Military chaplains are members of clergy assigned to bases in order to provide spiritual counseling to servicemen and women. For Wesley Modder (second from right), a Pentecostal chaplain once assigned to elite Navy Seal units, those duties also seem to have extended to making claims of being able to “save” gay people and scolding soldiers for premarital sex.
His commanders have now determined that he is “intolerant” and “unable to function in the diverse and pluralistic environment” at his post at the Navy Nuclear Power Training Command in South Carolina.
Modder is fighting the dismissal, maintaining that he’s done absolutely nothing wrong. He’s lawyered up with the Liberty Institute, which advocates for religious expression in the military and in public institutions.
He’s served 19 years, and if the dismissal stands, he could stand to lose his retirement benefits which would have been locked in at year 20.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
But don’t feel too sorry for the guy.
These are the specific complaints being brought against him:
— Told a female that she was “shaming herself in the eyes of god” for having premarital sex.
— Told another student that homosexuality was wrong and that “the penis was meant for the vagina and not for the anus.”
— Suggested to a student that he, Modder, had the ability to “save” gay people.
— “Berated” a student for becoming pregnant while not married.
Or as he likely calls it, “spiritual counseling.”
Trouble started for Modder when multiple sailors filed equal opportunity complaints about him with command, alleging discrimination.
In response, Modder told command “he will not follow Navy policy if it conflicts with his faith.”
And as wacky as that sounds, he might have a point. In 2013, Congress passed a law that no chaplains will be forced to “perform any rite, ritual or ceremony that is contrary to the conscience, moral principles or religious beliefs.”
Because apparently religious bigotry sounds a lot different when you just call it “faith.”
Modder’s lawyer, Michael Berry, has an even more insulting version, of course. As he tells it, Modder is the real victim here:
“I think what we are seeing is a hostility to religious expression in the military now,” Berry said. “What we’re seeing is this new modern, pluralistic, Navy where service members are encouraged to be hypersensitive, especially about issues of faith, marriage and family.”
It’s hard out there for a Pentecostal Christian, we get it.
via Military Times
hyhybt
It seems to me that if you are unwilling to follow navy policy, the navy is probably not the place for you.
Dakotahgeo
As a Christian, ordained minister, this person disgusts me to no end. He needs to ‘disappear’ at the bottom of a large pond and see if his faith makes him ‘float’!!!
Gigi Gee
Sorry chaplain, you’re not exempt from the rules due your so-called “sincerely held religious beliefs.”
DuMaurier
This really shows the inherent conflict of the government employing someone for a religiously-oriented (or “spiritual”, if you prefer) job. The demands of someone’s faith have got to collide at some point with the interests of the military in promoting tolerance and a non-discriminatory workplace. In the end the government is put in the awkward (at best) position of making judgments about doctrines and religious practices, which I don’t think lines up too comfortably with the church/state wall of separation.
hyhybt
@DuMaurier: The idea is to get chaplains willing to accommodate the varied beliefs of the people they serve. And there isn’t a reasonable alternative, the nature of military service being what it is.
LubbockGayMale
Get used to this ‘defense’, and prepare for more of it. There are now states that are in the process of taking marriages and marriage licenses away from civil authorities, just to be sure LGBTQ folks won’t be able to get that piece of paperwork! The rationale? Protecting the religious rights of the clerks, judges, etc.
mcflyer54
He’ll either in up with a cushy desk job (with minimal interaction with the troops) or the Navy will “gift” him year 20 so he can “retire” and draw his pension. It will be cheaper and easier than a protracted legal battle (that could easily drag on for a year or more) and face saving for all involved to just make it (and him) go away. I’ve seen it done both ways before for officers (and a couple of enlisted) so it’s not setting a prescedent.
Daniel-Reader
Some people have this insane notion they can trample on the religious rights of gay people. Gay people need to sue way more often when individuals and government entities attack them using religion.
Giancarlo85
@LubbockGayMale: Yeah I can’t stand all of that. Clerks and Judges are there to represent the people without their opinion getting in the way. If they can’t do their jobs they should just resign. Some shouldn’t be working in the public sector to begin with.
Low Country Boy
@mcflyer54: I’m with you on this one. Let him retire and not get any publicity. Maybe then, he’ll just go away.
NoCagada
@Low Country Boy: Job at FOX lined up
4of14
Seems to me, anyone old enough to sign their name on an induction document, is old enough to stay the hell away from a fool of a chaplin. If you are going to stick with your old out dated idea of religion, then please fell free to get told off by your chaplin.
Saint Law
I expect he gets a lot of sailors to discharge in his face.
cajuninvegas
So this dimwit has a problem with today’s society of premarital sex, homosexuality, and assortment of other things….but he has no problem being in an organization that promotes killing people. Yes, I said killing people. As an ex Navy sailor, the military is meant to and trained to kill people. You cannot pick and choose what you will do in the military, and they told this Pentecostal boob that before he signed his contract to enter the military. The chaplain has always had to find the fine line between his spiritual self and the fact he was in an organization that trains for destruction and even death of the enemy. So after 19 year, this sorry POS want to throw the religious card out there….sorry, DOESN’T WORK THAT WAY. Take he ass to a General Courts Martial (yes, I spelled Courts correctly) and let a jury of his piers determine if he has violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice. First charge, Actions unbecoming of an officer and gentlemen. Second charge, Failure to perform duties as assigned by the Secretary of the United States Navy…and if I had the good ole UCMJ book in front of me, I could find about 4 other charges up to and including sexual harassment for what he said to the female students. You see, military charges are not the same as civilian…the right prosecutor will cook your ass for very little! I know, I was a Legalman (paralegal/court reporter). I’ve seen guys/gals fry to less!!!!!!!!
Dakotahgeo
@cajuninvegas: “… and let a jury of his piers determine….” Sorry, but I think you meant peers. Of course, he IS in the Navy……
jwtraveler
If by “save” he means turning people off to both the Navy and Christianity, I’m right there with him.
Mike G
Since when is keeping your damned mouth shut “perform[ing] [a] rite, ritual or ceremony”? If any of the complainants actually sought his advice or counsel, he might have a reasonable defense, one which I might actually support. (I mean, what on earth would you expect a guy like that to say?) But somehow I doubt that’s what happened.
@Dakotahgeo: Yikes! Not that I disagree, mind you, and no offense to you intended, but that seems awfully strong coming from a Christian minister. 🙂
Dakotahgeo
@Mike G: Thank you, and no problem! I’ve been in the ‘religion’ business all my life, either as a participant or an officiant. Believe me, atheists and non-Christian people are not a problem for me. The real problems in Christianity are the uber reich wing conservatives who think they own the keys to the Kingdom! I refer to them as the AcT, or American christian Taliban! They congregate mostly in the Southern States but smatterings of their kind can be found anywhere. Their main goal in life is to quash any and all people who would disagree with their brand of hate and/or intolerance. There are no genetics involved… hate and all its forms are taught down through the generations! I make very strong statements at times because it sickens me when I think of how these ‘christians’ have distorted the true message and meaning of Christ’s ministry here on earth. I’ve had to deal with these neer’-do-wells within the church for too long and it has rubbed off on me but I still move on, lolol. My two favorite words are, “I’m retired,” but in this line of work, nobody ever really retires. All the best to you, Mike G, and blessings galore! Pastor Dak!