Is the Petraeus Scandal a Religious Affair?
Still, the scourge of public censure must sting the pride of a man who cultivated a stainless public persona. "He'd always preached to his proteges that character was what you did when no one was watching," writes Vernon Loeb of The Washington Post.
Petraeus also preached about the significance of spirituality, according to Army Chaplain Col. Brent Causey, who spent 13 months with the general in Afghanistan. At least four in 10 service-members stationed there attended chapel, Causey said.
"It was a reflection of Gen. Petraeus and his leadership in placing importance on spirituality," Causey told Baptist Press last year. "Gen. Petraeus focused on everyone's spirituality, not just Christianity."
Asked on Tuesday about Petraeus' own faith, Causey, who now serves with the Army Corp of Engineers in Washington, said, "Sorry, I'm not allowed to talk about that," and quickly hung up.
Breasseale, who worked with Petraeus, said he never heard the general express particular religious or political preferences.
Petraeus has never been beloved by anti-war liberals, though, especially those who see evangelical Christianity creeping over the military's church-state wall.
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation chided the general for endorsing Under Orders: A Spiritual Handbook for Military Personnel, a book by former military chaplain William McCoy that the foundation says promotes Christianity and denigrates non-religious soldiers.
If Petraeus still harbors political aspirations, now might a good time for him to get religion and read that book. "If he licks his wounds and is seen praying humbly at his local church and does the right thing by his wife and family, America will probably forgive him," wrote Jon Lee Anderson of The New Yorker.
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Steve Skeete
Gen. Petreaus, before he prematurely resigned, should have invoked the fifth amendment as well as "Don't ask, don't tell." Since when can the military use religious symbolism and piety to keep its officers straight? And since when is marital unfaithfulness a matter for those outside the family to judge? And why should a military man be held to the 'lofty ideals of imaginary excellencies...?' Where in present day America are these paragons of sexual virtue to be found? Hollywood? Entertainment? Sports? Politics? The Media? In bathrooms and bath-houses across the nation? In the Church? In the White House? And what about a beloved former President who was impeached for behaviour "unbecoming to his office". At that time his supporters demanded vociferously that the charade be suspended so that the "gentleman" could get on with his work of 'running the country'. Isn't there a C.I.A to run? Americans seem to have an "I love you, hate you, love you..." relationship with morality and religion.
Jon Trott
Sorry, I feel a bit guilty only posting dystopianesque responses. I appreciate deeply CT's website. Here's the thing. By allowing ourselves even for a second to compare King David's adultery with General Petraeus' adultery, we enter into an extremely thorny and theologically indefensible (pun intended) situation. Israel is not America, and America should never be compared to Israel. Doing so has spawned some of the worst theology / praxis in our culture's history. Pray for the General and his family. But please, folks, let's not compare a man whose spirituality is a mystery to all of us with a man we know as terribly flawed but also the most God-hungry character in Scripture (other than Christ). And what of war itself? Do we really glorify a warrior simply because he won battles? We have no idea how history will judge what we've done and are doing in the Middle East. War is horror... and hero-worship won't change the truth.
Brenda Miller
I beg to differ Mr. Jorgensen. There are people who care deeply about Christ's Church in our nation. You should never again make a grandiose statement like that. What Gen Petreaus did was wrong and your statement was worst, egregious comes to mind.