attn: Mr. Weinstein

Published On: March 19, 2014|Categories: MRFF's Inbox|0 Comments|

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Dear Mr Weinstein, You are not for religious freedom but rather religious suppression and your real agenda of hate, intolerance and destruction of the individual right of conscience is being cloaked behind the otherwise noble words you wrap yourself with which you have usurped from our constitution.

Also, your own further bias is evidenced by the fact that the letters you post, purportedly from your detractors, portray them all to have been written by semi literate, ignorant and rabidly hateful or intolerant individuals and those messages are not coming from true Christians of the faith, the vast majority of whom are decent loving people who do not express themselves in such a manner. In fact in all my 62 years I have never even heard anyone speak or write like that at any of the numerous churches I have attended either here or abroad and if they had I am sure the rest of the parishioners would have asked them to leave. Moreover, an instruction in or upraising in the faith does produce the sort of low life, mental rubbish by-product you have posted from your detractors. Simply stated, those truly educated in Christ’s teachings and blessed with the knowledge of God do not express themselves in such a manner.

You are in fact confusing educated faith and practiced Christianity with ignorance and bigotry which the latter has no place in the all inclusive, healing and loving faith of Christ. Thus, by your employment of the written examples of ignorance and evil which you post, all examples of a negative spiritual condition not even related to any level of Christian teaching or state of grace, you are appearing to be little more than an intellectually dishonest propagandist hiding behind some ulterior agenda. Your disingenuous MOs appears to be the use of real cases of ignorance and bigotry to justify your own agenda of religious persecution. When a person writes a letter like some of the ones you claim to have received they are not being written people who have been instructed in or are practicing the Christian faith. Agreeably not all gentiles are saintly nor Christian but true practicing Christians do not behave in the manner you are portraying and so you are wrong to blame purely prurient behavior upon the teachings of Christ and in fact no where does the gospel teach or countenance such things. Conversely, Christ’s gospel is a teaching of love, charity, healing and forgiveness and no where in the book can you point to otherwise and it is also all inclusive.

Moreover, the mail from your supporters all appears to have been written by the same person or group of people, which is suspect in its own right. I have analyzed the style and it is all similar with the writing samples being portrayed as originating from well spoken and literate individuals who all claim to have suffered abuse or discrimination of some form while in the military. Thus, the impression being conveyed by your organization is that these intelligent and nice people are being victimized and abused by nasty, prejudiced and ignorant ones which you then via some leap of imagination attempt to equate to the practicing Christians as being the cause of all their misfortunate experiences. Some of the accounts you post actually remind me of the sort of fantasy fables produced by self inflicting personalities such as that young black girl who claimed she was raped by white police officers…or the Jewish man who was found to have painted swastikas on his own house while concocting tales of persecution or the wife of a mixed race couple who repeatedly painted the words “nigger lover” on her own home at night in order to cause a media stir and generated some kind of publicity or sympathy–until a police stake out caught her in the act one time. Unfortunately, some of what you claim has or does in fact take place to varying degrees in all countries on Earth and for all sorts of reasons but blaming people who study or quote the Christian scriptures probably ranks lowest of all the causes of human rights abuse.

We are not living in the dark ages anymore and this is not Tsarist Russia either which seems to be where your own personal point of reference of what constitutes Christianity is seems to be rooted. Your further contention that bigotry and abuse in the US Military can only be blamed upon Christianity and those who profess it is an absurd libel on your part and it is sad to observe a Jewish man such as yourself, whose ancestors probably did suffer real persecution in old Europe, now becoming the persecutor himself. Indeed bigotry and intolerance does exist but it is not being caused by those who study the scriptures and then attempt to live by those tenets. Thus, when you trample the faith of others or attempt to equate it as the cause of some of your ugly examples of bias and bigotry, you are really pointing the finger at the wrong set of people.

I have also observed this same type of non-sequitur thought process which you employ at work before when I was in the former Soviet Union where I spent some time many years ago. That was also a place where those who practiced any religious faith were portrayed in a negative manner, were persecuted, scorned, libeled and even sent to the gulag as a part of a state policy via use of the same denigrating and persecutory techniques which you currently practice. Actually, it is your techniques and actions to suppress free religious expressions which, if anything, are possibly generating anger and hatred towards Jews in certain fringe quarters, since you are the one who is being perceived as the persecutor.

Moreover, instead of working with Christian groups and invoking their own tenets to love one another and to stand up against bigotry and intolerance you are instead alienating them by blaming them for the causes of such. In other words instead of developing allies in your cause against intolerance what you are doing instead is both polarizing and non constructive and is only generating bad will and causing or giving fringe elements the ammunition to claim that it is Jews who the ones who are really intolerant and spiteful towards other faiths. Also unfortunately, because of the situation with the displaced Palestinians around Israel Muslims already feel that way about Jews and you already have 1/3 of the world mad at Jews.

