A few hard truths

Published On: January 17, 2016|Categories: MRFF's Inbox|1 Comment|

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It seems to me that your foundation’s mission is to ensure religious freedom providing that you are not Christian and don’t reference God which is in direct conflict with your mission statement.

Secondly, if you are classifying Islam as a religion you need to do better research and talk to those who have left that “faith” and ask them why.
Islam is not a religion. It is a cultural and societal concept steeped in barbarism and violence. Conform, convert or die. Those are your only options. To defend Islam now is to sign away your freedoms and ultimately your life and the lives of everyone you love in the near future.

With every complaint and lawsuit you file you tear at the very fabric of the constitution and weaken the very military that you will be crying out to defend you when the Islamic state over runs our borders.

Sincerely,

(name withheld)


 

Dear (name withheld),

We are neither an atheist organization nor are we anti-Christian. Mikey is Jewish (and prays to the same Father we do 3 times a day) and 80% of the Board, Advisory Board, volunteers and supporters (244 in total) of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) are Christians. In fact, 96% of our 43,021+ soldier clients ( 1 can represent many) are Christians – Catholics, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodist, Lutherans, Baptists, Evangelicals, etc. We fight for the rights of these Christians more than any other religion but it never makes the news.

 

Mikey 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.

Here are a few hard facts for you:

 

The majority of Christians abide by the Constitution, Supreme Court rulings and the Uniform Code of Military Justice, but there is a small sect of Christianity called Evangelical Fundamental Dominionists (not all Evangelicals are Dominionists but all Dominionists are Evangelicals – I am an Evangelical) that have managed over the past three decades to hijack our military. It is this sect we fight against.

 

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 of the military of today throughout the chain of command all the way to the Pentagon. They believe that the only “true” Christian is one that is “born-again” and has a “spiritual birthday.” All mainline Christians (see above) and those Christians born before 1952 when Bill Bright made up the 4 Spiritual Laws are destined to hell.

 

Every mainstream Protestant church has a Mission Statement, Sunday School for children and adults, baptisms in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost and a confirmation ceremony. To say that they are demonic, dastardly creatures from the pit of hell that should be stomped out is itself demonic and dastardly.

 

This is what our Christian brothers and sisters in the military deal with on a daily basis and must endure in-your-face proselytizing by the “born-again” leadership.

 

As defenders of the Constitution we fight for the separation of church and state.

 

“…but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” (Article I, III)

 

This means that from the President to Congress to the military – no one’s job is based on their religion.

 

But, the military violates this by giving our soldiers a “Spiritual Fitness Test” that leans heavily toward the born-again sect.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2011/1/18/937212/-Desperate-Soldier-says,-I-am-a-Spiritual-Fitness-Failure

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/blake-page/marine-corps-religious-discrimination_b_3647235.html

 

http://www.npr.org/2011/01/13/132904866/armys-spiritual-fitness-test-angers-some-soldiers

 

But President Obama had the wording changed to include religious and non-religious soldiers.

https://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/2015/12/september-20-2013-obama-administration-responds-to-a-we-the-people-white-house-petition-by-citing-changes-in-spiritual-fitness-test-language-and-applicability-re/

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion (Establishment Clause), or prohibiting the free exercise thereof (Free Exercise Clause).”(First Amendment)

The Establishment Clause means that you cannot favor one religion over another even though it is in the majority. This clause respects the RIGHTS of all religions. Our military is SECULAR and there are people of other faiths or no faith that don the uniform that love this country.

The Free Exercise Clause (which comes after the Establishment Clause and is subservient to it) means that our soldiers are free to exercise any religion they want or no religion at all but cannot elevate one God above others.

“Because religious belief, or non-belief, is such an important part of every person’s life, freedom of religion affects every individual. Religious institutions that use government power in support of themselves and force their views on persons of other faiths, or of no faith, undermine all our civil rights. Moreover, state support of an established religion tends to make the clergy unresponsive to their own people, and leads to corruption within religion itself. Erecting the “wall of separation between church and state,” therefore, is absolutely essential in a free society.” Thomas Jefferson, to the Virginia Baptists (1808) ME 16:320.

This is his second known use of the term “wall of separation,” here quoting his own use in the Danbury Baptist letter.

The wording of the original 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.

In 1878 “separation of church and state” became part of the Establishment Clause BY LAW.

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.

Government action violates the Establishment Clause unless it:
1. Has a significant secular (i.e., non-religious) purpose,
2. Does not have the primary effect of advancing or inhibiting religion,
3. Does not foster excessive entanglement between government and religion.

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 using born-again Christianity to debase another religion or those of no religious beliefs, proselytizing by force, giving poor performance ratings, withholding advancements, filing false charges and destroying the careers of “others” all in the name of Jesus is against the “very fabric” of our Constitution and Supreme Court rulings.

 

Talk to the Christians that have walked away in droves from SOME organized Christian denominations and you will see that they believe Christianity is nothing but a controlling, money grabbing, arrogant, hateful, bigoted, judgmental, misogynist, patriarchal, militaristic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic and so far from the teachings of Jesus that to call themselves Christians is a joke.

 

“With every complaint and lawsuit you file you tear at the very fabric of the constitution and weaken the very military that you will be crying out to defend you when the Islamic state over runs our borders.”

