MRFF Objects to Doctor’s Afghanistan Rescue by Navy SEALs
Fresh off its fundraising efforts capitalizing on the death of former US Navy SEAL Glen Doherty, the MRFF is now trying to make waves over the latest death of an active duty Navy SEAL. Michael Weinstein’s group objected to the rescue of Dr. Dilip Joseph in Afghanistan.
Why? According to the MRFF, Dr. Joseph was the wrong religion.
Public reports indicate US Navy SEAL PO1 Nicolas Checque was killed in the successful rescue of Dr. Joseph, who had been abducted by the Taliban 3 days earlier.
President Obama said this about the rescue:
Yesterday, our special operators in Afghanistan rescued an American citizen in a mission that was characteristic of the extraordinary courage, skill and patriotism that our troops show every day. Tragically, we lost one of our special operators in this effort.
The MRFF response penned by Leah Burton, half of the two-person MRFF Board, was colder:
There are [those] that…use our presence overseas as a federally funded missionary project. This flagrant misuse even leads to senseless deaths such as the one that took the life of Nicolas D. Checque this weekend when he was sent in to rescue Dominionist missionaries working as “economic development” professionals in Afghanistan and took a fatal bullet to the head as a result.
The use of the military to rescue civilians who voluntarily put themselves in harm’s way in Afghanistan is certainly a valid topic of discussion. It is, after all, a conversation that has happened before. But that wasn’t Burton’s point. Burton’s entire premise was predicated on the religion of the civilian (hint: it wasn’t the right one):
This Dr. works for a Dominionist non-profit out of Colorado Springs, Colorado called Morning Star Development…Morning Star is one of these proselytizing ventures disguising themselves as a secular economic development non-profit.
They claim to respect the dominant religion in Afghanistan and that they refrain from proselytizing there out of deference to Islam. If you believe that, as they say, I have some prime real estate in the Florida Everglades to sell you! These groups will take on any front and go to any lengths to weasel their way into the cultures and lives of those they target as needing to be saved. This time the Dr. was kidnapped by the Taliban which prompted the search and rescue mission that killed Nicolas.
In an apparent effort to legitimize her diatribe, Burton included a passionate email from an anonymous “US Air Force Officer” complaining about the US military rescuing someone from a “christian evangelical team.” There is no indication the MRFF or this “US Air Force Officer” objected to the US military attempting to rescue other civilians in Afghanistan.
And you thought the MRFF was about “religious freedom.” As Burton shows, the MRFF only supports those they think have the right kind of religion.
This is so disgusting. This is why as an advocate for secularism in the military, I get so irate. MRFF uses their connections in the media as a platform to manipulate public opinion, which not many buy, and flat out attack anyone or anything they perceive to be ‘religious.’ This woman obviously didn’t research this organization, otherwise she would know it’s NOT religiously oriented. That whole crew at MRFF builds their career and reputation off of attacking others, including those in the secular community who don’t kou tou to them. They are the ones who are hindering progression of a secular presence in the military and they do it for a profit. They DO NOT represent the secular or atheist community in the military and this latest attack shows they are not only driven by hate for religion, they are so blinded by it and so motivated by their own greed they attack people for simply using the word ‘prayer.’ BTW, Ms. Burton should learn to use spell check before she writes a piece criticizing others.
@Priscilla Parker
Priscilla, I see that once again you have widely missed the point. You view of MRFF is totally askew and I’m afraid you can’t discern truth from fantasy.
MRFF attacks no one but finds it often necessary to correct those who have strayed off the path of legal, constitutional religious freedom. Our wonderful constitution is bastardized on a daily basis by those who would place their own beliefs first and establish a dominant position in the armed forces.
The military is and has been a breeding ground for proselytizers of religion primarily because in any structure where elements of personnel are under the command of others, their positions and very futures depend on the good offices of those who are in supervisory positions. Many of such chains of command have illegally, and coercively proselytized a form of militant Christianity known as Dominion Christianity. This sect has strong appeal to hard core military commanders who find it a good method to spread their Gospel of Hate, anti-semitism and Anti-Muslim rhetoric.
