Sunday, November 10, 2013

Obama's VA Strips Jesus & Bible from Chaplains

The Department of Veterans Affairs San Diego, with the help of the religious left United Church of Christ (sic), has censored VA hospital chaplain trainees Major Steven Firtko, U.S. Army (Retired) and Lieutenant Commander Dan Klender, U.S. Navy. The officers have now sued Eric Shinseki, secretary of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, saying that Ms. Nancy Dietsch, the UCC-endorsed supervisor and employee of the VA-DOD Clinical Pastoral Education Center program, in following the President Obama's VA handbook, explicitly ordered the men to stop quoting the Bible and never to say the name of Jesus Christ as part of their training because speaking such words is an act of bullying.
“No American choosing to serve in the armed forces should be openly ridiculed for his Christian faith, and that is most obviously true for chaplains participating in a chaplain training program. Not only was the treatment these men received inappropriate, it was also a violation of federal law and the religious freedom guarantees of the First Amendment.”
-- Commander J.B. Wells, U. S. Navy (Ret.), executive director of Military-Veterans Advocacy
For background, read Veterans Sue VA Over Freedom of Speech & Religion re: Houston National Cemetery

In addition, read how the Air Force Engages War on Christianity and Persecutes Believers

And also read
President Obama's Army Says Christians are Worst Terrorists

And read that President Obama's Pentagon Says Following Jesus' Command is a Court Martial Offense and also says Christians are 'Hate Groups'



-- From "Men Not Allowed to Say 'Jesus' in Chaplain Class: Lawsuit" by Andie Adams and Steven Luke, KNSD-TV 7 (San Diego) 11/8/13

"Anytime you tell somebody you can’t pray in Jesus' name and you’re a chaplain, you are acting inappropriately because you're regulating and censoring their religious rights,” said the plaintiff’s attorney, John B. Wells.

The plaintiff’s attorney says they're filing suit against the VA for fostering an atmosphere where the persecution can happen and not doing enough to stop it.

Attorneys for the VA say the defense will most likely be handled by the Department of Justice, but no one was available yet for comment.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

For background, read President Obama's Dept. of Justice Forces Christian Employees to Celebrate Homosexuality

From "VA sued for harassing Christian chaplains" by Drew Zahn, World Net Daily 11/9/13

. . . on Sept. 24, 2012, the lawsuit claims, during a classroom discussion, Dietsch asked Firtko what he “believed faith was.”

Firtko responded by quoting Hebrews 11:1 – “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Dietsch told Firtko, on the first of several such instances according to the lawsuit, that he was not to quote the Bible in the chaplaincy program classroom.

The lawsuit also claims Dietsch told her students that the VA in general and she in particular do not allow chaplains to pray “in Jesus’ name” in public ceremonies.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Military Chaplains Sue After Being Ordered Not to Quote Bible, Pray in Jesus’ Name" by Heather Clark, Christian News Network 11/10/13

“Ms. Dietsch informed the class she believes God could be a man or woman. Chaplain Firtko [then] recited the Lord’s Prayer, stating, ‘Our Father. who art in Heaven,’” the lawsuit states. “In response, Ms. Dietsch angrily pounded her fist on the table and shouted, ‘Do not quote Scripture in this class!’”

“Ms. Dietsch insisted that evolution was fact and that she believed mankind evolved. Chaplain Firtko stated he believed in the Genesis statement that ‘[i]n the beginning, God created the Heavens and Earth,’” it outlines regarding another instance. “In response, Ms. Dietsch pounded her fist on the table and ordered Chaplain Firtko to not quote Scripture in the classroom, stating [that] it made her feel like she had been ‘pounded over the head with a sledge hammer.’”

“When Chaplain Klender responded to a question during a group discussion regarding the Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, CT by stating he would tell a parent whose child was a victim by stating that ‘there is evil in the world,’ Ms. Dietsch impugned his core faith beliefs stating they would not work in a clinical setting,” the suit outlines. “In the presence of the other students she said, ‘You don’t actually believe that do you?’”

Klender eventually withdrew from the program, and Firtko was put on a six-week probation period after being threatened with dismissal. Firtko was eventually let go after Dietsch stated that the “probation period is not yielding the results we both desire.”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read the entire court filing: Conservative Baptist Association of America v. Shinseki (U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia)

In addition, read President Obama Breaks Law, Gives VA Money to Homosexuals

For further background, read President Obama Redefines 1st Amendment Freedom of Religion and yet President Obama Denies Leading War Against Christianity, and so Congress Responds to Obama's Military Attack on Christians