4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Help, February 6, 2008
This review is from: Under Orders: A Spiritual Handbook for Military Personnel (Paperback)
This is a good book for any chaplain or servicemember. However, there is an error in the section in which he discusses Buddhism: the Dalai Lama (which he misspells here) was not the person the Beatles met, it was actually the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who wasn't Buddhist but a Hindu teacher who introduced Transcendental Meditation to Westerners.
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6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Captivating, Inspirational, Timely and On Point, July 23, 2007
This book is for EVERYONE and not just those in the military. Since I am not in the military, I was pleasantly surprised and impressed that it did not turn out to be another one of those I was THERE books, where the author recounts some moment in time and it's all about THEIR experience in the military. This book is different and quite refreshing. Instead this is a book where YOU are the captive audience reflecting upon YOUR own personal experiences. It's a hard book to put down because you find yourself constantly thinking and evaluating your own personal faith. Under Orders makes you stop, think, and explore your own identity and tests your spiritual journey. I really enjoyed this book and find myself thumbing back through it over and over. You will dog ear your favorites like I have... Don't pass this one up, I highly recommend it for EVERYONE.
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10 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Mixed feelings, August 16, 2008
This review is from: Under Orders: A Spiritual Handbook for Military Personnel (Paperback)
Some of the book is good. It offers some sound advice, and for part of the book seems to be promoting a brand of Christianity we need to see more of.
Chaplain McCoy also warns (without "naming names") of the dangerous and unconstitutional practices employed by the para-military church groups that seem to be proliferating in the services.
However, this otherwise good book is flawed by its view that atheists, agnostics, and others are deficient as humans and soldiers, and its last chapters which seem to imply that not only is Christianity somehow superior to atheism, but also other faiths.
I have been an agnostic since my youth, and I also served in the US Marines, including close personal ground combat in Vietnam, where my service included the Siege of Khe Sanh.
I know that my own service was second to none - no matter what their faith.
In the words of one of the men I served with in combat; are "...only American Christians are fit to stop bullets?" He also remarked; "...when we were fighting or getting shot at I don't exactly remember taking time to think about whether I was a true believer in Jesus, Mohammad or Budda."
Amen to that.
I think it is time for all Americans, including the religious, to recall that this country was founded as a secular country - in order to avoid the horrors of religious war that plagued Europe and the rest of the world. We have avoided these - so far. However, there are forces in the Christian community (as Chaplain McCoy himself mentions) who are planning to establish a theocracy in this country - and if you are not "with them" (including a belief in their particular warped version of Christianity), you will be considered against them - even if you consider yourself a Christian.
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