If it appears to you that MRFF is focussing on Christianity over others it is simplyu because those purveying the Domoinion Christian doctcrines are by far he worst offenders requiring the most correction.
A more objective view would make things much more clear to you.
@Richard
Welcome back. Apparently the comm blackout was lifted. Unfortunately, you’re late to the fight — several years late, in fact. Weinstein’s website still says he founded his “charity” to
The only religion “evangelical” is applied to is Christians. The wilting flower has filed four lawsuits against the US military — all of which have accused the military of favoring Christianity. His plaintiffs were 1 “Jagnostic,” two atheists, and only one Christian — who admitted he’d never faced harm nor did he anticipate it over the very content of his lawsuit.
By contrast, Weinstein has ignored instances of the US military treating other religions the same way it has Christianity, and has ignored the conduct of other religions that attempts to mix the “machinery of the state” with religion.
The reason it “appears” he’s “focusing on Christianity” is because he does focus on Christianity. In this case, perception is reality. The whole purpose of his “charity” is to fight Christians.
The problem Weinstein has now is people are starting to realize that, and most middle of the road Americans don’t like the idea of supporting Weinstein’s irrational intolerance of a select group of people.
@JD
JD,
I see little difference between “directly battle the far-right militant radical evangelical religious fundamentalists…” and: “If it appears to you that MRFF is focussing on Christianity over others it is simply because those purveying the Domoinion Christian doctcrines are by far the worst offenders requiring the most correction.”
MRFF does not “fight Christians” but rather exposes the practitioners of the Dominionist form of Christianity which is, for the most part, a gross violation of the US Constitution. MRFF then brings the unconstitutional and unAmerican activities of this outlaw group to the notice of chains of command. The reponse has been such that many cases of abusive and coercive Dominionist proselytizing have been addressed and action taken. Responses have been so effective in many cases that Defense News, a Gannett Publication, has ranked Weinstein as One of the 100 Most Influential People in U.S. Defense.
So to remphasize MRFF’s role, it is important to know that MRFF stands for religious freedom
and not religious domination. There are those who would grant religion special privileges in the hope of garnering favor from their deity and gaining power in the armed forces. Fortunately, America is a secular nation in which all religions may flourish but none dominate. This is why MRFF’s role is so important. Without a firm antithesis to religion run amok, many injustices have and continue to be committed against innocent and helpless military personnel in the grip of Dominionist superiors.
In reality, people are not
Sorry, disregard the last partial sentence.
@Richard
A religion cannot violate the Constitution. You need a refresher in high school American government.
Really? Which ones would those be?
Time and again Weinstein has demonstated a propensity to wage a war on Christians for doing nothing more than being Christian. He attacks Christians for doing nothing more than exercising a tenet of their faiths by themselves. His assistant, Chris Rodda, attacks Christians for daring to hold Christian beliefs. Even you go so far as to give people religious labels despite knowing nothing about their actual theology. Those are not actions that “stand” for religious freedom.
They are the marks of a petty group with an irrational intolerance for those with differing beliefs than their own.
@JD
JD,
Religious practice can, indeed, violate the US Constitution. The First Amendment and all the case law thereto attached provides definite ground rules to which the free practice of religion is subordinate. The separation of church and state has come under attack numerous times by those who would elevate their faith to a dominant role in religious and government endeavors.
One has only to Google “Supreme Court Rulings on the separation of church and state” for comprehensive information on remedial court decisions which have effectively blocked religious intrusion into private and government affairs.
The short of it is that MRFF does not attack Christians but rather corrects them when constitutional or other law is violated by them. In addition, MRFF does not attack anyone for holding accepted Christian beliefs or practicing them within the parameters established by the constitution but only those of the Domionionst Cult who hold extreme beliefs which are counter to constituional provision.
One cannot be called intolerant for attempting to prevent Dominion Christian hegemony from affecting the lives and futures of our young men and women in the armed forces. When you say “exercising tenets of their faith” you must remember that those tenets may only be exercised if they do not conflict with constitutional provision. If exercising tenets of your faith violate Constitutional, civil or military law, they may not be exercised.
