Posted on 07/09/2013 5:49:40 PM PDT by Mount Athos
A coalition of legislators and religious freedom advocates warned Tuesday about the growing hostility toward Christians serving in the military and called for a federal statute to protect the religious liberty of troops.
The Family Research Council distributed a report, “A Clear and Present Danger: The Threat to Religious Liberty in the Military,” at the press conference on Tuesday at the Capitol detailing incidences of that hostility, including the July 27, 2011 cancellation of a 20-year-old ethics course taught at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California because it used Scripture.
On May 31, 2013, a painting that included a Scripture citation was removed from Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho after the Military Religious Freedom Foundation complained.
“There’s a long list of things that have been happening in very recent years that for those who do the most for us – uniformed members – who put their lives on the line and who have done that over 237 years, those who have fought for our religious liberties the most are the ones today who are having those very liberties taken from them,” Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) said at the press conference.
Fleming sponsored and the House passed an amendment to the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act to create a statute designed to protect the religious liberty of service members, including the freedom to live out and talk about one’s religious beliefs.
“The only group that it is politically correct to be intolerant of are Christians who had such a profound effect on the founding of this country, including about a third of the signers of the Declaration of Independence being ordained Christian ministers,” Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) said at the event.
The coalition also spoke about a website – militaryfreedom.org – that was launched by the coalition and includes a link that allows members of the military to submit their claims of religious discrimination for review by legal experts.
When asked by CNSNews.com to give specifics examples of the hostile actions singling out Christians, Ron Crews, executive director of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, responded.
“One of the chaplains I endorsed a couple of years ago was briefed on the ending of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy,” Crews said. “At the end of the briefing he asked this four-star general ‘Sir, will those of us who hold biblical views of what it means to be married be protected in this new military.
“Whereupon, this four-star general told him, ‘Chaplain, if you cannot get in line with this administration, resign your commission,’” Crews said.
“We have an Air Force officer. For 23 years, everywhere he set up his shop, he would always put a Bible on his desk,” Crews said. “He came to a new location, put his Bible on his desk.
“His superior officer told him, ‘You cannot put your Bible on your desk because it may offend someone,” Crews said.
Members of the coalition also announced that some 170,000 people have signed a petition urging Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to put in place policies that protect the religious liberties of military members.
Others who spoke at the event include: Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.), Frank Gaffney, president of the Center for Security Policy, Christian Robey, political director at the Media Research Center, Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin, executive director of the Family Research Council, Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, and Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch.
Mine is, too.
It’s war. We have to get our side together, and get the damned Left the ‘H’ out of our government. 2014 is coming up fast, and I don’t see us beyond lots of talk actually preparing to do squat to eliminate the Leftists, which includes all RINO’s.
We have to flush the Congressional Bowl of every stinking one of those Leftist’s, and their RINO collaborators.
Elimination of those bastards means we take back our country, and our rights, including the right to our religion without fear of persecution at the hands of these tyranical dictator wannabes.
Sick of them all. They work for us, NOT themselves is the way it’s supposed to be, and we have to kick their asses, or get rid of them. One or the other.
placmark.
I agree with both of you. The coalition of Christian haters is growing ever closer to critical mass. It’s getting too easy to visualize the biblical end game.
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The attacks on our military are for two reasons, or three actually, IMHO:
1. Change the military so it can be used unconstiutiotally to support tyranny.
2. As part of destroying morality and religious expression in the entire country.
3. Weaken the military so the US is no longer powerful and communist and mozlem countries can gain ascendency.
Pure Evil. The question is - is anyone - ANYONE - in deecee going to do anything? Are they all on board or eunuchs?
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we have a group of intolerant bigoted haters who are looking to attack Christians, the founding of this country and we should call tem what htye are.
bigoted, haters, intolerant etc
"It would never work. For one the military wouldn't sit still for it. Remember the kinds of people who are U.S. troops are on the other side. They are Bible thumping Christians who grew up on farms in flyover country. Until we fundamentally change the makeup of the U.S. military, none of these plans will ever stand a chance of being implemented..."
And that obviously fictional [but likely] conversation, my friends, helps explain everything they are doing with the military these days.
They are reflecting the evil of the commander in chief - dear reader. That is what Muslim commies do. (Islam’s economic system is communism and murderous of Christians).
Christians believe in forgiveness but not silence in the face of evil. I hope they are taking names so that when we have an American-American president again, we be sure to reward their treason.
It’s all fun and games playing big fat commie 0bully until it is not. It would be a sin not to remove the anti-constitutional pigs from power once the AC is gone.
This is bull hockey. The fabric of the Rino GOP (and corrupted conservative organizations
The GOP is totally woven with homo activists and the Rinos support wrecking marriage and family now. It’s over.
More than ever, Christians need to pull out of the nation’s humanist culture instead of bending around evil for convenience or to fit in with evil. Christians have their own culture and ethics and it’s pretty much opposite of the globalist elite in the GOP and the DNC.
I feel bad for Christians with minor children right now. They have an exceptionally heavy burden in raising their children right. I think it is the end times.
Christians believe in forgiveness but not silence in the face of evil.
And they have been FAR TOO SILENT for TOO LONG imho.
This is bull hockey.
Which part?
Wrong selection of terms. I have a hard time finding words without cursing when I comment about this unconstitutional and mean spirited persecution of Christians...all in the name of Muslims and satanists.
I was just wondering if part of my comments were bull hockey!
This unconstitutional bull hockey is leading up to, imho, even worse bull hockey. Or they hope to, anyway.
I have friends active right now. This is happening, but it isn’t all over yet. And it confirms something. Don’t trust the military to save you.
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