More than 40 retired military chaplains warned President Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates that allowing gays to serve openly in the military will force currrent chaplains to choose between obeying God or men.
“This forced choice must be faced, since orthodox Christianity — which represents a significant percentage of religious belief in the armed forces — does not affirm homosexual behavior,” the chaplains wrote in their April 28 letter.
The retired chaplains — affiliated with denominations including the Southern Baptist Convention — said the change could force chaplains to water down their teachings, or force them to preach or counsel views that conflict with official military policies.
In February, Gates said the Pentagon would spend a year studying the ramifications of repealing the 17-year-old Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell policy.
Also on April 28, the executive director of the International Conference of Evangelical Chaplain Endorsers asked members to contact the Armed Forces Chaplains Board, which is seeking information from chaplain groups about how the repeal of the policy would affect chaplains. (RNS)
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