Religious Freedom
Accessibility Notice
This post was created on the previous version of the MRFF website, and may not be fully accessible to users of assistive technology. If you need help accessing this content, please reach out via email.Hello,My name is (name withheld) and after reading a recent article, I just had to email you. I’m sure you get many letters like this. I wished to discuss with you why you want to seperate God out of the military? Why is a ‘fundamentalist’ Christian a threat to your belief system? If you read and knew what the Bible teaches, you would know that a true Christian, one who has Biblical values, would only enhance your fighting force. A Christian who believes the Bible, has strong morals and does not lie. He believes the the government is appointed by God, and, as such, should be obeyed explicitly (where the government’s orders to not violate God’s law). It has been proven that a Christian man (or woman) who is in a leadership position cares more for his men and can bring a their unit together as a whole. If I were you, I would be thanking God that we have such men and women in our ranks.Having said this, what has happened in your life, that you chose a career path that is against the One who made you? If a muslim, buddist, hindi, wiccan, Mormon, Jehovah Witness, atheist, or various other religions, had posted anything related to their collective faiths, this problem would not exist. The poor guy merely posted an encouragement for himself. I would think this would be encouraged rather than looked down upon. Does it make you feel better? Are you a better person, because you suppressed the evil Christians? There used to be a group that did that very thing to another religious group. Yeah they believed that they were better and superior to this other group of people. I’m sure you can see where this is going. I won’t follow that thought to it’s conclusion. I’m simply saying that you work for a group with a label Military Religious Freedom Foundation. The organization should be called the Military Religious Freedom Foundation Except for Followers of Christ. Instead of preserving religious freedom, you are oppressing a large portion of our Armed Forces. If our men and women feel like the government that they are fighting for are not advocating for them, how effective do you think they will be come time of war? Sir, you are crippling this country.Finally, I will conclude with a call for repentance. One day you will stand before God, alone, without an organization backing you up. He will judge you according to His Law. The Law that He wrote with His own hand on tablets of stone all of those years ago and gave to Moses. 10 very specific commandments. Have you ever lied? Stolen anything, no matter how small? The Bible says that if you even lust after someone in your heart, that you have committed adultry. So, if you have done these things, and face it we all have at some point in our lives, you would be a lying theif and adulterer at heart and that’s only 3 of the 10. When God judges us with these standards, nobody will be found innocent. If God is a good judge, and the Bible says He is, He will condemn us to Hell, for eternity. However, the Good News of the Bible is that He gave us someone to pay our court fines. His Son, Jesus Christ, who left His Heavenly throne, came to earth as a human. He lived a righteous life and was crucified on the cross for our sins. Having lived a righteous life, He did not deserve the punishment, however, He sacrificed Himself for OUR crimes against God. He was buried in a tomb and rose 3 days later and is now sitting in heaven on the right hand of the Father. The gift of salvation is free, all that is required is that you repent, turn away from a life of sin, and trust in Jesus. If so, on the day of judgement, you will not be standing in front of God alone. God will see the blood of Christ covering you and welcome you as one of His children. Please do not wait to long, noone is gauranteed another day.(name withheld)
(name withheld) , in the 11+ years I have been fighting against fundamentalist Christian treason and tyranny in the technologically most legal organization ever created by humankind – our honorable US military – I have RARELY read a more disgusting and blatant display of fundamentalist Christian triumphalism exceptionalism and supremacy. Thank you so VERY much for providing even MORE motivation and comprehensive and universal justification for me and the tens of thousands that I lead to fight against continued fundamentalist Christian oppression in our United States military. Oh, and just so you know, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation currently has 41,628 active duty sailors soldiers, marines, airmen, cadets, midshipman, reserve, guard and veteran clients. About 96% of them are practicing Christians. They, as well as the over 230 members of our staff (about 87% of them are also practicing Christians), would be equally as horrified at the wretched statements of abject prejudice which you just emailed to me. You are SO wrong on SO many levels that it is extremely difficult to even begin to explain the nature of your profound ignorance to you. I am your fellow American brother, and I am not an inferior to you because I don’t accept your religious view….The same applies to the millions of like – minded Americans in this country and in our Armed Forces…..I am ashamed of you…Mikey Weinstein
My dear brother,
I admire your patience and tenacity responding to these fools.
