View Full Version : can a Christian join the Marines?
BauerUSMC
08-15-09, 11:40 AM
I have a bit of a problem. I have been researching the Marines for 2 years now, and I was sure that I would sign up after I completed my senior year of high school. I thought the Marines would be a great service to my family, my friends, my country, and strengthen my beliefs.
I am a born-again Christian. My family has been trying to discourage me from joining, mostly because what the Marines do contradicts what we believe as Christians. Has anyone else here had this problem? I'm open to any advice or suggestions. Thank you.
:usmc:
are you serious....
you must not really understand what Christianity is... god doesn't frown upon protecting yourself... he frowns on cold blooded murder, not a righteous kill... I mean, what are these beliefs? what is contradicting them?
I don't think you know nor do your family know what they are talking about... it's them trying to use religion to get their way... it's not the first time in history this has happened... just don't be suckered into believing them.
EDIT: I'm not saying Marines kill people all the time, there are support MOSs.
but if you really want to join the military then maybe being a RP in the navy is the way to go... they are assistants to the chaplain and in combat zones are his body guard... maybe your family can appreciate that.
Phantom Blooper
08-15-09, 01:18 PM
This subject of religion has been debated before...the key word is KILL and MURDER...quite a difference.
The commandments say "Thou shalt not kill"
Theologians say murder....
Being a born again Christian is fine.....if you are of the religion 7th Day Adventist then your religion may forbid it.
Cain and Able started it.....but that again was murder.
The Marine Corps is based on GOD,Country & Corps!
jprtech
08-15-09, 01:21 PM
Here's the scoop on my own experience...
I am a Christian, my father was a preacher. I joined the Marines after going to Bible College for two years. I was young and very naive. Didn't know much about the world outside the sheltered Christian realm I grew up in.
Be Advised...The Marine Corps will try your faith! It did for me. You have to be a STRONG Christian and have STRONG convictions. If you are weak...you WILL fall. I did.
When I joined I had never smoked a cigarette or even had a drop of alcohol. I stayed close to my convictions for the first 3 years. After that, and I do not blame anyone but myself, I let my guard down. I started drinking and smoking and even scrogging the local girls. No one made me do those things. It was my choice.
But on the same token, I am glad that I was able to experience all of that. It has made me a more open minded individual. It has also made me stronger in many ways.
What I am trying to say is of course you can be a Christian and be a Marine. The Marine Corps beleives in many of the same core values that Christians do...for example.. Honor, Respect, Integrity, Honesty...etc. There are plenty of Churches on and off all of the Marine Corps bases as well as Navy Chaplains that are assigned to most units at the Battalion level.
It's all about choices.. What choice will you make?
Good Luck.
Gary Hall
08-15-09, 01:26 PM
Bauer, I can only speak for the time 1947 - 1952. I was an 0300 the entire time. I personally found that the USMC totally supported a Christian way of life and I'll say it: And after being in some 20 countries of the world, The only way, the one way. According to your bio, you read the Good Book and that is the message of the Book & I don't hesitate to advise you to read it to your family. I would observe that probably no one in your family ever served a day in the USMC, or for that matter any US Military Service. My life's experience is that the US MILITARY (USMC) is the premier choosing of all those vocations, of all times. Say to family: "... set down hear people and let me read to you about how it is ..." and let's start over about what I'm going to do. Kindest regards & Gung Ho, Gary Hall, Tyler, Tx.
Kegler300
08-15-09, 01:27 PM
There are many Christians in the Marine Corps, as well as other beliefs. If you want to take your witness around the world, the Marine Corps is not such a bad choice. I was witnessed to by a Marine in Okinawa in 1978 and later saved because of his witness and testimony. Maybe this is God's plan for you.
BauerUSMC
08-15-09, 01:41 PM
Thank you for the replies. I need to pray very hard about this. Of course I want to defend my family and this country and our freedom.
This article is where most of my concern comes from:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/vance/vance21.html
i think there is definitely a lot of truth to that.
This is from the article the link takes you to.First off swearing is NOT taking the Lords name in vain.It may not be proper behavior for a Christian or other morally conscious people ,but people have morphed it into such.This section alone should show you that the writer of the article has a beef with the US and its military .Many fine Marines have served being "Born Again Christians" as well as other religions!
