**
Dr. Eowyn posted: "Do you remember our Trail Dust's post of April 28,
2013, "Christianity to be outlawed in U.S. military," on the Pentagon
consulting the virulently anti-Christian atheist Mickey Weinstein to
develop new policies on "religious tolerance," including a policy" Respond
to this post by replying above this line
New post on *Fellowship of the Minds*
<http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/author/eowyn2/> Obama military
really is persecuting
Christians<http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/obama-military-really-is-persecuting-christians/>
by
Dr. Eowyn <http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/author/eowyn2/>
Do you remember our Trail Dust's post of April 28, 2013, "Christianity to
be outlawed in U.S.
military<http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/2013/04/28/christianity-to-be-outlawed-in-us-military/>,"
on the Pentagon consulting the virulently anti-Christian atheist *Mickey
Weinstein* to develop new policies on "religious tolerance," including a
policy for court-martialing military chaplains who share the Christian
Gospel during spiritual counseling of American troops?
3 days later, on May 1, 2013, I posted a follow-up, "Pentagon may court
martial soldiers for sharing their Christian
faith<http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/2013/05/01/pentagon-may-court-martial-soldiers-for-sharing-their-christian-faith/>,"
about a statement from the Pentagon confirming that not only will military
chaplains be court martialed, *any* soldier who engages in “religious
proselytization” (i.e., who shares the Christian faith with another) will
also be subjected to court martial and “non-judicial punishments.”
A day after, on May 2, 2013, Bob Unruh of
WND<http://www.wnd.com/2013/05/major-change-on-christians-in-military/>reported
that the Pentagon was backing off. Lt.
Cmdr. Nathan
Christensen<http://www.adfmedia.org/files/20130502PentagonEmail.pdf>issued
a statement saying that the Department of Defense “never and will
never single out a particular religious group for persecution or
prosecution.”
Blah. Blah. Blah.
All lies.
*Christians in the U.S. military are being persecuted and prosecuted. *Below
are two examples of Christian servicemen being coerced to either embrace
the "gay lifestyle" or get out.
[image:
persecution-of-christians]<http://fellowshipofminds.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/persecution-of-christians.jpg>
*1. The case of Technical Sgt. Layne Wilson, a 27-year veteran of the Utah
Air National Guard.*
Todd Starnes reports for Fox
News<http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/airman-punished-for-objecting-to-gay-marriage-in-military-chapel.html>,
July 11, 2013, that *last December, TSgt. Wilson wrote a private email to a
chaplain at West Point, stating his unhappiness about a "gay" wedding in
West Point's Cadet Chapel.*
[image:
West_Point_Cadet_Chapel]<http://fellowshipofminds.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/west_point_cadet_chapel.jpg>
*West Point Cadet Chapel*
Wilson wrote: “This is wrong on so many levels. If they wanted to get
married in a hotel that is one thing. Our base chapels are a place of
worship and this is a mockery to God and our military core values. I have
proudly served 27 years and this is a slap in the face to us who have put
our lives on the line for this country. I hope sir that you will take
appropriate action so this does not happen again.”
Instead of responding to the private email, the Commandant of Cadets
notified the Utah Air National Guard. All of which led to *Wilson being
reprimanded for conduct inconsistent with the United States Air Force*,
which had brought disgrace and discredit upon the Air National Guard.
In a letter to Wilson, *Lt. Col. Kevin Tobias *of the Air National Guard
reprimanded Wilson for failing “to render the proper respect to a
commissioned officer” and that “As a noncommissioned officer you are
expected to maintain a standard of professional and personal behavior that
is above reproach. You have failed!”
*Col. Ronald Blunck* concurred with Tobias – noting that TSgt. Wilson's
“right to practice your religious beliefs does not excuse you from
complying with directives, instructions and lawful orders.”
