Attacks on Christianity

(name withheld),

 

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation is an American non-profit constitutional rights organization composed of over 80% Christians & dedicated solely to ensuring our military personnel enjoy freedom of religion to which all Americans are entitled under the US Constitution. We have represented over 66,000 military members (95% are Christians) who have complained & requested their right to religious freedom be respected & protected. For this pro bono advocacy, the Foundation has been officially nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 7 times.

 

Military men & women do not want someone else’s version of religion, including but not limited to Christianity, forced upon them in their military environment. They, like all Americans, want to be able to determine, enjoy & practice their own religious or non-religious beliefs. We proudly & patriotically support this cherished American liberty & their right to it.

 

Most Sincerely,

Brigadier General John Compere, US Army (Retired)

Disabled American Veteran (Vietnam Era)

Board Member, Military Religious Freedom Foundation

Gladly.

 

Military members may possess any belief & purchase any scripture they wish, but a private commercial business is prohibited from illegally profiting off of them by misrepresenting & mismanufacturing its souvenir merchandise as official government issue military identification tags in violation of its own licensing agreement with the Department of Defense and applicable regulatory laws. That is why the military stopped it. Patriot Post may have omitted these facts.

We must again be touched “…by the better angels of our nature.” (President Abraham Lincoln, 1861 Inaugural Address)

(name withheld), that’s an easy one.  Our military (each service within the Dept of Defense) have the right to protect the use of their symbols and trademarks–just like any company.  They have, essentially, copyright on their shields and symbols and have a vested interested in making sure that they are not abused or used in a light that might reflect poorly that service or violate the Constitution or convey some message that is not consistent with the service’s values.  So, first, you have understand that point — the Air Force CAN control the use of its emblem, shield, and many of the patches and shields it uses to denote units and organizations.

So, what does that mean with respect to Bible passages?  Well, it means (and this is settled law now) that the Dept of Defense can refuse to buy rifles from a company that inscribes biblical code into the stocks.  It also means that one can’t use an Army symbol on a T-shirt with the inscription “Allahu Akbar!” or “Buddha Loves Our Brigade!” In fact, you can’t use the symbols without getting the Army’s (or AF’s or Navy’s or…) permission on anything you sell.

The Army made this decision–not the MRFF.  The MRFF brought up this issue due to complaints from some clients, but we’d have done the EXACT same thing if a Muslim organization was selling Allahu Akbar dog tags.

Now, does that mean that a military can’t get those same phrases tattooed on their body?  No, so long as it’s not visible in uniform and doesn’t violate other regulations.  Can military members, when off-duty, where a tag or pin or piece of clothing that cites a Bible passage?  Almost certainly so.  I can have a tattoo on my shoulder that says “Religion Is The Opiate Of The Masses!” but I can’t buy an Air Force-symboled dog-tag that says the same thing and I CAN’T have a tattoo like that visible when in uniform.

So, First Liberty can challenge the Army’s decision, as can Shields of Strength, but I do not think they’re going to win.

Let me ask you this…  If you were serving in an Air Force unit and you had a commander that prominently displayed an Atheist dog tag as I describe above in the workplace and showed it to you and others, with an Air Force logo on it, and said this is how he believed and he thought that everyone in his unit needed to find or adhere to “his truth” as he defined it, how would you feel?  Would you think there’s a chance that he might be biased against you?  Would you have confidence that you would be treated and rated and promoted fairly?  Probably not.  I wouldn’t.  And that’s based upon what the commander said, regardless of whether he or she wore the dog tags or not.  In this case the MRFF would STRONGLY object to the commander’s behavior and file a complaint on your behalf.  We would also DEMAND that the Air Force stop authorizing the use of its symbology by the company that made the tags.

Does that make sense to you?  Often, it’s important to put yourself in the other person’s shoes (or uniform).

The MRFF is NOT anti-religion.  We are, however, against religious bias and the invasion of religious perspective (pro or con) into the military workplace and command structure.