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain (Exodus 20:7).
The state will tolerate God and religion as long as He and it can be used to legitimize the state. God’s name is taken in vain when it is used to justify the state’s wars and military interventions. Some Christians in the military envision themselves as modern-day crusaders warring against the Muslim infidel. Indeed, the president even termed his war on terrorism "this crusade." Others, all the way up to the commander in chief, invoke the name of God or His words in Scripture to give authority to their unconstitutional, unscriptural, and immoral military adventures. When a young Christian man (or woman, unfortunately) leaves home and joins the military he often learns to take God’s name in vain in ways that he never could have imagined. There is a reason the old expression is "cuss like a sailor," not cuss like a mechanic, an accountant, or a fireman. Singing "God Bless America" while cognizant of the abortions, promiscuity, and pornography that curse America is taking God’s name in vain. Likewise, military chaplains asking God to bless troops on their missions of death and destruction are taking God’s name in vain. Many Christians were upset a few years ago when the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington) tried to strike out the phrase "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance (which was only added in 1954). They should have cheered instead, for even though the two federal judges (the decision was 2-1) who made the ridiculous ruling that the inclusion of the phrase "under God" was an unconstitutional "endorsement of religion" ought to have their heads examined, America is not a nation "under God," and to say that it is (as when one recites the Pledge of Allegiance), is the epitome of using God’s name in vain.
Rocky C
08-15-09, 02:52 PM
Unit, Corps, God, Country !!!
Enough Said ...
Semper Fi,
Rocky
ameriken
08-15-09, 03:44 PM
I guess it would have been better if all the hundreds of thousand of Christians who fought in WWII just stayed home and gone to church while Hitler and the SS killed a few million more Jews. Would you approve of that as being "Christian"???
The Catholic Church didn't fight, but they also were silent while millions were slaughtered. Is that Christian???
So don't join and you can fulfill the words of Edmund Burke:
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
jprtech
08-15-09, 03:46 PM
I guess it would have been better if all the hundreds of thousand of Christians who fought in WWII just stayed home and gone to church while Hitler and the SS killed a few million more Jews. Would you approve of that as being "Christian"???
The Catholic Church didn't fight, but they also were silent while millions were slaughtered. Is that Christian???
So don't join and you can fulfill the words of Edmund Burke:
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
The BEST answer yet! Ohh Rah! :thumbup:
ameriken
08-15-09, 03:48 PM
Oh, and help me remember, who was it that said "Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" ???
jprtech
08-15-09, 03:55 PM
Oh, and help me remember, who was it that said "Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" ???
It is in the Bible. John 15:13 - and I believe they are the words of Jesus himself.
Zulu 36
08-15-09, 03:55 PM
Oh, and help me remember, who was it that said "Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" ???
Or, "Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's, and render unto God that which is God's"
ameriken
08-15-09, 04:00 PM
Remember Caesars 'Marines'...the Centurions who killed thousands?
When he (Jesus) entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.” He said to him, “I will come and cure him.” The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come here, ‘and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I say to you, many will come from the east and the west and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the kingdom of heaven, but the children of the kingdom will be driven out into the outer darkness, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. And Jesus said to the centurion, “You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.” And at that very hour [his] servant was healed. (Matthew 8: 5-13)
Did Jesus deny the Centurion because he was in Caesar's Army ? Did Jesus tell him to quit being a Centurion?
Emphatically, NO.
Rather, Jesus recognized and honored the Faith of the Centurion as greater than all of those in Israel.
Why would Jesus treat you any differently???
Supersquishy
08-15-09, 04:45 PM
You could always join the Peace Corps.
Gary Hall
08-15-09, 04:57 PM
:thumbup::thumbup:
I guess it would have been better if all the hundreds of thousand of Christians who fought in WWII just stayed home and gone to church while Hitler and the SS killed a few million more Jews. Would you approve of that as being "Christian"???
The Catholic Church didn't fight, but they also were silent while millions were slaughtered. Is that Christian???
So don't join and you can fulfill the words of Edmund Burke:
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
Ameriken, if you ever run for office, you got my vote. But more specifically, your words are offered in the Holy Bible. Kindest regards & Gung Ho. Gary Hall
Skosh59
08-15-09, 06:06 PM
Maybe you should read your own signature.
