Tag Archives: Constitution

Military Atheists Seek Benefits of Theists

The Stars and Stripes recently had two articles on atheism in the military, one on atheism at the service academies and one in the military in general.  Both were written by reporter Chris Carroll.

The first, “Atheists groups find doors open to them at service academies,” notes that all three primary service academies have groups for “nonbelievers.”  The one at the Naval Academy is sponsored by Jewish Chaplain (LtCmdr) Seth Phillips:

“The group is no different than any other student group with connections to the outside world,” Phillips said. “The Baptists are supported by the Baptist Student Union, and some other Christian groups get support from the Navigators. In no way is this group unique, different or specially privileged.”

Of course, Chaplain Phillips’ comment makes the most sense with regard to student religious groups.  Because there is a Constitutional protection of the human liberty of religious freedom, religious groups may have “unique” or “different” treatment than, Read more

Jewish USAFA Cadets Defend Religious Atmosphere

Two USAFA Chaplains and two cadets recently attended the 116th Jewish War Veterans Convention to brief the US Air Force Academy’s religious respect program and give “insight into the life of a Jewish cadet.”

Jewish Chaplain (Maj.) Joshua Narrowe and Protestant Chaplain (Capt.) Shawn Menchion represented the Academy’s Chaplain Corps at the convention. Cadet 2nd Class Jolie Grossman from Cadet Squadron 23 and Cadet 3rd Class David Harris from CS 11 also attended to provide their perspective as cadets.

Within the article Chaplain Narrowe made an observation many seem to forget:  The Academy is a college, and it draws 18-year-olds from all corners of the American society.  USAFA then has to train them — and they get a whole six weeks before they enter the cadet wing.

The Academy itself has a wide variety of Read more

Weinstein Targets Jewish Parents over Defense of USAFA

Michael Weinstein seems to revel in excoriating those with whom he disagrees. His attacks are filled with ellipses and alliterative assaults questioning everything from people’s character to their patriotism.

He has equated officers in the US Army with rapists and racists.  He’s stooped to gradeschool name-calling.  He has even implied the threat of violence upon critics as varied as Rush Limbaugh and Gordon Klingenschmitt.

Another favored Weinstein tactic, though, is the somber and vaguely-worded legal threat.  While it seems Weinstein threatens to sue someone virtually every time he opens his mouth, some have had the privilege of actually getting a letter from one set or another of Weinstein’s lawyers.  One sent a letter to Trijicon for saying Trijicon’s critics were “not Christian.”  Another Weinstein legal threat went out against the publishers of the Colorado Springs Gazette after it criticized his “[opposition] to the free exercise of religion.”

As previously noted, Weinstein’s lawyers also directed a threat of a lawsuit at ChristianFighterPilot.com after this site pointed out Weinstein’s substantial personal compensation from his self-founded “charity.”

It is readily apparent Michael Weinstein, the man who employs vitriolic criticism as naturally as others breathe, can’t stand a whit of criticism himself.

Even from a Jewish soccer mom.  Read more

Weinstein Complains of “Wretched” Christian Air Force Training



According to the Air Force Times, the Air Force is reviewing “all” materials it uses to teaches “ethics, core values, and character development.”  The reason?

More Christian-themed course work surfaced.

The gross misrepresentation of the Chaplain briefing at Vandenberg, promoted by Michael Weinstein and his “religious freedom” allies, has already been discussed.  The latest issue is a “complaint” about ethics training in ROTC.

The ROTC briefing, called “Core Values and the Air Force Member,” contains references to the Sermon on the Mount and the Ten Commandments as examples of ethical values. Two additional slides list the New Testament teachings of Jesus known as the Beatitudes, and seven of the commandments, including “Have no other gods before me.”

The 22-slide briefing also cites the Golden Rule as an example of ethical values. One of the slides points out that the Golden Rule — “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” — is found in five of the world’s major religions.

Shocking, isn’t it?  A slideshow on ethics gives Christian Read more

Homosexuality and Religion in the Military: The Right to Be Wrong

The Journal of Faith and War reprints a well-written commentary on the repeal of the policy most commonly known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in the US military.  Written by retired Cols Al Shine* and Don Snider, “The Right to be Wrong” forwards a simple premise:  If homosexuality is to be permitted in the military, the military must have a decidedly — and explicitly — neutral stance between both opposing ideologies:  Read more

Liberty Counsel Defends Air Force Nuke Training

In what may be one of the more unbiased presentations of the “media controversy” thus far, the Christian Post presents a somewhat fuller picture of the nuclear missile officer course that floated to the surface a few days ago.  They are the first large media organization to highlight the fact the brief wasn’t exclusively Christian:

The section also cited biblical figures including Abraham, Samson and David as religious figures that fought wars in a righteous manner. Additionally, a picture of a menorah was featured on a slide highlighting the Maccabees’ revolt against their oppressors.

In fact, they are also the first to consciously highlight that the brief wasn’t even exclusively religious:  Read more

Air Force Pulls Nuke Training over Religion Complaint

A variety of news sources are now reporting the US Air Force ended a training class after an internet article belittled its religious content.  Contrary to some assertions, this is actually not a big deal.

This much has been accurately reported:  The Air Force training slides had Bible verses, and the course was led by a Chaplain.  There was a public article.  The Air Force pulled the course to “review it.”

Beyond that, much of the other reporting has been misrepresented or inaccurate.

The Washington Post said

The Air Force has suspended a training course for nuclear missile launch officers that used Bible passages and religious imagery to teach them about the ethics of war.

Unfortunately, that’s essentially a misrepresentation, likely because the conclusion was drawn solely from a copy of the slides used in the brief — sans notes or context.  The course did not use Biblical citations to teach ethics.  The ~40-slide PowerPoint presentation was an ethical discussion on the conduct of war, with emphasis on the application of nuclear weapons.  (The title of the first seven slides is “Ethics;” the second section is “Nuclear Ethics and Nuclear Warfare.”)

The course’s focus was to address common Read more

The US Marine Corps and Opinions on Homosexuality

The text of the briefs given to US servicemembers on the repeal of the policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is publicly available. Notably, it starts out with this phrase:

This brief is NOT an attempt to change anyone’s opinion about the subject of homosexuality. [emphasis original]

Later, the presentation says this:

There Is No Expectation To Change Religious or Moral Views: Soldiers will not be expected to change their personal views and religious beliefs. They must, however, continue to treat all Soldiers with dignity and respect. [formatting original]

With that in mind, the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, SgtMaj Michael Barrett, toured bases in the Pacific with the Commandant of the Marine Corps General James Amos in June. Addressing DADT Read more

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