Ft. Bragg Christian Concert

Published On: September 25, 2010|Categories: MRFF's Inbox|8 Comments|

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Good Afternoon,
Just wanted you to know I am one of the many…many…servicemen who support the christian concert coming to FT Bragg. Beleive it or not GOD and christinanity have been interwoven into our society since the birth of this nation. I was not put hear on earth to judge your heart. But your actions speak very loudly. I am tired of the minorty speaking for the majority. We are CHRISTIAN NATION!!!! I will be praying for you!!

(name withheld)

Hi (name withheld),

The key phrase here is that you are ONE of MANY servicemen who support the Christian Concert at Ft. Bragg. You do not represent ALL the servicemen at Ft. Bragg. And by the way there are service WOMEN too. Or did your Chrtistian training sideline them too?

Christianity is, indeed, a part of American life but irrespective of how much you assign to your faith, Christianity is not Government. Government is prohibited by the constitution from favoring, advancing or proselytizing any particular relgion over another or religion over non-religion. Therefore the concert at Ft. Bragg is blatantly unconstitutional.

Unlike you, we are able to judge a person’s heart in secular terms. In this case the heart is in the wrong place at the wrong time and committing a crime.

You recall the commandment: “Thou Shalt Not Steal?” Well, Christians, led by a maverick Chaplain and enabled by unthinking commanders, have stolen the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of religion by co-opting Non-Christians and Non-believers rights to decline such a formation under peer and command pressure.

You and others of your persuasion have violated not only military and constitutional law but have placed your fellow soldiers in an uncompromising position.

Finally, we are not a “Christian Nation” but rather a nation in which all religions may flourish but none dominate. Apparently your religious training has not included constitutional restrictions as well as constitutional freedoms of religion.

Since your letter appears to encourage unconstitutional activities, I am requesting that it be forwarded to the Secretary of Defense and the Justice Department for disposition.

Rick Baker
Regional Coordinator
MRFF

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8 Comments

  1. Patrick Carron September 25, 2010 at 10:49 pm

    Mr Rick Baker
    (Name Withheld) had a very good point. He supports the concert. Not everyone has to be supportive of it. Heck, I dont support rap music or music which promotes hatred, but I dont go sticking my nose into their business as you are doing with this. You don’t like it, butt out. It’s not your place to tell others what they can and can’t do.
    No one said that these soldiers HAD to go to the concert. Heck, no one made you go. So why run your mouth about something you have no right to do.
    And you posting your idiotic comment has put people who support you in a compromising situation. Christians are tired of idiotic people like you who think that you can conform the Constitution to what you want it to say.
    And feel free to forward my letter to the Secretary of Defense. If he has nothing more important to do than to listen to you whine and cry about some concert, then something is really wrong.
    I look forward to a response from you. If you are man enough to say anything. Otherwise, sit back and keep your nose out of things that don’t pertain to you.

    Patrick Carron
    FSE Afghanistan

  2. Penny September 26, 2010 at 3:21 pm

    Mr. Carron,

    Thank you for your service. Sincerely. I do take exception to your point of view, though. “Christians are tired of idiotic people like you who think that you can conform the Constitution to what you want it to say.” I am a hard-core, born again Christian, and I don’t want the Constitution to be changed to conform to ANYONE’S point of view. I want it to be left alone, and left to offer protection to ALL citizens, Christian or not.

    If this same kind of concert was being staged in order to convert people to Islam, do you think everyone would just turn a blind eye? EVERY U.S. citizen is deserving of the same rights, not just the ones who profess to be Christian.

    “Otherwise, sit back and keep your nose out of things that don’t pertain to you.” I’m not in the military. I’m not anywhere near this base and did not be attend this concert. However, this concert very much IS my business. I am a U.S. citizen, and I believe that ALL U.S. citizens should be afforded the same respect. Unless you see concerts being staged to promote every possible faith there is, “respect” is not what is being offered to non-Christians. And don’t try to tell me that service members stationed at Ft. Bragg were not pressured into attending this thing.

