The Military Christian Fellowship of Australia published their Crossfire magazine, highlighting a picture from Afghanistan on the cover:
WO2 Andrew Hetherington Personnel attend a Bible reading at the Tarin Kot cenotaph during the stations of the cross Easter service at Multi National Base – Tarin Kot on March 27.
The support that militaries provide for their deployed Read more
An official article by Moody Air Force Base’s Public Affairs Senior Airman Jarrod Grammel is entitled “Atheist ponders spiritual fitness.”
As an atheist, people sometimes ask and wonder where I get my sense of purpose. I don’t believe that God created me and has a special purpose for me in life, but rather that I’m the result of 4 billion years of evolutionary success on a minor planet of an average star in a universe with at least 100 billion galaxies.
And that’s perfectly fine with me. My purpose Read more
When former US Congressman and retired Army Col Allen West recently appeared on Michael Savage’s radio show Savage Nation on the recent issues in the military, he mentioned Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s name.
Savage cut him off: Read more
Update: Weinstein responded:
Weinstein is the kind of guy who revels in the dislike of his adversaries.
“How terrified are these little pu***es in Congress that they have to pass an amendment about me?” he shouted in a phone interview from the foundation’s headquarters in Albuquerque, N.M., using a putdown associated with a woman’s genitalia.
Always classy.
In the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act, US Rep John Fleming successfully changed the 2013 NDAA wording after the US Air Force appeared to be acting as a part of Michael Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation’s self-described “war” on Christians.
Weinstein also inspired US Rep Tim Huelskamp (R-Ks) to add an amendment of his own which would require the Department of Defense to report to Congress every time it met with an outside group for the purpose of
writing, revising, issuing, implementing, enforcing, or seeking advice, input, or counsel regarding military policy related to religious liberty.
This was clearly in response to Weinstein’s 23 April meeting with the JAG of the US Air Force, among others, which Weinstein bragged about to his like-minded media arm, Sally Quinn. Rep Huelskamp even called it a “rebuke” of “anti-Christian zealot Michael Weinstein.”
The MRFF has sarcastically embraced this amendment, because it would “force” the DoD to report on its meetings with groups like Chaplain endorsers: Read more
Despite “protesting” for weeks that his relationship with the US Air Force has been mischaracterized, Michael Weinstein of his self-founded Military Religious Freedom Foundation recently touted his inimitable influence over the US military.
At Breitbart.com, Ken Klukowski of the Family Research Council notes that Weinstein’s recent bragging seemingly contradicts the Pentagon’s efforts to downplay their relationship.
One month ago the Pentagon assured the public it was not being advised by anti-Christian extremist Mikey Weinstein. Yet two days ago Weinstein called the Pentagon demanding that a Christian painting be removed from a dining hall in an Idaho Air Force base, and the Pentagon complied with his demand–in less than one hour.
Klukowski notes that Weinstein brags he got action in less than an hour, while US Congressmen haven’t gotten a response to their queries in weeks.
The “Christian painting” was described by the publisher Read more
The US military has long recognized the value of the family, even as it applies directly to the military mission. For that reason the military services have had a variety of programs to not only counter divorce, but also to help make marriages and families stronger. An Air Force Times article notes budget cuts have apparently not eliminated the marriage enrichment programs in the Air Force.
The Army’s long-running program is Strong Bonds, a chaplain-led retreat which gets husbands and wives away from the day-to-day toils to focus on their relationship:
It’s a chance to really look at marriage with Read more
Michael Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation has a history of claiming only the “right kind” of Christians deserve religious liberty in the US military. In 2011, the MRFF demanded the US Air Force Academy rescind a speaking invitation given to someone who “does not represent true Christianity” [emphasis added]. For that same event, Weinstein was personally outraged the invitation was given to the wrong kind of Christian. In another scenario, Chris Rodda readily admitted the MRFF opposed the religious beliefs of Christians, not any action or conduct on their part.
The MRFF just recently refined their definition of “acceptable” religious Christian belief.
Lawrence Wilkerson is a retired Army Colonel and recent addition to the MRFF. He also joined Michael Weinstein at his much ballyhooed Pentagon meeting last month. Wilkerson recently published a tirade against “so-called” Christians who are the target of the MRFF’s wrath:
Another perniciously destructive anomaly threatened good order and discipline in the ranks. And this one came from so-called Christians.
I write “so-called” simply because these people do not believe in the Christ of the Scriptures; they believe in some human-crafted, almost demonic Read more
For the third time in a week, the US military released a statement attempting to articulate the DoD’s policy on religious freedom. In response to multiple media questions, LtCmdr Nathan Christensen issued the following statement [emphasis added]:
There is no DOD wide policy that directly addresses religious proselytizing. Furthermore, there is no effort within the department to make religious proselytizing a specific offense within the UCMJ, including under Article 134.
Service members may exercise their rights under the 1st Amendment regarding the free exercise of religion unless doing so adversely affects good order, discipline, or some other aspect of the military mission; even then, the Department seeks a reasonable religious accommodation for the service member. In general, service members may share their faith with other service members, but may not forcibly attempt to convert others of any faith or no faith to their own beliefs.
Concerns about these issues are handled on a case by case basis by the leaders of the unit involved.
In other words, the prior statement that did try to “directly address religious proselytizing” is…retracted?
The statement essentially reverts the DoD from the “new” (first, “uncomfortable,” then evangelism vs proselytizing) back to the “old” more Read more