" LIVE for SOMETHING, Or DIE for NOTHING"
Phantom Blooper
08-15-09, 07:17 PM
See I told you..... Theologians are going to beat the hell out of this!:evilgrin:
Isrowei
08-15-09, 07:31 PM
Ok, this is from Mr. Vance's website:
http://www.vancepublications.com/about%20lmv.htm
Laurence M. Vance, Ph.D., is a teacher, an author, a publisher, a freelance writer, the editor of the Classic Reprints (http://www.vancepublications.com/classic%20reprints.htm) series, and the director of the Francis Wayland Institute (http://www.franciswayland.org/). He holds degrees in history, theology, accounting, and economics. The author of sixteen books, he regularly contributes articles and book reviews to both secular and religious periodicals. Dr. Vance's writing interests include free market economics, taxation, government spending and corruption, the socialism and statism of conservative pundits and Republican politicians, Baptist theology, English Bible history, Greek grammar, and the folly of war. He is a regular columnist for LewRockwell.com (http://www.lewrockwell.com/vance/vance-arch.html), and blogs for LewRockwell.com (http://blog.lewrockwell.com/), Mises.org (http://blog.mises.org/blog/), and Antiwar.com (http://antiwar.com/blog/). Dr. Vance is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, (http://www.sbl-site.org/) the Grace Evangelical Society, (http://www.faithalone.org/) and the International Society of Bible Collectors, (http://www.biblecollectors.org/) and is an adjunct scholar of the Ludwig von Mises Institute (http://www.mises.org/).
First off, how can you expect an honest unbiased view from someone who blogs for such places as "Antiwar.com"? And he proudly claims to write on the "folly of war". Yeah, you see where this is going.
Let me ask you this: Our founding fathers took up guns and killed men to make this country free. They invoked God to make them successful in their endeavor. According to Mr. Vance, the very creation of our country is an affront to God.
In fact, he goes so far as to say (in the article you quoted) that merely repeating the Pledge of Allegiance is taking the Lord's name in vain.
This defies all rational thought frankly.
We could pick that essay apart, piece by piece, but you say you're old enough to make your own conclusion... I suggest you start doing more "research" outside of the small sector of biased theologians you seem to have come up with.
In fact, he goes so far as to say (in the article you quoted) that merely repeating the Pledge of Allegiance is taking the Lord's name in vain.
This defies all rational thought frankly.
Exactly why I posted that part of the article.He portrays the USA as being full of sin (maybe use the word infidel where have we heard that before) . To say God bless America is using the Lords name in vein?
With this logic to say God bless you to any unrepentant sinner would be Taking the Lords name in vein. Does this sound like the way Jesus acted?
There are many who use religion to justify their cause ,be it war or or antiwar .You must decide for yourself what is right or wrong .If a verse is quoted as proof of something look at the context of the chapter and paragraph .
Phantom Blooper
08-15-09, 07:49 PM
can a Christian join the Marines?
Ask your family and friends what the chapels are for on Marine Corps installations....if not for worship....prayer meetings...memorials ect.
Although most chapels are multi-functional for all faiths or at least they were.:evilgrin:
A non-Christian would have a lot more trouble in the Marine Corps than a Christian.
bonedaddy0313
08-15-09, 09:41 PM
Simply put, One nation under God......
This country was built on Christianity (All presidents swear an oath on the HOLY BIBLE).Why would the Marine's be any different, as we are cut from the same cloth.
samthomas
08-15-09, 10:12 PM
I am a born-again Christian. My family has been trying to discourage me from joining, mostly because what the Marines do contradicts what we believe as Christians.
Being a Christian is not neceaarily easy while in the Marines. Some elements fo the culture do go against what you should stand for, but this is no reason to avoid serving.
I like to look to John the Baptist, the first of the New Testament preachers (or last of the Old Testament prophets depending on your viewpoint...). When he was baptizing and preaching repentence and faith in the coming of the Mesiah, different groups came to him, and he gave advice. When the soldiers came and asked "What shall we do?" his reply gave him the perfect opportunity to condemn their service, instead he said: "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages." He addressed the sinful actions that they were committing, and commanded that they be faithful in their duties. If you want to serve, do so faithfully. Avoid the sinful activities that you may come across, and serve both your Lord and nation with honor.
