Responding to the uproar about the prospect for court martials for evangelism that we blogged about, the military is clarifying that evangelism will, in fact, be allowed. Just not proselytizing.
So what’s the difference? The military’s definition is after the jump. Is this a valid distinction? What will determine one from the other? How might this apply outside the military, to the ways Christians share their faith in the public square? Is there some “witnessing” that should be out of bounds?
By journalist Bob Smietana:
Members of the military are free to share their faith as long as they don’t harrass others, the Department of Defense said in a statement Thursday.
A Pentagon ban on proselytzing had caused an uproar in social media this week. Conservative activists claimed that service members could face court martial for talking about Jesus.