Michael Weinstein — a self-described advocate of religious freedom — apparently has no limits to his disdain for Christianity.

Sojourners Magazine recently published an article on Liberty University’s School of Aeronautics — more specifically, their concentration in Unmanned Aerial Systems.  Provocatively titled “Drones for Christ,” author David Swanson sets out to describe

How Jerry Falwell’s Liberty U.—the world’s largest Christian university—became an evangelist for drone warfare.

Problem is, Swanson doesn’t succeed in his telling, because Liberty doesn’t have anything to do with drone warfare, any more than it has anything to do with warfare conducted by manned aircraft.  Swanson still makes a concerted effort to sensationalize his story:

Some [students] are now being trained to pilot armed drones, and others to pilot more traditional aircraft, in U.S. wars. For Christ.

No where in the article, nor on Liberty’s website, does it say anything about students flying armed drones.  Liberty University is not training military UAV pilots or military manned aircraft pilots — only the military does that (barring any undisclosed programs by other government agencies).  Thus, it is incorrect for Swanson to say anyone at Liberty is being “trained to pilot [aircraft] in US wars,” much less to say they’re being trained to go to war for Christ.

The root of the story — the degree program itself — isn’t new, nor is it even unique to Liberty, as Swanson finally (if subtly) admits [emphasis added]:

Liberty has been turning out “Christ-centered aviators” for a decade. In fall 2011, Liberty added a concentration in Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS, aka drones), making it one of the first handful of schools to do this. Now at least 14 universities and colleges in the U.S. have permits from the Federal Aviation Administration to fly drones, and many institutions, including community colleges, offer drone training.

If it is so common, why is it a big deal for Liberty?

Swanson apparently had an email interview with US Air Force Brigadier General (Retired) Dave Young, now the dean of the Liberty’s School of Aeronautics.  Swanson asked an asinine question but got a reasonable response:

I asked Young about drones’ most common use today, namely war fighting. “Is that kind of drone use Christian?” I asked.

He replied: “UAS are like any other aerial vehicle that can be used for a variety of missions including law enforcement, aerial surveillance, search and rescue, and crop spraying as well as for military reasons.”

The scandal of Swanson’s headline quickly fizzled, despite his repeated efforts to find a juicy sound bite.  What he ended up finding is that Liberty University — and most every other Christian school — aims to train their students to work for Christ in whatever career field to which they may aspire, whether that’s a flying drone in the military or being an elementary school teacher.

That’s consistent with human liberty, Christianity, and the US Constitution.  So where’s the scandal in that?

Well, religious freedom critic Michael Weinstein took the bait, calling Liberty’s program [formatting original]

THE HORRIFYING PROSPECTS OF MERGING CHURCH & STATE IN THE U.S. MILITARY…First came the “Jesus Rifles,” then “Jesus Loves Nukes,” and now “Drones for Christ”.

His timeline is a little off (the nuclear ethics course actually came first), but his decision to equate a private university’s degree program with “church and state” trumpets his ignorance of the US Constitution — and blind hatred for all things Christian.  Weinstein claims the Swanson

article starkly illustrates the gravity of MRFF’s mission.

To be clear: The Swanson article, which describes nothing more than Christians obtaining degrees in aviation, “illustrates the gravity” of Weinstein’s mission.

Can there be any further doubt as to Weinstein’s ill-will toward Christians?

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