Under interim guidelines on religious expression issued for the entire Air Force in late August, "brief nonsectarian prayer" is permissible during significant events such as graduations, deployments and change- of-command ceremonies.
{snip}
Striking the right balance on religion has proved difficult for the Air Force, which is under intense pressure to revise the 2-month-old guidelines, which some say go too far in restricting religious freedom and others feel fall short of separating church from state.
One way to try to determine if a compromise if fair is how both sides respond, this may indicate that the proper mix has been found. That, however, will not mean that the push for forced faith is over at the Air Force academy.
A private missionary group has assigned a pair of full-time Christian ministers to the U.S. Air Force Academy, where they are training cadets to evangelize among their peers, according to a confidential letter to supporters..
The letter makes clear that the organized evangelization effort has continued this year despite an outcry over alleged proselytizing at the academy that has prompted a Pentagon investigation, congressional hearings, a civil lawsuit and new Air Force guidelines on religion
The big question, if this behavior is so good and proper, why is it done in secret.
2 comments:
This is so disturbing. These people are so very much like the Taliban or the Islamists.
• Forcing their beliefs on others.
• Insisting that others alter their behavior to fit the Christian ideology.
• Resorting to violence (abortion clininc bombings and shooting of doctors)
• Separating the world into believers and non-believers.
Man, Canada is looking better each day.
I believe religion in its purest form, unadulterated by religious leaders' views, is good medicine for internal peace. It does not matter much to me which religious beliefs you follow, they all pretty much preach be kind to your neighbor,and against violence/killing. Any prudent person would find these teachings/beliefs to be in the best interests of humanity.
But where religion fails is where man/woman enters. It is man's/woman's interpretation of the word (regardless of which religion we examine) that twists the word in such a way that each obsessive, self-indulgent, egotistical follower/leader proclaims that THEIR religion is the one true faith, and that all others are either barbarians, or infidels. Religious leaders and evangelists have been the source of more wars, deaths, and inhumane acts than all the other causes over the ages. If you take a look at the actions of the religious leaders, the political leaders, and the military leaders of each war since the dawn of time you will find that each side felt it their obligation to force their religious beliefs and their God on to the other. We point with disgust at the believers of Jihad, yet we appear to embrace and draw into our bosom the evangelical leadership who are doing anything but God's work pushing these United States to further their ambitions of subjugating all to their beliefs. And if you believe that they are not oppressive, just try to speak in opposition to them as a christian, you will be removed from their houses of worship faster than you can finish your opposing thought.
Recently, a number of school board members in PA were voted out of office because they tried to push intelligent design. The religious response from Pat Robertson, On today's broadcast of "The 700 Club," Robertson told Dover residents, "If there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God." The founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network explained, "You just voted God out of your city."
You can't get much more christian and hateful than that. Who is Pat Robertson anyway? He is just a man, spouting fear, uncertainty and doom in God's name. If anyone should watch out for God's wrath it should be Robertson. For the christian readers, Robertson and the religious leaders who betrayed Jesus have a lot in common the way I see it. I don't hear anything close to the tolerance in Jesus's teachings when I read what the religious leaders of the 700 club have to say.
The first thing we have to do as free Americans--a country founded in the principle of the separation of church and state-- is get all religious leaders and mouthpieces (government officials acting on the will of religious leaders) out of our government. Everytime religion enters into government policy, that government goes to war and people die in the name of God. How absolutely hypocritical. I believe anyone who is a proponent of a war, must be willing and further must be compelled by law to send their own sons and daughters to the front lines. Once the price of war impacts their own families we will see if these religious leaders are so loose with coughing up lives in the name of God.
Peace be with you.
Post a Comment