On 8/22/2010 12:14 AM, jps wrote:
On Sat, 21 Aug 2010 16:22:35 -0400, Secular
wrote:

On 8/21/10 12:57 PM, jps wrote:

Isn't this sweet? Iinstitutionalized Christianity in the military...

RICHMOND, Va. — The Army said Friday it was investigating a claim that
dozens of soldiers who refused to attend a Christian band's concert at
a Virginia military base were banished to their barracks and told to
clean them up.

Fort Eustis spokesman Rick Haverinen told The Associated Press he
couldn't comment on the specifics of the investigation. At the
Pentagon, Army spokesman Col. Thomas Collins said the military
shouldn't impose religious views on soldiers.

"If something like that were to have happened, it would be contrary to
Army policy," Collins said.

Pvt. Anthony Smith said he and other soldiers felt pressured to attend
the May concert while stationed at the Newport News base, home of the
Army's Transportation Corps.

"My whole issue was I don't need to be preached at," Smith said in a
phone interview from Phoenix, where he is stationed with the National
Guard. "That's not what I signed up for."

Smith, 21, was stationed in Virginia for nearly seven months for
helicopter electrician training when the Christian rock group
BarlowGirl played as part of the "Commanding General's Spiritual
Fitness Concerts."

Smith said a staff sergeant told 200 men in their barracks they could
either attend or remain in their barracks. Eighty to 100 decided not
to attend, he said.

"Instead of being released to our personal time, we were locked down,"
Smith said. "It seemed very much like a punishment."

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation first reported on the
Christian concert. The foundation said it was approached by soldiers
who were punished for not attending or offended by the religious theme
of the event.

The group's president, Mikey Weinstein, claims Christian-themed events
are "ubiquitous" throughout the military, and he credited the soldiers
for stepping forward.

"Whenever we see this egregious, unconstitutional religious tyranny
our job is to fight it," he said.

Smith said he and the other soldiers were told not to use their cell
phones or personal computers and ordered to clean up the barracks.

About 20 of the men, including several Muslims, refused to attend the
concert based on their religious beliefs, he said.

Smith said he went up the chain of command and traced the concert
edict to a captain, who said he simply wanted to "show support for
those kind of events that bring soldiers together."

While not accepting blame, the officer apologized to the soldiers who
refused to attend the concert and said it was not his intent to
proselytize, he said.

"But once you get in there, you realize it's evangelization," Smith
said.


There's little difference between these evangelicals and the taliban.
The world would be far better off without either.

Like the present row over the Muslim center in NY, these institutional
evangelists cheapen the very foundations of our country. How could
anyone looking from a third party POV assume that our military is
anything other than crusaders for Jesus?

Perhaps your view. I am not religious but I support being there. I
think humanity needs to exterminate radical Islam/Taliban like vermin.
See the time cover in the last week or two for an idea of why.

You don't have to be religious to want people to live peaceful and women
to live as free people. Or as you suggest, we lay back and ignore
school girls getting acid in the faces for wanting to become literate?

Killing in the name of Jesus? Protecting freedom in the name of
Jesus? Killing Islamic fundamentalists with Christian
fundamentalists?

Makes me feel like we haven't made it out of the dark ages yet.

You can think of it as Jesus if you want, I think of it as social
evolution to a better society. Sooner or later Islam/Muslims will get
nukes and use them. Many are religious crazy to a point of a evil cult
and propel the violence and carnage.

We as a species are doomed if we can't eradicate such cults and deal
with it. As even Islam/Muslim will kill like Nazi if given a chance.
Iran/Iraq war, 500,000 dead and millions more wounded.

To ignore the Islam/Muslim threat is asking for WW III. Just like
Chamberlain's "peace with honor" BS. Head in the sand.

--
Is government working for you, or are you working for the government?