are also involved in Christian Zionism, a movement which is not a true friend to Israelis, and certainly not Palestinians, nor to Christians. Here is a link to The Jerusalem Declaration on Christian Zionism.
We should all pray for the peace of Jerusalem, but this is not the way to do it.
H. Scott Tonk • North Fort Myers, Florida
Fr. Somerville's article is interesting, but it hinges on the definition of "fundamentalist." Exactly to what phenomenon is Fr. Somerville referring? In my opinion, the use of such terms sheds more heat than light.
Historically, "Fundamentalism" developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as an attempt to defend certain historic Christian truths. The problem is that the fundamentalist movement attempted to defend too few Christian truths, because they left out most of the articles in the Nicene Creed (and the Creed of St. Athanasius, after whom Fr. Somerville's congregation is named).
In these overheated ideological days, it would have helped a great deal if Fr. Somerville had defined what he laments. Does he lament Christians who subscribe to the articles of the Nicene Creed? Does he lament Christians who believe that the Bible is the Word of God (see Catechism, BCP, 853 - and the rest of that document) - and the Oath of Conformity, by which the clergy subscribe to the notion that "the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God and contain all things necessary for salvation"? Or does he mean something else by the use of the word, "fundamentalist," a term often bandied about as an opprobrium? Exactly what does he mean?
Until he defines his terms, I for one am left scratching my head.
David Sullivan • Boston, Massachusetts
I retired from the U.S. Army on 9/11/03. Yes, the date was on purpose.
Recruiting chaplains should be part of every convention. I am sure that, as in the Diocese of Massachusetts, those in formation are at each convention. A simple table with literature on how chaplains serve the members of the military, staffed by existing or retired members of the military, would help a lot.
In the meantime, I would further suggest that each diocese issue a voted-upon endorsement of support of all our troops worldwide. Not a war and not the use of force, but the men and women who serve.
Brad Clay • Birmingham, Alabama
The gospel of Matthew records Jesus after his resurrection, "Go into all the world and make disciples..." I wonder if Rev. Somerville finds him naive and arrogant as well?
Deborah A. Heard • Houston, Texas
Well said. I needed to hear these words just now. Thank you.
The Rev. Richard L, Ullman • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
I welcome this article.
An important issue is that since Vietnam few clergy within the "mainline churches" have been attracted to the military chaplaincy -- and those denominations have done little or nothing to encourage that vocational option. Nature abhors a vacuum, so in this circumstance it is natural that the military has welcomed clergy from beyond the "mainline" to fill billets. I think it is also true that hard-right evangelical fundamentalist leaders have seen the military chaplaincy as a way of growing their constituency, and so have aggressively pursued chaplain recruitment at the same time as Episcopal, Presbyterian, Lutheran, etc. leaders have gone limp (or even hostile) with regard to military chaplaincy.
Ron Davin • Fall River, Massachusetts
Although I am an Episcopalian, if I was still in the military, and particularly in combat, I would surely choose the fundamental preacher, over a pompous, wishy-washy Anglican. But the question should really be what works for the troops. One last thing: the separation of Church and State in the Constitution -- as I read it, only stops Congress from making laws about religion. It does not create a wall.
Robert Certain • Marietta, Georgia
When I was an Air Force reserve chaplain, the official mission statement of the USAF Chaplains Service was: "The mission of the USAF Chaplain Service is to provide a comprehensive, pluralistic, pastoral, moral, religious, and spiritual ministry in support of maximum readiness and combat effectiveness of the Air Force, assuring the right to the free exercise of religion for all Service members."
Nowhere in there does it speak of training soldiers to be crusaders. That shift is, I believe, unfortunate and not officially sanctioned. The USAF mission statement raises the question of how the church ministers to and assists its members who choose the profession of arms to make war-fighting decisions from a foundation of ethical virtue. To fulfill this mission, chaplains serve on the staff of commanders as advisors on religious, ethical, and quality-of-life concerns. In order to be effective guides and counselors, chaplains must not see themselves as training troops to "fight God's fights" or to speak out of a vacuum of knowledge and understanding of the life situation of those to whom they would bring the Gospel. In other words, the minister must know how the soldiers think in order to speak to them. Otherwise, the ministry will consist of mixing apples and oranges, and the helpfulness of the chaplain's voice will be negated. Worse yet, the chaplains may so misread the values of the combatants that they would create even greater ethical tension. Unfortunately, that is the concern raised by Fr. Somerville.
