Tag Archives: justin griffith

Military Atheists Join, Contradict Fight Against Travis AFB Nativity

Update: As promised, Travis AFB let local media on the base to view the display (and take pictures).  As expected, each noted the nativity and Menorah were part of a group of nearly two-dozen holiday displays.  Weinstein has managed to keep his invective fairly calm up to this point, but the more he talks, the more ridiculous he gets.  Now the nativity and Menorah are “dehumanizing:”

“You are dehumanizing people. You are marginalizing people,” Weinstein said. “We know it’s a violation of the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment.”

His basis:

“If you want something with religious symbols, be it Islamic, Jewish, Christian or whatever, put it on the grounds of the (base) chapel. That’s what the regulations say and that’s what the law says and we’re a nation of laws,” Weinstein declared.

Naturally, the former JAG doesn’t say what regulations or laws “say” that.  That’s likely because, despite his authoritative-sounding assertion, none do.  He’s trying to create a “new” law in the military restricting faith to the chapel.

Not to be outdone, Army atheist Justin Griffith is going one step further than Weinstein:

[Military bases] not only have a right to ban Nativity scenes, they have an obligation to do so.

He forgot to mention the Menorah.  Like Weinstein, he also fails to say why the government is ‘obligated’ to ban religious (Christian) displays.

Weinstein has reportedly said he is considering a federal lawsuit over the issue, but he has threatened lawsuit over just about every controversy over the past few years without following through.

Justin Griffith, the “military director” of American Atheists, has belatedly joined the attack by Michael Weinstein against Travis Air Force Base’s holiday card lane, which contains a nativity and Menorah, among nearly two dozen other displays.  Writing in the third person, Griffith says

Staff Sergeant Dan Rawlings is an atheist stationed at Travis. Rawlings contacted American Atheists about putting up an Atheist-themed display as well. The display was intended to go up next to the Nativity Scene and the token Jewish Menorah. Justin Griffith, the Military Director at American Atheists offered to provide and pay for an equivalent display for Staff Sergeant Rawlings to submit.

Note, of course, the atheists’ intent to put up a response to the religious displays, rather than take independent action (as has been the ideological trend of atheists).  Note, too, they came up with the idea only after they read about the displays in the news (though the displays have been up for some time):

Rawlings was told by his USAF chaplain that he could not Read more

Military Atheists Rally Around the Crossbuster

As noted before, some atheists, like many political or social activists, can sometimes become so engrossed in their presumed persecution they see offense where none exists.

Military atheists, for example, took a General officer to task when she made the fairly benign statement that military service requires you to believe in things “bigger than yourself.”  They derided a US military Chaplain for describing his duties as required by regulation.  In both cases, statements were attributed to the officers they didn’t actually say — it was just what the atheists thought they heard — a perception apparently skewed by an assumption of persecution.  Most recently, atheists brought up an old story about a Navy atheist who was “forced to permanently cover” a tattoo.  CTR2 Michael Wheeler had the logo of the band Bad Religion, the “crossbuster,” tattooed on his arm where it was visible, even in uniform:

Naturally, there was much consternation and implication of persecution on the part of the atheists.  In the end, a few who commented did correctly note a Read more

Atheists Find Drama in Military Reenlistment

US Army Sgt Justin Griffith recently posted a video of his last reenlistment.  In presenting it, he repeatedly emphasized the facts the officer was a chaplain (a “high ranking” one, at that), the “so help me God” was left out (by a chaplain!), and this confluence of events is “unheard of.”  Writing in the third person, Griffith said:

This moment is potentially historic. The military’s long-standing climate of hostility towards atheists is beginning to change. Foxhole atheists like Griffith are slamming the ‘atheist closet’ door shut behind them.

There are plenty of evangelical Christians inside and outside of the chaplaincy that are vocally opposed to equal treatment for atheists. But this video demonstrates the silent majority of Chaplains who really do ‘get it’.

While Griffith is to be congratulated on his reenlistment, and continuing service is a significant event in its own right, his ceremony wasn’t quite as dramatic as he seems to Read more

Military Atheists Seek Status as Lay, Faith Group Leaders

Atheists in the US Army continue to criticize the Army’s Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program and its Global Assessment Tool.  One portion of it is intended to help Soldiers assess their spiritual fitness — to which some atheists have objected, both in letter and principle.  Much like their opposition to anything “bigger” or “higher” than themselves, the atheists’ objection to the principle of spiritual fitness has caused them to see offense even in non-“religious” questions, like whether or not their lives have purpose.