The majority of Christians in this country however have long been supporters of Israel and tolerant of Jews and the Jewish faith and but what you are doing by suppressing innocent manifestations of faith, such as a verse written on a personal chalk board, could rapidly cause all of that to change. That would be a real tragedy and will only serve to create resentment towards the perceived source of the bigotry and persecution…you personally and your co-religionists in general. I do not understand your motivations but, perhaps like the man who painted swastikas on his own house, that is what you want to happen so you can further justify your own acts of persecution and intolerance???

To get over your Christiano-phobia, I suggest that you attend a Catholic or Protestant service or sit in to observe a youth bible study session, you will be welcomed to attend, and you will find all manner of elevated notions being taught: love, tolerance, forgiveness, charity, humility,protection of the weak, healing and the consoling of the emotionally injured as being paths to know God , etc, etc..and not hatred of Jews or gays, etc..and thus you might go away feeling refreshed and inspired but certainly not in fear for your life of the people who study and live for Christianity. Hopefully you will understand that those are not the sources of the intolerance and hate you otherwise claim to seek to remedy.

Finally besides creating bad will where non existed before and giving fodder and excuses to un-Christian haters to keep hating, you should otherwise understand the contextual historic futility of what you are doing, anyway. Christianity is here to stay, has suffered every form of persecution every where and has survived and always become even stronger.

Even 70 years of absolute state power backed up by mass murder and banishment and total state control over education and information by the communists could not destroy it in Russia and you will never have such powers as those at your disposal to do what you are trying to do here. Also, long after you and your organization have turned to dust…even a thousand years in the future…Christianity as the light of the world, professing universal truths of love and a positive form of personal conduct and representing the best hope for all of humanity will still be taught and practiced by even more people than now. Thus, no matter how many irritating little pin pricks people like you attempt to employ to try to defame it, suppress it and stop it, people will always seek out the positive and uplifting while you are merely a negative offering nothing better in turn.
So, in the market place of free ideals and thoughts…and human nature being what it is, those concepts which inspire and uplift the individual soul will triumph and those who seek to limit or destroy it always loose and that is the way it has always been.

Now go in peace and stop your persecutions and threats to disrupt the freedoms of the individuals of this nation or you may indeed awake a monster beyond the one you merely imagine exists.

Sincerely,
(name withheld)

PS. I doubt if you will post my letter…since it will not support your case.


Dear (name withheld),

Mikey has read your email and asked me to respond to you as he is very busy helping our soldiers.

I am not a “pin prick” as you stated but an ordained minister.

After reading your diatribe, I came to the conclusion that you are misinformed as to the true nature of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) and must have fallen under the sway of the media’s lies and omissions.

You have encapsulated all of the different hate mails we have received into one “silver-tongued” email.

I have hundreds of email from illiterate persons on my computer that I have responded to personally. The emails are real and full of hate and death threats.

You say a Christian wouldn’t write such things? You are right. These people profess to be Christians but do not follow the teachings of Jesus yet they spout the most vitriolic criticisms I have ever read followed by “I will pray for you.” These people are wolves in sheep clothing.

You wrote:

“The majority of Christians in this country however have long been supporters of Israel and tolerant of Jews…”

Tolerant! Did you forget that Jesus was born, raised and died a Jew?

God said “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Genesis 12:3. What part of this did you miss? He didn’t say I will bless them that are “tolerant” of thee.

The first thing I need to clear up to you is that we are neither anti-God nor anti-Christian. Mikey is Jewish and prays 3 times a day to the same Father we do. A full 75% of the Board, Advisory Board, volunteers and supporters with the MRFF are Christian (not pin pricks). Out of our 36,000+ military clients (1 can represent 50 and 1 represents 100) are Christian (not pin pricks) – Catholics, Episcopalians, Methodists, Lutherans, Baptists, Evangelicals, etc. If anything, we represent Christians more than any other religion but that doesn’t make the news.

I suggest you go to our website and click on “About” and then click on “Foundation Voices” where you will see:

Lawrence Wilkerson – Secretary of State Colin Powell’s Chief of Staff (2002-05), Ambassador Joe Wilson, honorable and distinguished military personnel we rely on for their expertise in military law, Governors, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, ministers and people from all walks of life that are not “pin pricks” as you so self-righteously call us.

Now, to get to the heart of your condescending, judgmental email I will have to give you the facts.

You mention that Mikey should attend a Catholic or Protestant church. Well, this is what the Dominionist Christians (google it) that have hijacked our military think of them:

US Army chaplain MAJ James Linzey, who, in a 1999 video, described mainstream Protestant churches as “demonic, dastardly creatures from the pit of hell “that should be “stomped out.”

