Concerned about religious bigotry

From: (name withheld)
Subject: Concerned about religious bigotry
Date: December 1, 2023 at 6:32:16 PM MST
To: [email protected]

Hello, America was founded on prayer, biblical principles, and an unwavering belief and trust in the God of the Bible.  That IS our heritage.  Why are you fighting against our forefathers?  You are supposedly a Jew?  Which God, if any, do you acknowledge as the supreme ruler of all Creation?  Your work is a travesty!  You shouldn’t be honored, you should be ashamed and held legally liable for all the lawlessness you’ve espoused!

(name withheld)

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Response from MRFF Advisory Board Member Marty France

On Dec 1, 2023, at 8:50 PM, Martin France wrote:

(name withheld), please show me where in our Constitution it says anything about “prayer, biblical principles, and an unwavering belief and trust in the God of the Bible.”You may be are confusing America with other nations that are religiously based that do include this sort of thing, like the Islamic Republics of Pakistan or Iran.  Your entire statement is based upon a false premise and, therefore must be summarily dismissed.I highly suggest you find a nation that is official and overtly based on religion and requires prayer and faith of its citizenry. Other than Islamic counties, I’m not aware of any. If you find one that is Christian, then the next step is to move there. You’ll be happier and so will we

.Marty France Brigadier General, USAF (Retired)
MRFFAdvisory Board Member

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Response from MRFF Advisory Board Member James Currie

On Dec 2, 2023, at 9:36 AM, James Currie wrote:

Dear (name withheld)

I have been asked by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) to respond to your recent email, and I am pleased to do so.

I respond on MRFF’s behalf to many of the emails that arrive at MRFF headquarters. Just so you understand who is answering you, I am a retired US Army Colonel with a Ph.D. in history from the University of Virginia. I taught for eighteen years at one of the Defense Department’s “war colleges,” teaching National Security Studies. I understand both our country’s Constitution and its history, neither of which areas of learning seems to be within your base of knowledge.

At the risk of sounding trite, you simply do not understand anything about which you write. The men who founded our great country—our “Forefathers”—went to great lengths to avoid the establishment of a government that would emulate or duplicate the religious strife that they and their ancestors had seen and experienced. They had seen men killing each other and devastating the countryside because of differences in religious belief. They had seen in our own colonies numerous persecutions brought about by religious differences of opinion. They wanted none of that in the new government they were establishing.

Yes, some of our Founders were religious; others were not. You mention the Bible and “biblical principles” as the basis for our government. Just where do you get such nonsense? You might want to look into what our Founders stated absolutely about the foundations of our republic in Article 11 of the Treaty of Tripoli, which was signed between the United States and the Barbary States in 1796, just seven years after our present government had come into existence. This treaty states unequivocally that, “The United States of America is not,  in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.”

Of course, you didn’t actually have to go to this treaty to determine that this was the case. In Article VI, Clause 3 of the original Constitution, our Founders—whose opinions you purport to understand—made their views on religion quite clear: “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” Need any more clarity than that? Well, the same men who drafted this prohibition also drafted what became the First Amendment to the Constitution, which was adopted in 1791. This amendment, which is the basis for MRFF’s actions defending the religious freedom of military servicemembers, states that, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Courts have applied this prohibition to all levels of government in our country, which means that the military services are governed by it as much as the US Congress is.

You fling around your accusations and your vitriolic nonsense as if you were some kind of scholar or intellect with a strong background in Constitutional law. It is quite clear, instead, that you know nothing about our government and its founding, the Founders themselves and their views on religion, and the Constitution and its historic interpretation. You also understand nothing about MRFF and the 85,000 clients it has served free of charge. MRFF is one of the most admired and respected civil rights organizations in our country. Some ninety-five percent of the men and women who come to it for help in defending their religious freedom identify as members of the Christian faith. The other five percent identify as Jews, Muslims, Hindus, other religions, or of no religion. All are served by MRFF without cost and without hesitation. MRFF, from what Wikipedia says about it, has been officially nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize on seven occasions. Its Founder and President, Mikey Weinstein, has received numerous awards for his courage and for his work in promoting the right of military servicemembers to express their religious beliefs free of pressure and proselytizing. You can see this on MRFF’s website, as you can see letters of thanks from some of the many clients this organization has served.

