Thursday, May 05, 2005
Christianity Under Attack
I am aghast at the incresing directness of attack against Christianity. Some of it is to be expected and Christians are growing in political influence, but some of it is just ugly. The latest, and most egregious, salvo has been fired by "Americans United for the Separation of Church and State" (AUSCS) in the form of a report to the Secretary of Defense concerning the Air Force Academy. The Boston Globe reports on it here and Hugh Hewitt blew a gasket on air yesterday.
Read the report for yourself, it's a pure slander job, based almost entirely on hearsay evidence. Hewitt described it as McCarthyite, and he is right. Frankly, I found it funny. Consider this accusation
Again, let's assume the truth of this at face value, a wild assumption. How in the world does creating opportunities for discussion of Christianity constitute establishment of religion?
What a crock. It is troubling the Air Force did anything but round-file this waste of paper, ink and electrons. Sigh.
UPDATE 6:55AM
Hugh Hewitt was able to use his radio show last night to gather very substanitive evidence at what a crock of manure this report really is. He has recounted most of it this morning on his blog. He also urges contacting your Senators and Congresspersons to end the investigation before it really begins. I agree. Call today.
Read the report for yourself, it's a pure slander job, based almost entirely on hearsay evidence. Hewitt described it as McCarthyite, and he is right. Frankly, I found it funny. Consider this accusation
We have been informed, for example, that, during a Basic Cadet Training session attended by a team of observers from the Yale Divinity School, one of the Academy chaplains - Major Warren 'Chappy' Watties - led a Protestant worship service in which he encouraged the attending cadets to return to their tents and proselytize cadets who had not attended the service, with the declared penalty for failure to accept this proselytization being to "burn in the fires of hell."AUSCS considers this "coersion." Being as this is hearsay, who knows if this is true or not, but assume it is. These are young men and women studying to be United States military officers. If they are coerced by another cadet threats of hellfire, how will they stand up to actual enemy interrogation. Here is another goody
And if those incidents were not enough to demonstrate the severity of the problems at the Academy, it seems that General Weida has established a system of code words that he shares with evangelical Christian cadets in order to provide them with opportunities to proselytize others in the Cadet Wing. Specifically, at a Protestant chapel service during Basic Cadet Training, General Weida told the attendees the New Testament parable of the house built on rock ? a metaphor for building faith on the firm foundation of Jesus. See Matthew 7:24-29; Luke 6:46-49. General Weida then instructed the cadets that, whenever he uses the phrase ?Airpower!,? they should respond with the phrase ?Rock Sir!,? thus invoking the parable from the New Testament. General Weida advised the cadets that, when asked by their classmates about the meaning of the call and response, the cadets should use the opportunity to discuss their Christian faith. And General Weida regularly invokes the "Airpower!" call in official statements in order to prompt the religiously based "Rock Sir!" response.(emphasis added)Code words?! Oh please. That really is a McCarthyite accusation. And watch out for the Masons, they really control the world you know.
Again, let's assume the truth of this at face value, a wild assumption. How in the world does creating opportunities for discussion of Christianity constitute establishment of religion?
What a crock. It is troubling the Air Force did anything but round-file this waste of paper, ink and electrons. Sigh.
UPDATE 6:55AM
Hugh Hewitt was able to use his radio show last night to gather very substanitive evidence at what a crock of manure this report really is. He has recounted most of it this morning on his blog. He also urges contacting your Senators and Congresspersons to end the investigation before it really begins. I agree. Call today.