This is the thinking in our military all the way up the chain of command towards mainline Christians; they should be stomped out.

As a Christian how would you like to be told:

you’re not “the right kind” of Christian or not “Christian enough.”
that you are going to hell because you do not believe in the Christian sect they do.
given poor performance ratings because you won’t accept their sect.
denied advancements because you are of a different sect.
verbally abused with in-your-face religious proselytizing against your own religion.
driven out of the military on trumped up charges.
put on “point” on every mission

And, there is more…so much more.

This is the hostile environment the mainline Christians (mentioned above) deal with on a daily basis. Their Constitutional rights of religious freedom are being trampled on without any help from those in the chain of command.
This is what we fight against for the 96% of our soldier-clients who are mainline Christians.

I, too, am a Christian but I take seriously the Word of God where we are to obey our “governing authorities.” I adhere to the Constitution, the Supreme Court rulings and military law.

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment (Establishment Clause) of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise (Free Exercise Clause) thereof . . . “(1st Amendment)

The Establishment Clause comes before the Free Exercise Clause for a reason; the Free Exercise Clause is subservient to the Establishment Clause – not the other way around as some Christians would like it to be.
The Supreme Court heard the Lemon v. Kurtzman case in 1971 and ruled in favor of the Establishment Clause.

Subsequent to this decision, the Supreme Court has applied a three-pronged test to determine whether government action comports with the Establishment Clause, known as the “Lemon Test”

Lemon Test:

1. Any law or policy must have been adopted with a neutral or non-religious purpose.
2. The principle or primary effect of any law or policy must be one that neither advances nor inhibits religion.
3. The statute or policy must not result in an “excessive entanglement” of government with religion.

If any government entity’s actions fit into one of these three, then it is a violation of the Establishment Clause.

The Air Force has strict rules on religious neutrality. This is binding on everyone at the academy.

BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE
Air Force Instruction 1-1
7 August 2012

2.11. Government Neutrality Regarding Religion. Leaders at all levels must balance constitutional protections for an individual’s free exercise of religion or other personal beliefs and the constitutional prohibition against governmental establishment of religion. For example, they must avoid the actual or apparent use of their position to promote their personal religious beliefs to their subordinates or to extend preferential treatment for any religion. Commanders or supervisors who engage in such behavior may cause members to doubt their impartiality and objectivity. The potential result is a degradation of the unit’s morale, good order, and discipline. Airmen, especially commanders and supervisors, must ensure that in exercising their right of religious free expression, they do not degrade morale, good order, and discipline in the Air Force or degrade the trust and confidence that the public has in the United States Air Force.

The AFI 1-1 passes the Lemon Test because it is religious neutral.

Our military is secular and must remain religious-neutral.

The Cadets just went through training on religious neutrality but this one Cadet decided to ignore it. Twenty nine Cadets and four staff at the academy recognized the blatant disregard (insubordination) of AFI 1-1 and came to us for help because the academy failed them.

When one joins the military, he/she gives up some rights in order to have cohesion and good order in the unit. They are not allowed to speak back to their superior or disparage the President. They are not to speak about politics or religion in public while in uniform. They are to obey every rule and command even if they disagree with it.

No Cadet has to give up their Christianity. They are still free to talk about it in the hallway with a friend, go to chapel, attend a Bible study, bow their head in prayer at meal time, etc. We encourage this. But they are not allowed to post religious things in common/secular areas (hallways) especially on a whiteboard owned by a person in authority.

The reason it appears that we are attacking Christianity – which we are only trying to stop the Dominionist Christians from running roughshod over mainline Christians – is because it is the ONLY religion that disregards our laws. Every other religion works within them and if they didn’t, we would be on it

I hope this clears up any misconceptions you have about the MRFF of which you have obviously swallowed hook, line and sinker.

Pastor Joan
MRFF Advisory Board Member


DEAR (name withheld),

MR. WEINSTEIN IS RATHER BUSY PROTECTING THE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM OF THE MEN AND WOMEN IN OUR MILITARY, SO HAS ASKED ME TO RESPOND TO YOUR MESSAGE. I WILL DO SO IN CAPS TO TRY TO SEPARATE MY RESPONSES FROM YOUR ASSERTIONS, CHARGES AND DECLARATIVE STATEMENTS, WHICH ARE GENERALLY INCORRECT. BECAUSE YOUR MESSAGE IS LENGTHY AND RATHER FULL OF ATTACK AND INVECTIVE, I’LL INSERT MY RESPONSES IN THE BODY OF YOUR MESSAGE WHERE APPROPRIATE.

