How Dare You!

Published On: March 1, 2017|Categories: MRFF's Inbox|2 Comments|

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MRFF,

I have never written like this before but here goes.

How dare you make the Air Force take down their beautiful posters at Langley AFB honoring our Airmen and our Lord of Hosts.
There was nothing wrong in saying “men” and not “women” too. Everyone knows they meant women as well.

I myself am a Christian mother of 4 and loving wife to a brave Christian Air Force officer. We both devotedly witness our faith in Jesus every chance we get to everyone as an Air Force family. Because you know what MRFF, the Bible says to do it and that’s the end of it. The law encourages us to share our faith with everyone we can.

Saving souls is Constitutional. But more importantly it’s Biblical.

You are all hateful and evil apostates led by the 21st Century version of anti-Christian Hitler, Mr. Michael Weinstein. And he’s a Jew no less. Thinking Judas. Makes sense doesn’t it?

I’ll never lift a hand against you all but I will pray The Word that our righteous Lord and Savior will smite you from this Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.

The MRFF burns the Air Force and Jesus? Fine, then let The Lord’s vengeance be swift, sacred and assured. It belongs to Him alone.

First on the list: Pray the Lord to have Mr. Weinstein watch Mrs. Weinstein burn alive in a car accident sounds about right. (Epistle to the Romans, Sixth Book of the NT, Chapter 12))

(name withheld)


 

The MRFF represents approximately 50,000 loyal & patriotic American military, veteran & civilian clients who have requested that their US Constitution freedom from government promoted religion be respected & protected. We proudly serve them to insure they have & are not denied this historic American individual liberty.
 
Attached please find a rational explanation in plain language of the factual, historical & lawful relationship between the Constitution, any religion & the military. We hope you will find it informative.
 
As a retired military veteran who was born, raised & educated an American Christian, I know & appreciate that Christianity is just a branch off the ancient tree of Judaism, Jesus & his disciples were Jewish, the biblical authors were Jewish & there would be no Christianity without the Jewish faith, culture & people. Christianity taught me that God created all human beings equal in the image of God and it was good (Genesis 1: 27&31). Christianity also taught me that the 2nd greatest commandment is to love one’s neighbor (Mark 12:31, Luke 10:27). Your angry, condemning & judgmental version of Christianity is something I can neither comprehend nor condone. It is a sad commentary on our humanity when someone like you believes in & boasts of hatred for fellow Americans. I hope you will thoughtfully reconsider.
 
Most Sincerely,
John Compere
MRFF Advisory Board Member

OUR CONSTITUTION, THE MILITARY & ANY RELIGION

 

The military mission is to defend our nation against its enemies – not promote any religion. The sworn military service oath is to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States…and bear true faith and allegiance to the same” – not to a religion or its writings. The US Constitution Bill of Rights (1st Amendment) prohibits our secular government or its representatives (which includes the military) from promoting religion.

 

Religion is private whereas military service, funding and pay are public. Military personnel may privately practice a religion or no religion, but they may not lawfully use their military service, office or position to publicly promote private religious beliefs or impose them on other military members. This problem seldom arises when military leaders demonstrate intelligence, integrity and loyalty to the mission, oath and regulations.

 

Those who disrespect, disregard or deny our US Constitution, the sworn service oath and military regulations subject themselves to disciplinary action. Additionally, a Constitution introductory class and briefing on the legal significance of their sworn oath need to be mandatory. Those who choose not to support and defend our Constitution, honor their sworn oath or follow regulations have the right to seek a career in the civilian sector for private pay.

 

The United States Constitution Bill of Rights (1st Amendment) provides 3 basic religious liberties, respectively, for all Americans:

 

  1. Freedom from religion – our secular government is prevented from “respecting ” an establishment of religion (promoting, supporting, favoring or endorsing any religion). It is the right of all Americans to be free from religion imposed by the government or its representatives;

 

  1. Freedom of religion – our secular government is prevented from “prohibiting” free exercise of religion. It is the right of all Americans to privately practice any religion or no religion provided it does not violate the rights of other Americans. It does not include the right of the government or its representatives to impose religion on Americans; and

 

  1. Freedom to speak about religion – our secular government is prevented from “abridging” freedom of speech. It is the right of all Americans to speak publicly about religion provided it does not violate the rights of other Americans. It does not include the right of the government or its representatives to impose religious speech on Americans.

 

There should be no misunderstanding of the operative verbs in these first three clauses of the 1st Amendment. All one has to do is first read them and then read the definitions of “respecting ”, “prohibiting ” or “abridging ” in any American dictionary.