Sincerely,

Marty

Mr (name withheld),

I was intrigued to say the least about your email to Mikey Weinstein, so I decided to write to you to correct some errors.  The most glaring error is the belief that Mikey endorses Islam.  You see Mikey is Jewish and practices his belief.  He has friends (like myself) that are from differing denomiations and religious as well as non-religious people.  Mikey does not endorse any religions and wants to assure the free exercise of their religions, oh and he also wants to assure people who have no religious beliefs. I bet you never heard of Mikey coming to the assistance of Christians – yes Christians – at the Air Force Academy when an Atheist group was using a table for advertising their meetings in a place that all cadets must go to.

Now let me explain how I began a relationship with Mikey.  First I need to describe my religious history. I was born Catholic, Baptized Methodist, Born Again and Converted to Nazarene, graduated from a Nazarene College also a Baptist Seminary and a Presbyterian University.  I am a devout Christian and as a Chaplain the most commonly referred to person was Mikey.  Many in the Chaplaincy considered him an Atheist at best and the spawn of Satan at the worst.  I fell into that mindset as well.  Then I was moved to New Mexico for my last duty assignment and was shocked when my commander had all senior staff in a meeting where Mikey was a speaker.  Hearing him out he made some excellent points.  After serving a little over 47 months in Combat (Iraq and Afghanistan) having been seriously wounded once (mortar 2004)  and exacerbated an injury by driving over an IED (2008).  I am presently in a hospital recovering from my 73rd surgery.  I proudly served this country the military for 33 years, and still am engaged as best I can.  All of the current conflicts have been against radical adherents of a religion.  This translation that the zealots use espouses death to all Israelis and Americans.  Now most Muslims adhere to a good neighbor policy and are happy just providing for their family and being active in their place of worship.  Now let me ask you have you ever heard of Christian zealots?  Maybe you are familiar with Constantines edict of convert or die, or the Catholic Inquisitions.  Well there are zealots in the military too.  Commanders and Senior non-commissioned officers use their position to make their subordinates adhere to their definition of Christianity.  Yes, even to this day these ill informed leaders use the US Government to press these beliefs.  There are Chaplains that believe that they must convert everyone in the military in order to succeed.  These chaplains also believe that they cannot (read will not) provide crisis support to the LGBTQ community.  In essence they say that those who practice an alternative lifestyle are living in sin so they cannot serve them.  That then leads to a serious crisis of mission.  If a Chaplain won’t help those who have “sinned”, then where is the line?  A common problem in the military among several senior leaders is infidelity (way too common, sadly).  So the Chaplain says no to their commander due to the fact that they won’t help a “sinner”!  I am glad Jesus came for all people, our mission is to love and serve people.  There is no need for proselyting a Chaplain must be genuine and a firm believer in their faith.  I have determined that I would give my life if that was what was required to help a Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine in crisis.  I am not saying that for pride, my faith says I am correct in that.  I am not the Judge.  So, I am not the only Christian in the MRFF, almost all of the clients served by them (over 65,000 clients and climbing) are Christians.

In conclusion, I would strongly advise you check your resources and facts before you jump.  I was guilty of that and I have been corrected.  Thankfully we have someone that points out that no religion is to be pressed by the government, thus we can have the free exercise thereof.

Respectfully,

Quentin D Collins, US Army Chaplain (Colonel-Retired), PhD, CPC, ELI-MP
Recipient, 2017 Thomas Jefferson Award MRFF

Hi (name withheld),

I’m not sure I follow you exactly, as you are either attempting to be precise or are making a point that I’m not

clear about. Bottom line, you have it close to right, but you make it sound a bit like our position is anti-Christian, which is not the case.

