Samaritan’s Purse has been hosting retreats called Operation Heal our Patriots in Alaska’s wilderness (first noted here):
Operation Heal Our Patriots, the Samaritan’s Purse outreach to military couples with a spouse wounded or injured in combat or combat-related activities after 9/11…challenges and encourages them from three angles critical to their recovery process. Their spouses are Read more
The Freedom From Religion Foundation has been on the prowl for the slightest hint of religion in the public square, targeting as obscure monuments as Jesus at a ski resort and a war memorial in Coos Bay, Oregon.
Apparently, someone didn’t think they were moving fast enough and tried to blow it up:
An unknown individual detonated the IED near the memorial, located at Mingus Park in the City of Coos Bay, sometime late night between last Thursday and last Friday.
For its part, the FFRF naturally denounced the violence.
“We expressly do not Read more
US Army Capt Sara Sharick publicly identifies as an Army officer and recruiter — and she’s an atheist. When a potential Army recruit walked into her office one day, she was “disappointed” to learn he wanted to attend Liberty University.
So my Center Commander asks him where he plans on going to college. I’m thinking K State or KU, some place local. He says “Liberty University.” I just about choked…I pull out my phone and look up if Liberty even has an ROTC program. Sure as [redacted], both Army and Air Force. So disappointed.
Why is she “disappointed?” She says Liberty University is home to “the crazies,” apparently referring to Christians, given that Liberty is a mainstream Christian university. (Sharick joins Michael Weinstein’s loathing for the school, when he called it “horrifying” that Liberty would teach the same material other universities do.)
At first, Sharick seemed willing to grit her teeth and help the kid out: Read more
The issue of US military chaplains being Messianic Jews boiled over several years ago. Ultimately, the Navy decided that a Messianic-Jewish chaplain-candidate had to wear the Christian cross as a religious symbol, rather than the Jewish tablets he wanted. He chose to resign instead, and no one else has stepped forward to continue the controversy.
Still, there are Messianic Jews within the military, and Chaplain David Frommer wrote about his experiences while deployed to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, when he discovered that one of the half-dozen Jews in his congregation was Messianic.
one of the Jewish civilian contractors arrived with a personal box of Havdalah supplies, prepared to conduct the service on his own in the room across the hall. He was one of my favorite congregants and had enthusiastically participated in all the services and classes I had offered…“It’s so Read more
The Council on Islamic-American Relations (CAIR) recently called the group “ACT! For America” the equivalent of the KKK and demanded a speaker not be allowed to use county property.
Hassan Shibly, an attorney and executive director of CAIR of Tampa, said he supports freedom of speech.
But this individual makes statements to incite violence against the Muslim community, so I think that the line has been crossed,” Shibly said. “ACT! is an extremist group no different than the KKK. And if the KKK wanted to use that room, there would be a protest…”
CAIR relies upon the “KKK” line frequently. The speaker in question, UCF Professor Jonathan Matusitz, sounded a calm tone: Read more
After weeks of stewing, Michael Weinstein finally responded to Col Brian Duffy’s decision to re-post Chaplain (LtCol) Kenneth Reyes’ once-banned article on the base website, over Weinstein’s objections.
Michael Weinstein’s response was predictable, though it went counter to his public face of supporting “religious freedom.”
Weinstein blamed bad Christians for the Air Force reversal. Weinstein said:
This was the Air Force caving in to pernicious, fundamentalist Christian pressure…
So much for supporting “military religious freedom,” eh?
ADVERTISEMENT
The Freedom From Religion Foundation has filed an appeal after a court recently ruled that the Jesus statue on Big Mountain ski resort could remain standing. The statue is on public land, and
The group argues the statue violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition on Congress making any law regarding an establishment of religion.
The original court ruling had cited the historic value of the statue, and even made a point of saying the statue was more of a tourist attraction than religious monument. The FFRF apparently thinks that’s all part of a conspiracy: Read more
“I’ve found that the best way to get somebody’s attention is to hurt them. And the people we are trying to hurt, legally, ethically, and morally is not just the religious right, its the dominionists and the fundamentalists [Christians].”
Michael “Mikey” Weinstein, President, Military Religious Freedom Foundation, August 2013
Defending religious liberty, or trying to “hurt” people? At least he’s honest.
Always a classy guy.
ADVERTISEMENT