The Episcopal Church, which has seen a long history of its members serving in uniform, should embrace and support the clergy and lay members who continue this tradition. Priests trained in both Christian moral ethics and in the demands of military service have long served both God and nation. We are compelled to train those preparing for wartime defense of the country, to guide and care for those who are bearing the burden of battle, and to restore those who have laid their lives on the line in our defense. However, unless we actively identify, encourage and support priestly vocations in young adults we will not be able to provide chaplains to our men and women in uniform, since the services do not accept new members much older than their mid-30s. Such failure on our part has removed us as a church from significant influence upon the young people of the nation who are willing to live with the moral ambiguity of military service. I hope it's not too late; but we need now to open the seminaries to recruiters from the Office of the Bishop Suffragan for Federal Ministries to present the compelling case for service in the chaplaincies of our military services. I consider that a matter of urgency both for the Gospel and for national security.
Chaplain Rebecca "Beck" Malcolm Schubert • Overland Park, Kansas
Thank you for your article! I have been hearing the same concerns about our military, specifically the Air Force Academy. Part of the Air Force Academy's challenge is that the location is so very close to the home base for James Dobson.
One of our fundamental challenges with chaplains of all faith traditions is the lack of required Clinical Pastoral Education training. A year of CPE is a must as a qualification for all chaplains of all religious traditions, in the Armed Forces or serving in a health care environment. We in the Episcopal Church allow many seminary graduates to take a modified quarter and then be ordained. Some candidates for ordination to the diaconate talk their way out of the one quarter of CPE because of an educated diocesan bishop. In one quarter of CPE the student is just starting to "peel the onion." I continue to be pleasantly surprised at how many students who start with a rigidity of the law come out of CPE (in a year) with a flexibility and an acceptance of other traditions.
Jim Welsh • Rock Hill, South Carolina
As a lay chaplain I find this article very disturbing. Disturbing that a priest of the church could confuse evangelism and fundamentalism. Disturbing in the tone of Episcopalian superiority suffusing the article. Insulting that he describes fundamentalism as "Fundamentalism reflects a shortage of emotional security for a portion of our society that is under-educated for the twenty-first century milieu."
Dr. Jeff Ezell • Wilmington, Delaware
The existence of aggressive Christian fundamentalism in the U.S. military only serves to validate the beliefs of a significant number of Muslims all over the world that the United States is engaged in a systematic effort to destroy Muslims and indeed Islam itself. Officers of the United States armed forces who lead this fundamentalist movement within the military are subverting U.S. foreign policy and damaging America's interests abroad. As such, they are subverting the policy ends of their commander-in-chief and should be brought to account for their actions.
Colonel (R) Charles D. Fleischer • Hohenfels, Germany
I am a cradle Episcopalian and I have spent 30 years in the Army. We have always had great difficulty getting Episcopal chaplains. There is a strong demand. You are right on target about the fundamentalization of religious thought in the military. I hear it all of the time on the Armed Forces Radio and consistent messages throughout the Army. I have been deeply concerned for years and I would cheer the Episcopal Church if we could find many more men and women to enter the Army Chaplaincy. The message I hear daily includes faith and Scripture, but common sense is never mentioned. If the church is looking for people that are horrified by war and combat, then soldiers are some of the best examples of that attitude. The difference is that they are still willing to serve their country and fellow man. Thank you for your article.
Bill Easter • Rio Rancho, New Mexico
Given that there are many in the U.S. who confuse Christianity with American foreign policy, and that the resistance of Arab/Islamic folk in general, and terrorists in particular, serves to reinforce our national paranoia, it may be speculated that the American version of terrorists are attracted to the sanctity of uniform, the glory of the warrior class, and the call to arms for a holy war by the "real" God. No American veterans of my vintage (WWII-Korea), to my knowledge, died for their country, but did for their buddies and for the foreign policy of the Administration de jour. Besides, wars and leadership in combat further advances careers.
Suggestion: have TEC pull out of supplying chaplains for the military; we're unwanted and unneeded, anyway. Freedom of the pulpit in the military is a fiction. Leaving is a genuine separation of church and state. Our absence serves to implicitly say that TEC does not in any way back the foreign policy of the moment, past or present. What good of a lasting nature did the deaths, maimings and mental anguish of the conflict in Vietnam accomplish? Eisenhower, when he became our President, warned us of the military-industrial complex. We have managed, as a nation, to develop national amnesia for Ike's thoughts.