Oath …making GOD “optional”

I see no good for anyone resulting from you actions You are being divisive and destructive. Whether it is by design or as a consequence of being a secular zealot, it is destructive of our national foundations.
Maybe you should refer to St. Paul, his letters and life in the Gospels as a reference point.

(name withheld)

Hi (name withheld),

Mr. Weinstein is busy protecting the religious freedom of the men and women in our armed forces, so I’m responding for him.

I’m sorry you see no good resulting from the actions of the MRFF. Thousands of members and supporters of our organization see great good in it. Most of them are Christian men and women serving in the armed forces, or veterans of same, and they recognize how important it is that the government they serve not be in the business of propagating a religious view. Because they have fought to defend the freedoms our nation promises, they have a clear understanding of how easily such freedoms are corrupted. Allowing a government to impose one religious or philosophical belief on those under its authority is the doorway to thought control, and as Americans we have rejected that by requiring the separation of church and state.

We believe that the men and women in our military have the right to their own belief systems and no one in government should have the authority to impose another on them.

So they are free to read St. Paul, to whom you refer, and take heed of the lessons of the Gospels if they choose. And because of the freedoms they cherish, they understand that the serviceman or woman next to them may not find the lessons of St. Paul meaningful, and each has the right to his or her own belief system. Out of mutual respect, neither will force his view on the other, and neither will allow those in the higher ranks to impose one on them. There is nothing divisive or destructive about that. It is the beauty of free choice, a paramount principal of America’s foundation.

Think of it is a function of mutual respect. That, I trust you understand, is also part of our national foundation.

Best,

Mike Farrell