 

I don’t know who you listen to or get your information from but this statement is ludicrous and nothing but fear mongering. We have the largest military in the world and there is no way this will happen.

 

Check out this map of our military bases in the U.S.

http://militarybases.com/

 

Read our mission statement and see that we are for prayer consistent with time, place and manner under the laws and regulations set forth above.

https://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/about/our-mission/

 

Check out the honorable and distinguished military personnel and people from all walks of life that support the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.

https://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/about/foundation-voices/

 

If the military obeyed the laws and regulations listed above, we wouldn’t be having this fight.

 

Tradition does not trump our laws.

 

In Christ,

 

Pastor Joan

MRFF Advisory Board Member


 

I absolutely understand what is in the constitution and EXACTLY what the intention and spirit of the law is.

With that being said, if you can respect the violent barbarism of Islam which isn’t even a religion, defend that, then why are you attacking a Sgt.’s blog post where he referenced a story about his grandfather and God?

It’s organizations like yours that are undermining the heart and soul of this country. You claim to be a Christian yet hate Christians. You are so worried about being politically correct that you’re forgetting to be biblically correct.

(name withheld)

Hi (name withheld),

Your assertion about our mission and your conclusion about a conflict are both mistaken. We have no brief against Christianity. And we have no problem with either a belief in God or references to God, as long as said references are made in the proper time, place and manner, as required by military regulations.

Your points about Islam contradict both fact and history. If all one did to make a determination about the legitimacy of a belief system was talk to those who had rejected it, none would be considered legitimate.

Can you name a religious belief that cannot be described as “a cultural and societal concept”? Do you know of a major faith whose history is not striped with “barbarism and violence”? Certainly “conform, convert or die” was once a broadly held Christian attitude, and some cling to it today.

The strength of your beliefs about Islam are evident – a phenomenon today known as “Islamophobia” – but they are contradicted not only by history but also by the millions of peaceful practitioners of the faith across the world, including those in this country.

Speaking personally, I find your rant about signing away my freedom, my life and the lives of everyone I love to be not only utterly repugnant but alarmingly stupid.

However, we at the MRFF are not in the business of defending Islam. Our mission is to protect the right of the women and men in the military to freely determine and hold their own belief system, whether it be religious or non-religious. It makes no difference to us if they are Christians, Jews, Buddhists, atheists, wiccans, Muslims, bigots like yourself or devotees of any other faith or ethical or philosophical belief system; they are welcome to it. What we oppose is the imposition on any member of the military of a belief system not her or his own, no matter the passion of the believer who only claims to want to “save” them.
Your assertion that we “tear at the very fabric of the constitution” by defending against the usurpation of its guarantees and weaken the military by holding it to its declared standards, is idiotic. Your charges would be laughable if they didn’t make me feel so very sad for you.
Mike Farrell
(MRFF Board of Advisors)

http://shoebat.com/2014/12/02/just-came-muslims-conduct-mass-beheading-session-create-huge-puddle-blood/

This is your peaceful “religion” for you. Maybe you need to understand that they are not your friends if they are really devout. When the time comes they WILL do as their false prophet commands. Keep pushing that liberal agenda. Keep calling us bigots and islamophobics. Can’t really call us racist because Islam isn’t a race now isn’t it?  Let me let you in on a little secret though, phobic would mean fear and that would be false. See, I’m ready to stand up for my rights and freedoms. I’m not afraid to give my life for my family, country, or my God but know this, I won’t go down without a fight and I’m not alone in my thinking. Millions of Patriots think as I do and millions more are waking up every day. What happens to you when Jesus comes again? Do you think He’s going to be happy with your work? As a pastor you should be spreading the word not trying to stop someone from speaking His name.

(name withheld)

Dear (name withheld),

I – and others of the clergy associated with the MRFF – do not get into theological debates.

 

I answered your original email and you can choose to accept following our laws or not.

 

“A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Matthew 12:35-37

 

You will have to give account for the words you wrote in your emails and especially for calling me a false prophet. Nowhere did I preach against the Word of God but gave you the scripture that says we must obey our governing authorities and I gave you the laws we must obey in my original response.

 

You don’t get to define Patriot either. I worked under contract with the military helping the families of our deployed soldiers. I also helped take care of the families when one of our soldiers died by getting the family an officer to stay with them 24/7, procure Honor Guards, help with the funeral arrangements, set them up with a Counselor for any emotional help needed and attended their funerals.

 

You know nothing about my personal life outside of the MRFF and to feel that you can judge me and call me names – based on your own opinion – is so wrong.

 

I am done responding to you and any replies from you will be deleted upon arrival – unopened.

 

Pastor Joan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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One Comment

  1. Merlin Dorfman January 20, 2016 at 1:14 pm

    WRT “Islam is not a religion. It is a cultural and societal concept steeped in barbarism and violence. Conform, convert or die.” As a Jew I am somewhat sensitive to the labeling of the adherents of a religion as unworthy of respect. It would not take too much to change those words to refer to the Blood Libel or other defamation of Judaism. The fundamentalists of any religion–including Judaism (Yitzhak Rabin, may his memory be a blessing)–are the danger and we have no more business condemning Islam with a broad brush than we have condemning Christianity for Timothy McVeigh or Dylan Rooff. Maybe the Islamic fundamentalists are better organized…

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