Tag Archives: atheism

Jeff Sessions Criticized for same Christian Beliefs as Ronald Reagan

I do believe that we are a nation that, without God, there is no truth, and it’s all about power, ideology, advancement, agenda, not doing the public service.

The quote above by President-elect Donald Trump’s Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions is a statement of the obvious to millions of Christians, yet is being touted as proof Sessions is unqualified for government service.

In a widely distributed piece at The Daily Beast, author Jay Michaelson cites the above under the headline “Jeff Sessions Said ‘Secularists’ Are Unfit for Government,” and questioned Sessions’ fitness for the office:

[Sessions’] comments raise questions as to which set of “truths,” religious or secular, would motivate his Justice Department’s decisions on which laws to prosecute, which liberties to protect, and which interpretations of legal and constitutional texts to adopt.

That’s moronic for two reasons.

The first is the obvious “truth” that Read more

STRATCOM Revokes Christian Pastor’s Invitation over Religious Beliefs

Retired US Army LtCol Tom Gray, now a contractor at the global nuclear US Strategic Command (STRATCOM) at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, recently issued a press release (PDF) celebrating his “vigilance” over the “separation of church and state.”  Gray announced he’d had Dr. Philip Kayser of the Dominion Covenant Church in nearby Omaha disinvited from speaking at the Offutt Chapel. According to Gray, Kayser had planned on giving “a class on leadership from a Christian perspective.” Gray objected:

Dr. Kayser’s beliefs…can be found online. I brought my concerns to Captain Yi, the USSTRATCOM chaplain, and the invitation was revoked.

The STRATCOM decision to disinvited the local pastor is problematic — and disturbing.

First, it’s worth noting even Gray — despite Read more

US Army to Grant Sikhs, Muslims, Jews Permanent Waivers

The US Army has changed its policies (PDF) to allow Sikhs, Muslims, and Jews to serve while wearing their religious accoutrements in uniform [emphasis added]:

Since 2009, religious accommodation requests requiring a waiver for uniform wear and grooming have largely fallen into one of three faith practices: the wear of a hijab; the wear of a beard; and the wear of a turban or under-turban/patka, with uncut beard and uncut hair. Based on the successful examples of Soldiers currently serving with these accommodations, I have determined that brigade-level commanders may approve requests for these accommodations…

Importantly, the policy specifically says the religious practice should be approved Read more

Atheist Jason Torpy Misrepresents Military Demographics. Again.

In 2010 Jason Torpy, a former US Army Captain and current atheist, essentially lied to White House staff when he told them in an official briefing that approximately 23% of the US military was non-theistic. The briefing was one part of his crusade to justify the oxymoronic “atheist chaplain.”

The problem, as previously discussed, was that his own data didn’t support his claim — and he knew it. When presenting his data, Torpy had included as “non-theists” those who indicated “no religious preference” in their military personnel records. Of course, no one has any idea whether those who selected NRP for their records are theists or not. You would think one who represented an ideology that self-righteously proclaimed its reliance on skepticism and evidence wouldn’t rely on “myth” to promote his cause, but that’s precisely what Torpy did. He cast his net so wide, in fact, that his list of non-theists included at least one Muslim terrorist.

Torpy’s fib was outed, and the knowledge of his use of fictional data made Read more

Ironic Atheists Complain about “Spiteful” Christmas Displays

In an awkward and yet completely predictable move, an atheist activist is complaining that a Christmas sign was erected alongside an atheist “there are no gods” sign in Shelton, Connecticut.

Hemant Mehta, who works as the “Friendly Atheist” blogger, whined that the Christmas sign raised next to the anti-Christmas sign [emphasis added]

may seem innocuous enough — and perfectly legal — but it’s another sign of how little atheists are respected in the community…

Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti couldn’t handle that atheist message, which is why he felt compelled to put up his own sign wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays…

While many atheists are content to let people say Merry Christmas and Read more

Military Atheist Chapel Bolstered by Christians

A recent commentary noted the apparent rise of atheism within the US military and highlighted the atheist “church” that occurs at Air Force Basic Training at Lackland AFB — where, at the time, atheists were claiming nearly 1,000 weekly attendees.

The group has been putting up weekly photos of a few of their attendees (though none of the events themselves):

maafgettman(Here’s something interesting: When a group of Army trainees took a similar-themed photo after their Christian service, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein called them a “national security threat” and used the image as a fundraising prop in his fight against Christians. Think Weinstein will consider these atheists a national security threat, too?)

According to the Read more

Military Atheists, Sexual Activists Torn over Mattis as SecDef

Military and veteran atheists, transgenders, and homosexuals are in conflict over President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to nominate retired Gen James Mattis for Secretary of Defense.

Military atheists have been generally supportive of Gen Mattis, noting he was wildly popular as a leader and, speaking to their primary concern, never gave them reason to worry over issues of religion.  (As an example of the conduct that helped his subordinates respect him, consider how he reacted when his pilots landed at the wrong airport.)

This has put some atheists at odds with their sometimes allies in the LGBT movement, who see Mattis as a potential means for Trump to undo their “progress” over the past few years — though they can’t directly connect it to a religious issue over which to complain.

That said, Don Branum, a former US Air Force Academy Public Affairs staffer who has implied he was improperly treated for speaking his views against Christians, still managed to claim Mattis is  Read more

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