 

Historic separation of church and state is a fundamental liberty of free people that keeps private religion out of public government and public government out of private religion. It was clearly the intent of our Founders as confirmed by the Constitution, indisputably documented by countless public records over 3 centuries, publicly acknowledged by every American President since Thomas Jefferson, continuously confirmed by our courts, and permanently embedded in the established law of our land. The Constitution also pointedly provides “no religious test ” shall ever be required as a qualification to any public office or public trust (Article VI). These are self-evident American truths history deniers and religious revisionists intentionally ignore and deceitfully dispute.

 

Simply stated, we Americans have the right to our own private religious or non-religious beliefs, but we must respect the right of others to determine and enjoy their beliefs (common sense clue – the same right we cherish for ourselves). This is timeless universal wisdom predating institutional religion known as the “GOLDEN RULE” and preached by Jesus in every New Testament version (Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:31). The self-righteous obsession of radicalized religionists to publicly force their private religious beliefs on others without extending them this basic human liberty exhibits the height of hypocrisy, rejects all moral teaching and creates continuous conflict.

 

The late American populist philosopher Will Rogers’ wisdom and warning  remain relevant today – “There is no argument in the world that carries the hatred that a religious belief one does.” (The Best of Will Rogers, Bryan Sterling, M. Evans & Company, 1979, page 193).

 

Founder and 3rd President Thomas Jefferson publicly penned and proclaimed the classic confirmation – “Believing…religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God…legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion’…thus building a wall of separation between church and state.” (Jefferson Papers, Library of Congress, January 1, 1802).

 

The late Republican President Ronald Reagan publicly acknowledged and applauded this critical Constitutional liberty in a public speech – “We establish no religion in this country, we command no worship, we mandate no belief, nor will we ever. Church and state are, and must remain, separate.” (Valley Stream, New York, October 26, 1984).

 

Christian evangelist Billy Graham publicly preached and praised constitutional separation of church and state in a sermon – “We enjoy the separation of church and state and no sectarian religion has ever been and we pray God, ever will be imposed upon us.(Washington National Cathedral, 1985).

 

John Compere

Brigadier General, Judge Advocate General’s Corps, US Army (Retired); former Chief Judge, US Army Court of Military Review; disabled American veteran (Vietnam); Military Religious Freedom Foundation Advisory Board Member; and Texas rancher.


 

Response from MRFF Supporter Mike Challman

Hello (name withheld) –

As a Christian myself, I am appalled at your hateful note to Mikey Weinstein and the MRFF. You say you will “never lift a hand against you all”.. but you pray that Mikey would watch his wife suffer a horrible, tragic, and painful death? What is wrong with you? And to further denigrate Mikey for his Jewish faith and to liken him to Hitler is simply beyond the pale and, again, appalling and indefensible. So I must ask once more — what is wrong with you????

Frankly, I fully expect that you will neither thoughtfully nor prayerfully consider what I have to say to you in this email, but I will endeavor to treat you in the manner that Paul describes in Romans 12: “Bless those who persecute [you], bless and do not curse them.” So consider this email to be a prayerful blessing and a loving effort to correct your misguided, unchristian ways.

Setting aside for the moment your unchristian behavior and blind hatred, please know that you also suffer from a gross misunderstanding of several things: first among them the meaning and purpose of the US Constitution; and second the purpose and goals of the MRFF.

Let’s talk about the US Constitution and particularly how it relates to military service —

You probably don’t realize this, but you make the point yourself as to why the Langley posters are inappropriate. You say that the posters were “honoring…our Lord of Hosts.” Please understand, the US military is neither a religious organization generally, nor a Christian organization specifically. So the USAF as an organization does not have a “Lord”. Rather, the ranks of the USAF are filled with brave, honorable, patriotic men and women of all manner of belief and unbelief — both Christians and non-Christians, religious and non-religious, believers and non-believers. Each of these patriots has made a solemn pledge to support and defend the Constitution of the United States which provides that every American citizen, including each US military member, is entitled to his or her own beliefs regarding religion. So while the poster you reference may indeed honor the Lord of Hosts who we profess as Christians, this sectarian belief does not extend to all USAF members and so it is inappropriate to make such a reference in an official setting. I’ll bet that you would be one of the first to object to a poster “honoring” a non-Christian deity. And you would be right to object, although not for the reasons that you might feel compelled to do so. It’s not about “honoring” the right deity, it is ONLY about the US military remaining officially neutral on such a matter. Without question, the posters at Langley did not maintain the appropriate level of neutrality.

