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That link did not work, but this one did:
From there, you can open up what is presented as the funeral sermon that got the chaplain in trouble. Here is part of the web page's introduction to the sermon, described as:
"an optional worship service openly advertised as a Christian memorial service,held in the base chapel at Naval Station Norfolk, voluntarily attended by some crewmembers from his ship, honoring the religion of a deceased Sailor, D.R., who was personally a member of Chaps flock.
"Chaps preached this same sermon two times. The first time he preached it, this sermon persuaded D. R. to voluntarily come forward, and invite the Lord Jesus Christ to rule his heart and save his soul. D. R. died soon after from a tragic motorcycle accident. When ship's Commanding Officer (CO) and the Executive Officer asked Chaps to preach at D. R.'s memorial service, Chaps was honored to be invited. He immediately knew what sermon to give, thinking, 'What better way to honor D. R.'s personal religion, than to preach the same sermon D. R. personally loved and embraced before he died?"
A quick reading of the sermon suggests that the bulk of it, up until near the end, is much like what I suggested was acceptable - an affirmation that the deceased sailor had been forgiven through Christ and was now in heaven, and that such forgiveness and salvation are available to all who will believe in Christ. It is closely based on the text of Paul's letter to the Romans. The chaplain explains that he too is a sinner who needs and has found forgiveness; it's a pretty effective identification with the deceased and with the other sailors, and not a stuffy holier than thou sermon.
Near the end, though, the sermon does get include material that would be troublesome to me:
"And I'll tell you this. If you don't have Jesus, then you've already been separated from the love of God. But if you have Jesus, then nothing is able to separate you from the love of God! The Bible says 'He who has the Son has eternal life, but he who does not have the Son remains in death.' (John 3:36)
"So the only question I have left is this: Do you have Jesus? Do you have him, or don't you? Does he rule your heart, does He rule your mind? Or does he not? There will be a great judgment day, where most of humanity, dare I say, is cast into hell. (Paraphrase of Jesus' words in Matthew 7:13-14).
"What is the dividing line between those who are saved and those who are lost? Between those who enter into heaven, and those who enter into hell? It is Jesus Christ. (See John 3:36). But if you have him, then nothing can separate you from the love of God, that is found where? In Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:39). This is the gospel according to Romans 8."
Given the context -- that this was the sermon that had been embraced by the deceased sailor, that it had originally been preached in what apparently was a regular Christian worship service (where I think it was within acceptable bounds), and that that there apparently had been no objection to it when preached before -- I'd think some counseling of the chaplain as to the different contexts of regular worship service and a funeral would be sufficient. Instead, it seems the chaplain is going to be dismissed from active service.
Mark S. Scarberry Pepperdine University School of Law
-----Original Message-----
For what it's worth in this discussion, I have now found several stories on-line about Klingenschmitt that report, among other things, that he was a strenuous advocate for a Jewish sailor for whom the Navy had not supplied sufficient kosher food aboard ship.
See, e.g., http://www.persuade.tv/againstgoliath/NavyChaplainDailyPress1May 05WardSanderson.pdf#search='klingenschmitt'.
Life is almost always more complicated than one might think! Such generosity of spirit does not, of course, conflict with the possibility that K. always hoped ultimately to convert the Jewish sailor and might, along the way, suggest that while it is admirable to eat kosher food (which Jesus would have done as a Jew), it is even better to recognize the truth of John 3:16.
sandy _______________________________________________ To post, send message to Religionlaw@lists.ucla.edu To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/religionlaw
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