Dear Mr Weinstein,

You are not for religious freedom

THIS IS, OF COURSE, YOUR OPINION, BASED ONLY ON YOUR PERSONAL ASSESSMENT. YOUR ASSESSMENT IS WRONG.

but rather religious suppression and your real agenda of hate, intolerance and destruction of the individual right of conscience is being cloaked behind the otherwise noble words you wrap yourself with which you have usurped from our constitution.

YOUR OPERATIVE THESIS, ABOVE, IS INCORRECT, AND IT COLORS NOT ONLY THE REST OF THIS TRACT BUT MAKES HAVING A DIALOGUE RATHER DIFFICULT. LET ME SIMPLY SAY YOU ARE QUITE WRONG ABOUT THE MRFF’S HAVING A HIDDEN AGENDA. NOTHING HAS BEEN CODED, “CLOAKED” OR USURPED. OUR CONSTITUTION AND THE LAWS AND TRADITIONS OF OUR LAND CLEARLY ESTABLISH THE FACT THAT OURS IS A NATION IN WHICH ONE’S FREEDOM TO THINK, SPEAK AND MAKE CHOICES, INCLUDING THE CHOICE OF ONE’S FAITH OR BELIEF SYSTEM (WHICH INCLUDES THE CHOICE OF HAVING NONE) IS PROTECTED. IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT ONE’S CHOICE OF RELIGION OR NON-RELIGION IS NOT IMPACTED BY ANY FORM OF GOVERNMENT INTRUSION, WHETHER IMPLICIT OR OVERT, WE SUPPORT THE GOVERNMENT-ARTICULATED SEPARATION BETWEEN CHURCH AND STATE.

Also, your own further bias is evidenced by the fact that the letters you post, purportedly from your detractors, portray them all to have been written by semi literate, ignorant and rabidly hateful or intolerant individuals and those messages are not coming from true Christians of the faith, the vast majority of whom are decent loving people who do not express themselves in such a manner.

POSTING SOME OF THE LETTERS FROM DETRACTORS IS A WAY TO HELP THE CURIOUS UNDERSTAND, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE LEVEL OF VITRIOL OF WHICH SOME WHO CLAIM TO BE GOD-LOVING PEOPLE ARE CAPABLE. WHILE I HAVE MYSELF READ AND RESPONDED TO MANY OF THEM, I HAVE NO IDEA IF, AS YOU SUGGEST, ALL “HAVE BEEN WRITTEN BY SEMI-LITERATE, IGNORANT AND RABIDLY HATEFUL OR INTOLERANT INDIVIDUALS.” CERTAINLY SOME HAVE, I CAN TELL YOU FROM MY OWN EXPERIENCE. I SUSPECT, THOUGH, THAT SOME OF THE MORE INTELLIGENT- APPEARING AND LESS HATEFUL LETTERS WE’VE RECEIVED HAVE BEEN POSTED AS WELL, BECAUSE IN MOST INSTANCES WHEREIN WE’VE RECEIVED CRITICAL MESSAGES FROM THOUGHTFUL PEOPLE THEY HAVE RESULTED IN MISUNDERSTANDINGS BEING CLEARED UP AND AGREEMENT BEING REACHED.

I DO QUITE AGREE WITH YOUR POINT THAT MOST OF THE MORE HATEFUL LETTERS “ARE NOT COMING FROM TRUE CHRISTIANS,” AT LEAST NOT WHAT I AND OUR CHRISTIAN SUPPORTERS OF MANY FAITHS, SOME OF THEM CLERGY, UNDERSTAND TO BE ‘TRUE CHRISTIANS.’ SADLY, HOWEVER, THE AUTHORS OF THOSE SHOCKING ASSAULTS SEEM TO FEEL PERFECTLY COMFORTABLE WITH THINKING OF THEMSELVES AS TRUE CHRISTIAN BELIEVERS EVEN AS THEY ACT IN A MANNER DIRECTLY CONTRARY TO WHAT I, FOR ONE, UNDERSTAND JESUS’ TEACHINGS TO BE ABOUT.

YOUR USE OF THE WORD “PURPORTEDLY” IN MAKING REFERENCE TO THOSE LETTERS, BY THE WAY, IS UNDERSTOOD TO MEAN THAT YOU SUSPECT THEY ARE NOT ACTUALLY LETTERS OR EMAILS WE HAVE RECEIVED BUT ARE SOMETHING WE’VE CONTRIVED IN ORDER TO BUTTRESS OUR REASON FOR BEING. THERE’S NOTHING I CAN SAY, I SUSPECT, TO REASSURE YOU THAT THEY ARE REAL, EXCEPT TO SAY I HAVE RECEIVED THEM MYSELF AND HAVE NO REASON TO DOUBT THEIR LEGITIMACY.

In fact in all my 62 years I have never even heard anyone speak or write like that at any of the numerous churches I have attended either here or abroad and if they had I am sure the rest of the parishioners would have asked them to leave.

