US Army paratroopers recently visited The Hill of Crosses during a six-month deployment to Lithuania:
Members of Able Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade…
…were visiting the Hill of Crosses; a monument to the strength, pride and resolve of the Lithuanian people and everyone who has been repressed by tyranny.
Interestingly, the Hill of Crosses began as a war memorial, and it has Read more
Whether or not you believe in the concept of the exact tithe, charitable giving remains one of the basic tenets of Christian living. Besides “passing the plate” on Sunday, the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) is one of the more popular means through which members of the military have an opportunity to give.
What is the CFC?
The CFC, which has been announced Read more
A stinging rebuke of the American government’s take on religious liberty was recently launched not from self-righteous, supremacist Christians, but from two Rabbis of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights group. Rabbi Abraham Cooper and Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein targeted the recently released, 300-page report (PDF) by the US Commission on Civil Rights, saying [emphasis added]:
[The report says], in part, is that Americans need to be protected from Bible-thumpers, and anyone else whose beliefs run afoul of the administration’s PC police. Religious folk need not apply.
The pair took aim at the report’s citation of President John Adams having said Read more
Andrew Miller of the Philadelphia Trumpet — a “prophetic” magazine of the Philadelphia Church of God — recently wrote the US military is making it “illegal for Christian chaplains to give Bible-based advice“. While consistently (and unnecessarily) tying his argument to President Obama, Miller cites three specific events:
The military…has made it known that Christian chaplains are expected to enthusiastically endorse homosexual activity in the ranks, regardless of their religious beliefs.
In 2010, Adm. Michael Mullen told a chaplain who opposed the repeal of the military’s ban on openly homosexual service members, “If you cannot get in line, resign your commission.”
Miller also cited the case of US Navy Chaplain Wes Modder, who was “targeted” by a fellow Sailor who tried to get him kicked out over the tenets of his faith.
Finally, he recalls the case of US Army Chaplain (Capt) Joseph Lawhorn: Read more
Almost exactly a year ago, US Army General Martin Dempsey was the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — the top ranking uniformed member of the US military and primary military advisor to the President. Known for his humility and his penchant for singing, he was not as publicly known for his faith — something that appears to be showing now that he is retired.
Appearing at Duke University on September 8th, now-retired Gen Dempsey spoke of his experiences with morality, religion, and faith in the US military — including his agreement with the belief that “there are no atheists in foxholes” [emphasis added]:
“You know that thing about ‘there’s no atheist in a foxhole?’ It’s true,” Dempsey said.
“There was none of this, ‘oh my gosh you shouldn’t be praying in your uniform, let’s keep separation of church and state’ — you go into something like Baghdad, you’re going to say a prayer before, during and after.”
The timing was surely a coincidence, but General Dempsey’s Read more
The video below is a Washington Post interview in which LtGen Robert Caslen, US Military Academy Superintendent, addressed his response to Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s complaint about the team prayer requested by West Point football Coach Jeff Monken. The 4 minute response is worth watching, as he speaks with nuance that is often lost when he is subsequently quoted.
That said, nuance isn’t everything:
LtGen Caslen said they removed the original video that included the prayer because it was “offensive” — a seemingly illogical explanation. PETA finds the use of live mules as Army mascots offensive, but the Army continues to do it. The practice of liberty ensures that someone will be offended, and since Read more
One of Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s favorite refrains is there would be “blood in the streets” if another religion did what Christian “fundamentalists” get away with in the US military. That his dramatic statement is an irrelevant logical fallacy matters not; it appeals to emotion and energizes his acolytes to call for the government to restrict the religious freedom of Christians in the US military, the Constitution notwithstanding.
Recently, in castigating USAF Major Steve Lewis’ display of a Bible, Weinstein verbosely said [capitalization original, emphasis added]:
Can you even IMAGINE the limitless, overflowing blood in the streets which would immediately occur if, say, another USAF official chose to similarly display, just as Major Steve Lewis presently exhibits his open and yellow-highlighted Christian bible in the very center of his official USAF desk, other sectarian, theological texts such as The Satanic Bible, the Islamic Quran, the Hindu Shruti, the Sikh Adi Granth and the Atheist movementʼs leading texts…?
There wouldn’t just be “blood in the streets.” It would be there “immediately,” and it would be “limitless and overflowing.” All if another religious US troop dared to put out a religious text or symbol.
Weinstein’s fallacious implication reflects the research style of his assistant, Chris Rodda — meaning his argument is unsupported by evidence and it relies on assumptions and convenient omissions.
Why, for example, do you think Mikey Weinstein declined Read more
…they’re just the only ones criticized for doing so.
Given the way the American culture has drifted over the past few years and the impact that drift has had on religion, religious freedom, and the military, it might be forgivable that people would assume conservative Christians are the only ones publicizing their beliefs from within the military.
That’s an easy framing, but it is not an accurate one.
It turns out that other “liberal” religious beliefs — and even non-beliefs — have been just Read more
