Tag Archives: chris rodda

Marine General’s Faith at Issue

Websites belittling Commandant of the Marine Corps General James Amos are increasingly referring to his religion — some in an “off-hand” manner, others directly, as if it has something to do with current issues.

Interestingly, the “source” for General Amos’ faith is listed as this site.  The June 2010 article on his nomination for Commandant noted his speech at the 2009 National Day of Prayer.  Since then, that article has been cited in a variety of sources, including the ever reliable Wikipedia, as proof Amos is “born again.”  In fact, a web search for Amos’ faith reveals only two sources: this site, and a more recent derogatory citation by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation’s Chris Rodda, with an uncredited copy of a personal photograph of the same event she likely learned about through this site.

Ultimately, however, Amos’ faith is irrelevant.  It would be folly to assert Read more

USAFA, Cadets for Christ Victims of Weinstein’s Hypocrisy

Chris Rodda, research assistant for Michael Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation, recently guest-posted the MRFF’s latest salvo against “Cadets for Christ,” an Air Force Academy Christian cadet group Weinstein wants banned.  The self-described Research Director can’t even get basic facts correct.

The MRFF apparently has copies of emails sent from Don and Anna Warrick asking the recipients to send letters of support for Cadets for Christ to the Chaplains at USAFA.  The USAFA Chaplains had indicated they had received letters both supporting and criticizing the group.  Rodda summarizes:  Read more

Weinstein Fails to Intimidate with Lawsuit, Military Complaint

Michael Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation isn’t shy about litigation.  He previously sued the US Air Force Academy and the US Department of Defense (twice).  He has threatened Trijicon with litigation after Trijicon said their critics were “not Christian.”  He threatened to sue a critic who sent him mocking emails.  He is currently suing former Navy Chaplain Klingenschmitt and his endorsers for “terrorist acts.”  His organization claims to be preparing to sue the Army over the treatment of a Muslim US Soldier.  And these are just the examples made public.

Now, Weinstein has threatened to file yet another lawsuit in his efforts to “litigate and agitate” his way into influence with regard to religion in the US military.

His latest lawsuit target?  ChristianFighterPilot.com.

The lengths to which Weinstein will go — even beyond a lawsuit — are a testament to his desperation.  Read more

Osama bin Laden Confirms Weinstein’s Claim?

Statements released by Osama bin Laden have validated the fears of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation’s Michael Weinstein, whose organization has repeatedly claimed that associations of Christianity with the US military provide “propaganda” and “recruiting tools” to America’s adversaries, endangering US troops and the mission of the nation.  Read more

MRFF Sticks Its Foot in Its Mouth. Again.

Few people might realize that while the Military Religious Freedom Foundation claims some 16,000 undefined “clients,” fewer than a half dozen people actually speak for the MRFF (and even fewer speak with any regularity).  It is interesting, then, to observe Michael Weinstein’s inability to control his own message.

This site has already pointed out the self-contradiction of Chris Rodda, the MRFF research assistant who said a Chaplain’s sermon was “of course…permissible,” but it was also “part of the…problem.”  (Her statement was also in direct contradiction with Weinstein’s own words.)  In addition, the MRFF still uses the Read more

Weinstein Reveals Vendetta in Demanding Removal of “Cross”

Michael Weinstein is truly the gift that keeps on giving.  His latest attempt at infamy is to say that a red cross appearing on a military hospital’s emblem

violate[s] the constitutional requirement for separation of church and state and should be removed.

DoD Image

DoD Image

Apparently Weinstein has missed the long, international history of the cross in military medical use, as well as the US military’s equivalent treatment of Islam and Judaism that would allegedly “violate…separation of church and state,” pictured below.

Weinstein also objects to the emblem’s motto “pro deo et humanitate” or “for God and humanity,” despite the military’s description of the phrase as pre-dating Christianity.

The emblem in question is that of Evans Army Community Hospital at Fort Carson, near Colorado Springs.

The official Army description of the emblem Read more

JPL Lawsuit Claims Religious Discrimination

An interesting lawsuit has been filed against the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and CalTech after an employee was reportedly demoted and reprimanded for handing out DVDs at work.

David Coppedge sued JPL (pdf) claiming harassment and religious discrimination.  Coppedge had reportedly distributed copies of two DVDs that supported the concept of Intelligent Design to “interested” and “willing coworkers.”  The DVDs themselves make no reference to religion, though his supervisors reportedly said they “amounted to ‘pushing religion’ and were ‘unwelcome’ and ‘disruptive.'”  Coppedge notes that no one ever expressed those sentiments to him prior to his reprimand; he was told it was his responsibility to correctly “interpret a co-worker’s “body language.””  The written warning threatening termination Read more

Military Religion Question Answered: Beliefs, Part 2

The last Military Religion Question of the Day asked if a military Chaplain’s article about God’s provision was correctly characterized by a critic:

The…Chaplain writes about why women were created (as an afterthought to keep men from being lonely), marriage as a Christian institution, and segues to a blatant Jesus salvation pitch.

The critic did not directly accuse the Chaplain of wrongdoing.  Instead, he appears to be holding the Chaplain’s beliefs up for ridicule.  Is the mockery justified?

The critic’s interpretation of the Chaplain’s description of “why women were created” Read more

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