As for Mr. Vance, his article barrely deserves a thought. It is wholey lacking in sound theology. One point that sticks out is his interpretation of the fourth commandment. I am a sabbaterian; I hold to the view that the Lord''s Day is to be set aside, and primarily focused on the worship of God. At the same time, I recognize that military service does not violate this commandment. Jesus is very clear that certain actions are works of necessity, things that can be completed with a clear conscience on the Lord's Day (Sabbath). This would include a number of things, such as paramedics, police officers, military personnel, doctors, and the guy who misses church because he is helping a neighbor out of the ditch.
samthomas
08-15-09, 10:22 PM
His emphasis on the seventh commandment is likewise without merit. It is sinful to join the military because some (many, few, whatever you want) personnel with recreate with prostitutes. This is just ridiculous. While it may be true that some will do this, the point is no more valid than saying that one shouldn’t go to college, because you will be exposed to the opposite sex, and may fornicate…There is a lot of sexual nonsense going on in the Marines, whether literally or in the minds of the Marines. This is about self-control, not the Marine Corps being a sinful institution.
Think about what you believe, don’t just listen to your parents and family. It is ultimately your faith that will determine the outcome. If you want to serve, there are many ways to reconcile your faith with the mission.
CalahanD
08-15-09, 10:39 PM
Psalms 144:1 david says...Blessed be the lord my rock who trains my hands for war and my fingers to fight. Do you not understand christianity? God doesnt frown upon war. Plus not every Marine goes out and fights, it depends on your job. You need to study some more in your beliefs and in the Marine Corps.
Gary Hall
08-16-09, 09:48 AM
Read the Manuals, especially the Rule Book of Life, the Holy Bible. Then you'll be on solid ground. Forget about this diplomatic cheap talk of "dealing with it", read the Word.
In the Book of Joshua, chapter 7, Moses is gone and now Joshua is the CIC of the Lord's Army. Joshua & his troops are now at Jericho and ready to do battle. The Lord has previously told them to "Kill everyone except Rahab the prostitute and anyone in her home, for she protected our people. Don't take any loot for everything is to be destroyed.".
The people of Israel then poured into the city from every side and destroyed everything, men and women, young & old, oxen, sheep, donkeys--everything.
My conclusion would be don't start a war if you don't have the wisdom to win it. Don't bomb a while then shut down a while and let the diplomats loose with cheap talk and make it worse.
Kill 'em all, such that the winner can walk around unopposed, says the Bible. :usmc: Kindest regards and Gung Ho, Gary Hall.
so where is the OP?? he's prayed on it... has he come to a conclusion?
He's Sunday morning, he's probably at church.
SgtThrasher
08-16-09, 11:22 AM
You will meet many Christians in the Marine Corps with high morals and standards.Former Senator and Georgia Governor and Marine Corps Sergeant ,Zell Miller, said in his book Corps Values.:Everything you need to know I learned in the Marine Corps". I second that also!
BauerUSMC
08-16-09, 09:50 PM
thank you again for the responses. I really feel that the Lord will use me through serving in the Marine Corps. I've felt led to do this for almost 2 years, and I still feel the same way now.
http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36952
this is what I truly want, and I know that the Lord is with me in all that I do.
God bless
:usmc:
jprtech
08-17-09, 07:35 AM
thank you again for the responses. I really feel that the Lord will use me through serving in the Marine Corps. I've felt led to do this for almost 2 years, and I still feel the same way now.
http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36952
this is what I truly want, and I know that the Lord is with me in all that I do.
God bless
:usmc:
Outstanding choice! :thumbup:
Remember to stay true to what you believe. Good luck and God Bless.
0231Marine
08-17-09, 10:40 AM
Well lets all thank the Lord for giving Bauer some common sense and seeing through what this Leftist author has written.
ameriken
08-17-09, 12:01 PM
Well lets all thank the Lord for giving Bauer some common sense and seeing through what this Leftist author has written.
Amen, leftist is correct. As soon as I saw the first line "Christian enthusiasm for war is at an all-time high." I stopped reading. :thumbdown