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Post by Daniel on May 19, 2015 18:24:37 GMT -5
Atheist demands court martial for Christian Air Force general
by Gregory Tomlin | 18 May, 2015
WASHINGTON (Christian Examiner) – A group claiming to defend the military against a Christian takeover is demanding an Air Force general face a court martial for saying he is a "redeemed believer in Christ" while in uniform at a National Day of Prayer Task Force meeting in Washington May 7, the Air Force Times has reported.
Mikey Weinstein, who heads the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, wrote an editorial on the organization's website May 15 that Maj. Gen. Craig Olson violated Air Force instructions about speaking openly of God and Jesus Christ as a representative of the military. Weinstein believes the address endorsed Christianity and belittled other religions.
Olson, who is in charge of 2,200 Air Force personnel at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts, spoke in the video about his personal reliance on God as he learned to fly complex aircraft on nuclear missions, saved failing military programs and negotiated foreign military deals in Iraq.
"I have no ability to do that. I was not trained to do that. God did all of that," Olson said at the prayer event organized by Christian family advocates James and Shirley Dobson. A video of Olson's address surfaced shortly after the event.
In the video, Olson said he was not a Christian when he entered the Air Force Academy, but attended a Bible study because he was "free to do so."
continue reading
www.christianexaminer.com/article/atheist.demands.court.martial.for.christian.air.force.general/48952.htm
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Post by Daniel on May 21, 2015 8:36:32 GMT -5
Stop Attacking Faith in the Military
By Skip Ash / ACLJ
May 20, 2015
If there was ever a misnamed organization, it would have to be the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF). Masquerading as a religious rights organization, the MRFF’s real purpose appears to be silencing those whose religious beliefs it opposes—especially if they are Evangelical Christians.
Just last week, for example, MRFF Founder “Mikey” Weinstein called for the Air Force Chief of Staff to court martial Major General Craig Olson, USAF. Mr. Weinstein’s allegations were so outlandishly wrong that we were compelled to write a letter to the Air Force Chief of Staff to set the record straight (our letter is attached here).
General Olson’s alleged misconduct? Sharing publicly that he was a Christian believer who valued prayer and giving God the credit for his successes as an Air Force officer. Mr. Weinstein claimed that, by doing so, General Olson had violated his oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. In fact, Mr. Weinstein insisted that General Olson be court martialed and, in his words, “aggressively and visibly brought to justice for his unforgivable crimes and transgressions.” Hogwash!
Mr. Weinstein needs to reread the Constitution.
The First Amendment guarantees both the right to free exercise of religion as well as the right to free speech. In fact, the Supreme Court has noted that religious speech is specially protected (see Capitol Square Review & Advisory Bd. v. Pinette, 515 U.S. 753, 766-67 (1995) (noting that “private religious expression receives preferential treatment under the Free Exercise Clause” (emphasis added))).
General Olson’s remarks spoke of his personal faith. He was speaking as a private individual, not as a commander to subordinates. There was no captive audience. No one was required to listen to what he had to say. No coercion was involved. Yet, in his fertile imagination, Mr. Weinstein conjured up a Constitutional crisis of such proportion that he claimed it was imperative to court martial the General for having the temerity to express in public personal religious sentiments that might offend someone—and did offend Mr. Weinstein. He also claimed that General Olson’s comments could be used by Muslim jihadists against the United States.
continue reading, see petition
aclj.org/religious-liberty/radical-assault-on-faith-in-military-must-be-stopped
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,384 
Member is Online
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Post by fearnot on May 21, 2015 9:02:56 GMT -5
What is their problem? Why are they so afraid of Christianity?
I think its because they want the 'freedom' to do whatever they please...but they mostly do that anyway.
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Post by Daniel on Jun 25, 2015 9:01:53 GMT -5
Marines Can Order Bible Verse Removal?
By Laura Hernandez 24 June 2015
Never has religious liberty been under greater attack in our nation’s military. Just how bad things are was demonstrated recently in the case of United States v. Sterling.
In that case, the United States Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals held that the Marines could order Lance Corporal Sterling to remove a Bible verse that Sterling had posted in her work station. Sterling, a devout Christian, posted Isaiah 54:17 (“no weapon formed against you shall prosper”) on very small pieces of paper in three places around her work station, to remind herself of the Trinity. As for many Christians, Isaiah 54:17 carried very special meaning for Sterling, and she especially found it encouraging in her work environment. At the time, her work station consisted of a desk and computer which she did not share with anyone else.
Sterling’s superior officer saw the scripture verses, “did not like their tone,” and told Sterling to “remove that,” referring to the Bible verse as a profanity that we will not repeat. When Sterling refused, her superior officer removed the verses and threw them in the trash.
At her court martial hearing, Sterling argued that her First Amendment right to religious freedom had been violated. The judge disagreed and the Navy-Marine appellate court affirmed. Shockingly, the appellate court held that Sterling was NOT exercising her religion when she posted the Bible verse in three places at her work station. Rather, the court believed that Sterling’s Bible verse postings were motivated by “subjective beliefs” that were not legitimately “part of a religious belief system.” The court concluded that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the federal law protecting religious freedom, did not apply to Sterling’s case.
continue reading
aclj.org/free-speech/military-court-holds-that-us-marines-can-order-soldier-to-remove-bible-verse-from-her-work-station
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