Category Archives: Government and Religion

Chaplain Modder Targeted for Christian Beliefs, Gets Support

An interview with US Navy Chaplain (LtCmdr) Wes Modder at Breitbart revealed a few more details about the Navy’s decision to remove him and attempt to discharge him from the military over complaints about his beliefs.

It seems the Lt(JG) complainant, at points described as a “chaplain’s assistant,” was in fact a new officer filling a temporary job while waiting for his next assignment. With apparent time on his hands — and an agenda — it seems the new officer decided he would go out of his way to make his mark on the Navy.

From Breitbart:

It turns out the young officer seemed to be running his own private investigation into Modder’s Christian beliefs and how they may conflict with his interpretation of proper tolerance for LGBT individuals.

To be clear, there were (reportedly) no complaints in Read more

Air Force Reverses Mikey Weinstein Ban on Blessed Day

Just a few hours after a Security Forces squadron commander banned his troops from saying “Have a blessed day” in an attempt to appease Michael “Mikey” Weinstein, the Air Force issued a formal reversal, saying there’s nothing wrong with the phrase:

“We are a professional organization defended by a professional force. Our defenders portray a professional image that represents a base all of Middle Georgia can be proud of. Defenders have been asked to use the standard phrase “Welcome to Team Robins” in their greeting and can add various follow-on greetings as long as they remain courteous and professional.

The Air Force takes any expressed concern over religious freedom very seriously. Upon further review and consultation, the Air Force determined use of the phrase “have a blessed day” as a greeting is consistent with Air Force standards and is not in violation of Air Force Instructions.”

Robins Air Force Base should get credit for the most affirmative statement ever in a Weinstein-reversal, in which they not only undid the ban but also firmly supported the statement in question.

The Robins statement generated nearly Read more

Mikey Weinstein Stops Gate Guards from Saying “Blessed Day”

Update: Mikey Weinstein says the phrase “Have a blessed day” is proselytizing, or an attempt to convert people to a religion.

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein, crusader against anything remotely religious within the US military, recently proclaimed his most recent victory: He got a gate guard at Robins AFB to stop saying “Have a blessed day.”

I am an active-duty Air Force member…On no less than 15 occasions over the last two weeks, I have been greeted by the military personnel at the gate with the phrase “Have a blessed day.” This greeting has been expressed by at least 10 different Airmen ranging in rank from A1C to SSgt.

How such vile, contemptible things could be permitted in the US Air Force is inconceivable. Weinstein leapt into action and called the commander of the Security Forces Squadron directly, bypassing the wing leadership he normally tries to engage.

Without reference to any Read more

US Navy Chaplain’s Career Threatened over Homosexuality

In an incident that homosexual advocates claimed would never occur, US Navy Chaplain (LtCmdr) Wes Modder has been removed from his duties — and threatened with dismissal from the military — because his religious beliefs conflict with homosexuality:

A chaplain who once ministered to Navy SEALs could be thrown out of the military after he was accused of failing “to show tolerance and respect” in private counseling sessions in regards to issues pertaining to faith, marriage and sexuality, specifically homosexuality and pre-marital sex, according to documents obtained exclusively by Fox News.

Lt. Commander Wes Modder, who is endorsed by the Assemblies of God, has also been accused of being unable to “function in the diverse and pluralistic environment” of the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command in Goose Creek, S.C.

Chaplain Modder had been at NNTC since April. Around November, a new assistant started working in the office:  Read more

Report: Hostility to Religion in US Military

The Liberty Institute recently published a 2014 edition of a 400-page report entitled “Undeniable: The Survey of Hostility to Religion in America” (PDF). Sections I, II, and III are “attacks” in the public arena, schoolhouse, and against churches and other religious ministries, respectively.

For the first time, the report now includes a dedicated Section IV: “Attacks in the Military.”

Similar in theme to the “Clear and Present Danger” published by the Family Research Council, the Liberty Institute report includes a list of 46 incidents representative of the hostility toward religion within the US military [emphasis added]:

Hostility once unthinkable, such as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs telling grieving families as they arrive at their loved one’s funeral site that they may not have a religious funeral service, is becoming increasingly routine. Another line of hostility is a new wave of lawsuits attempting to eliminate all symbolism that touches on the numinous from our nation’s veterans memorials…

Religious freedom in the military is protected by the U.S. Constitution, Department Read more

More than 500,000 Biblesticks Provided to US Troops

An article at CrossMap notes that Faith Comes By Hearing, an audio Bible ministry, announced they have now provided more than 500,000 mp3 Bibles to US troops:

Faith Comes By Hearing (FCBH) began their Military BibleStick program in 2008…More than 500,000 of these small, digital Audio Bibles have been provided free of charge to America’s brave men and women in uniform. The ministry distributes the devices through active duty chaplains and chaplain assistants. To date, over 1,500 chaplains have requested BibleSticks and participated in the outreach.

As a point Read more

Mikey Weinstein Demands Removal from AFA Bigotry Map

The American Family Association recently made waves when it published an interactive “bigotry map” designed to “expos[e] anti-Christian bigotry in America.”

Highlighted in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is none other than Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation.

MRFF on AFA Bigotry Map

While the atheist Center for Inquiry “demand[ed]” to be added to the AFA’s map, Weinstein’s reaction was not so jovial: He had his lawyers fire off a letter demanding to be removed. In an unusually whiney-sounding missive, Read more

US Veterans Join Christian Militias in Fight against ISIS

While there has been plenty of coverage on foreigners leaving their home countries to join ISIS, somewhat less talked about has been those who have traveled to the region to join the fight against ISIS — some for religious reasons, some for reasons of simple justice, and some probably for their own reasons:

Saint Michael, the archangel of battle, is tattooed across the back of a U.S. army veteran who recently returned to Iraq and joined a Christian militia fighting Islamic State in what he sees as a biblical war between good and evil.

Brett, 28, carries the same thumb-worn pocket Bible he did whilst deployed to Iraq in 2006 – a picture of the Virgin Mary tucked inside its pages and his favourite verses highlighted.

“It’s very different,” he said, asked how the experiences compared. “Here I’m fighting for a people and for a faith, and the enemy is much bigger and more brutal.”

Further:

Matthew VanDyke says he is “stepping in where the international community failed.”

In a post on Twitter Thursday, the American said he has spent the last two months “helping to raise a Christian army” in Iraq to fight the Islamic State group.

“The international community does very little for Christians in the Middle East, so if they’re not going to do it, we’ll do it.”

FoxNews even led with a headline of “Onward Christian Soldiers” for a time.

The situation is probably Read more

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