Tag Archives: religious freedom

Gettysburg Re-enactment Includes Chapel Services

An interesting article from the local Hanover newspaper covers the present-day re-enactment of Civil War military church services:

When a Civil War regiment marched into battle, it usually had more chaplains than surgeons backing it up.

Battlefield medicine may have been in its infancy, but religion was central to most of the men, and soldiers relied on faith to heal the spirit from the horrors of war.

“If you were in a potential battle area, you definitely wanted to make sure you went to church and didn’t want to go in there without that blessing,” said Kirk Davis, history director at Gettysburg Anniversary Committee.

In an interesting note:  Read more

Coast Guardsman Receives Pastafarian Gift at Retirement

Master Chief Petty Officer Bob Sebaste of the US Coast Guard had a retirement ceremony in June in which he was presented with an interesting gift [emphasis added]:

I retired recently after 29 years of service in the US Navy and US Coast Guard. The guys I work with know that I am an ordained minister in the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. For our holiday party, for example, I ensured that His Noodly Goodness was properly represented, as well as the Festivus pole and other more mainstream (mundane) religious symbols.

In any case, at my retirement ceremony, they presented me with this most excellent headgear, appropriately decorated with my CG rank insignia.

The concept of the “flying spaghetti monster” is Read more

Retired General tells Military Chaplains to be Inclusive or “Get Out”

David Wells, pastor of Pleasant View Baptist Church in McQuady, Kentucky, was recently barred from ministering to residents of a juvenile detention facility because he refused to sign a policy that said he could not refer to homosexuality as sinful. The Liberty Counsel is now assisting Wells as he sues for reinstatement:

“They have not accommodated him and they’re clearly trying to restrict a particular viewpoint,” said Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel…

Staver also said he  Read more

Pastor Defends Christian Fighter Pilot from Mikey Weinstein

Wade Burleson pastors Emmanuel Baptist Church in Enid, Oklahoma, which is the home of Vance Air Force Base — where Christina “Thumper” Hopper serves as a Reserve Air Force instructor pilot. After Michael “Mikey” Weinstein blasted Christina online for her public profession of faith in God, Burleson took to his own blog to defend his congregant [formatting original]:

It seems Mr. Mikey was offended when he read an article last week from the Vance Air Force Base Public Affairs magazine that highlighted Christina and her recent accomplishments as a triathlete…Here are the reporter’s words about Christina, comparing her triathlete training to life:

“The triathlon courses are designed by others, but Christina’s life’s trail is directed by faith. Faith in God, faith in those she is close to and faith in the belief that life’s spoils, whether they be triathlon finishes, flying or family, are blessings.”

Faith in God.

These are three words that caused Mr. Weinstein offense. It seems Read more

The Hopper Response to Mikey Weinstein: Come to Dinner

LtCol Aaron Hopper is the husband of US Air Force Reserve Major Christina “Thumper” Hopper, the target of Mikey Weinstein’s attack this week claiming she was violating military regulations when she identified faith in God as her life motivation.

He personally responded to Mikey Weinstein on Wednesday…and invited him to dinner.

It remains to be seen whether Weinstein has the courage to meet the Hoppers in person after denigrating Christina from behind the keyboard. If nothing else, Aaron’s admirable response and noble offer may help some of Weinstein’s acolytes realize Weinstein’s targets are real human beings — not the faceless, one-dimensional criminals Weinstein generally makes them out to be.

The Hoppers invite Mikey Weinstein to dinner:

Mikey Weinstein, you have written that my wife could be accused of, “1st degree religious zealotry unbecoming of a military leader,” following a feature article written about her last week. Yet Christina has never pressured anyone in the ranks to listen, agree with, or accept any of her beliefs. She Read more

Mikey Weinstein Attacks Air Force Christians for Their Faith

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein recently slammed Christian Air Force officers for the high crime of…being Christian.

His first target was US Air Force Reserve Major Christina “Thumper” Hopper. Hopper’s callsign recalls a few Air Force traditions, playing off both her name and her character. (Thumper was the name of the rabbit in Bambi (get it?), and she was also known for her faith — making her a “Bible thumper.”)

In an innocuous Air Force article about her participation in a triathlon, Thumper talked about how she “measure[d] herself”:

The overarching thing that defines all of my life is my relationship with God. It’s what drives me and makes me passionate about life. The reason and the purpose behind everything I do is to glorify God and to make his name known. If that was removed from my life, I would feel that I have no purpose.

Weinstein — who once said he would give his last drop of blood to defend others’ rights to their faiths, even if they were offensive — berated Thumper and belittled her beliefs:  Read more

Rabbi Elie Estrin Commissioned as Air Force’s Only Bearded Chaplain

Rabbi Elie Estrin (previously discussed here) recently graduated from Officer Training School, officially making him an officer in the Air Force Reserve — and the Air Force’s only chaplain wearing a beard:

During the five week Commissioned Officer Training Course, Rabbi Estrin ate Kosher MRE’s (ready-to-eat meals) and said that staff were fantastic about facilitating his required accommodations, some of which included his adherence to Shabbat and the 25 hour fast of Tisha Be’av, a day which commemorates the destruction of the second temple in Jerusalem.

(Chaplain Menachem Stern currently serves in the US Army with a beard.)

Religious beards mark one Read more

Atheists Demand Removal of War Memorial with Hidden Ichthus

Update: The Boone County Commission voted to move and replace the memorial.

Can you see what atheists find offensive about this war memorial to fallen troops?

Behind the dedication plaque at the bottom of the stone is an ichthus.

And that’s why these atheists say it has to go.

The grounds of the Boone County Courthouse in Missouri are host to memorials to local citizens killed in action while fighting for their country. After a threat from atheists, one of those memorials may have to move. The memorial was raised in 1992 for two locals killed in Operation Desert Storm: Steven Farnen and Patrick Connor.  It recently came under attack by atheists, and the County Commission is considering a proposal to move it to a cemetery — away from the courthouse grounds, and away from the memorials for all the other fallen citizens:

The focus of the proposal, and the yearlong controversy surrounding the memorial, was an ichthus, or “Jesus fish,” the commission decided to cover last June rather than face possible legal action from a Washington, D.C.-based organization.

Neither of the families wants the memorial moved, and both even agreed Read more

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