Judge and Jury?

Published On: March 13, 2014|Categories: MRFF's Inbox|0 Comments|

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Dear MRFF,

So, Mikey Weinstein says that an Air Force cadet must remove a Bible scripture from his whiteboard. Who died and made Mr. Weinstein judge and jury? Mr. Weinstein can rant and rave all he wants. But let him get this through his thick skull: The Word of God has absolute authority, and in the end, it doesn’t matter what Weinstein’s opinion is.

You can take this to the bank: Unless Weinstein repents of his evil ways, this is what will eventually happen. On the day of judgment, one of God’s angels will drag Mr. Weinstein–while he is screaming in absolute terror–to a place where he definitely does not want to go. It is a place of absolute darkness, where God is absent and Satan has absolute domain. It is a place where Weinstein will live in eternity, and where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. At that point, Weinstein will believe in God, but it will be too late for him.

(name withheld)


Dear (name withheld),

Mikey has read your email and asked me to respond.

You wrote:

“Who died and made Mr. Weinstein judge and jury?”

I’d like to ask you – who died and made YOU judge and jury? When did Jesus relinquish His Judgment Seat to you?

“Do not judge or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:1)

Jesus left us His standard for who is going to heaven and who is going to hell (Matthew 25:31-46) and you missed the mark on this one. I suggest you read all of this passage because He says that even those that profess to be His are not if they don’t take care of their fellow man.
“And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. (Matthew 25:40-41)
No, Mikey is not responsible for having the scripture erased from the whiteboard – the Air Force is. They have strict laws on religious neutrality.

Our military is secular not Christian and anyone who wants to don the uniform of our military is free to do so regardless of their religious affiliation or not religious beliefs.

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.

This law is for the Cadets, too, and his whiteboard was outside of his room. If he wrote this scripture inside of his room there wouldn’t have been a problem. No one is stopping or persecuting any Cadet from practicing their faith but it cannot be done in common areas.

If a Muslim wrote a quote from the Koran on their whiteboard OUTSIDE of their room – knowing the atmosphere at the Air Force academy for years – you can bet there would be outrage from the Christians.

Just in case you didn’t grasp the full story on this; 29 soldiers and 4 faculty and staff members contacted Mikey with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF). We DO NOT act on our own but on the complaints by our soldiers. If you have a problem with this I suggest you send your complaints to the soldiers and faculty staff. We are nothing more than an agent on their behalf to force the military to obey their own rules.

I’ll clear up another lie for you: Mikey is the face and founder of the MRFF but 75% of the Board, Advisory Board, volunteers and supporters are CHRISTIAN. A full 96% of our 36,000+ (1 can represent 50 and 1 does represent 100) military clients are CHRISTIAN. We fight for Christian rights more than anything else. You don’t hear that do you?

By condemning Mikey in your self-righteous, arrogant, hateful manner you have condemned all of us – including the Christians. I, for one, am shocked that a Christian would write such a thing as this without even bothering to check the facts. You are going to be held accountable for the words you typed in your email.

“But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.” (Matthew 12:36)

Idle – lazy, shunning the labour which one ought to perform

May God have mercy on you.

Pastor Joan
MRFF Advisory Board Member


Joan,

First of all, can’t Mr. Weinstein answer his own questions, or does he assign his legion of followers to answer them for him?

I responded to you last night about this. You say that Mr. Weinstein “is not responsible for having the scripture erased from the whiteboard–the Air Force is.” The news report did say that several people in the Air Force complained about the scripture to Weinstein, he contacted the academy, and the scripture was removed. However, the news report also said that “the officer with whom Weinstein dealt called it a ‘teachable moment.'” So, if you think that Weinstein didn’t have a lot of influence in the removal of the scripture, then you have your heads stuck in the sand.

I’m sure you get e-mail all the time that you call “hate mail.” My e-mail was called the same by Weinstein, with a few obscenities tossed in. People accused me of trying to be judge and jury because I accused Weinstein of the same. Weinstein may say that his organization wants to promote religious neutrality, fairness, etc. However, why is it that his organization seems to take such delight in trying to silence those who want to express their Christianity–whether it is a whiteboard, Bible on your desk, etc?

I was bombarded last night with other e-mails from those who are also apparently part of Weinstein’s group. They made some expressions about freedoms the Constitution provides for us–on of which is freedom of speech. I thought this was a free country that also includes religious freedom. It is clear to me that Weinstein is trying to silence Christians, and that the military is trying to silence Christians, and yet that is contradictory to the freedoms afforded to Christians and anyone else in this country. The last time I checked, the U.S. is not a communist country in which religious expression is supposed to be oppressed.

