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The four chaplains were lieutenants in the United States Army: Rev. George L. Fox (Methodist), Rabbi Alexander D. Goode (Jewish), Rev. Clark V. Poling (Reformed Church in America) and Fr. John P. Washington (Roman Catholic). In late 1942, the chaplains were transferred to Camp Myles Standish in Taunton, Massachusetts and attended Chaplains School at Harvard University. In January 1943, the chaplains embarked on board the USAT Dorchester, which was transporting over 900 soldiers to the United Kingdom via Greenland.
On February 2, 1943 the German submarine U-223 spotted the convoy on the move and closed with the ships, firing a torpedo which struck the Dorchester shortly after midnight. Hundreds of men packed the decks of the rapidly sinking ship and scrambled for the lifeboats. Several of the lifeboats had been damaged and the four chaplains began to organize frightened soldiers. They distributed life jackets from a locker; when the supply of life jackets ran out, each of the chaplains gave theirs to other soldiers. When the last lifeboats were away, the chaplains prayed with those unable to escape the sinking ship. 27 minutes after the torpedo struck, the Dorchester disappeared below the waves with 672 men still aboard. The last anyone saw of the four chaplains, they were standing on the deck, arms linked and praying together.
As to official military decorations, each of the four chaplains was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Purple Heart.
originally posted by: NavyDoc
originally posted by: AfterInfinity
originally posted by: NavyDoc
a reply to: AfterInfinity
And what reason would that be?
Territory, resources, family, public welfare, personal safety. Not necessarily in that order.
And those would require a chaplain how?
originally posted by: Benevolent Heretic
originally posted by: NavyDoc
What spirituality are athiests missing out on and what is unique about an athiests version of spirituality (although the concept is self contradictory) that keeps it from not being addressed by a traditional chaplain?
Ummm... There is no God.
What are they missing out on that is not already covered?
I don't know, hon. I don't have the answers. I don't know why you think I do. I just know that if I were having spiritual issues or questions, I wouldn't want to go to a religious leader.
That's OK. I find a lot of things people want to be silly. But I'm pretty sure those who want this don't find it silly.
Can I ask... What's the harm? How does it hurt anyone to have a HUMANIST chaplain on board? (The requesters are asking for a "humanist chaplain", not an "atheist" chaplain. That's FOX News and other sensationalism at work.)
According to Waaijman, the traditional meaning of spirituality is a process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape of man, the image of God. To accomplish this, the re-formation is oriented at a mold, which represents the original shape: in Judaism the Torah, in Christianity Christ, in Buddhism Buddha, in the Islam Muhammad."[note 2] In modern times spirituality has come to mean the internal experience of the individual. It still denotes a process of transformation, but in a context separate from organized religious institutions: "spiritual but not religious."[5] Houtman and Aupers suggest that modern spirituality is a blend of humanistic psychology, mystical and esoteric traditions and eastern religions.[6]
Humanism is a progressive lifestance that, without supernaturalism, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead meaningful, ethical lives capable of adding to the greater good of humanity. • American Humanist Association
originally posted by: Benevolent Heretic
originally posted by: seeker1963
a reply to: Benevolent Heretic
Ummm... There is no God.
See?
That's where you lose me!
You come out and insult those whom don't believe as you do.......
Whoa! Wait a minute. I think you misunderstood something... I was merely answering NavyDoc's question:
"what is unique about an athiests version of spirituality"?
Besides, saying, "There is no God" is no more insulting than saying, "There IS a God".
originally posted by: DietJoke
Is the OP's Author concerned about secular humanist chaplains giving last rights to dying soldiers who may hold a religious conviction?
Can an atheist truly give last rights?
• Atheism rejects the existence of god altogether thereby being an absence of belief in god
• Humanism is a generic term applied to theories that take a positive approach of the world and lay emphasis on our shared humanity than on the religions of the world
• Humanists reject the notion that there is any sacred knowledge revealed to human beings by any god.
• Humanism believes in sympathy and caring for other human beings
• Humanists believe that we can have a full life without believing in a god
• An atheist can be a humanist as not believing in god does not stop a person from being a humanist.
• Humanism is a worldview, or an approach to life, whereas atheism is merely absence of belief in gods.
• A humanist is not always an atheist as there are secular and religious humanists too.
• While atheist rejects god, a humanist would say that god is not needed to be moral.
originally posted by: Benevolent Heretic
a reply to: NavyDoc
Please see this post in response. It's a HUMANIST chaplain that is being requested, not an "ATHEIST" Chaplain.
Humanists reject the notion that there is any sacred knowledge revealed to human beings by any god.
Humanists believe that we can have a full life without believing in a god
Humanism is a generic term applied to theories that take a positive approach of the world and lay emphasis on our shared humanity than on the religions of the world
originally posted by: NavyDoc
The thing is that the military already has secular counselors--psychiatrists, psychologists, financial, legal, family counseling, omnibudsman, and the good old fashioned "talk to your sergeant." That actually works...senior NCOs have seen it all and can provide good counsel.
In addition, chaplains are trained to and expected to listen to and advise atheists and those of all faiths and can give advise and support of a non-religious nature as well, so that's already covered too.
What we have here is what is known as "a solution in search of a problem" and is really just some real life trolling by malcontents.
A separate organization, The Humanist Society, endorsed Oxford-educated religious scholar Jason Heap last year to be the first-ever humanist chaplain in the U.S. Navy.