When it comes to the government, many in this country find it unacceptable that they are supposed to be representing all people, of all faiths equally. No one is above or below the law, or at least that's the way it's supposed to be. We are all supposed to be able to walk into a VA clinic, since the government runs them, and know our faith is equally honored as anyone else's no matter what the faith is or even if they have no faith at all. The government is supposed to stay out of it.
When it comes to the military, we need to remember that they are just like the rest of us when it comes to their own private choice of faith. A VA chapel is supposed to be there for all veterans seeking a place to pray as they see fit, not as some well meaning person chooses to have surrounding them when they do.
If Bible's are supplied, then which ones are chosen? We do not all follow the same Bible. There are many different versions of it and we cannot even all agree on the Apostle's Creed. Who gets to decide? Who gets to decide if any other religious book is there for the Jewish veterans? Or the Muslim veterans? Or the Buddhists? Or the Hindus? Any idea? Do they supply the Rosary beads for Catholics and the worry beads for Greek Orthodox people using them to calm down? Do they supply crosses with Christ on them for the faiths that do hold that image of Him, or do they supply the Celtic cross with the holes or the other plan ones with no Christ on them? Who decides that? What about the saints? Do they use the word "saint" when talking about the heroes of the Bible or do they use just the names as some faiths do?
Not so simple when you actually think about it instead of just using gut instinct. Our faiths are just as complicated as we are. We make the choice of what faith to practice or practice none at all. We decide it all freely. So do the troops and the veterans.
When I read this article, I read the words;
Wieters says he has not been able to find out who is behind the suit, but he is adamant that the floor is no place for the Bible and the cross. So he has decided to fight the policy and stand up for the freedom that millions of veterans have fought for over the years.
and wondered if he actually thought about what those words mean.
Does he understand the freedom to choose our own faith as Americans is one of those freedoms they were defending? Does he understand that the freedom of religion and the free expression of it means that one cannot be regarded as holy while dismissing all others?
I have been in synagogues and respected their faith. When you think of walking into a VA chapel and seeing Christian images, you need to know they would feel uncomfortable. All others would feel uncomfortable in a place where they are supposed to be able to sit and pray as their own faith dictates or simply to touch their own spirit communicating with God or their Higher Power. This is not a matter of Christianity being pushed out but one of not having other faiths pushed away.
I am a Chaplain. I don't work for the VA but I work with veterans. I take care of them no matter what faith they have or even if they have no faith at all equally. I carry a Bible in my car in case someone needs it and Holy water along with a Rosary even though I'm Greek Orthodox and do not use a Rosary. I do not pull these things out unless someone asks for them. So what would be wrong with having them there in the Chapel out of view and pulling them out if someone asks for them? Otherwise they are acting as if they have the power to judge non-Christians. It also means that the government is supporting one branch of Christianity over other dominations.
As I said, Mr. Wieters seems well meaning but he is not thinking about how other veterans can feel about what he thinks is a good thing to do.
Bible, cross bumped from altars
OneNewsNow - Tupelo,MS,USA
Chad Groening - OneNewsNow - 12/24/2008
It's not acceptable, says a retired employee of the Veterans Administration, that Bibles and crosses are no longer being placed on the altars of VA facilities across the country.
Bob Wieters is a Vietnam veteran who retired from the VA in 1996 after more than 32 years of federal civil service. The Pineville, Louisiana, man was appalled when he learned what happened to a fellow veteran at a VA facility in North Carolina.
"He was arrested because he...kept placing the Bible and the cross back on the altar at the VA in North Carolina," Weiters relates. "[S]o when I heard that, I went to our local VA here -- and sure enough, I found the Bible and the cross on the floor next to the altar."
Wieters says he learned that the VA is apparently giving in to the demands of someone who does not want the Christian items displayed at VA chapels.
"There was a lawsuit that was filed against the Department of Veterans Affairs, and it is currently in some sort of court litigation," says the war veteran. "But in the interim...the VA as a whole [has decided] to remove the cross and the Bible from all altars at the VA nationwide, which I think is completely wrong." click link above for more
