Crews also noted that no one at the training session filed a formal complaint. Instead, he said, one Ranger in attendance took a photo of a handout distributed by Lawhorn and posted it on the Facebook page of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers. The group bills itself as a “national non-profit building community for atheists and humanists in the military.”

The Army has disciplined a military chaplain for making references to the Bible during a suicide-prevention seminar last month.

A serviceman brought the Judeo-Christian religious content to the attention of an atheist group, which complained about it. Now, the chaplain is fighting back, maintaining he did nothing wrong.

The dispute has renewed a debate over the appropriate role of faith in the military.

The chaplain, Capt. Joe Lawhorn, conducted the training session on suicide prevention Nov. 20 at the University of North Georgia. During the session, he shared his personal struggles with depression while an Army Ranger.

What upset the atheist group is that Lawhorn explained how he learned to conquer adversity by following the example of Israel’s warrior king, David, one of the great heroes of the Old Testament.

A week later, on Thanksgiving, Lawhorn received a letter of concern from Col. David Fivecoat, commander of the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade at Fort Benning, Ga.

Fivecoat’s letter faulted Lawhorn for “using Christian scriptures and solutions”:

During this training, you advocated, or were perceived to advocate for Christianity and used Christian scripture and solutions. This is in direct contrast with Army Regulation 600-20 and violates the Army’s Equal Opportunity Policy.

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