WELL, I’M HAPPY FOR YOUR POSITIVE EXPERIENCE. WHILE I THINK IT’S UNLIKELY THAT SOMEONE WOULD STAND UP IN CHURCH AND HURL THE FOUL LANGUAGE, SPEW THE EVIL CURSES AND UTTER THE BLASPHEMOUS CONDEMNATIONS THAT MANY OF THESE LETTERS CONTAIN, I MUST SAY I HAVE HEARD SOME PRETTY UGLY ANTISEMITISM AND ANTI-ISLAMIC EPITHETS TOSSED ABOUT IN WHAT SOME CONSIDER GOOD CHRISTIAN CHURCHES. SO I GUESS IT’S A QUESTION OF DEGREE.

Moreover, an instruction in or upraising in the faith does produce the sort of low life, mental rubbish by-product you have posted from your detractors.

I’M GOING TO ASSUME HERE YOU LEFT OUT A WORD. THAT MIGHT BE CALLED A FREUDIAN SLIP.

Simply stated, those truly educated in Christ’s teachings and blessed with the knowledge of God do not express themselves in such a manner.

I FULLY UNDERSTAND AND WOULD AGREE, BUT ONLY IN THE MOST HOPEFUL SENSE. AS MANY OF THE FAITHFUL HAVE DEMONSTRATED, WE’RE ONLY HUMAN AFTER ALL.

You are in fact confusing educated faith and practiced Christianity with ignorance and bigotry which the latter has no place in the all inclusive, healing and loving faith of Christ.

AGAIN, YOU SPEAK IN ABSOLUTES. AND, OF COURSE, YOU’RE WELCOME TO THEM. MY EXPERIENCE TELLS ME, HOWEVER, THAT MERE HUMANS HAVE A TOUGH TIME LIVING UP TO THE CHRISTIAN IDEAL. AS FOR THE QUESTION WE’RE DEALING WITH HERE, WE’RE NOT CONFUSING ANYTHING, ONLY DEALING IN THE REAL WORLD WITH THOSE WHO CLAIM TO BE YOUR CO-RELIGIONISTS YET SPEW THE VERY CURSES YOU DISAVOW. THAT BEING THE CASE, YOU MIGHT BETTER SPEND YOUR ENERGY EDUCATING THOSE WHO BETRAY THE VERY BELIEF SYSTEM YOU SO FIRMLY EMBRACE RATHER THAN SPEND YOUR TIME CONDEMNING US FOR THE WORK WE’RE DOING TO PROTECT THE FREEDOM OF RELIGION OF THE MEN AND WOMEN IN THE MILITARY.

Thus, by your employment of the written examples of ignorance and evil which you post, all examples of a negative spiritual condition not even related to any level of Christian teaching or state of grace, you are appearing to be little more than an intellectually dishonest propagandist hiding behind some ulterior agenda.

I’M TEMPTED TO SAY HERE THAT YOU HAVEN’T BEEN LISTENING, BUT I REALIZE YOU HAVEN’T YET SEEN THIS RESPONSE. BY THE TIME YOU’VE GOTTEN THIS FAR, HOWEVER, I HOPE IT HAS BEGUN TO DAWN ON YOU THAT YOU’VE CREATED A STRAW MAN AND KEEP BEATING ON IT TO NO AVAIL. THE “NEGATIVE SPIRITUAL CONDITION NOT EVEN RELATED TO ANY LEVEL OF CHRISTIAN TEACHING OR STATE OF GRACE” TO WHICH YOU REFER IS ALIVE AND, SAD TO SAY, FLOURISHING IN YOUR VERY CHURCH. I URGE YOUR ATTENDANCE TO IT. THE DOMINIONIST (IF YOU DON’T KNOW THE TERM, LOOK IT UP) SECT THAT SPAWNS THE TOTALITARIAN NOTIONS WHICH GIVE RISE TO THE KIND OF ASTONISHING UGLINESS YOU SO HOPE ISN’T ACTUALLY HAPPENING IS IN FACT EATING AWAY AT THE HEART OF THE CHURCH YOU CLEARLY DEEPLY LOVE.

Your disingenuous MOs appears to be the use of real cases of ignorance and bigotry to justify your own agenda of religious persecution. When a person writes a letter like some of the ones you claim to have received they are not being written people who have been instructed in or are practicing the Christian faith.

