My opinion

Published On: June 6, 2020|Categories: MRFF's Inbox|5 Comments|

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First off, posting religious articles is also covered under the first amendment. It is called Freedom of Speech. Remember, there is an old saying, thee are no athiests in a foxhole. The military has been around since this country started. They are not civilians and as such, the things they do are not exactly the as civilians.

God has always been part of the military and needs to remain that way. People love posting crap about Muslims and Allah. We have many religions in this country, Baptist, Protestant, Catholics, Jewish are just a few. Respect them and leave them alone.
(name withheld)

Response from MRFF Founder and President Mikey Weinstein

….Sir or ma’am, your statement to us below evinces the sad and tortured mind of a low intelligent, common vanilla bigot…..to wit; “God has always been part of the military and needs to remain that way. People love posting crap about Muslims and Allah.”….plz consider getting a little better quality education ASAP, eh little sport??!!….perhaps go back and get that GED or take some evening adult ed classes?!……you do NOT have to stay as breathtakingly ignorant as you clearly are….oh, and we at MRFF respect the Constitution  and will NEVER leave anyone alone who abuses it…..Mikey W….


Response from MRFF Board Member John Compere
On Jun 6, 2020, at 10:16 AM, John Compere  wrote:
For your information, the US Constitution, American law, US Armed Forces regulations & US Army chaplain guidelines prohibit our secular military, as part of our secular government, from promoting or endorsing a religion except in military chapels & military chaplain social media outlets. Military chaplains may not proselytize their version of religion on official military channels (e.g. commander, unit or installation outlets). That is why the unlawful practice has been stopped by the military itself when complaints are received from military members & their families. Chaplains & commanders are advised & aware of this legal restriction & must obey laws & regulations just like all military personnel.
 
Also for your information, this is US Constitution separation of church & state lawfully established in our secular republic over 2 centuries ago. Even Jesus separated religion & government (see Matthew 22:21 & Mark 12:17).
 
Brigadier General John Compere, US Army (Retired)
Disabled American Veteran (Vietnam Era)
Board Member, Military Religious Freedom Foundation (over 80% Christians)

Response from MRFF Advisory Board Member Mike Farrell

On Jun 6, 2020, at 5:05 PM, Mike wrote:

Your points, if obscure, are meaningless as well. We’re fully aware of the meaning of the First Amendment, thanks.
There are many old sayings. ‘George Washington never told a lie’ is another. Neither is true.
We’re aware of the fact that the military has been around “since this country started.” So have bigots. When you refer
to people in the military as being “not civilians,” you are at once stating the obvious and being redundant. The rest of
your statement is missing a word as well as any meaning.
“God has always been part of the military” is an opinion to which you are welcome. If you’re referring to God’s ubiquity,
I’d suggest it’s really a question of whether or not one believes in her. If you mean the U.S. Government had meant for
God to be part of the military, you’re wrong. Your notion that God “needs to remain that way (as part of the military)”, that’s
once again your opinion. And, again, you’re welcome to it.
“People love posting crap about Muslims and Allah” is a statement rife with possible interpretations. It would take a lot of
time to try to sift through them and know how best to respond. We are aware there are many different religions, faiths and
belief systems and, in our view, all are the business of their adherents. We have no quarrel with any of them. Our only
concern, and the mission of the MRFF, is to see that all are respected and protected equally so that no one is promoted
or favored, either overtly or implicity, by the U.S. Government and those who speak and act for it or presume to do so.
Mike Farrell
(MRFF Board of Advisors)

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5 Comments

  1. Old_ColdWar_MP June 6, 2020 at 10:00 am

    @my opinion:
    You are wrong. I was an atheist in a fox hole. Please don’t press conjecture of the antiquated (and imperfect) statement from one person.
    It may sound good. But it is not the truth.
    Perhaps you could count heads mustering before mess on a Sunday morning and then count heads attending chapel a few hours later. Having lived that experience I can tell you that your premise is fatally flawed.
    If you wish to continue living within the mythology of your faith, then please refrain from inflicting it on others.
    Respectfully,

  2. Hayseed June 7, 2020 at 10:19 pm

    I also was an atheist in a foxhole, but I never prayed. In fact, when I was in a foxhole I didn’t pray, I cleaned my rifle. I also checked my magazines, and made sure my ammo was clean and not damaged. I replaced the batteries in my night vision devices and did a check to make sure that they were working correctly. I made sure that the UV laser sight on my weapon was functioning and still zeroed to the weapon bore. I ensured that I had enough water, rations, ammo, and batteries to last at least 24 hours (sometimes more depending on the mission). I read through the operations order to understand what the mission objectives were. I preformed pre-combat inspections and checks on my subordinates. There is something I forgot to do here…oh yeah it was to pray! Never fear many times the battalion chaplain would show up to disrupt one of the other things above to stop all of us and prey upon us.

  3. Jeff B June 10, 2020 at 2:11 pm

    Freedom of speech? No freedom is absolute under our constitution and laws. Look it up. Freedom of religion for all requires that the command in our military stay out of religion, as with the government as a whole. Freedom of speech and religion requires the opposite of what you are claiming is a right. There is no freedom of religion in any country in which the government is involved in promoting either religion in general or specific religious beliefs. It can’t be done.

    The Chaplain’s own web page is plenty of room to post any religious messages the Chaplains want to post. That page is also accessible to all, if they want to go there. Enough said.

  4. A.L. Hern June 10, 2020 at 3:18 pm

    Even in civilian life, Freedom of Speech is not unlimited (see Supreme Court Justice O.W. Holmes, jr’s majority opinion in the case of Schenck v. United States, in which he famously stated that Freedom of Speech does not extend to FALSELY shouting “fire!” in a crowded theater), and in the military is even more limited.

    The chain of command, and order and discipline cannot be maintained if service personnel were to have the full freedoms of civilians, and that is made clear to them when they join the service. Anyone complaining about it thereafter is therefore doing it for nothing but political purposes, and that is one more thing that is not permitted in the military.

  5. G June 14, 2020 at 12:21 pm

    If you are expecting God to protect you on the field of battle, then why would you need any form of weaponry on you to protect you?

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