Yes, I was angry last night when I first wrote Weinstein. I’m sure he didn’t like it because he cursed me later, but I think he really didn’t like it because it exposed him.

I made a decision more than 30 years ago to follow Jesus Christ, and Him only. When you make a decision to follow Christ, he disown all other “gods” and all other religions besides Christianity. I thought it very amusing that you–and others who responded to me last night–like to use the Bible with verses like “Do not judge or you too will be judged.” Of course, that is a good verse, as are all scriptures in the Bible.

Don’t you see the irony and hypocrisy in all of this? Hypocrisy, in that you folks talk about freedoms and the Constitution, when it is clearly evident that you want to muzzle and oppress Christianity and Christian thought and expression. Irony, in that you want to muzzle and oppress Christianity, yet you actually have the audacity to use scriptures from the Bible to argue your case. How insane is that?

No, I can’t judge Weinstein, but I will tell you this: The Bible makes it very clear that Jesus Christ is the only path and avenue to God. It is clear that Weinstein doesn’t believe that. He, you and your other supporters accused me of trying to judge Weinstein. The reason I’m not judging Weinstein is that he is already judged by not placing his total trust and reliance on Jesus Christ by which to live his life. He got mad with me, but I told the absolute truth in that his fate in the next life–if he doesn’t repent in this life–will be total separation from God in a place I know he doesn’t want to go. It is not my decision, but his, yet I can already tell he is going down the wrong path. The Bible is clear about the narrow road that leads to eternal life, but it is easy to follow down the broad road that leads to destruction. If Weinstein wants to follow down the broad road, as Dirty Harry used to say–“Go ahead, make my day.”

If Weinstein wants to continue down his current path, then I can’t judge him because he is already judged and already condemned. He comes across as this macho, tough guy who delights in bullying people who don’t agree with him. Well, Jesus Christ is the only true “tough guy.” When he lived on this Earth, Jesus was the only person who had supreme confidence and the utmost humility in the same person. He was confident because he was with God when the world was created, and he came to Earth to take on the sins of the whole world so that we might receive salvation. In fact, he had no sin but became sin (2 Cor. 5:21). Jesus also had humility because he gave up equality with God to come to Earth, realized that while on Earth he could do absolutely nothing on his own without relying on God, and was therefore obedient to God until his cruel death on a cross (Php. 2:5-11).

Jesus Christ said, “No one comes to the Father except through me (Jn. 14:6).” There is no other path to God except through Jesus. If Weinstein and his organization continue to try to oppress Christianity, then what other “god” is he and his supporters believing in? Jesus has made it clear how to connect to God and have a relationship with Him. So, if Weinstein doesn’t put his faith and trust in Jesus, I don’t have to judge him because he is already judged. Once again, Jesus said “if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins (Jn. 8:24). That is not me judging Mr. Weinstein, that is Jesus himself.

As a Christian, I am obligated to share the message and gospel of Jesus Christ with as many people as I can. That is contrary to you folks, who want to muzzle and oppress Christianity. I realize that most people don’t want to change their sinful ways and accept Jesus–i.e. they want to continue down that broad road that leads to destruction (Mt. 7:13-14)–but if I follow Christ I should joyfully share his message with any who want to hear it.

I know it is a hard thing to follow Christ–the Bible teaches that it is not supposed to be easy. Christians have to live by faith, but the Bible is a real document that has lasted for a few thousand years and will continue into eternity. Jesus was a real person who lived on Earth, performed miracles, taught many and challenged them about the sin in their lives. Jesus died on the cross, but God eventually raised him from the dead. For all of the other leaders in history of the various religions–they died, were buried, and they stayed buried. None of those other religious leaders bore the sins of the whole world–only Jesus did. If Jesus was not real, why after his resurrection did his disciples travel the world preaching the gospel of Christ? Why were Jesus disciples willing to go to their own deaths (crucifixion, beheading) to preach a message they didn’t believe in, or to follow Jesus if he was a liar?

Unless your group repents of its ways, I feel not only sorrow for you, but extreme pity. You have to change from within your own hearts. That is not impossible–you can’t do it simply by will power, but you have to do it through the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ.

(name withheld)


When you send an email to Mikey it goes to the Board, Advisory Board, volunteers and supporters. Everyone involved with MRFF is free to respond to an email.

A full 96% of our soldier clients are Christian – Catholics, Episcopalians, Methodist, Lutherans, Baptists, Evangelicals, etc. We fight for them more than any other religion or those of no faith.

This is what the military thinks of the faith of those Christian denominations listed above:

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.