Next, let’s look for a moment at the mission of the MRFF —

Our sole focus, as described in our Mission Statement, is to serve as advocates for the rights of all service members, “ensuring that all members of the United States Armed Forces fully receive the Constitutional guarantees of religious freedom to which they and all Americans are entitled by virtue of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.” That means just what it says — ALL members. Christian and non-Christian, religious and non-religious, believer and non-believer. And we recognize that not even a closely-held, sincere belief with which we might agree is entitled to special preference or prominence. For me, as a lifelong, committed and active Christian, that means that I must object to the inappropriate promotion or preference even of my own beliefs.

Those of us who have strong beliefs would do well to remember the words of Thomas Paine — “He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.” I do not consider those whose beliefs conflict with my own to be my enemy, so in this application Paine’s sentiment might be better expressed as —

“He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even [those with whom he fervently disagrees] from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.”

Living in a majority-Christian country as we do, you and I have a particularly important obligation to ensure the rights of EVERYONE, not just Christians, are equally respected and protected. If we are unable or unwilling to do that, then the very principles upon with America was founded are at risk, and even our own rights are not secure.

If you’d like to continue with an appropriate and polite dialogue between us, I’m happy to do so but I’d ask that you first offer an apology to Mikey Weinstein for your horrible email – I believe you owe it to him. And if you only wish to continue spewing the sort of vitriol and you did in your email, I will leave you to it and will pray that God softens your hard heart.

Peace,

Mike Challman
Christian, USAF veteran, MRFF supporter


Response from MRFF Advisory Board Member Joan Slish

 

Oh, (name withheld),

 

Aren’t you precious! You come here pretending that this is the first time you wrote us when you’ve written to us under numerous fake email addresses, taking the Lord YOUR God’s name in vain.

 

“Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” Exodus 20:7

 

Vain, in the Bible, means “emptiness, nothingness, worthlessness, useless and lying” in this reference.

 

In the Bible the word men also means women, but not everyone in the Air Force is a Christian, so your opinion on this term “men” is meaningless.

 

“One of the messages stated: “Men cannot live without faith except for brief moments of anarchy or despair. Faith leads to conviction — and convictions lead to action. It is only a man of deep convictions, a man of deep faith, who will make the sacrifices needed to save his manhood.”

 

Save HIS manhood?

 

Women were in the military in 1955 when this was written, so why didn’t they include them? Misogyny? Patriarchy?

 

Today the title “military personnel” is used to be inclusive of both sexes.

 

You do know that Hitler professed to be a Christian, don’t you?

In Mein Kampf Hitler wrote-

“I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jews, I am fighting for the work of the Lord.”

“My feelings as a Christian points me to my Lord and Savior as a fighter. It points me to the man who once in loneliness, surrounded by a few followers, recognized these Jews for what they were and summoned men to fight against them and who, God’s truth! was greatest not as a sufferer but as a fighter. In boundless love as a Christian and as a man I read through the passage which tells us how the Lord at last rose in His might and seized the scourge to drive out of the Temple the brood of vipers and adders. How terrific was His fight for the world against the Jewish poison. To-day, after two thousand years, with deepest emotion I recognize more profoundly than ever before the fact that it was for this that He had to shed His blood upon the Cross. As a Christian I have no duty to allow myself to be cheated, but I have the duty to be a fighter for truth and justice… And if there is anything which could demonstrate that we are acting rightly it is the distress that daily grows. For as a Christian I have also a duty to my own people.”

Hitler used his Christianity to kill the Jews and you are doing the same thing by wanting Mikey’s (a Jew) wife to die in a fireball caused by a car accident. Does this make YOU a follower of Hitler?

Why would God honor your “First on the list:” to kill one of His own; the “apple of His eye” for you when He promised to save all of Israel?

“For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.” Romans 11:25-27

King David did pray to God in Psalm 109 for the death of his enemy and family but nowhere is it written that this prayer was answered.

But, David’s son Solomon didn’t and God blessed him.

“And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king: Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like.” II Chronicles 1:11-12

“For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!” Ezekiel 18:32

Looks like God takes “no pleasure” in the death of anyone contrary to what you want.

Seeing as you are using Romans 12, let’s go there-

“Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.” Romans 12:14

God said to Abram (Abraham) “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Genesis 2:3

You do not get to go to God with a to-do list. Our prayers are ignored when we attempt to tell God how he should take out those we perceive as our enemies when He tells us to pray for them.

“But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the Day of Judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”  Matthew 12:36-37

“If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.” James 1:26

Because you have written these words against the principles God has written concerning the  Jews and your “enemies” you are USELESS (WORTHLESS) and you will be judged by these words.

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Galatians 6:7

I’d be very careful what I write to other people because God is going to make you reap what you sow. It may be you, your husband or your children.