*After formally reprimanding Wilson, the Air National Guard then terminated
its six-year reenlistment contract with Wilson, in effect telling him to
retire.* “Due to the fact that I expressed my views on homosexuality in
uniform; Lt. Col. Tobias stated that I was no longer compatible with
further military service,” Wilson wrote in a letter detailing the
discrimination allegations.
*What is even more outrageous is that at the time of Wilson being
reprimanded, the Supreme Court had not yet ruled on the Defense of Marriage
Act (DOMA), which means DOMA was still the law of the land. In other words,
in objecting to the homosexual wedding in the West Point chapel, TSgt.
Wilson was merely expressing his disapproval of an act that was in
violation of a federal law!*
Wilson maintains that the military has created an atmosphere where those
who do not approve of homosexual conduct “must remain disapprovingly silent
or face reprisal to our careers. It is evident those who refuse to affirm
homosexuality and openly oppose it are being severely punished.”
[image: John
Wells]<http://fellowshipofminds.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/john-wells.jpg>TSgt.
Wilson has retained the counsel of *attorney John B.
Wells<http://www.johnwellslaw.com/>
*, a retired Navy commander, who is asking the military to rescind the
reprimand and reinstate the original six-year reenlistment contract with
Wilson.
“This was an executed contract,” Wells said. “But they just went in, tore
it up and issued a new one.” Wells said his client’s only “crime” was
registering his opinion that a gay marriage in a military chapel was a
violation of the law that existed at that time. “His actions were proper
within the scope of the Uniform Code and the Manual for Courts-Martial.
While his interpretation of the law may or may not have been correct, his
actions should not have given rise to the firestorm of reprisals that he
has suffered.”
Wells believes that incidents like TSgt. Wilson's are just the "tip of the
iceberg" and that “The military is trying to make examples of people who
have religious beliefs that homosexual conduct in the military is wrong.
When these people assert their First Amendment rights, they are getting
slapped down and slapped down hard. *The end game is to force conservative
Christians out of the military.*”
*2. The case of Master Sgt. Nathan Sommers, a 25-year Army veteran.*
Todd Starnes reports for Fox News
Radio<http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/army-reprimands-soldier-under-fire-for-religious-beliefs.html>,
June 24, 2013, that Master Sgt. Sommers is a 25-year military veteran, a
decorated soloist with the U.S. Army Band, and a Christian conservative.
*On June 9, 2013, one day after Sommers told Fox News he was facing
discrimination and persecution because of his conservative political and
religious beliefs, the master sergeant was found guilty of three Article 15
charges*:
1. Failing to go to an appointed place of duty;
2. Disobeying an order; and
3. Making a false official statement.
But according to attorney* John Wells, *the Army's charges against Sommers
stemmed from his giving a superior officer the wrong date for a doctor’s
appointment. As for the charge of Sommers disobeying an order, Wells
explains that in order to comply with that order, Sommers would have had to
disclose private information about his autistic son’s medical records. “The
timing does seem strange,” Wells told Fox News. “It’s suspicious. It looks
like a graduated attempt to build a case against him on some really
ridiculous charges.."
Although Sommers received an oral reprimand and will not be reduced in
rank, Wells says he plans on appealing the non-judicial punishment and is
considering *a lawsuit under the Administrative Procedures Act and the
Religious Freedom Restoration Act*: “MSgt. Sommers wants to thank the tens
of thousands of Americans that have followed his case and offered up
prayers for his case. He has decided to put his fate in God’s hands and
continues to pray for those who are persecuting him.”
*Retired Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin *believes the Army is trying to send a
message to not only Sommers but others in his unit: “Over my 36 years in
the US Army I saw numerous situations like this where a soldier is singled
out by the chain of command for punishment. The Article 15 proceeding may
be technically legitimate, but one must recognize that an Army Master
Sergeant with 25 years does not normally do stupid things that are easily
avoidable unless there is some mitigating circumstance.”
MSgt. Sommers believes the real reasons why he was reprimanded are his
conservative political beliefs and Christian faith.
