Pastor and Sheepdog who watches over the sheep to keep them free.

Dear sir(s) and/or Madam, I am emailing because of a story that I read of your victory in having a recruiting sign taken down that had the words, “For God and Country” on it. If including God is your objection to the sign I suggest your research department do its job and research. The following is the wording of the Army’s Oath,

” An act of 13 May 1884 reverted to a simpler formulation: “I, A.B., do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.” This version remained in effect until the 1959 adoption of the present wording

To remove God from such documents and the documents of our founding doesn’t make us more free it makes us more vulnerable. You have every right to dismiss God from your minds. He gives that ability to everyone. You are however responsible for that choice and will one day stand before your maker and give and account. Our country didn’t have school shootings when people paid attention to the Bible. The divorce rate and children born out of wedlock rates weren’t sky high as they are now when the Bible is not being followed. The suicide rate was not what it is today when God was allowed in all places, not to be shoved down any throats, but allowed to be where people derived their hope. I was not a believer for a long time but never found offense at others taking advantage of their constitutionally given rights. You can revert to a Supreme court Decision if you will, but you cannot read history and not know it is wrong to abandon God. You can scream that there is not a God from the mountain tops but it doesn’t mean He is not there. You can try and bully others into not believing, but you will find circumstance in your life one day in which  you will call out to Him for help for there are no Foxhole atheists. If there is no God then you shouldn’t be fearful of Him and you are, for we fight against and struggle against the things we know have power. Congratulations, you have aided in the youth of today having nothing to hope in at all. Mothers, fathers, religion, tradition, values that have stood for centuries, mean nothing to many today and if that is your legacy then you will reap what you have sewn. If you have no hope in anything, I would encourage you to truly investigate, thoroughly this God that you have stood so staunchly against. You will find Him to be a loving and kind Father that wants you to be redeemed. If you hope only in this life you will find yourself clinging to something that is fleeting. And I will close with this. Since the founding of our nation, many who worship the Lord have fought and died for your freedoms. Those freedoms were bought with a price, the blood of those who believe. If we last long enough and you are successful enough, will there be anyone to defend those freedoms? The one who has no faith is most insecure, and the least likely to stand and fight and die, for a country that has provided them with the ability to be free. It was the Laws of Nature and Nature’s God who allow you to disagree with the faithful. Enjoy your freedoms while you can, the disappear day by day.

Kind Regards,

(name withheld)

Pastor and Sheepdog who watches over the sheep to keep them free.

(MRFF Board of Advisors)

“During the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress established different oaths for the enlisted men and officers of the Continental Army:

Enlisted: The first oath, voted on 14 June 1775 as part of the act creating the Continental Army, read: “I _____ have, this day, voluntarily enlisted myself, as a soldier, in the American continental army, for one year, unless sooner discharged: And I do bind myself to conform, in all instances, to such rules and regulations, as are, or shall be, established for the government of the said Army.” The original wording was effectively replaced by Section 3, Article 1, of the Articles of War approved by Congress on 20 September 1776, which specified that the oath of enlistment read: “I _____ swear (or affirm as the case may be) to be trued to the United States of America, and to serve them honestly and faithfully against all their enemies opposers whatsoever; and to observe and obey the orders of the Continental Congress, and the orders of the Generals and officers set over me by them.”

Officers: Continental Congress passed two versions of this oath of office, applied to military and civilian national officers. The first, on 21 October 1776, read: “I _____, do acknowledge the Thirteen United States of America, namely, New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, to be free, independent, and sovereign states, and declare, that the people thereof owe no allegiance or obedience to George the third, king of Great Britain; and I renounce, refuse and abjure any allegiance or obedience to him; and I do swear that I will, to the utmost of my power, support, maintain, and defend the said United States against the said king, George the third, and his heirs and successors, and his and their abettors, assistants and adherents; and will serve the said United States in the office of _____, which I now hold, and in any other office which I may hereafter hold by their appointment, or under their authority, with fidelity and honour, and according to the best of my skill and understanding. So help me God.” The revised version, voted 3 February 1778, read “I, _____ do acknowledge the United States of America to be free, independent and sovereign states, and declare that the people thereof owe no allegiance or obedience, to George the third, king of Great Britain; and I renounce, refuse and abjure any allegiance or obedience to him: and I do swear (or affirm) that I will, to the utmost of my power, support, maintain and defend the said United States, against the said king George the third and his heirs and successors, and his and their abettors, assistants and adherents, and will serve the said United States in the office of _____ which I now hold, with fidelity, according to the best of my skill and understanding. So help me God.”

