One of these Bibles has been declared a “national security threat.” Can you guess which one?
The controversy over Michael Weinstein’s assertion that a Bible was a “national security threat” doesn’t seem to have abated even with their dwindling supply. From the Air Force Times:
Air Force Sergeants Association CEO John “Doc” McCauslin said the Defense Department allows each service’s insignia to be Read more
Despite Chris Rodda’s claim that highlighting the US military’s support for all of its troops — including atheists — is somehow bad, Jason Torpy of the one-man Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers recently praised Fort Bragg for doing just that:
Ft Bragg chaplains showed openness to nontheists in allowing the [Niose] event at Watters Family Life Center on Ft Bragg. This is a positive step forward, showing openness from the chaplaincy and community-building by the local humanist community.
While it undermines the MRFF narrative that the US military is a coercive Christian complex, it remains true that the military supports all of its servicemembers, without regard to religious belief, to the extent the mission and resources allow.
Unfortunately, Torpy went beyond that topic and attempted Read more
Michael Weinstein recently gave an interview in which he said absolutely nothing new (a surprisingly common occurrence, given that his “war” on religious freedom in the military is several years old). It remains amazing, however, that no one calls Weinstein out on his obvious disdain for Christians — for no other reason than expressing Christian beliefs.
The interviewer asked a simple question: “What kind of complaints do you hear about?”
After his standard vagaries about assaults and ruined careers, he brought up Officers’ Christian Fellowship: Read more
The Air Force Times recently admitted to letting the “news” slip by without reporting it. After checking the White House “We the People” petition website (to view the White House beer recipe), an astute reporter noticed that the White House had responded to a petition to pull Rush Limbaugh off AFN, the worldwide DoD radio and TV broadcast system. That is, the White House responded in July. From the AFTimes:
[The petition] threshold for a reply was 25,000 people — a level reached in April — but the reply wasn’t posted until July and got scant Read more
Just a short time after a gunman fired on a security guard at The Family Research Council building in Washington, DC — apparently because he ‘didn’t like their politics’ — the FRC and the Liberty Institute published The Survey of Religious Hostility in America (PDF, 2MB). The Survey is 135 pages covering “more than 600 recent examples of religious hostility” detailing “religious bigotry throughout America.” The paper includes not just independent government action, but moves by citizens to use the government to take action “hostile” toward religion.
America today would be unrecognizable to our Founders. Our first freedom is facing a relentless onslaught from well-funded and aggressive groups and individuals who are using the courts, Congress, and the vast federal bureaucracy to suppress and limit religious freedom. This radicalized minority is driven by an anti-religious ideology that is turning the First Amendment upside down.
Naturally, the report covers perceptions of religious hostility in the US military, with which they included this citation of ChristianFighterPilot.com: Read more
Michael Weinstein, of his self-founded Military Religious Freedom Foundation, has threatened to “file a federal lawsuit” if the US Military Academy at West Point doesn’t stop using a survey that “violates…constitutional protections.”
West Point is currently in direct violation of Clause 3, Article 6 of the United States Constitution’s absolute prohibition against the utilization of any “religious test”…
West Point has grievously transgressed against and is in clear violation of the Constitution of the United States of America, period.
You know its serious when he spells out “period.” Further, Weinstein asserted that his “clients” were anonymous because they “gravely” feared reprisal:
Our 42 MRFF clients at West Point gravely fear the distinct possibility that they could be the target of nontrivial direct or indirect reprisals and/or retribution if they were to voice their concerns and demands to their superiors at the Academy…
Weinstein’s main points — West Point violated the Constitution and its cadets and faculty are cowering in fear — are fairly easy to debunk:
“West Point Violated the Constitution”
Most honest Constitutional historians would likely admit Weinstein is misusing the “no religious test” clause. (Even Weinstein’s own research assistant, Chris Rodda, Read more
Ramadan occurred during basic training at the US Air Force Academy this year — a strenuous time of physical exertion during which the religiously-mandated fast would likely be detrimental to both health and performance.
Islamic USAFA basic trainees were able to abstain from their fast due to a fatwa issued by Imam Mohamed Jodeh, a civilian described as “the liaison between the Academy’s Muslim community and the chaplains:” Read more
Chris Rodda, the researcher for Michael Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation, recently answered an email from an MRFF critic who questioned their stance against the Holman Bibles. Much of the reply was pedantic or boiler plate from their other replies (another MRFF employee, Andy Kasehagen, has also published identical thousand-word copy/paste replies to different critics’ emails). The meat of her reply, though, was interesting:
The reason for MRFF’s actions to get the official military emblems removed from the Holman Bibles was much more than just the constitutional issue of a government entity endorsing religion.
The Holman Bibles also contain a large section of materials promoting an organization called the Officers’ Christian Fellowship (OCF)…The other issue with these Bibles is that they violate the JER and specific branch regulations that prohibit the endorsement of a non-federal entity. The OCF is a non-federal entity, so allowing an official military emblem on a book promoting the OCF, as these particular Bibles do, is in clear violation of these regulations.
While Rodda repeats the MRFF position, the military — which enforces its regulations — disagreed. After all, if there was any such violation, it Read more