So, Mark Hail, you have a lot of work to do if you really want to understand the history of our country and the men who established it so many years ago. I am not holding my breath that you will do anything other than continue to spew hatred and ignorance. Regardless, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation will continue to prosper and defend the freedom of conscience of those who serve our country in uniform, and it will do so despite the ignorance and nastiness of individuals such as yourself.

Col. James T. Currie, USA (Ret.), Ph.D.
Board of Advisors, Military Religious Freedom Foundation

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Response from MRFF Supporter Rabbi Joel Schwartzman

On Dec 2, 2023, at 10:39 AM, Rabbi Joel Schwartzman wrote:

Dear (name withheld),

Your understanding of the founding of this country would be altogether laughable were it not so insidiously misinformed.  Actually, forefathers like Jefferson and Madison feared religious domination and persecution, and made as certain as possible that religious practice was both protected but confined and restricted from governance.  Early American leadership recognized the damage that religious belief and practice had done to minorities in Europe.  They were not eager to see that repeated.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation acts to protect military members from religious over reach by their supervisors and commanders.  You mistake its purposes and point your inherently antisemitic accusations at Mikey Weinstein.  You accuse the MRFF and Mr. Weinstein of committing travesties when, in fact, it is your ill-informed email that is a travesty.

I would encourage you to visit your local library so that you can read up about the founding of America, our Constitution and the freedoms it affords us all.

In hopes for your enlightenment,

Rabbi Joel R. Schwartzman

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Response from MRFF Advisory Board Member Mike Farrell

On Dec 2, 2023, at 11:42 AM, Mike wrote:

(name withheld) … Get hold of yourself, man! What is the matter with you?

We should be “held legally liable”? By whom? For what?

Are you truly so befuddled as to think we are “fighting against our forefathers”?

This is America, pal. Wake up!

Look, you’re welcome to whatever twisted idea you think was operating in the minds of the founders of this country, but give us a break. Some great minds came up with some wonderful ideas and it has been our task to bring those wonderful ideas into reality. But it takes work, pal.

You are aware, are you not, that some of those “forefathers” who had “an unwavering belief and trust in the God of the Bible” were slave-owners? Some of them thoughtof women as inferior beings, did you know that? How does that square with your”unwavering belief and trust in the God of the Bible”?In short, Mark, America is a great idea and we’ve spent centuries now trying to live upto the hopes, dreams and aspirations of the best of the founders. But some, like you,apparently, haven’t caught up yet.One of the cherished ideas of the good brains of the best of them was that ours shouldbe a nation wherein each person, no matter their sex or color or heritage, was equalin stature to everyone else. And each of those people could choose for her or himselfwhat to think about life and how to live it. That included thinking about death and thehereafter, if there is such a thing, and whether there is a Supreme Being some callGod, and how to acknowledge that being, if she or he exists.So, as things have developed, there are many religions, many faith practices and many ways in which one can live a purposeful life. And all of those that fulfill one’s hopes anddreams, while not doing harm to others, should be recognized and honored.So you see, we here at the MRFF support everyone’s right to believe as he or shechooses. And in doing so we support the American principle of separation of church and state. That means the American Government cannot promote or promulgate oneparticular faith or belief system over others.Get it?So we don’t want our government appearing to promote only those beliefs associatedwith the Bible. To do so violates the very principles those forefathers you mentionedarticulated.So take it easy, Mark. We’re trying to help

Mike Farrell ( MRFF Board of Advisors)

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Response from MRFF Board Member John Compere

On Dec 2, 2023, at 12:12 PM, John Compere wrote:

(name withheld),

Your contentious and confused communication reflects only on yourself and reveals only your own ignorance of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation and the secular founding of America.

For your information, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation is an American non-profit civil rights advocacy organization for military personnel composed of 900 volunteer and paid staff of Americans (85% Christians) and nominated 7 times for the Noble Peace Prize. We have represented over 85,000 American military men and women (95% Christians) who requested that their right to religious freedom guaranteed them under the United States Constitution be protected. We represent the religious freedom of all faiths and beliefs of present and past military members when requested by them. Be assured we will continue to do so with pride and patriotism.

For your enlightenment, attached is my recently published historical article on Constitution Day discussing and documenting America’s secular founding.

“He who knows only his side of the case knows little of that.” – John Stuart Mill (Philosopher)

John Compere
Brigadier General, US Army (Retired)
Disabled American Veteran (Vietnam Era)
Board Member, Military Religious Freedom Foundation

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