If these individuals were harmless perhaps we could consider their ignorance and behavior funny. However, history has taught us that this level of ignorance breeds fear and that fear propels them, in fact compels them, to act irrationally, often resulting in horrible bigotry.
Love you bro.
(name withheld)
Dear (name withheld),
I read with interest your email to Mikey and realized that you have been misinformed by the media.
As Mikey told you, the majority of those on his staff and our clients are Christians. We fight for the rights of Christians more than any other faith within our military.
You are not privy to the emails we get from mainline Christians who are being harassed, persecuted, denied advancements and sometimes forced out of the military on trumped up charges. We have to keep their names anonymous because their very careers depend on it.
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 are told they are “not the right kind of Christian” and not “Christian enough” and are going to spend eternity in the “lake of fire.” They must denounce their own Christian denomination and become “born-again” with a spiritual birthday within the Evangelical Fundamental Dominion theology (not all Evangelicals are Dominionist) and cleanse the earth of those of other faiths and those of no faith – by way of our military who are “Warriors for Christ” and “government paid missionaries” – so that Jesus can come back and rule for 1,000 years.https://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/2012/06/shocking-video-mrff-reveals-u-s-military-being-used-as-government-paid-missionaries/
The leadership of the Air Force and its academy are the most egregious in forcing this faith on their subordinates that on September 1, 2011 then Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz had to issue a Memorandum on which the subject was Maintaining Government Neutrality Regarding Religion to rein them in. The leadership of the Air Force thumbed their nose at him and continued to aggressively proselytize the Cadets and those that refused were singled out as unfit to “serve the Lord.”
“. . . no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” (Article VI, Section III)
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment (Establishment Clause) of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise (Free Exercise Clause) thereof . . . “(1st Amendment)
The Establishment Clause comes before the Free Exercise Clause for a reason; the Free Exercise Clause is subservient to the Establishment Clause – not the other way around as some Christians would like it to be.
We are not trying to take Jesus out of the military, but Major General Olson cannot be given an exception to the rules because of his rank or his religion.
Let me explain:
The National Day of Prayer Task Force is not the National Day of Prayer signed into law by President Truman in 1952.
The National Day of Prayer is celebrated by Americans of many religions as a day of prayer and fasting. The President issues an official National Day of Prayer proclamation each year as well – by law signed by President Truman.
The National Day of Prayer Task Force is strictly a conservative evangelical Christian organization called the “National Prayer Committee” that was formed to coordinate and implement a fixed annual day of prayer (held on the same day as the original National Day of Prayer) for the purpose of organizing only Evangelical Christian prayer events with local, state, and federal government entities.
The National Day of Prayer is sanctioned by the government where the National Day of Prayer Task Force is not.
The Pentagon treats mainline Christians and other religions differently. I do not know where they prayed this year, but last year “the Protestants, except for those Episcopalian types, get the nice big event in the auditorium complete with world-class musical entertainment on the actual May 1 date of the National Day of Prayer. The Catholics get to have their event on the right day, but in the Pentagon’s chapel. Muslims have to wait a day for their event. Then there’s another Protestant gospel service thrown in the middle of all this. The Episcopalians, who are apparently not the same as Protestants have to wait until May 7. And, last but not least, there are the Hindus and Jews, who get to observe the May 1 National Day of Prayer on May 8.”
Is this consistent with the original National Day of Prayer? No, it demeans soldiers of other faiths that they are not welcome during the one day each year set aside to pray for our country.
The wording and meaning of the original First Amendment was several times upheld by the Supreme Court as an accurate description of the Establishment Clause:
Jefferson’s concept of “separation of church and state” first became a part of Establishment Clause jurisprudence in Reynolds v. U.S., 98 U.S. 145 (1878). In that case, the court examined the history of religious liberty in the US, determining that while the constitution guarantees religious freedom, “The word ‘religion’ is not defined in the Constitution. We must go elsewhere, therefore, to ascertain its meaning and nowhere more appropriately, we think, than to the history of the times in the midst of which the provision was adopted.” The court found that the leaders in advocating and formulating the constitutional guarantee of religious liberty were James Madison and Thomas Jefferson. Quoting the “separation” paragraph from Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptists, the court concluded that, “coming as this does from an acknowledged leader of the advocates of the measure, it may be accepted almost as an authoritative declaration of the scope and effect of the amendment thus secured.
