Tolerance

Published On: January 21, 2015|Categories: MRFF's Inbox|0 Comments|

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You should remember that we are a tolerant nation.  You expect for people to respect your choice of Atheism but you are intolerant of any religious tone.

 

Proud of the military and disgusted by your organization.

(name withheld)


 

Dear (name withheld),

Mikey is really busy helping our soldiers and asked me to respond to you.

 

I’m sorry that you have been misled by the media in calling Mikey an atheist. That is a lie and they know it, but continue to use it to rile people up.

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% or more of the Board, Advisory Board, volunteers and supporters with the MRFF are Christians. Out of our 40,000+ military clients (1 can represent 50 and 1 represents 100) are Christians. If anything, we represent Christians more than any other religion, but you won’t hear about it because that wouldn’t make a Christian angry against us.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) does NOT act on its own but on the request of the soldiers’ complaints of the blatant disregard and trampling of the Constitution and the Military Code of Justice; blurring the lines between the separation of church and state. Every complaint is vetted by Mikey who was a JAG lawyer at the Air Force Academy for 10 years; worked in the West Wing under Ronald Reagan; and held positions in private practice.

 

We are an agent- intermediator – for the soldiers whose valid complaints are not heard. When the military oversteps the bounds laid down by our Constitution and military law, we step in.

You state we are a tolerant nation. Tolerance is “the willingness to allow the existence of opinions or behavior that one does not necessarily agree with.” But, a person can become intolerant when he has had enough of putting up with something he does not like, so it may not be lasting.

The Bill of Rights is the 10 Amendments to the Constitution. The 1st Amendment states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.’

What Mikey and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation do is guaranteed as “rights” not “toleration.” It is not something that is allowed but a right that is backed up by law.

If you are concerned about the poster at the Phoenix, Arizona Recruitment office, under law the religion of the majority in our military does not rule over other religions or those of no religious preference, under the Constitution:

“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:

  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 Parker v. Levy case, decided on June 19, 1974, defined under the Uniform Code of Military Justice that “the military constitutes a specialized community governed by a separate discipline from that of the civilian…”

The rules that apply to the military do not apply to you or other Christians as civilians.

The US Army Recruiting Command in Washington, DC had the unapproved poster taken down under the Constitution and case laws.

If a soldier came to us and complained about a different God being put on the poster, we would have stepped in and had it taken down.

You have been lied to about us being an atheist organization and important information concerning the laws governing those in the military was omitted.

Pastor Joan

MRFF Advisory Board Member

 


 

Joan,

 

I am Jewish as well.

 

It would seem that the few military service personnel who requested that you act on their behalf are intolerant of the religious feelings of many of their fellow soldiers.

 

I don’t find that having the word God on the poster interfered with the Establishment Clause.  Although that is depending on interpretation.  I find the word “God” to be neutral.  As you said most religions pray to a God.  Is Adonoi, God, and Allah the same person?

 

In the Jewish religion as well as in Christianity it goes from Abraham to Issac to Jacob ….

 

I believe in the Koran it goes straight from Abraham to Mohammed.

 

In all of those three religions God is the same.

 

Buddhism, Shintoism, and other all have a God.

 

It would seem that this would only offend Atheists in which case they would seem to be intolerant of the people with whom they work with in the military.

 

I am a strong supporter of our military.

(name withheld)


 

Dear (name withheld),

I love the Jewish people and worked for a time at Synagogue.

The poster is illegal under our laws and would never have been approved if the recruiter asked for permission to print it.

 

Here’s the link that tells the whole story: http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/2015/01/16/-phoenix-mikey-weinstein-recruiting/21873217/

 

Joan

 

 

 

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