    Yes, I’m a Christian. Yes, I will talk about Christ with anyone who expresses and interest. No, there is NO good that can be gained by shoving the Gospel Of Christ down the throats of others.

    I respectfully disagree with you.

    Sincerely,
    Penny in Colorado

  3. Roger Smith September 26, 2010 at 6:21 pm

    Patrick, it’s very interesting that you should so vehemently take up the cause of that Christian concert, since you yourself do not seem to be a Christian believer. Well that is, you might be a religious person, but your hateful, spiteful attitude and name-calling (“butt out … why run your mouth … posting your idiotic comment … idiotic people like you … if you are man enough …”) demonstrate where your heart is, and an attitude like that is very far from the Lord Jesus Christ.

    Here’s what he had to say about things like that—in fact, he said it to some people who also were very religious: “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit …. For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Mt 12.33-35).

    Not only are you wrong on legal (and especially Constitutional) grounds—our Constitutional separation of church and state, which our Founders themselves spelled out in no uncertain terms, also echoes the words of the Lord Jesus, who stated bluntly, “My kingdom is not of this world” (Jn 18.36)—but you may be gravely mistaken if you think you are a follower of Christ.

    I really encourage you to take some time at the feet of the Jesus whom apparently you want to serve, open your heart to him, and find out that he wants to change you into his image—which is one who shows that Jesus is alive in you, and that you are his disciple, by one thing alone: that you love others. Please repent and give your heart to Christ, because he loves you and wants you to get to know him, and you will find that his love for you will in turn change your heart to love others.

  4. Patrick Carron September 27, 2010 at 10:36 pm

    First off
    Thank you for the taking the time to respond to my post.
    Next, do you think there should not be prayers before going out on missions in Iraq or Afghanistan? I have been on missions in Iraq and I prayed (along with my fellow Marines) before each and every one of them.
    For those who chose not to pray with me/us, theny didnt have to. It was my belief to pray for the safety of others and myself. And I wasnt trying to force my religion upon others who chose not to pray.
    Maybe I was a little harsh in my comments, and I do apologize for that. But, regardless of what you may think, I am a god fearing man. I attend church when I can and pray every night.
    I think that these soldiers at Ft Bragg weren’t forced to go to this concert. I have seen Christian concerts all over. Why do people get upset when it is help at a military installation. Are Soldiers/Airmen/ Marines/ and Sailors not as god fearing as the rest of America?
    Maybe I am getting conflicting opinions on this. My thought process is this, as long as each citizen doesn’t choose to push their religion onto others, then he/she should be allowed to worship any god they choose. Kind of falls in to the thought process of: Why can’t we all just get along?
    Again, I apologize for the comments before. I just found it upsetting when the military tries to do something for its Christain followers, and they get slammed for it.
    Good day.

  5. Patrick Carron September 28, 2010 at 2:52 am

    And to protest against the very men and women who give you the freedom to protest, is wrong in itself. I think that these soldiers should be allowed to hold a Christian concert if they so choose.
    Now I do agree that it shouldn’t be mandatory that everyone attend regardless of religion. But the service member who fights for the freedoms that America enjoys, should NOT be protested against and told they cannot do something if they so choose (as long as it is within the law).
    And Mr Roger Smith, just because I am adamantely opposed to something and I get upset about it, doesnt mean that I am a non-Christain believer. I may have let my mouth get the better of me (as have you at some point in your life I am sure), but that doesnt make me any less of a man. I am by no means perfect, but I do recognize when I am wrong. And saying what I said in my first post, was wrong.
    We all have things we support and would hate to see anyone do any harm to. For me, those things are my family, my god, my military (God Bless them all past and present), and America. And I will die supporting each of these if it came down to it.
    I look forward to any and all feedback.
    Good day to you Mr Smith and Penny (from Colorado).

