The Liberty Institute launched a campaign called “Don’t Tear Me Down” aimed at protecting military memorials. (While the push is new, the effort has been ongoing for some time.) The effort is initially focused on the Mount Soledad cross, but they accurately note the attacks on memorials could have a far wider impact:
“The ACLU is so driven to purge religious displays from the public Read more…
In his zeal to attack all things Christian in the military, Justin Griffith — the Army Sergeant made famous by his organization of Rock Beyond Belief at Fort Bragg — once harassed the wives of deployed Fort Bragg soldiers. Even when he realized he’d made an error — he’d thought he was criticizing the soldiers themselves, as if that’s better — he never publicly apologized.
Now, it seems he’s after the support provided to wounded warriors. Read more…
Matthew Hutson at the Huffington Post has an interesting article on the research conducted by the University of Otago in New Zealand which attempted to quantify the effect of the threat of death on supernatural belief. In other words, is it true there are no atheists in foxholes?
The researchers used a “supernatural belief scale” to try to quantify the spiritual beliefs of test subjects:
In their first study, they asked subjects to write about what will happen to them when they die, or what happens when they watch TV. Then Read more…
Barry Lynn of Americans United for the Separation of Church and state threatened to sue the city of Santa Monica over its proposed ‘holiday display’ policy for the Christmas/Hanukkah season. Last year it had a “lottery system” which was dominated by anti-religious displays. Americans United
threatened to sue the City of Santa Monica if it moves forward Tuesday with a proposal by Nativity scene organizers that would ban signs and banners that “denigrate” holiday traditions.
It’s a mixed bag, actually. The concept of free speech Read more…
President Obama’s administration has registered its objections to several portions of the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act passed by the US House (which also includes another attempt to ban NASCAR sponsorships).
The Obama administration “strongly objects” to provisions in [the bill] that would prohibit the use of military property for same-sex “marriage or marriage-like” ceremonies, and protect military chaplains Read more…
A recent report out of southern California indicates it will still be “weeks or months” before the US Marines make a decision on the now-controversial Camp Pendleton cross.
“We are thoroughly and deliberately evaluating the issues raised by the existence of the informal memorial in order to assess the impact on the installation,” said the spokeswoman, Capt. Kendra Motz.
The atheist whose complaint started the controversy, Jason Torpy, reiterated his assertion the crosses are illegal.
Jason Torpy, the one-man Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, is an atheist and former Army officer. While his MAAF is ostensibly a “community support network,” he recently revealed the true motivation behind his ideology.
In a recent display of internet frustration, Torpy took fellow atheists to task for not banding together and being “anti-” enough. The context was a comment that people don’t join groups for things they don’t believe in, spoken by Neil deGrasse Tyson, a self-described agnostic (who says he is “often claimed by atheists”):
Do non-golf players gather and strategize? Do non-skiers…come together and talk about the fact that they don’t ski? I can’t do that. I can’t gather around and talk about how much everybody in the room doesn’t believe in God.
This is the same point raised by many people Read more…
Consistent with US law, President Barack Obama proclaimed Thursday, May 3, 2012 to be a National Day of Prayer. He also called specifically for prayer for US troops:
Let us pray for the continued strength and safety of our service members and their families…
I invite all citizens of our Nation, as their own faith directs them, to join me in giving thanks for the many blessings we enjoy, and I call upon individuals of all faiths to pray for guidance, grace, and protection for our great Nation as we address the challenges of our time.
His proclamation for a day of prayer contained a subtle Read more…
The US Air Force was previously taken to task by Congress when it removed the Latin word for “god” from the Rapid Capabilities Office patch — because an atheist complained. (In fact, Rep Randy Forbes went so far as to say Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz “has been as bad as I have seen…in defending religious liberties.”
It seems the Air Force solved the patch problem: Read more…
Lee Ellis
FreedomStar Media
Leading with Honor, Leadership Lessons from the Hanoi Hilton, is a unique and outstanding book by former prisoner of war Lee Ellis, an F-4 pilot who spent nearly six years in POW camps in Vietnam. Its stated intent is to pass on “leadership” lessons from the “crucible of captivity.” In truth, it is much more than that: It teaches lessons that are applicable to all of life.
Ellis, who was a 1st Lt at the time, was on his 53rd mission over North Vietnam Read more…
Capt Barry Crawford was recently awarded the Air Force cross by US Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz for his actions in Afghanistan in May 2010. The Air Force cross is second only to the Medal of Honor, and Crawford became only the third living recipient of the award since September 11, 2001. The Air Force special tactics officer and his small team fought a pitched 14-hour battle with more than 100 Taliban insurgents — with Crawford exposing himself to fire to assist in the evacuation of wounded.
Crawford credited “someone higher Read more…
From Fox News:
From the American Family Association:
“The Air Force and its Secretary, Michael B. Donley, have created the most hostile “anti-religious” environment in the history of the United States military.”
The Air Force’s decision to remove the Bible from the standard checklist for its military lodging facilities continues to get press (much to the chagrin of Michael Weinstein, who wasn’t involved in this story but has been trying to sensationalize another one).
A group of chaplains and chaplain endorsers, the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, has expressed its “concern,” saying that the decision has Read more…
The Alliance Defense Fund, a legal association which “trains, funds, and litigates” on behalf of religious freedom, has offered to defend the Camp Pendleton cross free of charge.
The Alliance Defense Fund [is] offering our services free of charge to the Camp to defend the rights of its Marines to prepare themselves mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, as they prepare themselves to make the ultimate sacrifice.
Legal counsel Joel Oster notes the ‘clause of unlimited liability’ nature of military service encourages troops to “come to grips with their emotional and spiritual [selves].”
That is why militaries have chaplains. It is simply a Read more…
Air Force Public Affairs took “strong exception” with the Warner-Robins Patriot’s characterization of the Air Force reaction to the atheist complaint about Bibles in lodging rooms.
Michael Dickerson, Air Force Services Agency spokesman, has taken strong exception to a Tuesday morning story [that] said “Air Force officials have agreed in principle to remove Bibles … following pressure from an atheist group.”
Dickerson emphasized that the Air Force had not Read more…
God and Country is a ministry of ChristianFighterPilot.com.
The opinions expressed here are solely those of the authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of any government, military, or religious organization.
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