The poster, which features a Special Forces patch along with Ranger, Airborne and Special Forces tabs, includes “a stock image” the command makes available for local recruiters, spokesman Brian Lepley said in an email, “but the text was changed by the local recruiting personnel” and not cleared by command headquarters.

Had the process been followed, the copy shown would not have been approved, Lepley said.

“Local recruiting offices order such display materials online, Lepley said, and the orders are filled by Accessions Support Brigade. An ASB catalog shows a similar image available as a sandwich board, with the tagline, “We don’t call for reinforcements. We make them.”

There are instructions in the catalog on how to tailor some materials to suit a local audience, but the wording on the Phoenix poster isn’t listed as one of 47 taglines that cover a variety of products.

Army Recruiting Command is investigating who ordered and/or approved the display, Lepley said.

The recruiter overstepped the bounds of the acceptable wordings on the poster and without the approval of his Command. Under the UCMJ he must be investigated and punished according to the rules and regulations he must obey…not ours.

The large rant you wrote trying place the blame on us for what is going on in America is LUDICROUS!.

Perhaps it is you that needs to do your job, do some in-depth research and stop-cherry picking official documents in order to be the “Sheepdog who watches over the sheep” in truth.

Hi (Name withheld),

You have your perspective and, of course, are welcome to it.

Thank you for affirming what God gave me already, freedom.

Happy to. That’s what we do here at the MRFF.

You make some assumptions, however, that are inappropriate and misplaced. The MRFF does not oppose God. The MRFF, very simply, is here to protect the freedom of religious choice – and that includes the freedom to have no religion and no belief in God – of the women and men in the U.S. military.

I agree that everyone should have freedom of religion but I do not agree that everyone has freedom from religion.

Sorry, but that’s silly. Freedom means freedom. It means one is free to believe what one chooses, as in choosing not to believe in God or any particular belief system, if one chooses.

There are already laws of the books protecting the rights of everyone from discrimination. If the sign at the recruiter’s office had said, “Belief in God is required to apply” I would agree with you. But it did not. It not only wasn’t specific as to what God is meant but if we take the mention of God out of every government and military document and monument, as suggested by some, we will have little left to read and will spend millions of dollars to remove such items.

Sorry, wrong again. No one is suggesting taking “the mention of God out of every government and military document.” Our objection was to the arbitrary imposition of God in the poster by a recruiter who was attempting to make a point. Said point was improper, as his superior’s statement and subsequent action indicates.

This notion that we are not a religious nation leaves out our very history, a history that has always stood for freedoms that we given, or “Endowed by our Creator”. No religion should have been offended by this sign, only the Aetheists would have been offended by this and if their belief truly is that there is no God, then there should be no offense as there is no God. It is a non argument.

Here your bias is showing. Many deeply religious people, including those in our organization, some of whom are clergy, object to the insertion of God references in places where they don’t belong because they violate the separation of church and state.

Because it is part of the government, the military must honor the laws supporting the separation of church and state.

Please tell me where this “Separation of Church and State” is found in our Constitution?

It’s found right after the mention of God.

It came from a set of letters from President Jefferson to and from the Danbury Baptists, who by the way were concerned that the government would establish a national religion or denomination without protections being added. I know you are trying to keep people free from religious overreach and so am I (then join us, or at least stop wasting our time with these silly attacks.) but nowhere until 1947, Everson V. Board of Education, was this separation to mean remove religion and reference to God from the public square. I make you the same offer that I made Pastor Joan. Give me your mailing address and I will send you a copy of “Original Intent” by David Barton which given the history with court cases and quotes from the founders as to what the first amendment is all about.

Kind of you, but I’ll stick with the findings of the Supreme Court developed in Trop v Dulles: “the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society.”

People in the military are free to believe as they choose, and in order to protect that freedom neither those above them in rank or power nor the institution itself can indicate, support or maintain a preference for one belief system over another.

I agree, which is why we ought to agree. What one system does this sign give preference to? Two things: the inference that God is on the side of our military and a spiritual or atheistic position that doesn’t recognize a God. Muslims? Hindus?  Religious overreach can be a problem, but more often than not the problem is not a thrust upon religion it is commands against religion, things like Chaplains not being able to have their bibles on their desks because it might make someone uncomfortable. I know of no objection to a chaplain having a Bible on his desk if it is a chaplain’s office.  If it makes someone uncomfortable to see a Bible then then might steer clear of a Chaplain. My oldest son serves in the Army and was deployed to Iraq where he found the Chaplain to be tied to a leash of restrictions made by government.

