Editor, Times-Union: On Aug. 22, the Times-Union ran a letter regarding President Obama’s hostility toward people of biblical faith. I emailed Ron Crews, CH(COL) USAR Ret’d, with questions about a recent news release from the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty. Following are my questions and his responses. Question: Does the decision to no longer allow Bibles to be published using military insignia mean that the government will no longer supply Bibles for our chaplains and service personnel? Question: How long has our government supplied Bibles to the chaplains? The Continental Congress allowed for Bibles to be purchased and supplied to our military, so that tradition goes back to the founding of our nation. Chaplains can still use military funds to purchase Bibles and some organizations like Biblica (formerly International Bible Society) still provide Bibles for chaplains. The decision to no longer allow Holman to use military logos was most unfortunate and unnecessary. Alliance Defending Freedom is considering legal action against DoD, but so far Holman has decided not to pursue. These Bibles were for sale in Post Exchanges, Christian Bookstores and even on Amazon. They will no longer be available. We still do not know if the Bibles published by Biblica using “camo” designs and military insignia will be allowed any longer. Question: In the July-August 2012 American Family Association Journal an article titled “Evidence of Executive Enmity” shared three evidences of our current government’s hostility toward people of biblical faith. Would you please verify if these statements are true or false? June 2011 – The Department of Veterans affairs forbids references to God ands Jesus during burial ceremonies at Houston National Cemetery. This is true. However, the decision has been challenged in court and the last I heard, chaplains are now free to pray according to their convictions, including “in Jesus’ name.” September 2011 – The Army issues guidelines for Walter Reed Medical Center stipulating that “No religious items (i.e. Bibles, reading materials and/or facts) are allowed to be given away or used during a visit. They did that, but after Congress intervened, they backed off this decision. Family members and chaplains can once again bring Bibles and/or other faith items. For a brief time, chaplains could not even offer communion to patients, but this was changed soon after the policy was discovered. November 2011 – The Air Force Academy rescinds support for Operation Christmas Child, a program to send holiday gives to impoverished children across the world because the program is run by a Christian charity. Unfortunately, this is true. Chaplains at the Academy can still participate in Operation Christmas Child, but everything has to be done in the chapel. Before, many cadets established places in the dorms to pack shoe boxes and it was a great effort by the cadets, organized by the cadets. The Air Force said only the chaplains can run the program, cadets can no longer run the program. This is a shame. Again, several members of Congress have written to the Air Force challenging this policy, but so far, the policy stands. If Obama is re-elected, do you feel that more restrictions will be forthcoming? Absolutely. The assault on Christian liberties in the military is just beginning. I am concerned that our nation will not survive another Obama administration. May God have mercy on our land. Leo Boyer Winona Lake
