Military Censors Christian Chaplain, Atheists Call for Punishment

Mr. Weinstein,
I am at a loss as to what I have read today regarding you and your “organization’s” drive to punish a Christian Chaplain. All because this Chaplain instituted his 1st Amendment right to free speech and referenced a speech made by President Eisenhower “I am delighted that our veterans are sponsoring a movement to increase our awareness of God in our daily lives. In battle, they learned a great truth that there are no atheists in the foxholes.”
Although I have researched and found out that you were in the Air Force Academy, have you ever actually been in battle? If not then you sir are a hypocrite and an armchair quarterback.
Your own quote which includes “there is only one religious scripture: the American Constitution” actually shows how little you regard our Constitution as you are denigrating this Chaplain for instituting his right to free speech. You want him punished? For what?
I have seen time and time again how the atheists in our country skew the religious liberty stated in our Constitution to fit their own agenda. I am baffled by the ineptitude of these people and people like yourself. As you proclaim to be a lawyer, I am thinking you are somewhat smart? Our founding fathers placed the separation of Church and State in our Constitution because they themselves felt persecuted in England for wanting to practice their own religion. This does not mean that Church, The Bible and Christianity is to be taken out of every function and establishment, including our military. It means that all Americans have the freedom to chose their own religion. You claim to have had several stints at prominent law firms. Was it Constitutional Law? What did you do as a JAG? Why so vague?
Last, what is wrong with Christianity? The majority of Christians are peaceful, helpful, charitable people. Whether you chose to believe there is actually a God, which it appears you don’t, what is the harm of others doing so? God has been a part of our military since the founding of this country. My family as well has a long history of military service, by the way all active, not academy and they all believed in God in one way or another. The last I remember, any soldier, like a citizen, has the right to choose whether to attend services. Also, the last research I did shows that 85% of our population is Christian and 90% of active and non-active military personnel are Christian.
Do you watch a channel you don’t like or listen to a radio station you do not like or do you turn that channel or station. Do us all a favor, turn the station. Leave the majority of us good Christian Americans alone.

Sincerely,

(name withheld)

Dear (name withheld),

Thank you for contacting the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) with your concerns. I hope to clear up for you a few misconceptions and omissions.
Mikey – who is Jewish – is the face, founder and President of MRFF but 75% of those on the Board, Advisory Board, volunteers and supporters are mainline Christians. 96% of the over 34,000 clients (1 soldier represents over 100 other soldiers) are Christian. Some of the complainants are Christian Chaplains.

I am on the Advisory Board and an ordained minister in the Assemblies of God.

MRFF does not act on its own but at the request of 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.

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

“. . . no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” (Article VI, Section III)

Our military is a government entity and must remain secular. Any person that wants to don the uniform of a branch of our military is free to do so with the express admonition from the Constitution to not exalt one religion over another.

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.

Lt. Col. Chaplain Reyes’ is free to say anything he wants under the First Amendment but it must be within the context of his church or chapel. He is not allowed to place his beliefs inThe Official Website of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson according to Air Force Instruction 1-1.

There are many “atheists in foxholes” that have served in combat. The most prominent one is football player Pat Tillman who turned down a lucrative contract with the Cardinals to defend his country. He joined the Army Rangers and served several tours in Afghanistan before being killed by “friendly fire.” Soldiers in his own unit killed him.

President Bush used his service to his country with distinguished honor and courage as a recruitment tool while his parents were not given the true cause of his death. The fact that he was an atheist was also withheld.

We are not trying to rid our military of Christianity. What we are trying to stop is an extreme form of Christianity that believes they are the only true form of it and all other mainline Christians are not of the “right kind” or “born-again” and are going to hell. They are attempting to turn our soldiers into “Warriors for Christ” and that every war is a Crusade. They teach that they are to cleanse the world of all the wrong kind of Christians, those of other religions and those not practicing any faith, in order for Jesus to come back and reign for 1,000 years. This thinking throws out the entire book of Revelations where Jesus comes back with His ‘heavenly army” to conquer the world. Jesus never asked for an army on earth. He said “Blessed are the peacekeepers” not “Blessed are the warmongers.”

This extreme form of Dominionist/Fundamental/Evangelical Christianity is relentless in its in-your-face religious proselytizing to other soldiers by the military personnel all the way up to the Commander. They have usurped the office of the Chaplains. They have harassed, beaten, withheld advancements and drummed soldiers out of the military on trumped up charges, all in the name of Jesus. They believe in cleansing the military of all of those that do not believe in the sect they do.

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 type of Christian – including Lt. Col. Chaplain Reyes – that we protect mainline Christians from.

The majority rules during elections, but it does not rule under our Constitution – for we all are equal. Nor does it rule in the military or any other government agency.

Your statement that because Mikey didn’t serve in battle – the only battle going on during his tenure in the Air Force was the invasion of Granada that the US was involved with – made him a hypocrite and an armchair quarterback, is demeaning to all soldiers who have not been in battle. Mikey’s job as a JAG was to both defend and prosecute soldiers.

I worked with the Army under contract in the State Family Program. We knew within 15 minutes of a soldiers’ death and lined up a special Officer to be with the family 24 hours a day and plan the funeral. We got the family mental health counseling. We also went to them. Try doing that over and over again. If you could have only been in my office and building and see the tears that were shed over each one of them.

There is more than one way to serve our country besides battle.

Once again – we are not anti-Christian but the greatest defender of the Constitution and military law.

Pastor Joan