secularists once again forcing their political correctness upon the rest of Americans. --- as opposed to christians forcing their religious beliefs upon the rest of Americans
On Jun 20, 5:33 am, Keith In Tampa <[email protected]> wrote: > I wonder if the United States Armed Services "authorized" a Q'uoran, or > any other religious works? > > I note that since this bru-ha-ha started, the military has since > discontinued the "authorization" of the use of the military symbols on the > Holman Bible. > > Much ado about nothing, and a bunch of secularists once again forcing their > political correctness upon the rest of Americans. > > On Tue, Jun 19, 2012 at 10:22 PM, plainolamerican <[email protected] > > > > > > > > > wrote: > > some 33 percent of chaplains are now evangelical Christians > > --- > > and 100 percent of USSC justices are jews and catholics. > > > tit for tat among the myth believers who have forgotten that the USA > > is a secular nation > > > On Jun 19, 3:11 pm, MJ <[email protected]> wrote: > > > A Biblical Threat to National SecuritybyKelley B. Vlahos, June 19, 2012 > > > Can a Bible be a “threat to national security”? > > > For years, the government has employed the risk of “national security” > > excuse to infringe on a wide range of freedoms like the right to pass > > through an airport security checkpoint unmolested, or read library books > > without Big Brother peeking over your shoulder.Michael L. “Mikey” > > Weinsteinis trying to prove that there is more than one way to put the > > country at risk, and he’s found it in a heretofore unlikely place: the > > Bible. > > > Well, the Holman Bible. To be more exact, a version of the Bible that, > > for reasons still undetermined, was authorized with the trademarked > > official insignia of the U.S. Armed Forces emblazoned on the front cover. > > There isThe Soldier’s Biblewith the Army’s seal,The Marine’s Biblewith the > > Marine Corps seal,The Sailor’s BibleandThe Airman’s Bible, both with their > > respective insignia. The books have been sold for nearly six years > > throughout Christian bookstores, commissaries and PXs on U.S. military > > installations and are still available on Christianbook.com,Amazon.comand > > Barnes & Noble. > > > It’s not theKing James Versionthatthe Gideonsleave behind in hotel rooms > > drawers. The Holman Bible was commissioned and published by LifeWay > > Christian Resources, a subsidiary of theSouthern Baptist Convention, the > > largest Baptist denomination in the world, in 2003. > > > In a 1999press releaseannouncing the edition’s progress, Broadman & > > Holman Publishers called the new version “a fresh, precise translation of > > the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek of the Old and New Testaments.” LifeWay > > President James T. Draper Jr. weighed in, saying there was a “serious need > > for a 21st-century Bible translation in American English that combines > > accuracy and readability,” adding, “the Holman Christian Standard Bible is > > an accurate, literal rendering with a smoothness and readability that > > invites memorization, reading aloud and dedicated study.” > > > The Holman Bible, or HCSB, has been popular with evangelicals for its > > references and study tools. Someone convinced each branch of the service > > they’d be perfect for the military, too. So the HCSB became the “official” > > Bible of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines in 2004, complete with > > reader-friendly text and custom “designed to meet the specific needs of > > those who serve in the most difficult of situations,” according to the > > publishers. > > > In other words, aside from the text, the books are filled with > > “devotionals” and “inspirational essays” tailored to each branch of > > service. I was unable to get my hands on a copy by press time, but Amazon’s > > “peek” inside the book and several positive reader reviews confirm some of > > the contents, revealing what could only be described as a guileless > > conflation of both Christian and American military iconography. War and > > service as religious devotion. > > > In addition to the Pledge of Allegiance and the first and fourth verses > > of the Star Spangled Banner, there are excerpts from one of George W. Bush > > inaugural addresses and the Republican president’s remarks at a National > > Prayer Breakfast.Gen. George S. Patton’s famous Christmas prayer cardfrom > > the field of battle 1944 is also included, as is“George Washington’s > > Prayer,”which has been widely circulated (and debunked) as proof of > > America’s Christian paternity. > > > These Bibles also feature “testimonials and encouragement from > > theOfficers’ Christian Fellowship,” which has approximately 15,000 members > > across the military and whose primary purpose is “to glorify God by uniting > > Christian officers for biblical fellowship and outreach, equipping and > > encouraging them to minister effectively in the military society.” In other > > words they proselytize within the officer corps as part of an evangelical > > “parachurch” within the military. > > > A largely unfettered one, apparently, as one watches Pentagon officers > > commenting freely on camera and in uniform for this Bush-era > > promotionalvideofor Christian Embassy, another federal government-wide > > “fellowship” with similar missionary goals. > > > One officer, Air Force Maj. Gen. Jack Catton, who said he worked on the > > Joint Staff at the Pentagon, described himself as “an old fashioned > > American and my first priority is my faith in God.” Pointing to his meeting > > with other officers under the auspices of Christian Embassy, he said, “I > > think it’s a huge impact because you have many men and women who are > > seeking God’s counsel and wisdom as we advise the Secretary of Defense.” > > > Then U.S. Brigadier Gen. Bob Caslan (currently promoted to lieutenant > > general as the commanding general at the U.S. Army’s prestigious Combined > > Arms Center at Ft. Leavenworth, Kan.) went so far as to say he sees the > > “flag officer fellowship groups … hold me accountable.” > > > “We are the aroma of Jesus Christ,” he added. > > > Something smells, all right, said Weinstein, who heads theMilitary > > Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF). The roles of the officers in the video > > werelater deemed improperafter MRFF demanded an investigation in 2007. As > > for the Bibles, Weinstein said he received some 2,000 complaints about them > > from service members over the last year. Weinstein, a former Air Force > > Judge Advocate (JAG) whose 2005 charges against the Air Force Academy in > > Colorado led to an investigation thatofficially found religious > > “insensitivity”against non- fundamentalists there, has gone on to expose a > > much wider climate of“top-down, invasive evangelicalism”at the institution > > and throughout the military as a whole. > > > “We’re fighting a > > Fundamentalist-Christian-Parachurch-Military-Corporate-Proselytizing-Complex,” > > Weinstein said told Antiwar.com last week, “and we have been fighting this > > for some time.” MRFF just posted a video montage, which could easily be > > called the military evangelicals’ greatest hits,here. > > > He said aside from “prostituting” the military insignia, the military’s > > endorsement of the Bibles violated federal separation of church and state, > > and continue to sanction an insidious culture of radical evangelicalism and > > discrimination throughout the services (as a Jew, Weinstein said he felt > > the sting of prejudice when he attended the Air Force academy in the late > > 1970s; his sons had it even worse, he claims, prompting his first formal > > complaint seven years ago). > > > Since then, “(MRFF) has had 28,000 clients and a hundred more each > > month,” said Weinstein, rejecting claims by his critics that they are all > > atheist. He insists that 96 percent of his clients are Christians (Catholic > > and Mainline Protestant) and that his is not a religious crusade. On the > > other hand,some 33 percent of chaplains are now evangelical > > Christians(Weinstein’s MRFF places that number at 84 percent), while only 3 > > percent of service members describe themselves as such. > > > “They are spiritually raping the U.S. Constitution, the American people > > and the men and women who are fighting for us,” said Weinstein, who never, > > ever minces words. > > > MRFF’s lawyers senta formal letterto Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta’s > > office in January. In it, MRFF charged that authorizing LifeWay to print > > its Bibles with the service insignia “is in violation of the Establishment > > Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution … and > > several regulations,” and that the authority should be withdrawn > > immediately or face legal action from MRFF. > > > Interestingly, according to thedocuments now available online, the Army, > > Navy and Air Force responded to the letter in February, insisting that the > > summer before Weinstein’s lawyers at Jones Day contacted the Pentagon, they > > had already pulled their trademark authorizations to LifeWay, for > > “unrelated reasons.” So, in effect, according to the military, the Southern > > Baptist Convention subsidiary no longer had use of the trademarks and the > > question was moot. > > > Weinstein responded with one word: “lies.” He told Antiwar.com that they > > were just informed of the letters in June, not in February. > > Furthermore,according to MRFF senior research director Chris Rodda, MRFF > > has obtained documents through Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests that > > indicated the “AAFES (the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, which runs > > the BXs, PXs, and other stores on military bases) was clearly concerned > > about the complaints about the Holman Bibles, with emails as early as June > > 6, 2011 from AAFES to LifeWay saying that these Bibles had ‘become a hot > > issue,’ and referencing and linking to a June 2, 2011 article on MRFF’s > > website as the reason they were becoming a hot issue.” > > > Nevertheless, according to aFox News Radio story, LifeWay insists it’s > > “sold” all existing copies of the military Bible in question, and > > ... > > read more » -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
