Chaplain's sermons censored at the VA

[Debp]

Hopefully the Trump administration will clear this up soon.

 

[NConly]

MATT 5

29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

Rom 12

5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

His boss needs to read these verses.

[NConly]

The vision of this church needs to be plucked out of the body of Christ.

[Debp]

7 hours ago, NConly said:

The vision of this church needs to be plucked out of the body of Christ.

I don't quite understand what you mean.   The video was about the Veteran's Administration censoring a pastor about what he could preach.   He had preached on Romans 1... homosexuality.

[NConly]

52 minutes ago, Debp said:

I don't quite understand what you mean.   The video was about the Veteran's Administration censoring a pastor about what he could preach.   He had preached on Romans 1... homosexuality.

The Chaplain appears to be in the Military and his boss may also be a Chaplain or higher. the constitution and the first amendment and supreme court says this below.

https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/educational-resources/about-educational-outreach/activity-resources/first-amendment-and-religion

The Bible says to remove the bad vision (pluck out the eye) in the body of Christ. The Chaplains boss should follow law and Supreme Court Precedent , it appears the boss is left leaning and should be removed from Religion whether in military or not.

[Sower]

22 hours ago, Debp said:

Hopefully the Trump administration will clear this up soon.

"Pennsylvania VA Chaplain Sanctioned for Chapel Message, Faces Sermon Censorship by Supervisor"

Law firms send letter to new Secretary of Veterans Affairs Collins seeking action.

Harrisburg, PA—Today, First Liberty Institute and the Independence Law Center sent a letter on behalf of Rusty Trubey, a veteran chaplain at the Coatesville VA Medical Center, asking U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins to take immediate action to eliminate a speech code being imposed by the VA and ensure that Chaplain Trubey and his colleagues may preach according to the dictates of their conscience.

You can read the letter here.

“The government has no business censoring anyone’s sermon, including military chaplains,” said Erin Smith, Associate Counsel at First Liberty Institute. “This is just the kind of woke policy that we anticipate Secretary Collins wants to purge from the VA.”

Randall Wenger of the Independence Law Center added, “Chaplains do not give up their First Amendment rights in order to serve. Censoring the content of a chaplain’s sermon is an unconstitutional violation of their God-given rights to religious freedom and free speech.”

An Army Reserve Chaplain, veteran, and former missionary, Russell (Rusty) Trubey has been a chaplain at the Coatesville (PA) VA Medical Center for nearly ten years. In June 2024, as part of his normal duties, Chaplain Trubey conducted a worship service in the chapel and preached a sermon from the first chapter of Romans. When Chaplain Trubey was cleaning up the chapel after the service ended, an onsite VA police officer approached him, alleging complaints made about his sermon from that day. Chaplain Trubey informed his supervisor, Chaplain Brynn White, that the police had been called after his sermon. After that, Chaplain Trubey was removed from his duties as chaplain, investigated for several months, and threatened with a mark on his permanent record.  While the Coatesville facility rescinded this proposed reprimand, his supervisor has implemented an unconstitutional sermon review process and is attempting to change the Chaplain SOP and Performance Plan to limit the topics on which chaplains can preach. If put into effect, this plan would punish chaplains for preaching according to their faith tradition and religious convictions.

In the letter to Secretary Collins, the attorneys explain, “What’s more, the changes to the SOP allow Chaplain White and other supervisors to continue to discriminate against chaplains on the basis of their religious viewpoints simply because they find the viewpoint ‘divisive, cultural, or political.’ ‘If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the Government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.’ United States v. Eichman, 496 U.S. 310, 319 (1990). Indeed, the Bible and other religious texts comment extensively on what some people could deem ‘divisive, cultural, or political,’ and chaplains would be hard-pressed to preach a sermon avoiding these topics and giving the viewpoint espoused by their religious text. This opens the door for supervisors to punish chaplains simply for preaching a viewpoint they find offensive.”

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About First Liberty Institute
First Liberty Institute is the largest legal organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to defending religious freedom for all Americans.