JUST TO TRY TO PIERCE THE ARMOR OF YOUR CERTAINTY FOR A MOMENT, LET ME AGREE WITH THE ABOVE. THESE PEOPLE ARE CERTAINLY NOT PRACTICING CHRISTIAN VALUES WHEN THEY SEND OUT THIS GARBAGE. THE PROBLEM IS THEY APPARENTLY BELIEVE WHAT THEY’RE SAYING; THEY ARE IN FACT DEFENDING THESE ANTI-CHRISTIAN ASSAULTS IN THE NAME OF CHRISTIANITY. THIS, I WOULD HOPE, WOULD PROMPT THE KIND OF TRUE CHRISTIANS YOU CLAIM TO REPRESENT TO DRIVE THESE INFIDELS OUT OF THE VERY TEMPLE YOU CLAIM TO BE SPEAKING FOR HERE.

Agreeably not all gentiles are saintly nor Christian but true practicing Christians do not behave in the manner you are portraying and so you are wrong to blame purely prurient behavior upon the teachings of Christ and in fact no where does the gospel teach or countenance such things. Conversely, Christ’s gospel is a teaching of love, charity, healing and forgiveness and no where in the book can you point to otherwise and it is also all inclusive.

AT LAST WE AGREE, AT LEAST IN PART. HOWEVER, YOU ARE QUITE WRONG TO STATE THAT WE BLAME THIS BEHAVIOR ON THE TEACHINGS OF CHRIST. AS I INDICATED ABOVE, MOST OF OUR MEMBERS/SUPPORTERS ARE CHRISTIAN, SOME OF THEM CLERGY, SO THE UNCHRISTIAN NATURE OF THESE ATTACKS IS READILY RECOGNIZED AND ITS AUTHORS REPUDIATED.

Moreover, the mail from your supporters all appears to have been written by the same person or group of people, which is suspect in its own right. I have analyzed the style and it is all similar with the writing samples being portrayed as originating from well spoken and literate individuals who all claim to have suffered abuse or discrimination of some form while in the military.

MY GOD, MAN (OR WOMAN), YOU’RE NOT ONLY A FAULTY JUDGE OF CHARACTER, YOU’RE ALSO A SELF-PROCLAIMED HANDWRITING ANALYST – ACTUALLY AN EMAILWRITING-STYLE ANALYST – AND IT HAS LED YOU TO ANOTHER MIND-BOGGLINGLY INANE CONCLUSION. ARE YOU SERIOUS? DO YOU HONESTLY THINK THE MRFF HAS IN ITS EMPLOY A PERSON OR PERSONS WHO WRITE(S) “WELL SPOKEN AND LITERATE” YET COMPLETELY FALSE CLAIMS OF ABUSE AND DISCRIMINATION? I DON’T MEAN TO IMPUGN YOUR GRASP OF REALITY, BUT ARE YOU NUTS?

Thus, the impression being conveyed by your organization is that these intelligent and nice people are being victimized and abused by nasty, prejudiced and ignorant ones which you then via some leap of imagination attempt to equate to the practicing Christians as being the cause of all their misfortunate experiences.

ASKED AND ANSWERED. SORRY, BUT I’M BEGINNING TO THINK I’M SPENDING A LOT OF TIME RESPONDING TO SOMEONE WHO IS UNWILLING TO LOOK BEYOND HER OR HIS UTTERLY FOOLISH AND COMPLETELY BIZARRE PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS.

Some of the accounts you post actually remind me of the sort of fantasy fables produced by self inflicting personalities such as that young black girl who claimed she was raped by white police officers…or the Jewish man who was found to have painted swastikas on his own house while concocting tales of persecution or the wife of a mixed race couple who repeatedly painted the words “nigger lover” on her own home at night in order to cause a media stir and generated some kind of publicity or sympathy–until a police stake out caught her in the act one time.

YES, I RECALL SOME OF THOSE INSTANCES AND I SEE THE WAY THEY’RE USED BY PEOPLE OF A CERTAIN MINDSET AS A CONVENIENT EXCUSE TO DISBELIEVE THAT RACIAL BIAS AND ANTI-SEMITISM EXIST IN OUR GOOD, PREDOMINANTLY CHRISTIAN COUNTRY.

Unfortunately, some of what you claim has or does in fact take place to varying degrees in all countries on Earth and for all sorts of reasons but blaming people who study or quote the Christian scriptures probably ranks lowest of all the causes of human rights abuse.

AN ODD SENTENCE. YES, SOME PRETTY AWFUL STUFF “HAS OR DOES TAKE PLACE.” BUT APPARENTLY YOU HAVE LOCKED IN FOR YOURSELF THE ABSOLUTE KNOWLEDGE THAT “PEOPLE WHO STUDY OR QUOTE THE CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES” DON’T DO NAUGHTY STUFF LIKE THAT. YOU EVER HEAR OF ADOLPH HITLER? MAYBE FRED PHELPS? HOW ABOUT RETIRED U.S. ARMY GENERAL JERRY BOYKIN?