I did not say, as you suggest here, that “the forefathers made sure that no element of Christianity be said, heard or displayed by government personnel or emblems, documents and in government buildings and institutions via the establishment clause.” I don’t believe the Founders were trying to distance themselves from Christianity, in particular, or any other belief system. What I meant was that, in order to protect every person’s right to believe or not believe as she or he chooses, they established a clear line of division between the government and any belief system. So ours is a secular government in and under which all people are free to believe as they choose.

The government does not, and cannot, take a side.

I hope we understand each other.

Mike Farrell

(MRFF Board of Advisors)

Man, you do have a problem with this, don’t you?

“In God We Trust” was put on our money in the 1950s when people who were frightened by communism decided they wanted to declare themselves as believers. The original inscription, and still our traditional motto, “E Pluribus Unum,” (“Out of many, one) was established by the Founders in 1782.

As I labored to make clear and you continue to fail to understand, we are not “intent on wiping out religion, particularly Christianity, from the public square.” It is this obsession on your part, this determination to feel persecuted, that baffles me.

Women wearing hijabs, whether in the workplace or on the street, has nothing to do with a government endorsement of religion. Nor does men taking time off to pray. I’m unaware of any business being required to provide space for prayer, though it’s a nice thing to do, but again that’s a private matter and has nothing to do with the government promoting a particular belief system.

But I see that it does bother you. Such a shame.

Per your added note (and may I say you’re beginning to sound a bit frenzied) the establishment clause has been tested in court (probably by someone who thinks a lot like you) and has been determined to mean that our government best protects the freedom of religious or non-religious belief by maintaining a separation between the church (meaning religion) and the state (meaning the government).

Communism “infiltrated this country in a big way”? Oh, my. I don’t know how old you are or what you’ve been reading, but I’m afraid you’ve gotten yourself a bit mixed up.

I’d suggest a deep breath, perhaps some better reading and, just a guess, less Fox News.

Mike Farrell

(MRFF Board of Advisors)

Hi (name withheld),

I don’t think anyone would argue that some of the Founders were Christians. Others were Deists, some were atheists, but their private beliefs are not the point. One can trot out statements, parts of statements, false statements or whatever. But the fundamental principle of the USA is one that promotes no religion and honors all beliefs – including non-belief.

The rest of your… what shall I call it, philosophy?… is troubling, if not alarming.

Your talk of “indoctrination” having left us with “ignoramuses” — “‘young people’…  who believe that Christianity had nothing to do with the formation of this country” is sort of nuts. I don’t know who says that. Our point is not that Christians and their beliefs had nothing to do with the forming of the country, it is that those who were Christians were wise enough not to turn it into a theocracy, instead having the intelligence to want a free country wherein people were at liberty to live and learn and believe as they chose.

And your remarks about slavery are disturbing. Was this country not, in significant part, “built on the backs of slaves”? Was slave labor not a significant part of the development of our country, in your view? And was it proper for Americans to hold human beings in slavery? To own them? To treat them cruelly? To beat and whip and rape them at will? To purposely separate children from parents, husbands from wives? To refuse them education and demean them lest they have the audacity to think they deserve better?

Once freed from bondage, are they owed nothing?

Do you actually think Christians did not own slaves? Do you think Christians did not engage in the list of hideous practices listed above? Are you insane? To suggest, as you have, there is something wrong with teachers who might allow some of these truths to be known is an indication of either your own massive, pitiful, I would have to say willful, ignorance or your complicity with the worst of the white supremacist, probably Christian supremacist mindset that somehow continues to try to violate everything good about our country today.

Oh, my God. I just got to the part of this horrific message wherein you claim to have been a teacher. You have spilled this swill to children for 40 years?

If you did, I hope you were thrown out on your ass.

You are a pathetic, wounded soul and it will take me a long time to work up the pity I should feel for you, because right now the anger I’m experiencing at the thought of the damage you may have done overwhelms my sense of sorrow for you.

Now, at last, I understand why you were deaf to my attempts to clarify things for you.

Mike Farrell

(MRFF Board of Advisors)