The Supreme Court heard the Lemon v. Kurtzman case in 1971 and ruled in favor of the Establishment Clause. Subsequent to this decision, the Supreme Court has applied a three-pronged test to determine whether government action comports with the Establishment Clause, known as the “Lemon Test.”
1. Any law or policy must have been adopted with a neutral or non-religious purpose.
2. The principle or primary effect of any law or policy must be one that neither advances nor inhibits religion.
3. The statute or policy must not result in an “excessive entanglement” of government with religion.
If any government entity’s actions fit into one of these three, then it is a violation of the Establishment Clause.
Parker v. Levy:
“This Court has long recognized that the military is, by necessity, a specialized society separate from civilian society… While the members of the military are not excluded from the protection granted by the First Amendment, the different character of the military community and of the military mission requires a different application of those protections. … The fundamental necessity for obedience, and the consequent necessity for imposition of discipline, may render permissible within the military that which would be constitutionally impermissible outside it… Speech [to include religious speech] that is protected in the civil population may nonetheless undermine the effectiveness of response to command. If it does, it is constitutionally unprotected.” (Emphasis added) Parker v. Levy, 417 U.S. 733, 1974
Our military is secular and by giving his speech on Christianity in uniform – which gives the impression to the world that we have a Christian military – demeans the morale of those of other faiths. His speech is constitutionally unprotected.
The Air Force has strict regulations on religious neutrality:
Air Force Instruction 1-1, Section 2.12:
2.12. Balance of Free Exercise of Religion and Establishment Clause. Leaders at all levels must balance constitutional protections for their own free exercise of religion, including individual expressions of religious beliefs, and the constitutional prohibition against governmental establishment of religion. They must ensure their words and actions cannot reasonably be construed to be officially endorsing or disapproving of, or extending preferential treatment for any faith, belief, or absence of belief.
The violation of this – by speaking in uniform at a civilian event- is a potential felony under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Because Major General Craig S. Olson showed up in uniform to give his speech, he is also providing an unlawful endorsement and selective benefit to a non-Federal entity
(the NDPTF, which is a private organization), in violation of both the Joint Ethics Regulation (DoD 5500.7-R) prohibition on endorsement of non-Federal entities and DoD Instruction 5410.19, which prohibits the providing of a selective benefit or preferential treatment to any private organization.
Major General Olson knows these rules but chose to ignore them with the backing of the Air Force.
He ended his speech with: Pray for them when they have to go back that they can bear through that by depending on Christ.
Our military is secular and our wars are not Christian Holy Wars. He gave the appearance to the world that he was speaking on behalf of our military.
We have many clients who are Christians who are serving in our military and we are not trying to take Christianity out of it but force it to obey the Constitution, Supreme Court rulings, Air Force instructions and the Uniform Code of Military Justice, as to the time, place and manner in which one may give his testimony.
Pastor Joan
MRFF Advisory Board Member
Dear (name withheld),
Mr. Weinstein asked me to respond to your email. I am not an MRFF employee; Mr. Weinstein and I are old and dear high school friends. We met in high school over 45 years ago when both of our fathers were stationed at Vandenberg AFB where my father was chaplain.
First of all, thank you for not being profane and vulgar as most of MRFF’s detractors are. As a life-long Christian, it has been a source of great embarrassment to me that people who call themselves Christians would communicate in that way.
However, my bigger concern is that so many of you seem to have very little faith in God’s power. No one can separate God from anything, as God is everywhere. The fact that MRFF rightly works to make sure that our military does not advocate one denomination’s man-made notion of God should not threaten you. A “‘fundamentalist’ Christian” is no more a threat to anyone’s belief system than any other denomination. I absolutely agree that a true Christian enhances our fighting force. My father and my son were tremendous assets to our military. They, however, did not and do not believe that our government was appointed by God. Have you looked at our government, lately? How can you believe that such a conglomeration of corruption and narcissism could be appointed by God? A Christian man or woman in a leadership position is most effective when s/he leads with a life the way Christ taught, leading by the way s/he lives his/her life–not by trying to bully his/her subordinates into believing the way s/he believes.
