whose water?

[cellio]

There's not much water available in the Iraqi desert, of course, so most soldiers haven't bathed in a long time. According to this article, there's an army chaplain in Iraq who has a large pool of water for use by the soldiers, but there's a catch: they have to get baptised first.

Unless that chaplain personally collected the water without using any army resources (including protection), I hope they kick him out of there. Because in any other case, it's not his water; it's the army's water. And yes, my reaction would be exactly the same if it were a rabbi who required everyone to pray the daily service first, or a Republican who required you to change your voter registration to his party first, or anyone collecting a fee.

I'm all for having folks along with the army who aren't part of the effort but who do provide support services valued by some members of the unit. But when support staff become parasites, it's time for them to go.

Comments

[amergina.livejournal.com]

If this is true, it is disgusting. That man should be ashamed of himself.

[ealdthryth.livejournal.com]

I agree with you. How does that water belong to him? If he is with the army, he is almost certainly enjoying their protection. That's disgusting! It reminds me of something similiar that happened after one of the hurricanes down here.

[alice-curiouser.livejournal.com]

That is so completely wrong. :(

[tangerinpenguin.livejournal.com]

See, I find this whole thing insulting because it appears to trivialize the entire concept of baptism. You figure, especially once bullets start flying, a certain number of guys who have been sorta religious but never officially so are going to be interested in being baptised for real, and here (it sounds like) they're likely surrounded by a bunch of giggling smart aleks who've decided that they've scammed a bath. Not only is it grossly unfair to those who aren't willing to be baptised, it undercuts any meaning the ritual has for those who are.

That being said, it's not clear to me exactly what use the GIs are getting - baptism itself would involve getting immersed in water (I'm assuming - it varies by denomination and sometimes specific pastor, but it sounds like this guy is from the immersion tradition), so the baptism itself could be the extent of it. I could also see them getting bumped to the front of the shower line to slow down fouling the baptism water (like having to take a shower before using the pool - I'm not sure whether it would be more water-efficient in the long run to shower first or just replace the baptism pool more often.) Also, a baptism is a once-per-lifetime ritual, so while it leaves less physical evidence than, say, circumcision, it's also not something you can run back and do every day like someone sitting through the sermon at the soup kitchen in order to get a hot meal.

[sk4p.livejournal.com]

Pig****er. Dishonorable discharge, all the way.

[alice-curiouser.livejournal.com]

Also, even if it is HIS water, which he brought from the States from his very own personal spring, it's STILL wrong. Bargaining for someone's soul in exchange for a basic neccessity is just wrong, no matter what the source of the neccessity. It certainly doesn't say much for his concept of Christianity.

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

That is *icky* - and, yeah, I'd be as upset no matter who did it.

[dvarin.livejournal.com]

So, while I agree with you in general, I feel a need to quibble. :)

Protection cannot count as a resource--if that were the case, then all things acquired here in the states would belong to the government, under whose protection we all live.
That said, I have no doubt that the water sources used by the army in Iraq have been taken over for their own use and are not in fact public. The only likely way the chaplain could have gotten duty-free water is if he waited for it to rain, or if the water was unconditionally and explicitly given to him by the army.

Your objections to his imposing arbitrary conditions on access to the water hinge on it not being his water, right? I mean, public bathhouses also charge fees for bathing.

I will have to doubt the guy's intelligence, though--he's set up a framework where people do tricks for treats. If he really wants people to be closer to God, he should be giving the water away free and preaching by actions. Holding the water back until he gets 'paid' with cooperation in baptism just makes him a hypocrite, really. His scheme with raisins is likely to be even worse...

[fiannaharpar.livejournal.com]

I read that same article on ASCF yesterday and was so incredibly livid I couldn't even think straight. I am a Christian, and that is *not* what Christ taught. Christ denied no one food or drink in the story of the Loaves and the Fishes, and the parable of the Good Samaritan is also quite clear in how you are to behave. In Matthew 25 (http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?passage=MATT+25&language=english&version=KJV&showfn=on&showxref=on):34-46 Christ specifically says, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." There is no mention in any of the passage that the requirement was that it was to do this only to those who followed Christ. But to do so to all.

Christ said to love *all*, meaning *everyone*, not just people you like and believe the same things that you do. In my opinion, if Christ saw what this so called "Man of God" was doing, it would break his heart that it was being done in His name.

My faith calls me to love all and to serve all in love, because that's what the New Testament is telling me is how Christ lived and wants us to live. While i'm not always successful, it sickens me that someone is using such a powerful message of love and acceptance to manipulate others. I am hoping that this minister's higher ups in the Baptist church denounce his actions and pray that he will better understand Christ's message through self-reflection and God's intervention.

It saddens me that someone who supposedly is my "Brother in Faith" is such a dimwitted, manipulative, clueless human being. I can not bring myself to believe that someone that was actually *thinking* would still do this.

I'm disgusted and appalled!

[dagonell.livejournal.com]

Someone should point out to him that only Satan and his followers barter for souls!

[sf-rose.livejournal.com]

Definitely disgusting.

"Get a bath for Christ?"

Oh please.

[figmo.livejournal.com]

That is soooo wrong on soooo many levels I don't even know where to begin. Eeeuw.