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Onward Christian SoldiersTalking Points - by Rich GillockEvery Wednesday morning at the Pentagon, top ranking officers join together for a prayer breakfast. They are members of the Christian Embassy that claims to be a non-partisan, non-denominational organization. Of course when you call yourselves the Christian Embassy it tends to limit participation by many faiths. Members of the Christian Embassy are aggressively evangelical, and in a promotional video, seven officers bragged about using their official positions to proselytize their faith. In the video, Air Force Maj. Gen. Jack J. Catton Jr. says, "I found a wonderful opportunity as a director on the joint staff, as I meet the people that come into my directorate… I share my faith because it describes who I am." Another General in the video refers to Flag Officer Fellowship as sharing the “...aroma of Christ.” I hope that he meant “aura,” because after 2000 years I’m not sure what the aroma would be like. Under Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs, Dan Cooper, adds that his weekly prayer sessions are "more important than doing the job." This may be why the VA is giving most patients spiritual assessments that ask questions about faith, such as how often they attend church and how important religion is in their lives in order to receive care they have earned. A formal complaint has been lodged with the Inspector General because members of the military are not supposed to appear in uniform to endorse either secular or sectarian causes. In the video these officers were not only in uniform but their rank and position in the Pentagon was used without any disclaimer that this was not an official endorsement by the Pentagon. The video has since disappeared from the Christian Embassy website saying that “Out of respect for those we serve, we have removed the promotional video from our website until further notice." Maybe it was the aroma thing. With this evangelical cluster within the Pentagon it makes other events appear to be part of a reshaping of our military into “Christian soldiers.” In 2005 a major investigation at the Air Force Academy was launched because of over 50 complaints of religious harassment and prejudice against those who were not evangelical Christians. Charges included anti-Semitic slurs, preaching in class, official pressure to attend evangelical Christian events, misuse of government e-mail for proselytizing, and religious discrimination. One hero in this fight is Mikey Weinstein, an Air Force Academy graduate and father of an Academy student. He has formed the Military Religious Freedom Foundation to fight for the rights of our military personnel to enjoy the freedom from religious coercion guaranteed by the First Amendment. His fight began one day when visiting his son who told him that he was likely to get into trouble soon, because he was going beat the shit out of the next upper classman that called him a "Fucking Jew!" One staff chaplain told newly arrived freshmen that anyone not born again "will burn in the fires of hell." Capt. MeLinda Morton, a Lutheran minister at the Academy was removed from her administrative position when she complained about evangelical pressure being forced upon students. Former acting Secretary of the Air Force, Peter Geren oversaw the Air Force investigation of the Academy. He also showed up in the Christian Embassy video saying the organization “helped me in my walk with Christ.” The military chaplain corps is now estimated to be staffed more than 50% by evangelical Christian ministers. This is well above the traditional average, and this seems to be one more reason that evangelicals don’t necessarily have to play by the rules. In 2003, General James Boykin, the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, was regularly appearing at evangelical revivals, in uniform, and preaching that President Bush was “appointed by God,” and that the US was in a holy war as a "Christian nation" battling "Satan." He said about his failed mission against Islamic warlords in Somalia, "My God is bigger than his God. I knew my God was a real God, and his was an idol." While his activities came under investigation, his conduct was never punished. But not all public endorsements in uniform go unpunished. Last year, Navy chaplain Gordon J. Klingenschmitt was court-martialed for appearing in uniform at a political protest in front of the White House, though he maintained that all he did was lead a prayer. Apparently Christian soldiers are allowed to spew rants of hate against Islam, but not to pray for peace. With a Commander in Chief who claims that God talks to him and tells him to start wars, there is no wonder that the evangelical fringe in the military is having a field day. Unfortunately religious discrimination and intimidation do not help unit cohesion. Putting a Christian Crusader face on our military will not help us to win hearts and minds in the Middle East. [1] http://christianembassy.com [2] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/10/AR2006121000883.html [3] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/09/AR2007010901546.html [4] http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/05/03/airforce.religion/ [5] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/12/AR2005051201740.html [6]http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1586978,00.html |
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