Capt. Ryan Jean wanted to perform well on the Army’s psychological evaluation for soldiers. But he also wanted to answer the questions honestly. So when he was asked whether he believed his life had a lasting purpose, Jean, an atheist, saw no choice but to say no.

Apparently military atheists claim no lasting purpose in their lives.  Honestly.

Unfortunately, the article conflates two separate questions with which Read more

Army Atheists Get it Wrong on Chaplains. Again.

The “military director” of American Atheists and coordinator for “Rock Beyond Belief” at Fort Bragg, Justin Griffith, previously misstepped when he tried to ‘humorously’ make the point “there are no chaplains in foxholes.’  (Even some who support him have asked him not to demean the service of chaplains who died in the line of duty or received such accolades as the Medal of Honor.)

Griffith was also so offended by an answer BrigGen Rhonda Cornum gave in a media interview that he misquoted her and allowed another military atheist, Dustin Chalker, to rail on about her misquoted statement.

Now, he’s done it again.

This time Griffith targeted Read more

Military Atheists and “Higher” Things…or Not

ABC News recently did a short segment on the US Army’s Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program, or, more accurately, the spiritual fitness portion of it.

They interviewed Brigadier General Rhonda Cornum, a PhD, MD, Desert Storm POW, and current Director of Comprehensive Soldier Fitness in the Army.

They also interviewed US Army Sgt Dustin Chalker, an atheist Soldier whom Michael Weinstein used to sue the US Army.  (The lawsuit was dismissed.)

While military atheists have generally taken issue with the entire concept of “spiritual fitness,” the following portion of the interview was highlighted by Justin Griffith on his atheist “Rock Beyond Belief” website:

Sciutto (ABC News): Why is it that spiritual people make better soldiers?

Cornum: The ethos that we adhere to. Always place the mission first. Never accept defeat. Never leave a fallen comrade.  Those kinds of things require you to have belief in something higher than yourself.

To be accurate, the US Army did not say Read more

Military Atheists Miss the Mark with Chaplain “Humor”

US Army Sergeant Justin Griffith has recently been named the “military director” of American Atheists, the group founded by Madalyn Murray O’Hair (the famous atheist who tried to take on NASA).

He proudly announced that his “first act” was to arm his “fellow foxhole atheists” with “humor” to fight the “condescending theist” statement “there are no atheists in foxholes.” To wit (formatting original):

Technically, there really are no Chaplains in foxholes (in the US military.) They are designated ‘non combatants’, are not assigned a weapon, and are not supposed to be on the front lines of a battlefield. If they somehow stumbled into a foxhole, it would cease being a fighting position. It would simply be a hole…

In the hopes of this becoming a meme that eventually kills the offensive statement altogether, I pass it on to you. I encourage all of my fellow service members to use it. Use it respectfully, but fearlessly. You are right. They are wrong.

Unfortunately, Griffith is wrong, and his attempt at wit falls flat.  A foxhole is not defined by whether or not a Chaplain is in it any more than a war is defined by the location of its front lines.  (Ask the Soldiers in Humvees and MRAPs with Chaplains onboard if they think their vehicle is still for “fighting.”)  He ignores the fact the US military does “[assign] a weapon” to Chaplains — it’s in the hands of the Chaplain’s assistant, standing right next to him, charged with protecting the Chaplain with lethal force.

Griffith also grossly misstates facts when he says Read more

Fort Bragg Atheists Thank Garrison Commander

In a rare display of gratitude toward the Army, the organizers of “Rock Beyond Belief” called on their supporters to “thank” Fort Bragg garrison commander Col Stephen Sicinski.

Unfortunately, they still managed to insult him in the same paragraph.

Rock Beyond Belief’s earliest attempts were not taken seriously by Fort Bragg, as visitors may remember.
 
However, the situation has changed drastically in the months since our first approach fell through. Fort Bragg’s Garrison Commander, Colonel Sicinski has made the right call, and has now approved our event with the full government support that was promised.

The person who was responsible for seeing they “were not taken seriously” — in the words of RBB — was, of course, Col Sicinski.  Still, Col Sicinski maintained the high ground and continued to say he was supportive of the atheists’ efforts — if only Read more

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