ABSTRACT
Tietje argues that military chaplains have a responsibility as public prophetic witnesses. He outlines three chaplain identities; chaplain as crusader, chaplain as priest, and chaplain as prophet. Each of these identities carries assumptions about the perilous relationship between church and state. In light of both the Barmen Declaration and Karl Barth’s essay “The Christian Community and the Civil Community,” Tietje argues that chaplains should function as priestly witnesses for the Christian community within the military and prophetic witnesses to the wider institution. In the end, Tietje finds that both the priestly and prophetic roles are required in response to the challenges of moral injury. Both spiritual care (chaplain as priest) and a Christian witness for peace (chaplain as prophet) are necessary given the pastoral and moral concerns at stake.
