Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran Fired for Religious Views

Update: Dr. Al Mohler makes the same argument as below, saying

We are now witnessing a direct and unavoidable collision between religious liberty with what is rightly defined as erotic liberty — a liberty claimed on the basis of sexual identity and activity. Religious liberty is officially recognized in the Bill of Rights — even in the very first amendment — and the framers of the American order did not claim to have established this right to free religious expression, but to have recognized it as a pre-existent right basic to citizenship.

Erotic liberty is new on the scene, but it is central to the moral project of modernity — a project that asserts erotic liberty, which the framers never imagined, as an even more fundamental liberty than freedom of religion.

FoxNews broke the story of Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran, who was recently fired after he wrote a book on Biblical morality for his men’s group at church — which had a half-page on homosexuality some activists found offensive.

Despite the fact only the expression of his beliefs got him fired, Atlanta council member Alex Wan — who is homosexual — said he

support[ed] Cochran’s termination and said it “sends a strong message to employees about how much we value diversity and how we adhere to a non-discriminatory environment.”

So, a person who was not discriminating against anyone was discriminated against in order to provide a non-discriminatory environment?  One wonders if councilman Wan knows what the word “discrimination” really means.

Georgia Equality, a homosexual activist group, also Read more

Update: Mikey Weinstein Demands Retraction of Exposé

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein has demanded (PDF) an immediate retraction of Mark Stricherz’s article, claiming Stricherz

stated, or quite deliberately inferred that Mr. Weinstein did not work in the Reagan White House, that the examples of anti-Semitic emails…were somehow fabricated and that his salary with the Foundation has somehow been set in contravention of appropriate legal guidelines.

Weinstein’s argument falls flat right out of the gate.

First, Stricherz didn’t state or infer Weinstein didn’t work at the White House. He examined the strength of Weinstein’s own claims about what he did at the White House, citing a former legal counsel in the White House who said Read more

Article Exposes Mikey Weinstein “Stretching” the Truth

Mark Stricherz at aleteia (tagline: “Seekers of the Truth”) wrote a lengthy exposé on Michael “Mikey” Weinstein and his self-founded charity, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, entitled “Meet “Mikey” Weinstein, the Questionable Critic of the Pentagon’s Religious Policy.”  (It was repeated at Newsmax as “Man Leads Effort to Scrub God From Military.”)  While some of the article is a mere statement of Weinstein’s positions or status, Stricherz does an excellent job of revealing Weinstein’s reliance on hyperbole and showmanship (even Weinstein’s wife admits he goes “overboard“) — something that undermines Weinstein’s credibility in a meaningful way.

For example, Stricherz starts off with Weinstein’s opening statement to November’s congressional hearing, in which

Weinstein made an opening statement in the familiar manner of those who testify before Congress.

It was a fairly droll narration of a prepared statement. But that’s not how Weinstein portrayed it later [emphasis added]:  Read more

Chaplain Provides Church Away from Home in Liberia

Chaplain (Major) Alfred Grondski is currently serving troops in Liberia in support of Operation United Assistance (the anti-Ebola “military operation”). Chaplain Grondski notes that troops are often closer in faith while deployed than at home:

I minister closely with people I work with…That usually doesn’t happen back in the states like it is here, because in garrison a lot of the Soldiers go to their home church; there isn’t a home church here. This gives us an opportunity to come together as a Family and worship.

He also made an interesting obersvation about the host Liberians:

I see smiles on their faces, lots of places of worship – their spiritual morale is very high.

Read more. Read more

Putting Religious Faith in the OPlan

“Religious engagement is something new, and people are gun-shy over the issues from religious support and who’s proselytizing whom. But we can’t shy away from the conversation because then we begin to deny who we are and the opportunity for frank, candid discussions that enable the mission and not impede it.”

Religion has been a driving force behind wars throughout history; modern times are no different. [2014 marked] the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, when jihadists killed nearly 3,000 Americans…

— Chris Seiple, the president of the Institute for Global Engagement, and the keynote speaker

Read more

Review: Bardin & Marsee’s Waterproof Bible

The waterproof Bible by Bardin & Marsee Publishing (trademarked as the WATERPROOF BIBLE®) is a unique take on producing and carrying God’s Word.  For those who may want to carefree-carry a Bible into any environment, it may be a very useful option.

The Waterproof Bible meets its primary goal of providing a very durable — and obviously waterproof — means of carrying Scripture. It is available in five translations to which Christians are accustomed, including the popular (but falling out of favor) NIV and the increasingly popular ESV.  The fonts and page color don’t suffer despite the unique material used to substantially increase in durability.

The material will be familiar to Air Force operators, as the paper is the same tear-resistant plasticized paper used in aircrew checklists. The paper accepts notes written with pencil easily. Ballpoint pens may smear very slightly; pens with more flowing wet ink probably shouldn’t be used.

On the down side, the material makes the Waterproof Bible considerably heavier than regular Bibles, particularly when compared to the small or thinline versions popular for pocket-carrying on military missions. That said, the Read more

Americans United Debunks Itself on Military Religious Freedom

When the Family Research Council published its “Clear and Present Danger” (PDF) report on the state of religious freedom in the US military, there was caterwauling from secularists and critics of religious freedom that the report was full of lies and fabrications. In the intervening months, however, no one actually sat down and rebutted the claims.

Granted, with 61 events contributing to what the authors call a “picture of the threat to religious liberty” in the US military, the breadth of the situation made it a daunting task to counter.

It’s also hard to refute because its true.

Chris Rodda, of Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation, gave a half-hearted attempt last June, discussing Read more

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