Everyone in the military is “tied to a leash of requirements made by the government.

Adhering to a belief system of whatever form is fine with us and is perfectly legal. The question becomes the time, place and manner in which one expresses it. Posting a sign at a recruiting station inviting potential recruits to serve “God and Country” by enlisting in the service is inappropriate.

Inappropriate to who? Again if your argument is that seeing the word God is offensive then I suggest people stay home.  What if those people happen to be patriotic American citizens who don’t want to be told joining the military involves getting involved with God? Should they just stay home?

For an officer or NCO with power over those beneath her or him to proselytize for one’s deeply held faith is inappropriate.

I agree, except if the person has come to a Chaplain for counsel. Chaplains have been a rich part of our history both before and after the writing of the Constitution. If a Chaplain is not clergy what must they be? No one I’m aware of is arguing that a chaplain cannot use his or her religious belief as part of requested counseling. Again, it’s a matter of time, place and manner.

To hold services in a chapel, temple, mosque or other facility for those who wish to attend is perfectly appropriate.

I am glad you agree with every principle that our country has been founded on.  We at the MRFF have no disagreement with the country’s foundational principles.

As it happens, the MRFF is made up of staff, members and supporters who are mostly people of faith. 95% of them are Christian, some of them clergy. But believers and leaders of all faiths support us as they understand we do not oppose anyone having faith, we oppose having one faith, even though it may be the faith of the majority, imposed on those who lack the power to resist without consequences.

Protections afforded everyone are the bedrock of our nation. They do not, nor have they ever included being able to go out in public with the freedom to never encounter God. The sign in Arizona included the word “God”, it did not say, “If you don’t believe in Jesus, Don’t come in, Don’t even bother to apply.” That same word, “God” is found on our currency, in the Pledge of Allegiance, and yes I know it was added.  It’s good you know it was added. You should know as well that the MRFF has no interest in preventing the public from encountering God or any reference to him, her or it. You imply that this is our mission rather than ensuring that the military, like any part of the government, does not promote a religious belief or non-belief that is not its business.

I hope that is clear to you.

And I hope these things are clear to you.

As regards your assessment of the perils that have befallen our country since, in your view, people have forsaken God and the Bible, the MRFF takes no position as long as your version of God and your belief in the Bible is not thrust upon the women and men in the military by those in positions of authority over them.

Please tell me how this sign in Arizona “thrust” anything on anyone walking by or entering the building? To both those walking by and those who might have an interest in discussing enlisting, it made the very clear statement that there is a God, a belief some do not share. At the same time it suggested that God is on the side of our military and that in serving it one is serving both our nation and God. In many areas of life now we are beginning to say if it offends anyone then don’t do it. Not I and not the MRFF. We that leaves all of us with little to say. You suggest a rather narrow world view. You are protecting the rights of those who choose not to believe, a very small portion of the world. We are protecting the rights of all, whether they believe or not. What about the rights of those who do believe, a very large portion of the world? No one, least of all the MRFF, is impinging on their right to their beliefs. Who watches out over them? We do. I am not suggesting that this freedom belong to Christians only. I rather suspect you are. I am suggesting there are many more of various faiths in the military than those without religion at all. And what you seem to miss is that our mission is to protect all of them – all – by opposing the endorsement of any one of them.

My “Assessment” on this is irrefutable and you know it. I know no such thing. Things are not better now that we have taken God out of our country. I find this continued adoption of the poor Christian martyr posture to be the religious version of the super-patriot wrapping himself in the flag. No one has taken God out of this country and I know no one who wishes to do so. I pledge Allegiance to flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands., one nation, under God (any God) indivisible with liberty (given by God) and Justice for all (even those who choose not the believe). Our unity comes from belief in God, Unity can come from many things, including love, trust, other-appreciation and recognizing the divine within oneself. Liberty comes directly from God for those who believe and those who don’t  This view, however limiting, satisfies you and that’s fine. You’re welcome to it. Belief is a very powerful thing; it can be greatly empowering or deeply inhibiting of one’s personal capacity. Separating the conscious or inadvertent imposition of a particular belief system on its citizen/members by any arm of the government is the way to honor everyone’s freedom to believe as she or he chooses.

Best,

To you as well. (Name Withheld)

Mike Farrell

(MRFF Board of Advisors)