Hmm, to troll or not to troll? No way, you’re too boring, like a broken record that keeps screeching like nails on a chalk board about, well, nothing. Here’s what MRFF really does. You exploit young soldiers who don’t know any better by making them feel like if they speak up about their personal experience (nice hook) they’ll be heroes and make a real change. Then you ‘SELL the story’ by use your sources at small news agency (the Huffington Post seems to be the agency of choice) to “get the word” out about how awful the military has become and how ‘dominionist’ have infiltrated the ranks, yawn! Do you really think you’re fooling anyone anymore? The military doesn’t pay attention to you guys, you had your 15 minutes of fame (that’s the #*$=? about the spotlight, it fades quick.) Most people have caught on that you’re simply about bringing in money and couldn’t care less about the issues you address. An please with the anti-semitism, anti-muslim propoganda. How low are you guys?
Richard, I’ve been in and around the military (Army) since 2000 and I’ve not experienced discrimination within the organization over religious beliefs because NO ONE cares. And don’t even cite the chaplaincy cause for everything you bring up that they do, I can name at least 3 neutral resources that are more prevalent. I’ve also met more soldiers that are secular and even atheist that haven’t experienced religious discrimination either and many of them have been in for over 10 years.
MRFF is just doing all of this to make a profit and get attention, most of us caught onto that after the whole Chaplain Klingenschmitt ‘scandal’ (thanks for the laughs btw.) It just goes to show that people will believe what they want to believe and just because you guys use news outlets to squak about whatever (Japanese magazines that aren’t really distributed by chaplains but we can just make the claim cause hey, what else do we have to do?) doesn’t make it true. Hey that sort of sounds like an argument against religion.
Richard, it’s like I told your girl Chris back in September when she came on here attempting to attack members of the secular community in Fayetteville (oh that’s right, you guys don’t attack people), I mean converse with. Go back to your own site and leave the real activism to those of us who don’t need constant attention to feel important.
@Richard
Wrong. Both Rodda and Weinstein have specifically attacked military members only because of their religious beliefs.
The rebuttals to your claims about the Constitution are not opinion. Seriously: The US Constitution restricts only the government, not private citizens, religious groups, etc. This is not a difficult concept.
The only military personnel who have been singled out for attention by MRFF are those who have illegally and coercively proselytized their bastardized form of Christianity to subordinate members of the armed forces. This is beneath contempt and and a stain on the very concept of religious freedom.
Dominionist Chrstianity is the stuff of Inquisitions, Crusades, Holocausts, Genocides, Witch Hunts and religious hegemony.
You are incorrect about the constitution restricting only government. A quick google of the US Supreme Court decisions on the separation of church and state will set you straight in a hurry.
@Richard
Have you not a shred of integrity? The MRFF has absolutely “singled out” military personnel only for having beliefs, not for any “action” on their part — much less “proselytizing.”
You didn’t think that through, did you? Those rulings affected the actions of…the government. Looks like you just set yourself straight.
@JD
JD,
The government is THE PEOPLE. So when the SCOTUS makes a ruling in which it defends government against religious hegemony, it is thereby protecting the people.
MRFF has not singled out military personnel for “their beliefs.” MRFF has singled out violators of constitutional provision in which they espouse and proselytize Dominion Christan doctrines. It is these cases in which an individual or organization, under the broad heading of Christianity, fosters and promotes Dominionism, a bastardized version of Christianity which advocates many of the tenets of Nazism and Fascism. As you know these are totally rejected by American values.
Christian Extremism is no less tolerated than other forms of religious extremism such as Islamic Taliban or certain divisions of Hasidic Jews.
I said: “Supreme Court decisions on the separation of church and state will set you straight…
You said: “You didn’t think that through, did you? Those rulings affected the actions of…the government. Looks like you just set yourself straight.”
Legal actions have also affected the religious practitioner. Does Marshall Applewhite, Jim Jones, David Koresh, Sun Myung Moon and other Christian zealot cults ring a bell? Not to mention the many hundreds of sexual misconduct and world wide child molestation cases in the Christian church which have resulted in law enforcement and court jurisdiction.
@Priscilla Parker
Hmmmm. Is it just me or have your two previous screeds seemed very much like personal attacks?
