Where Evil Lurks

In places you might not expect;

FORT RILEY, Kan. — When Specialist Jeremy Hall held a meeting last July for atheists and freethinkers at Camp Speicher in Iraq, he was excited, he said, to see an officer attending.

But minutes into the talk, the officer, Maj. Freddy J. Welborn, began to berate Specialist Hall and another soldier about atheism, Specialist Hall wrote in a sworn statement. “People like you are not holding up the Constitution and are going against what the founding fathers, who were Christians, wanted for America!” Major Welborn said, according to the statement.

Major Welborn told the soldiers he might bar them from re-enlistment and bring charges against them, according to the statement.

Last month, Specialist Hall and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an advocacy group, filed suit in federal court in Kansas, alleging that Specialist Hall’s right to be free from state endorsement of religion under the First Amendment had been violated and that he had faced retaliation for his views. In November, he was sent home early from Iraq because of threats from fellow soldiers.

Eileen Lainez, a spokeswoman for the Defense Department, declined to comment on the case, saying, “The department does not discuss pending litigation.”

Specialist Hall’s lawsuit is the latest incident to raise questions about the military’s religion guidelines. In 2005, the Air Force issued new regulations in response to complaints from cadets at the Air Force Academy that evangelical Christian officers used their positions to proselytize. In general, the armed forces have regulations, Ms. Lainez said, that respect “the rights of others to their own religious beliefs, including the right to hold no beliefs.”

To Specialist Hall and other critics of the military, the guidelines have done little to change a culture they say tilts heavily toward evangelical Christianity. Controversies have continued to flare, largely over tactics used by evangelicals to promote their faith. Perhaps the most high-profile incident involved seven officers, including four generals, who appeared, in uniform and in violation of military regulations, in a 2006 fund-raising video for the Christian Embassy, an evangelical Bible study group.

“They don’t trust you because they think you are unreliable and might break, since you don’t have God to rely on,” Specialist Hall said of those who proselytize in the military. “The message is, ‘It’s a Christian nation, and you need to recognize that.’

It's odd.. these attempts at re-writing American history. It is, however, not surprising. Interesting, an officer in the military not understanding that the majority of what are considered American "founders" were not, in fact, Christians at all. The did, in fact, deny the divinity of Christ.

Not so surprising that the Christian freak brigade is hijacking the military and abusing non-freaks.

Jennifer recently posted an item on that very issue. The comments on the blog are amusing. I especially enjoy the comments where they disparage informative reading and critical thinking. It's classic loon-tastic, where they whine about something, and never actually explain what they want.

Long time readers will recall that I've written about this many times; here, here, here, here, and here (comments particularly good).

How sad this "Christian" major threatened to "bring charges" and deny reenlistment for atheist or agnostic soldiers. Sad, yes, but it is the Christian thing to do. This is why the "wall of separation" between church and state is so important. The theocracy would be crushing, as it is in their very nature to persecute the non-believers. They've been murdering innocents in the most heinous ways possible for centuries.

I've also noted not a peep from Jennifer about her righteous bigotry. As I've said, it's fortunate for her that she's so incapable of questioning the dogma of her own religion, so the dehumanizing beliefs are nothing to be ashamed of. On the contrary, it's a Jesus approved virtue!

"Pastor" John Hagee at an anti-gay Christian rally last week.

This is a tremendous social crisis, greater even than the issue of slavery.

But that's not "dehumanizing".. that's just Christian principles in action!! Hagee is the man that John McMaeverick was "proud" to have his endorsement.

So.. which is the greater "crisis" in America? Slavery? Gays? Hmmm.. I wonder..

And you all wonder why I get "angry"? Ya'll (to use the Texas slang) some sick mother fuckers...

"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." - Martin Luther King Jr.