{"id":21721,"date":"2013-03-14T01:18:26","date_gmt":"2013-03-14T04:18:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/?p=21721"},"modified":"2016-11-26T01:43:11","modified_gmt":"2016-11-26T04:43:11","slug":"mrff-allies-target-troops-religious-freedoms-out-of-spite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/2013\/03\/14\/mrff-allies-target-troops-religious-freedoms-out-of-spite\/","title":{"rendered":"MRFF Allies Target Troops’ Religious Freedoms — Out of Spite"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s one thing to disagree with another person’s ideology.\u00a0 It is quite another to participate in an event for the sole purpose of denying others <\/em>access to that same support and religious liberty.<\/p>\n

Advocates for the Military Religious Freedom Foundation recently bantered about attending a Strong Bonds marriage enrichment seminar\u00a0not to strengthen their marriages, but solely to take surreptitious video of the illegal “indoctrination.”\u00a0 It seems they are openly attempting\u00a0to gather “physical evidence”<\/a> for Michael Weinstein’s “war” on religious liberty in the US military:<\/p>\n

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According to his Facebook account that’s\u00a0US Soldier Daron Williams<\/a> telling Army spouse Katie Aerumnous<\/a> to\u00a0‘record the prayer so you can file a complaint’ — about a voluntary <\/em>event she would be\u00a0choosing <\/em>to attend — with the sole goal of denying future military couples that same opportunity.<\/p>\n

To be clear, Strong Bonds<\/a> is a chaplain-run program.\u00a0 While the program is not entirely religious, a majority of Americans still associate some <\/em>degree of religiosity with marriage, so it is ridiculous to think military chaplains <\/em>wouldn’t include religion as part of such a program.\u00a0 Strong Bonds has been widely attended and widely praised<\/a> for the positive impact it has on military marriages and relationships.<\/p>\n

Apparently, the MRFF doesn’t like it — because the chaplains may say something — gasp! — religious<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In case there are any questions, it is a voluntary program offered by the military.\u00a0 No one is forced to attend — though Chris Rodda’s allegation of “coercion by cookie<\/a>” seems to be in play:\u00a0 Part of the MRFF critics’ complaint was that they wanted the expenses-paid weekend trip without the chaplain program that goes with it.<\/p>\n

Most members of the military, even atheist ones, care not one whit what their fellow troops believe or do with those beliefs.\u00a0 These allies of Michael Weinstein’s MRFF, however, not only care<\/em>, they want to do what they can to stop <\/em>it.\u00a0 Note these Weinstein acolytes aren’t interested in\u00a0organizing a “secular alternative” for themselves — they just want to stop what other <\/em>troops and families are doing.\u00a0 (When one person dared to suggest their own event, she was shouted down.) The sole purpose of this MRFF group — made up of active US military and family members — is to negatively impact the lives of the troops and families in their own units<\/em>.<\/p>\n

If they <\/em>can’t get a religion-free <\/em>weekend marriage seminar (provided by the chaplains,\u00a0of course), then they’re apparently motivated to keep the “religious” from getting theirs<\/em>.\u00a0 Classy way to “support the troops,” ay?<\/p>\n

The MRFF routinely accuses US troops (primarily Christians) of inappropriate conduct or mistreatment of their fellow servicemembers with different religious philosophies — though it rarely provides evidence, and when it does, the evidence is disputable.\u00a0 Here you have a group of Weinstein followers openly planning <\/em>essentially that very thing.<\/p>\n

As asinine as this conversation is, it is a fight that will eventually happen.\u00a0 Michael Weinstein has hitched his horse to the “homophobia” bandwagon<\/a>.\u00a0While the Defense\u00a0of Marriage\u00a0Act still stands (for now), these retreats are already generating complaints<\/a>.\u00a0 At some point, there will be a kerfuffle over Strong Bonds or some other military marriage seminar and a homosexual couple (an example of which has already happened<\/a>) and the public relations war will begin anew.<\/p>\n

Because these MRFF “religious freedom” advocates don’t think it would be right to let fellow troops exercise their religious freedom<\/em>.\u00a0 Is anyone really surprised?<\/p>\n

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