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Army probes soldiers skipping Christian concert
Yahoo ^ | Aug 20, 2010 | STEVE SZKOTAK

Posted on 08/21/2010 4:32:22 AM PDT by tlb

dozens of soldiers who refused to attend a Christian band's concert at a Virginia military base were banished to their barracks and told to clean them up.

Col. Thomas Collins said the military shouldn't impose religious views on soldiers.

"..it would be contrary to Army policy,".

Pvt. Anthony Smith said he and other soldiers felt pressured to attendt.

"My whole issue was I don't need to be preached at," Smith said "That's not what I signed up for."

Christian rock group BarlowGirl played as part of the "Commanding General's Spiritual Fitness Concerts."

Smith said a staff sergeant told 200 men in their barracks they could either attend or remain in their barracks. Eighty to 100 decided not to attend, he said.

"Instead of being released to our personal time, we were locked down," Smith said. "It seemed very much like a punishment."

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation first reported on the Christian concert. The foundation said it was approached by soldiers who were punished for not attending.

The group's president, Mikey Weinstein, claims Christian-themed events are "ubiquitous" throughout the military, and he credited the soldiers for stepping forward.

"Whenever we see this egregious, unconstitutional religious tyranny our job is to fight it," he said.

Smith said he and the other soldiers were told not to use their cell phones or personal computers and ordered to clean up the barracks.

Smith said he went up the chain of command and traced the concert edict to a captain, who said he simply wanted to "show support for those kind of events that bring soldiers together."

While not accepting blame, the officer apologized to the soldiers who refused to attend the concert and said it was not his intent to proselytize.

"But once you get in there, you realize it's evangelization," Smith said.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; US: Virginia
KEYWORDS: army; christianity; christians; concert; drivebymedia; evangelization; investigation; pravdamedia
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To: ravenwolf
Interesting that you would choose to call someone with 4 grandkids "son". Also interesting that you should object to the way other Believers choose to worship the Lord.

I won't quote Psalm 150 or Matthew 7:1, as I know you know them. Lost people just need an opportunity to be found....

121 posted on 08/22/2010 7:35:05 AM PDT by freebilly (No wonder the left has a boner for Obama. There's CIALIS in soCIALISt....)
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To: Grizzled Bear
We need to avoid the performer-audience relationship in worship.

Are you suggesting that Jesus and the apostles were in error when they sang psalms together after the last supper, before our Lord was crucified?

They were all worshipping. They were all participating. There was no performer and no audience.

122 posted on 08/22/2010 10:35:30 AM PDT by Colonel Kangaroo
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To: freebilly

Interesting that you would choose to call someone with 4 grandkids “son”. Also interesting that you should object to the way other Believers choose to worship the Lord.

I won’t quote Psalm 150 or Matthew 7:1, as I know you know them. Lost people just need an opportunity to be found..


Killer is also interesting,,, OK.


123 posted on 08/22/2010 7:03:04 PM PDT by ravenwolf (Just a bit of the long list of proofs)
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To: ravenwolf
"Killer" as in the sense of "That's awesome..."

Should've included the < /sarc > tag

124 posted on 08/23/2010 6:32:44 AM PDT by freebilly (No wonder the left has a boner for Obama. There's CIALIS in soCIALISt....)
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To: LomanBill
I went to OSUT (boot camp/AIT) at Fort Benning in 2004; On Sundays we had the choice to go to a service (any spiritual service - even wicca - whatever) or stay back and clean the barracks. I think the Drill Sergeants just wanted us to get out of the Barracks - as that was usually our only opportunity to do anything not Army related. I think nothing is fair in the Army and that's how it should be. You don't have many individual rights in the Army - play it their way or don't play. And it s*cks going through it - but it truly is the right way. I think these guys just want to whine and b*tch (and found a reporter to listen to them). The Army ain't about being fair and shouldn't have to try to be. If the company commander wants you to go to a Muslim Rock Concert and you don't want to go - fine - Stay back and clean the barracks. Nobody is getting hurt here. In this incident they didn't force anybody either way. Spiritually raped - hah! Poor soldiers had to clean the barracks - awww - really? Big yawn on my part. Army life ain't fair - awww -really? Another big yawn.
125 posted on 08/23/2010 11:50:22 AM PDT by RC30
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To: tlb
If these men would have just shot their fellow soldiers when they returned from the concert while yelling "Allah aqbar!", they would have been given counseling and free legal assistance, and been defended by the the media and the Obama regime.


Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.

126 posted on 08/23/2010 12:00:18 PM PDT by The Comedian (Evil can only succeed if good men don't point at it and laugh.)
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To: RC30
[we had the choice to go to a service (any spiritual service - even wicca - whatever) or stay back and clean the barracks.]
 
That's the way it was back in 1986 as well.
 
Clean the barracks... fine - been there did that - but get "probed"?  No. 
 
The idea of being "probed" for skipping a "Christian" concert wasn't even on the radar.
 
The Soviets were the ones who did the dogmatic indoctrination back then - not us.

127 posted on 08/23/2010 1:32:55 PM PDT by LomanBill (Animals! The DemocRats blew up the windmill with an Acorn!)
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To: ravenwolf

Son can also be used in different manners, you should know that, and a 40 year old man can be a grandfather but still young enough to be the speakers son, i have a daughter with 4 grand children. and another daughter with 2.

I do not object to the way any one else believes, or what kind of music they like, i just stated my opinion of it, and again i think its trash, and if you do not agree with me , which i am sure you don,t, i will not try to trash you or insult you just because you have a different opinion. my comment did not get personal with any one.


128 posted on 08/24/2010 3:46:02 PM PDT by ravenwolf (Just a bit of the long list of proofs)
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