Gordon Klingenchmitt -- the military chaplain fired for refusing to follow an order not to pray in Jesus' name -- is responding to Ed Brayton's posts and comments at Dispatches from the Culture Wars. Not surprisingly, he seems to have bought hard into the Christian America historical fraud.
I seriously wonder if he truly understood how Founders like Washington wanted religion and government to interact whether he'd still have his job. His superior ordered him not to pray in Jesus name when giving a prayer, not acting as personal chaplain to evangelical troops (then it would be fine), but speaking on behalf of the entire Navy! Assuming the propriety of offering prayers on behalf of a government institution, the first four Presidents, when they offered prayers on behalf of the nation refused to do so in Jesus name. Even Justice Scalia recognized this in his dissent in McCreary:
"All of the actions of Washington and the First Congress upon which I have relied, virtually all Thanksgiving Proclamations throughout our history, and all the other examples of our Government's favoring religion that I have cited, have invoked God, but not Jesus Christ."
[...]
"This is not necessarily the Christian God (though if it were, one would expect Christ regularly to be invoked, which He is not)"
Mr. Klingenshschmitt's superiors were trying to get him to exercise the same kind of prudence the first four Presidents did. It's a piety he didn't. He might still have a job.
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