Mr. Weinstein is not working against God; he is working for the constitution. …and you are completely wrong believing that this “problem” would not exist had it been anyone of another religion. Were a subordinate being bullied by a commander of ANY religion, Mr. Weinstein would stand up for that subordinate. I wish that MRFF had existed when my father was being bullied by a Roman Catholic base chaplain. Back in the 1970’s, my father had no one to which to turn; he was on his own and told to his face by that Roman Lt. Col. that he would never be promoted past Major because he was Protestant. Mr. Weinstein would’ve stood up for him. Comparing the MRFF to any of the several governments who have historically suppressed Christianity is like comparing current fundamentalist Christians to the Crusades or the Inquisition. Christians who feel oppressed by MRFF are not truly following the Great Commission; they are following a bastardization of the Great Commission.
The last thing Mr. Weinstein needs is an altar call. He already sees you and your ilk as bullies, so thank you for confirming that image. I pray for him every day, and I encourage you and all of your bully friends to join me in that effort.
Sincerely,
Kathy Lenhardt
proud Air Force brat and life-long Christian
Ms. Lenhardt,
I do not know how my letter reached you but I believe that you have been misinformed about what the Great Commission entails. We are to go out and make disciples for Christ. I do not believe in ‘alter calls’. You are correct in labeling them as man-made traditions. I am tasked by my Creator to spread the Gospel as far and wide as possible. Matthew 28:16-20 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” He did not say ‘ Pray for them and hope’. He said to go out and make disciples. The praying and trusting comes after the obeying and action. Witnessing is not bullying, and any ‘Christian’ who says it is has not read the Bible properly. It is our duty as children of God. Anybody who can sit and see someone who is unsaved purposefully heading toward hell and then criticize someone who is attempting to steer said friend away from that disaster, cannot call themselves a Christian.
It is the truth that our government is falling around us. That is because we have strayed from our Biblical roots. This nation was founded on the Bible, and anyone who can say it has not has not studied history. Our country has freely begun to embrace drug use (Galations 5:21), homosexuality (1 Corinthians 6:9-11), and abortion (Psalm 139:13-16). However, the Bible also says “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” Romans 13:1. Talking about history, the Crusades and Inquisition was by the Catholic church, not Christians. In fact, the Inquisitions were a persecution OF Bible-believing Christians. Christ did not say ‘ live your life, make friends, then lead those friends to Me’. True you should witness to your friends, but He said to ‘make disciples of the nations’. That is a blanket call to witness to anyone who’s ear you can get.ahold of.
Many pretenders have been called ‘Christians’. Catholics, Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Westboro Baptist, and many more. I am simply a follower of Christ and as such am required to teach His words and commandments. You are loving Mikey into hell, do you want that to be your legacy? If you are truly a Christian, do you really want that feeling when you stand in heaven and see him on the other side, writhing in pain. Do you want to be the one who tells him that you loved him so much that you allowed him to come up against the living God and lose. For everyone who goes up against Christ will bend a knee and proclaim Him Lord of Lords and King of Kings in the Kingdom to come. That is what ‘ilk’ I come from, and I am supremely proud that God loved me enough to send Christ to die for my sins.
Have a great day,
(name withheld)
Dear (name withheld),
There are several of us whom the MRFF forwards their mail for response. I know exactly what the Great Commission entails, and Mike and I have had many private discussions about my faith and his lack of such. Praying and “hoping” is not all that I do. You, however, seem to believe that the Great Commission ends with “no matter whom you harass and bully.” I don’t try to scare Mike into believing, which is what you did. I remember one conversation, decades ago, when we discussed our relationships with God, and I told him that I feel God is an intimate friend of mine, and I think he had never heard God described that way, and he just said, “I don’t.” Matthew 10:14 says, “Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words–go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet.” Knowing that we were not commanded to bully or frighten, I have given Mike over to the Holy Spirit, who, quite frankly, does not need us, anyway. God gave us free will, and we were not commanded to do anything but spread the word and baptize, not force and coerce.
We are told in several places in the Bible to submit to earthly authority, which means we are commanded by Christ to follow the Constitution.
Of course, I do not want to see Mike or anyone “writing in pain”, but God has not given me the power of judgement, and He has not given it to you, either. Spread the Word, live the life Christ showed us, submit to the Constitution, baptize in His name and pray, but when you have crossed over to bullying and scaring, you are no longer following the Great Commission.
In His Love,
Kathy
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