We are not living in the dark ages anymore and this is not Tsarist Russia either which seems to be where your own personal point of reference of what constitutes Christianity is seems to be rooted.

I HAVE TO SAY I WOULD BE INCLINED TO AGREE THAT “WE ARE NOT LIVING IN THE DARK AGES ANY MORE,” BUT FOR HAVING TRIED TO PARSE THIS LETTER FROM YOU. THE DARK AGES, IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, WAS AN ERA OF UTTERLY CLOSED MINDS. GIVE THAT SOME THOUGHT IF YOU CAN.

Your further contention that bigotry and abuse in the US Military can only be blamed upon Christianity and those who profess it is an absurd libel on your part and it is sad to observe a Jewish man such as yourself, whose ancestors probably did suffer real persecution in old Europe, now becoming the persecutor himself.

IT WOULD BE INSTRUCTIVE TO KNOW WHERE YOU COME UP WITH THESE ABSURD NOTIONS. NO ONE HERE HAS SAID, THOUGHT OR INDICATED SUCH A THING. BIGOTRY AND ABUSE IN THE MILITARY CAN BE TRACED TO MANY CAUSES. UNFORTUNATELY, ONE OF THEM IS A CURRENT ATTEMPT ON THE PART OF A FUNDAMENTALIST CHRISTIAN SECT, ONE THAT BELIEVES IT HAS OWNERSHIP OF THE ONE AND ONLY TRUE PATH TO SALVATION AND THAT ALL WHO DON’T FALL IN LINE ARE CONDEMNED, TO INFILTRATE ITSELF INTO POSITIONS OF POWER IN THE U.S. MILITARY.

Indeed bigotry and intolerance does exist but it is not being caused by those who study the scriptures and then attempt to live by those tenets.

LOOK, I DON’’T WANT TO PICK NIT HERE, BUT YOUR ARROGANT PRESUMPTION OF ABSOLUTE KNOWLEDGE, BOTH OF THE PERFIDY OF OUR ORGANIZATION AND YOUR OWN SANCTITY, IS ANNOYING AS HELL SO LET ME SAY THAT I AGREE IN PART. “THE SCRIPTURES,” AS YOU REFER TO THEM, HAVE BEEN USED BY “THOSE WHO STUDY” THEM TO JUSTIFY SLAVERY, POLYGAMY, STONING, THE MURDER OF DISOBEDIENT CHILDREN AND ANY NUMBER OF BEHAVIORS THAT HAVE LONG BEEN RECOGNIZED BY MOST SENTIENT PEOPLE AS INAPPROPRIATE, WRONG, ILLEGAL AND UNACCEPTABLE. IF YOU SIMPLY MEAN THAT ONE WHO STUDIES THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS AND ATTEMPTS TO LIVE BY THEM IS UNLIKELY TO BECOME AN INTOLERANT BIGOT I’LL AGREE WITH YOU. HOWEVER, YOUR OWN INABILITY OR UNWILLINGNESS TO SEE BEYOND YOUR DEFENSIVE PRECONCEPTIONS BESPEAKS AN INTOLERANCE THAT CALLS YOUR ASSERTION INTO QUESTION.

Thus, when you trample the faith of others or attempt to equate it as the cause of some of your ugly examples of bias and bigotry, you are really pointing the finger at the wrong set of people.

I COULDN’T HAVE SAID IT BETTER MYSELF. I SUGGEST YOU CONSIDER APPLYING IT PERSONALLY.

I have also observed this same type of non-sequitur thought process which you employ at work before when I was in the former Soviet Union where I spent some time many years ago. That was also a place where those who practiced any religious faith were portrayed in a negative manner, were persecuted, scorned, libeled and even sent to the gulag as a part of a state policy via use of the same denigrating and persecutory techniques which you currently practice. Actually, it is your techniques and actions to suppress free religious expressions which, if anything, are possibly generating anger and hatred towards Jews in certain fringe quarters, since you are the one who is being perceived as the persecutor.

THIS BECOMES MORE AN EXERCISE OF YOUR OWN ABILITY TO FANTASIZE, MISINTERPRET AND TWIST HISTORY AND LOGIC FOR YOUR OWN PURPOSES THAN A DISCUSSION WORTHY OF RESPONSE.

Moreover, instead of working with Christian groups and invoking their own tenets to love one another and to stand up against bigotry and intolerance you are instead alienating them by blaming them for the causes of such. In other words instead of developing allies in your cause against intolerance what you are doing instead is both polarizing and non constructive and is only generating bad will and causing or giving fringe elements the ammunition to claim that it is Jews who the ones who are really intolerant and spiteful towards other faiths. Also unfortunately, because of the situation with the displaced Palestinians around Israel Muslims already feel that way about Jews and you already have 1/3 of the world mad at Jews.