  6. Paul September 28, 2010 at 10:06 am

    I’m pretty sure my current 23 years of active duty puts me in a safe position to say, why the hell does the virus of x-tianity need ANY help from the military? Patrick, you go ahead and talk to your clasped hands, or mumble to your invisible friend. It’s your constitutional right, and I defend it. But don’t for a second think that I and many others in the service won’t call bullshit when a government agency actively supports a religious event, which 99.5% of the time means a x-tian event, to the exclusion of all others. Those rights of yours we’re defending…they also include my right to not have your particular flavor of slack-jawed sky daddy sycophantia presented as the preferred view by my employer, and my right to call it that.

  7. Patrick Carron September 28, 2010 at 9:29 pm

    Paul
    You act like you are the only one who served in the military. I did 12 yrs in the Marine Corps and have deployed all over the world. I have been shot at and have lost friends due to these conflicts we are in. And I am STILL supporting my country by being deployed to Afghanistan as a civilian. So I am not going to get into a pissing contest with you about who has more time in service or who has done more to defend this great nation of ours.
    So people dont always support CHRISTianity (as you call it x-ianity), but I stand firm in my beliefs. The government should support all religions, be it Christianity or Islam. And I don’t think that any particular religion should be forced upon another, but if people choose to pray or sing a song of praise, then they shouldnt be kept from doing so. And b/c you have different beliefs than I, doesn’t give you the right to belittle the god that I do believe in (mumble to my invisible friend). As stated before, I have been all over the world and have seen many religions being practiced. I am open minded when it comes to all of that. I am a firm beiever in that I think everyone should be able to choose who they worship, when they worship, and how they worship. Religion is a beautiful thing. Why try to make it any less than that by putting controls over it (ie..telling people what religion that they can or cannot support).
    And as far as your 23 yrs of service goes, all I can say is Thank you. You did more than I did. I respect all veterans (being that I am one myself), but the fact that you served 23 yrs to my 12, doesnt make you any more smarter than I am or any more of a man. You stand firm in your beliefs as I do mine.
    Have a good day Paul.

  8. Paul October 15, 2010 at 11:57 pm

    Patrick,
    How is the government supposed to support all religions? Active financial support to any belief system (even beyond Christianity and Islam)? That’s a pretty broad brush. My own Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster would certainly like a taste of those Bush era faith-based moneys. Several pagans I know wouldn’t decline a little monetary assistance if it were offered. But I suspect (and hope) you meant a passive defense supporting all religions, beliefs, or lack thereof, by the government maintaining an objective, unaffiliated, and detached position. Therein, the government establishes no controls over individual beliefs, and each of us is free to worship this or that, or not, as we like. We’re square with the 1st Amendment, and we see eye to eye if you intended the latter.
    My friend, I respect your service, and in re-reading my own post, I certainly came across a bit uppity when I mentioned my 23 years of service. I apologize. We’re both careerists, and it was not my intent to rank or rate our opinions based on some number of years served. I consider us and all others as equals on this site.
    But I must address, “And b/c you have different beliefs than I, doesn’t give you the right to belittle the god that I do believe in (mumble to my invisible friend).”
    In this, you and I are not square with the 1st Amendment. You seem to think that I don’t have the right to belittle your god or your beliefs. Your own particular flavor of Christianity belittles the beliefs of many other sects of Christianity by asserting the supremacy of your own, actively or passively, and certainly runs in opposition to both Judaism and Islam in gross measure.
    This Constitution we have sworn or affirmed to defend gives you the right to call me an atheist who will burn in the bowels of your belief’s hell for never accepting Christ as my personal savior, just as it gives me the right to call your beliefs childish and ignorant (lacking knowledge), most likely impressed upon you by your parents at an early age. The “god” you see me as belittling is to me no more or less likely than Santa Clause, Thor, or my 3-year old daughter’s imaginary friend some 17 years ago.
    Your beliefs are suspect, and don’t stand up to reason or inquiry, but I will defend your right to have them. But when the Chaplain (a major in the USAF) tells us to bow our heads (read: orders) and pray to his (and possibly your) god, I’m going to decline, throw a shit-fit and a bull-shit flag, and spend several months documenting my declined phone calls and unanswered e-mails with the Wing MEO and IG.
    The important thing is that we defend each others’ right to speak out. Nothing is sacred.

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