The Foundational Values presentation is designed as a training for trainers. The initial implementation was in a Basic Combat Training battalion with drill sergeants serving as the primary audience to be certified in Foundational Values.
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Dialectical Materialism, Karl Marx, and Christianity
The ideas of Karl Marx have proven to be resilient. But why? A cursory glance at current events or a history book reveals the dangers of Marxism and the totalitarian bent it inspires. Marx presents a fundamentally optimistic view of humanity. Yes, there will be conflict along the way, but humanity will rise above it and will ultimately achieve a utopia where all are equal. Even if it is unrealistic, this message is appealing and enduring. Redemption comes from human striving and is always just one more revolution away from being realized. Christianity also presents an optimistic hope for humanity but is more realistic about human nature than the materialism of Marx.
Read MoreDON’T PANIC: The Convergence of Big Bang Cosmology with the Bible
Bringing up the Big Bang in certain Christian circles is a fraught proposition. Depending on the audience, the response might be hearty agreement, hasty disagreement, or panicky joking (“God said it, and BANG, it happened!”). This paper attempts to address all three groups by showing that Big Bang cosmology is not a threat to the Christian faith. Instead, Big Bang cosmology allows for a convergence of theological, philosophical, and scientific truth in discussing the origins of the universe and its ultimate fate.
Read MoreVirtue Ethics and The United States Army
With the Army values already built into the culture of the Army, they provide a starting point for exploring virtue ethics more deeply. Rather than seeing them as a list of rules or duties soldiers must follow, the Army should see them as virtues to be practiced and cultivated both in and out of uniform.
Read MoreThe Untold Story of The Establishment Clause of The U.S. Constitution
This experience taught Leland that a religion that is forced upon a person by an outside authority is not a true religion. Only when Leland voluntarily submitted himself to the tenets of the Christian faith did he begin to take the teachings to heart for himself. Leland recognized that forcing a particular religious belief or practice upon a person is ineffective and should be avoided as the imposition is ineffective and violates the will of the individual to make their own religious decisions.
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