His troubles began last year when *he was confronted about having
pro-Republican and anti-Obama bumper stickers on his personal vehicle. *The
stickers read: “Political Dissent is NOT Racism,” “NOBAMA,” "NOPE2012,” and
“The Road to Bankruptcy is Paved with Ass-Fault.” That last bumper sticker
included the image of a donkey. Sommers was told by his superior officer
that the bumper stickers were creating “unnecessary workplace tension.”
*Sommers also came under fire for reading the works of conservative Mark
Levin, Sean Hannity and David Limbaugh.* Last summer he was quietly reading
Limbaugh’s *The Great Destroyer* backstage at a concert when a superior
officer told him that he was causing “unit disruption” and was offending
other soldiers. “I wasn’t reading aloud,” Sommers told Fox News. “I was
just reading privately to myself. I was told they were frowning on that and
they warned me that I should not be reading literature like that backstage
because it was offensive.”
But *the incident that led to an official investigation of Sommers came
late last summer when he served Chick-fil-A sandwiches, paid for with his
own money, at his promotion party.*
“My family likes Chick-fil-A and we like what they stand for,” he said. “I
can make a statement and at least express a religious point of view at my
promotion party – theoretically without any fear of reprisal.” The soldier
also tweeted about the party: “In honor of DADT repeal, and Obama/Holder’s
refusal to enforce DOMA act, I’m serving Chick-fil-A at my MSG promo
reception for Army today.”
The tweet came under fire from his superior officers, according to an
official military document that states: “As a Soldier you must be cognizant
of the fact that your statements can be perceived by the general public and
other service members to be of a nature bordering on disrespect to the
President of the United States.”
Attorney Wells believes Sommers is being discriminated against not only
because of his Christian faith, but also because of his objections to
homosexuality: “There’s no question about it. Because he is religious,
because he feels that homosexual conduct is wrong for religious reasons, he
is basically being persecuted."
H/t Western Center for
Journalism<http://www.westernjournalism.com/christians-need-not-apply/>
*~Eowyn*
*Dr. Eowyn <http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/author/eowyn2/>* |
July 15, 2013 at 2:13 pm | Tags: Col. Ronald
Blunck<http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/?tag=col-ronald-blunck>,
John Wells <http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/?tag=john-wells>, Lt.
Cmdr. Nathan
Christensen<http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/?tag=lt-cmdr-nathan-christensen>,
Lt. Col. Kevin
Tobias<http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/?tag=lt-col-kevin-tobias>,
Lt. Gen. Jerry
Boykin<http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/?tag=lt-gen-jerry-boykin>,
Master Sgt. Nathan
Sommers<http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/?tag=master-sgt-nathan-sommers>,
Mickey Weinstein<http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/?tag=mickey-weinstein>,
Technical Sgt. Layne
Wilson<http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/?tag=technical-sgt-layne-wilson>|
Categories:
Christians/Christianity<http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/?cat=111409284>,
Culture War <http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/?cat=20812>,
Gays<http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/?cat=35219924>,
Liberals/Democrats/Left<http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/?cat=115894710>,
Military <http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/?cat=33806753>, Obama's
America <http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/?cat=12285619>,
persecution<http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/?cat=79343>,
Religion <http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/?cat=4983159> | URL:
http://wp.me/pKuKY-mtV
Comment<http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/obama-military-really-is-persecuting-christians/#respond>
See all
comments<http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/obama-military-really-is-persecuting-christians/#comments>
Unsubscribe or change your email settings at Manage
Subscriptions<https://subscribe.wordpress.com/?key=80d8873ee52adffe4e178d01c25562cf&email=goosepickles%40gmail.com>.
*Trouble clicking?* Copy and paste this URL into your browser:
http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/obama-military-really-is-persecuting-christians/
Thanks for flying with WordPress.com <http://wordpress.com>
--
--
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.
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"PoliticalForum" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email
to [email protected].
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