This what we fight against in trying to protect the religious freedom of those mainline Christians but you won’t hear that. It wouldn’t make you angry enough to rise up against us.

As a Christian how would you like –

to be told you’re not “the right kind” of Christian or not “Christian enough.”

to be told that you are going to hell because you do not believe in the Christian sect they do.

to give you a poor performance ratings because you won’t accept their sect.

to deny advancements because you are of a different sect.

to verbally abuse you with in-your-face religious proselytizing against your own religion.

to be driven out of the military on trumped up charges.

to be put on “point” on every mission

And, there is more…so much more.

I don’t know what denomination you are but if you are a mainline Christian and in the military, you would be contacting us for help.

This one sect oversteps military laws and then screams persecution when they are called out on it. They gain media attention and mainline Christians come in droves to back them when they don’t even realize that they are being used to perpetrate only one sect. Mainline Christians are being duped.

You are not privy to the information we receive on the inner workings of our military and how they treat those not “like them.” If you were you would be astonished and angry. We are.

We are not repenting of our ways because we stand up and fight for Christian rights more than anything.

The Christian soldiers that come to us do not feel sorry for us or pity us. They love us!

You’re preaching to the choir.

Go to our website www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org click on “About” and then click on “Foundation Voices.” You will see Secretary of State Colin Powell’s Chief of Staff (2002-05) Lawrence Wilkerson, distinguished military personnel, Governors, religious leaders and honorable people from all walks of life.

Pastor Joan
MRFF Advisory Board Member


Dear Joan.
Thank you for your response. In retrospect it was me that was being mean. My reference to “my” Christianity was not to claim it as my own but merely to point out what I saw as an attack upon it. Vulgar in my reference is to describe an unpleasant action with altering motivations. “The meaner class”. Faith should not be seen as a legal opportunity for ambulance chasing. Seeking someone to sue or punish for their expression. I have no doubt it is easy to find those who seek MMRF for complaints. Recently near our town the 10 commandments were taken down for similar reasons. That is a shame. The logical conclusion of policing / punishing faith may ultimately erase any religious expression that someone somewhere finds either objectionable or disagrees. God our….. (my) savior Jesus Christ is everywhere and reigns over all. Even on military facilities. We do not choose which God is relevant. There is only one. To suggest that others exist or there is a wardrobe to choose from perhaps is vulgar. I wonder if Jesus was to walk on earth today where would MMRF be in regards to his sentence to death on the cross? Please do not take offense to my comments. Just consider it as a view you do not have to accept or even consider. It’s just seems healthy for the dialogue.
Thank you for your time. No need to be defensive. I apologize for taking the first shot. My words did offend you and I apologize for that. I will pray for better understanding and wish the same for MRFF

(name withheld)


Dear (name withheld),

Apology accepted and I in turn apologize to you. When we get bombarded with hate mail and death threats they all blur into one.

Remember that I told you that 96% of our soldier-clients are Christian? They are mainline Christians – Catholics, Methodists, Lutherans, Baptists, Evangelicals, etc. We fight for them more than any other religion or those of no faith

This is what the military thinks of the faith of those Christian denominations listed above:

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.

This what we fight against in trying to protect the religious freedom of those mainline Christians but you won’t hear that. It wouldn’t make you angry enough to rise up against us.

As a Christian how would you like –

to be told you’re not “the right kind” of Christian or not “Christian enough.”

to be told that you are going to hell because you do not believe in the Christian sect they do.

to give you a poor performance ratings because you won’t accept their sect.

to deny advancements because you are of a different sect.

to verbally abuse you with in-your-face religious proselytizing against your own religion.

to be driven out of the military on trumped up charges.

to be put on “point” on every mission

And, there is more…so much more.

I don’t know what denomination you are but if you are a mainline Christian and in the military, you would be contacting us for help.

This one sect oversteps military laws and then screams persecution when they are called out on it. They gain media attention and mainline Christians come in droves to back them when they don’t even realize that they are being used to perpetrate only one sect. Mainline Christians are being duped.

I wish there was more that I could tell you but it is privileged information. You would be angry, too, if you knew.

Btw – The Ten Commandment monuments that sit on government property all over the country was a publicity stunt by Cecile B. DeMille to promote his upcoming movieThe Ten Commandments. They have only been there for a little over 60 years.

http://www.chron.com/entertainment/movies/article/Ten-Commandments-went-from-film-to-stone-1674007.php

Please go to our website www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org click on “About” and then click on “Foundation Voices” and see the honorable and distinguished people that support MRFF.

Blessing to you.

Pastor Joan
MRFF Advisory Board Member

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