As for not being able to find anyone in the military who has been coercively proselytized or otherwise threatened by Dominionist Christians, I might remind you of the just short of 40,000 client case complaints that have been filed thus far with MRFF. Fully 96% of these complainants are self identified Christians who have been told they are not “Christian enough” and are urged to become more obedient and militant. The other 4% are a mix of other religions and non-believers. And this 40,000 are a drop in the bucket as we are aware of many thousands of others who are too frightened to submit a complaint lest they be somehow exposed and their careers ruined. There is also a question of personal safety as the Military Dominionist community has been a bit thugish from time to time.
It appears that you only know what you wish to know and that which supports your narrow position.
@Richard
Again, one does not “violate” the Constitution by “espousing” a religious belief, but you can have the last word. There is sufficient evidence here for people to see both your (mis)understanding of the US Constitution and/or the MRFF’s abuse of it.
You might consider asking a local high school if you can audit their American Government class. It seems you would learn a lot.
@JD
Now whose getting personal? I never questioned your education simply because of your views.
You also omitted the term “Dominion” as the descriptor of the word Christianity I used. It should have read: MRFF has singled out violators of constitutional provision in which they espouse…”Dominion” Christan doctrines.
You see MRFF has no desire to engage Christians who are following Constitutional provision. It is those who practice a dangerous and unAmerican form of Christianity known as Dominionism and who attempt to hijack our young men end women in the military and coerce them into converting to Dominion Christianity or taking a more extreme role in Christianity if they are already Christian. MRFF would do the same if even evidence of isolated extreme Islam, Judaism or any religion were evident. Sadly Christian Dominionism seems to currently be the primary employer of coercive tactics to achieve a dominant role in the armed forces.
Under constitutional law the government, including the armed forces and public education, may not favor, elevate, prefer or recommend one religion over an other or religion over non-religion. Dominion Christianity violates this law consistently.
@Richard, ‘client’ case complaint, ay? You mean like this one:
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2012/12/04/west-pointer-quits-over-proselytizing.html
“I’m a pretty bold person, but there’s no way in hell I would have done any of this if I didn’t have the support of a good lawyer at my back. [Weinstein] makes it possible that there’s someone out there to defend me,” he said.”
So, essentially he quit Westpoint only after he was influenced, or should I say ‘advised’ to do so by his attorney? Nice. Who cares that he just threw away a potential career all so he could make a statement or that MRFF swooped in, yet again, to “back him” aka. make it into the Huffington Post. I guess after 4 failed lawsuits or rather threats of a lawsuit, you all finally realized it wasn’t working and just stuck with trying people by using social media.
or this one:
http://explicit-atheist.blogspot.com/2008/04/mrff-mishandles-lawsuit.html
“It is understandable that Specialist Hall would not want to file a complaint with the Army’s Equal Opportunity Office because of mistrust of his superior officers. Nevertheless, a competent lawyer, who was acting in his client’s best interest, would patiently explain to his client that first taking the complaint EEO and giving the accused a fair opportunity to confront the accusation before proceeding with a lawsuit is the proper procedure.”
or this one:
http://www.gazette.com/articles/religious-127840-academy-christmas.html
What, what? How dare those dirty, filthy Christians be supported by the AFA to send toys and gifts to needy CHILDREN! That is just outrageous. And don’t even think of asking MRFF to offer an alternative because, omg, it’s not their problem.
or this:
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/12/ap_military_religion_123008/
I’m starting to see a pattern here. How come these all seem to be young service members who are atheists? This is starting to get annoying!
40,000 clients complains you say? WOW, that’s a lot. Are the complaints similar to this one?
http://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/2013/01/1713-mrff-demands-immediate-dod-corrective-action-on-distribution-of-anti-semitic-manga-messiah-christian-proselytizing-comic-books-throughout-military/
“Pipe the $*#% down.” -Jenna Marbles
@Priscilla Parker
I can see that you are less interested in honest discourse and more interested in iflammatory material. I must therefore decline further communications with you. Also, my apologies. I made a typo on the number of complaints MRFF has received. It is just under 30,000 and not 40,000.
@Richard, well at the very least you recognized that coverage by the media of MRFF is iMflammatory material!