Tag Archives: Government

AU Lodges IRS Complaint Against Liberty University

Americans United for the Separation of Church and State has, again, filed a complaint with the IRS asserting that Liberty University is misusing its status as a tax-exempt (501(c)3) organization.  The original complaint can be read here.

For its part, Liberty barely addressed the merits of the complaint, instead saying that this was simply another attempt by the AU to intimidate Liberty.  In fact, Mat Staver, the Liberty School of Law dean, said the school was considering legal action in response to the AU’s attempt to intimidate Liberty students:

“We’re now looking at whether we are going to respond by filing some kind of civil action against Americans United — because what they’re trying to do is essentially intimidate Liberty University, particularly the students, from exercising their constitutional right to vote,” he argues. “We’re not about to allow this organization to do that to Liberty University students.”

As noted in the discussion last year when AU filed a complaint against Liberty, the AU is frequently associated with criticisms of Christians in the military.  It remains a “partnering link” on the MRFF page, and Michael Weinstein has claimed AU membership at one point.

Prayer, Government, and the US Military

The National Prayer Breakfast was already a controversial event this year, as at least one group had urged President Obama to skip the annual event attended by sitting Presidents for the past few decades.

He chose to attend, but he did not avoid controversy.  He addressed the concerns of those who did not want him to attend by specifically speaking against a law about homosexuals in Uganda.  The normally smooth orator also managed to mispronounce a military rank, calling a Navy medic a “corpse-man” rather than a “corpsman” (properly pronounced “core-man”) (not once, but three times), and he expressed the thought that non-theists Read more

Cross Found at USAFA Pagan Circle

This incident has been so mis-reported that it was initially just ignored; however, when General Gould published a statement agreeing that this incident has been “sensationalized,” he gave credence to the view that this situation is being grossly mischaracterized, and that people are inappropriately using it for their personal advancement.  An analysis thus follows…

Despite the positive hullabaloo over the US Air Force Academy pagan circle, Michael Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation has now denounced the placement of a cross at the site, an act that occurred before the recent positive press reports.  Though the incident took place several weeks ago, the MRFF appeared to time the press release to counter the recent spate of “good news” about religious tolerance at USAFA.

For the record, it should go without saying that Read more

In Defense of Religious Freedom

In several articles on this site, the premise has been repeated that true religious freedom is not the suppression of differing ideas, but the encouragement of them.  Sometimes this is a cautionary tale to Christians who feel that other religions should not have the same freedoms as Christians.  More often, however, it is a rebuttal to those who would silence or restrict Christians in order to avoid offense or exposure to a differing moral stance.

Hugh Hewitt has a similar explanation on his site, in his criticisms of those who criticized CBS for allowing Tim Tebow and his mother to air a “Celebrate Life” ad during the SuperBowl:

Most people of faith are strong proponents of religious liberty because they are very acquainted with the stories of religious persecution in almost every other part of the globe.  The answer to religious intolerance Read more

MRFF Activist to Speak at US Air Force Academy

The Colorado Springs Gazette reports that Michael Weinstein has been invited to the US Air Force Academy’s 2010 National Character and Leadership Symposium occurring on February 18th and 19th.  According to the article, he was invited by USAFA Superintendent LtGen Mike Gould:

[Gould] said he believes Weinstein and his organization have received a “bad rap” from some outside observers.

“He’s not anti-religious, anti-Christian or anti-anything,” Gould said. “He’s pro-respect. From my perspective, I’d like to give him the opportunity to make those points.”

Gould’s characterization of Weinstein (which is the second time he has complimented him) is perplexing.  Gould himself has been the target of Jeff Sharlet, a proxy for the MRFF who has worked with MRFF researcher Chris Rodda.  While Gould may feel he can take the wind from Weinstein’s sails by making him an ally, he may do so at the cost of his own credibility.

When asked to characterize his speech, a “pro-respect” speaker would have described his upcoming presentation as

“Your personal rights do not supersede the Constitutional rights of others.”

That’s a message that is fitting for such an audience.  Instead, in the same Gazette article, the not “anti-Christian or anti-anything” Weinstein characterized his message this way:  Read more

“Jesus Rifles” and the Trijicon Sword Drill

Trijicon, the now-infamous maker of high quality gun sights, has been accused of illegally “proselytizing” for adding Bible references to the weapon sights it provided to the US military.  The initial accusation has already been discussed, as has Trijicon’s voluntary offer to remove the inscriptions.

The term proselytize carries a negative stigma and is frequently misused, as it has been in this case.  An astute letter to the editor at the Stars and Stripes notes that it would likely take more than 6 characters “to convert” someone from or to a faith, as the definition of proselytize indicates.

Still, the accusations of “conversion by Bible reference” have been largely based on the presence of New Testament references to Jesus Christ on Trijicon’s sights.  However, not a single major news outlet asked why Trijicon selected the specific verses they did.  It would appear most, if not all, made the assumption that Trijicon was picking “Jesus verses” for the ineptly worded purpose of “proselytizing”–an assessment supported by news organizations generally paraphrasing only the “Jesus” part of the relevant verses, as well as the popularity of the inaccurate and perjorative term “Jesus rifle” that resulted.  However, an elementary web search reveals that is not the case.  If one considers all of the verses that Trijicon has selected, it puts their “intent” in a whole new light.  Read more

Trijicon Offers to Remove Bible References from Sights

Trijicon, the maker of the gun sight that has a Bible reference on it, has volunteered to remove the references and cease marking future sights to be used by the US and foreign governments.  It will also provide free kits to remove the markings from those sights that have already been deployed.  The company issued a press release that was picked up by Fox, CNN, and other news organizations.

The offer to pre-empt an official call for their removal, while unexpected, is actually an excellent public relations decision both from a business and faith perspective.  It avoids a “confrontation” over contracts and religious controversy, and it permits Trijicon to be viewed as both forthright and amenable to its customer, even if it does not have to be.  While some Christians in similar situations may dig their heels in, there is no moral imperative that requires Trijicon to refuse to accede to the feelings of its customer.  Their offer alleviates the concerns of the military and diffuses the public scandal.

For its part, the stern government reaction (as noted by General Petraeus, at least) undermines those who have claimed this was an unConstitutional collusion Read more

“Secret Bible Codes” on Military Weapons

The latest “breaking scandal” on religion and the military is nearly laughable.  In short:

  • Trijicon has a well-known reputation for building high quality weapons sights.
  • The US military contracted with them to buy their commercial rifle sights.
  • The company includes an abbreviated Bible reference in the model name on the sight.
  • ABC News reported that Michael Weinstein has called these “Jesus rifles.”

This “controversy” is so contrived as to be ridiculous.  However, if you’d like to read more, what follows is a cross-section of the comments made and the reasoning (or lack thereof) behind them.    Read more

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