Think on that.

I pity you.

Joan Slish

MRFF Advisory Board Member


Response from MRFF Advisory Board Member Mike Farrell

Hi (name withheld),

Oh, my. Just a few thoughts in response to your rather complicated message:

The Langley AFB leadership understood our concern and agreed to take down the posters. I’d suggest you address your complaint to them. Also, probably, to NOW. If you don’t know the organization, it’s the National Organization for Women.

Are you suggesting, by the way, that the Langley AFB commander and the women of NOW are “hateful and evil apostates led by the 21st Century version of anti-Christian Hitler, Mr. Michael Weinstein”? You may want to check with them or possibly re-think that.

Apparently you are unaware of the fact that Hitler was a Christian.

Now, Mr. Weinstein being Jewish makes you think of Judas? And that somehow makes sense to you? Why doesn’t Mr. Weinsteins being Jewish make you think of Jesus? Makes sense to me, since Jesus was as Jewish as Judas.

Where, exactly, in the Constitution does it talk about “saving souls”? I missed that.

As to your being “a Christian mother of 4 and loving wife to a brave Christian Air Force officer,” we have no problem with that. Nor do we have a problem with the fact that you “both devotedly witness our faith in Jesus every chance we get to everyone as an Air Force family,” though I trust your husband is careful to avoid proselytizing those under his authority, as that would violate Air Force regulations. Outside his official duties we have no problem with his witnessing as much as makes him happy.

Your assertion that “the Bible says to do it and that’s the end of it” does raise a few questions:

Do you think, as Leviticus 19:18 says, you should “kill every man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey” if they worship a different God than you know?

Boy, Leviticus is tough, “… anyone who strikes down an animal…” is to be put to death. Makes me glad I’m a vegetarian. You too, I assume?

Deuteronomy 21, 18-21, says a “stubborn and rebellious son who will not listen” even after punishment, should be turned over to the elders, taken out to “the gate of the city” where “the citizens must stone the boy to death.”

I’ll bet your kids toe the line, huh?

But I digress…

So, as I get it you’re going to pray to your loving God to “smite” someone. Is that just Mikey or is that all of us (most of whom are Christians, but probably not your type of Christian)?

Epistle to the Romans talks about car accidents? You must have a newer version of the Bible than I’ve seen.

However, in trying to make light of your incredibly loathsome prayer about Mikey and his lovely wife and a car accident, I fear I don’t have the ability to convey the absolute revulsion I feel at the idea that a woman who claims to be a Christian could have so perverse a perception of Christ and Christianity that she could stoop low enough to think of such an evil notion, let alone put it down in a message to and about a fellow human being she doesn’t know.

Yours, apparently, is the kind of so-called Christianity that Hitler practiced. The fact that you expose it publicly suggests to me either that you are part of a hate-filled cult posing as a Christian group, as was your idol Adolph, or you are a willfully ignorant simpleton filled with loathsome thoughts powered by the sickening belief that your devotion to your particular belief system grants you the God-like authority to wish death on another.

You, madam, make me sick.

Mike Farrell

(MRFF Board of Advisors


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2 Comments

  1. Tom O March 14, 2017 at 5:10 pm

    I recently sent this email to the AF ACC public affairs office, specifically requesting a response. I never received one, and the posters were removed shortly after that. I suspect that’s because they couldn’t explain why they didn’t want to even consider this compromise, and thus showed us what their real motivation was.
    =============================
    I’ve read that the Military Religious Freedom Foundation is demanding the removal from your headquarters of some posters. The MRFF contends that the posters send messages that female AF members are inferior to males and that religious faith is necessary to be a good airman, but you want to continue displaying them because they’re “historical documents.”
    To resolve this conflict, I suggest the following compromise: before reading it, take a moment to focus your attention inward, and notice what your first emotional reaction is when you read it.

    Add a sign clarifying that the posters are “historical documents” illustrating how different the AF was in 1955, and including the following:
    the specific percentage of AF personnel who were women in 1955, the specific percentage of AF personnel who are women now, and an explanation that the posters suggest that the AF in 1955 felt that only its male members were important to its mission;
    how the Cold War mentality was used to make Americans feel that lack of religious faith was equivalent to insufficient patriotic opposition to the evil godless communists;
    an explanation that the posters illustrate how today’s AF is so much more committed to gender equality and the freedom to follow any religion, or NO religion, than it was in 1955.

    Your response to this suggestion will show what the real motivation for displaying these posters is: illustrating history, or promoting sexism and pushing religion.

  2. XaurreauX March 26, 2017 at 12:00 pm

    If these people had real faith none of the MRFF’s activities should faze them.

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