RESOLUTION 74:02 Don’t Expand “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in the Military

There are homosexuals in America’s military services. Currently, homosexuals in our armed forces are required to be publically discreet about their sexual proclivity and aberrant behavior, and under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy they are allowed to enlist and remain in service as long as their sexuality remains unnoticeable.

Now President Obama intends to throw open the floodgates by shelving the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy for a wide-open policy that invites open homosexuals.

It is biblically acceptable for singles not to be interested in the opposite sex. However, it is wrong in the Creator’s eyes to be sexually interested in the same gender (Rom 1:24-27; 1 Cor 6:9-10), and this sin is aggravated before God (Gen 18:20-21) when any society treats sodomy as normal, and when rebels against heaven are allowed to openly flaunt their homosexuality.

President Obama’s proposal will do more than bring homosexuals into the military. By granting legitimacy to homosexual relationships in our armed forces, this deleterious imposition will corrode morale by inviting unwelcome advances against heterosexuals; it will promote on-going radical attempts to re-define marriage as homosexuals in the military push to dilute traditional heterosexual marriage; and it will dangerously and unnecessarily confuse and compromise military programs designed to promote stable military families, the first line of support for any warrior.

Military chaplains are on the front line of promoting morale and morality in the armed forces. They are a ubiquitous reminder of God’s holiness and of the sanctity of human life. For chaplains with the conviction that homosexuality is a sin, President Obama’s initiative is a direct assault on their message regarding sin and redemption. Chaplains serve as the conscience of the armed forces, and any attempts to muzzle their ministry will have a chilling effect. President Obama’s using the military as a social laboratory will push chaplains into the closet when homosexuals are brought out.

The 74th Synod of the Bible Presbyterian Church goes on record of favoring the U.S. military’s strong family support programs led by chaplains, while we oppose any change in the military that would promote open homosexuality and threaten the traditional ministries of evangelical chaplains.