Category Archives: Government and Religion

Army Disavows Presentation Supporting Weinstein Ideology

The news of a US Army briefing seemingly supporting a doctrine of Michael Weinstein — and the firm decision by the Army to disavow the presentation — made surprisingly wide press this weekend.

At issue was a briefing given by a US Army Reservist on “Extremism and Extremist Organizations” (PDF, with notes) which listed “evangelical Christians,” “Ultra-Orthodox Judaism,” “Sunni Muslims” and “Catholicism” alongside “al Quaeda [sic]” as “religious extremism.”  (In fact, evangelical Christianity was at the top of the list.)  The briefer was apparently a Military Equal Opportunity officer, ironically enough.

An attendee of the briefing — who describes himself as an evangelical Christian — took issue, obtained a copy of the briefing, and provided it to the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty (CARL) and the military Catholic Archdiocese:

“Men and women of faith who have served the Army faithfully for centuries shouldn’t be likened to those who have regularly threatened the peace and security of the United States,” retired Col. Ron Crews, Read more

Chuck Norris, Religious Liberty, and Michael Weinstein

Chuck Norris recently cited “36 examples of religious liberty assault” (in Part 1 and Part 2) to defend an assertion that religious liberty is under attack in America.  About a third of his examples involved the US military, all of which have been discussed here before (amplifying remarks follow):

  • Culture and courts are also trumping citizens’ First Amendment rights who are refusing on religious grounds not to support or participate with groups and events that run contrary to their faith and practice. As a result, wedding cake bakers, T-shirt makers, bed and breakfast owners, pastry shops, high-school teachers, military chaplains, restaurant owners, photographers, parents, churches and others have been harassed, bullied, suspended, fired and sued for merely exercising their Christian beliefs. [As described by CARL.]
  • A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that a cross displayed as part of the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial in San Diego, Read more

US Military Celebrates Christ’s Resurrection in Afghanistan

US Army Chaplain (Maj) Steve Prost conducted an Easter sunrise service at Forward Operating Base Gamberi in Afghanistan:

Before the sun began to rise over the Afghan mountains, music and prayer filled the air as service members and civilians gathered to celebrate Easter Sunday at Forward Operating Base Gamberi,

US military chaplains have been providing such religious services for US troops probably since the Army was first created.  The President once cited a Fighter Pilot Easter that Read more

Homosexual Agenda Driven by Hurt Feelings

The Stars and Stripes repeats an Associated Press article under the headline “Military’s same-sex couples say DOMA dishonors service, sacrifice” [updated link].  The basic gist is that it’s not fair to deny homosexuals the recognition heterosexuals receive.

Perhaps without realizing it, homosexuals are, by extension, claiming anyone who is offended is de facto worthy of being treated as if they were what they are not.

What about the Soldier who marries another woman while still married at home — both of his wives deserve benefits, too, right? After all, their feelings will undoubtedly be hurt if they are “left out.”

A woman on the homefront learns Read more

Another Military Memorial Targeted for its Cross

A Vietnam Veteran’s memorial erected in 1972 in Coos Bay, Oregon, is the focus of a complaint from the Freedom From Religion Foundation.  The FFRF is demanding the town remove the memorial because it has a cross.

The [FFRF] sent Coos Bay City Manager Rodger Craddock a letter saying the memorial itself isn’t the problem, it’s the cross resting on top.

They say it’s an “endorsement of Christianity over other religions and over nonreligion,” and must be removed “immediately”.

The presence of a cross on a public display does not “make [a] law regarding an establishment of religion.”  But these asinine attacks will continue, and in some cases Read more

Faith an ROE for Success in the Military

Chief Master Sgt. (ret.) Walter Richardson, one of the original Tuskegee Airmen, addressed the Eglin Air Force Prayer Breakfast in February, which the article summarized as calling faith an “ROE for success.”  Chief Richardson described his reliance on faith from basic training to his deployments around the world.

“We have a manual that describes the way to be successful, the Holy Bible,” said the Tuskegee Airman…”

Holding on to two verses, one about keeping God first in all things and the other advising to trust God in all ways over your own intelligence, are the backdrop to the challenges Richardson faced as part the first group of racially integrated military members…

 Read more.

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Huckabee on Society’s Changing Sexual Norms

In reference to implications the Republican Party might move to recognize homosexual “marriage,” former Governor and Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee noted that the party would get a lot smaller, because “evangelicals will take a walk.”  The reason, he explained, is that Christians believe in an unchanging, objective standard:

If we have subjective standards, that means that we’re willing to move our standards based on the prevailing whims of culture. Politicians have an obligation to be thermostats, not just thermometers. They’re not simply to reflect the temperature of the room, or the culture, as it were. They’re to set the standards for law, for what’s right, for what’s wrong, understanding that not everybody’s going to agree with it.

“On this issue, I recognize the culture is moving away from the traditional standard, but it’s almost like saying, well, we have a basketball team and nobody on the team can hit the goal that’s 10 feet off Read more

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