Tag Archives: wheaton college

The Religious Test of Russell Vought, but Not Mark Green

Critics have come out in force against US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) after he said he would not support President Trump’s nominee for the deputy director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought. Sanders’ reason? Vought has Christian beliefs, which he expressed in a column defending Wheaton College in 2016 in which he said that “Muslims stand condemned”:

Muslims do not simply have a deficient theology. They do not know God because they have rejected Jesus Christ his Son, and they stand condemned.

In his questioning during the confirmation hearing for Vought’s nomination to the OMB, Sanders asked:

Do you believe people in the Muslim religion stand condemned? Is that your view?

…I don’t know how many Muslims there are in America. Maybe a couple million. Are you suggesting that these people stand condemned? What about Jews? Do they stand condemned too?

In your judgment, do you think that people who are not Christians are going to be condemned?

I would simply say, Mr. Chairman that this nominee is really not someone who this country is supposed to be about.

Atheists, liberals, and Christians alike have condemned Read more

BYU May Lose ROTC Program Over Moral Code

The Salt Lake Tribune reported that Brigham Young University’s newest ROTC instructor, US Air Force Col Timothy “Raptor” Hogan, objected to BYU’s required moral code — which is required for him to be recognized as a faculty member, and which BYU refused to waive:

BYU is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Students and faculty are required to adhere to prohibitions against alcohol, drugs, coffee, premarital sex and other activities contrary to the beliefs of the faith. The U.S. military assigns instructors to ROTC programs…

“I told the (university) president in an interview that I would Read more

Army Rescinds ROTC Instructor Faith Restrictions

While saying the move was unrelated to Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s complaint a few weeks ago, the US Army “removed all university preferences from [its] assignment postings.”

In other words, the text “must be of Christian faith” will no longer appear next to Army staff assignments to Wheaton College.

This was previously discussed at length. While Weinstein called it a “HUGE MRFF Victory” [emphasis original], it Read more

Wheaton ROTC Under Review for Christian Requirement

Wheaton College — an unabashedly Christian university — has had an ROTC program since a few years after the close of World War II. Wheaton requires its faculty to be of the Christian faith, a requirement also levied upon its ROTC instructor, as the instructor is considered to be a member of the Wheaton faculty (though they are paid by the US military, not the school).

When the position of ROTC instructor was recently advertised among Army officers, the “must be of Christian faith” requirement caught the attention of a Soldier who pointed it out to Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s MRFF.  Weinstein was typically unmoved [emphasis added]:

Wheaton and its fundamentalist Christian ROTC unit are to the United States Constitution what a dog with a full bladder Read more