I’M BEGINNING TO SEE STRAINS OF THE REAL REASON FOR THIS SELF-ADORING TRACT, AND IT AIN’T PRETTY.

The majority of Christians in this country however have long been supporters of Israel and tolerant of Jews and the Jewish faith and but what you are doing by suppressing innocent manifestations of faith, such as a verse written on a personal chalk board, could rapidly cause all of that to change. That would be a real tragedy and will only serve to create resentment towards the perceived source of the bigotry and persecution…you personally and your co-religionists in general. I do not understand your motivations but, perhaps like the man who painted swastikas on his own house, that is what you want to happen so you can further justify your own acts of persecution and intolerance???

ISN’T THIS SOMETHING, THOUGH? THE CLOAK OF THE DEFENDER OF CHRISTIANITY BEGINS TO SLIP A BIT AND WHAT PEEKS OUT FROM JUST BENEATH THE SURFACE?

To get over your Christiano-phobia, I suggest that you attend a Catholic or Protestant service or sit in to observe a youth bible study session, you will be welcomed to attend, and you will find all manner of elevated notions being taught: love, tolerance, forgiveness, charity, humility, protection of the weak, healing and the consoling of the emotionally injured as being paths to know God , etc, etc..and not hatred of Jews or gays, etc.. and thus you might go away feeling refreshed and inspired but certainly not in fear for your life of the people who study and live for Christianity. Hopefully you will understand that those are not the sources of the intolerance and hate you otherwise claim to seek to remedy.

AND THE SCALES MIGHT FALL FROM HIS EYES…

Finally besides creating bad will where non existed before and giving fodder and excuses to un-Christian haters to keep hating, you should otherwise understand the contextual historic futility of what you are doing, anyway. Christianity is here to stay, has suffered every form of persecution every where and has survived and always become even stronger.

IN SIGNIFICANT PART BECAUSE OF THE FREEDOM THAT ALLOWED IT TO FLOURISH, A FREEDOM PASSIONATELY DEFENDED BY THE MILITARY RELIGIOUS FREEDOM FOUNDATION.

Even 70 years of absolute state power backed up by mass murder and banishment and total state control over education and information by the communists could not destroy it in Russia and you will never have such powers as those at your disposal to do what you are trying to do here. Also, long after you and your organization have turned to dust…even a thousand years in the future…Christianity as the light of the world, professing universal truths of love and a positive form of personal conduct and representing the best hope for all of humanity will still be taught and practiced by even more people than now. Thus, no matter how many irritating little pin pricks people like you attempt to employ to try to defame it, suppress it and stop it, people will always seek out the positive and uplifting while you are merely a negative offering nothing better in turn.

YOU POOR SOUL. I’M NOT SURE IF THE NEED TO CLING SO TENACIOUSLY TO YOUR BELIEF THAT WE THREATEN YOU IS ANYTHING MORE THAN PATHETIC, BUT I HOPE YOU WILL SOME DAY FIGURE OUT THAT THE ROAD OF ARROGANCE GOES IN A VERY DIFFERENT DIRECTION FROM THE PATH OF THE MAN YOU CLAIM TO BE FOLLOWING.

So, in the market place of free ideals and thoughts…and human nature being what it is, those concepts which inspire and uplift the individual soul will triumph and those who seek to limit or destroy it always loose and that is the way it has always been.

EXCEPT FOR THE MISSPELLING, THE GIST OF THIS PARAGRAPH ECHOES MY PERSONAL BELIEF IN THE HUMAN SPIRIT. IT PAINS ME THAT ONE WHO CAN ARTICULATE SUCH A THOUGHT IS SO LOST IN THE CONVICTION OF HIS OR HER OWN RECTITUDE THAT SHE/HE IS BLIND TO THE INTERNAL CONTRADICTIONS OF THIS OVERLONG, SELF-IMPORTANT, SELF-INDULGENT AND TOTALLY WRONGHEADED ATTEMPT AT CHARACTER ASSASSINATION.

Now go in peace and stop your persecutions and threats to disrupt the freedoms of the individuals of this nation or you may indeed awake a monster beyond the one you merely imagine exists.

HERE AGAIN, J RUTH, SPEAKS THE MONSTER WITHIN, THE ONE WHO PERIODICALLY SNEAKS OUT TO SPIT ITS VENOM AND HOPES NOT TO BE NOTICED.

Sincerely,
J Ruth

YOU HAVE MY PITY.

PS. I doubt if you will post my letter…since it will not support your case.

I ONLY HOPE MIKEY CAN FIND THE SPACE TO POST IT, AS IT SAYS SO MUCH MORE THAN YOU EITHER INTEND OR REALIZE.

MIKE FARRELL
(MRFF BOARD OF ADVISORS)

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