Dont ask, dont tell takes on a new meaning as the Pentagon recently threatened to court-martial any soldier who spoke of his or her Christian faith. Officials went on to say that proselytizing was against policy and would be punished on a case-to-case basis.
Faith in the military is coming under attack. Its a different kind of war fought with censorship, new policies and a microscope.
In May, the Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho took down the painting of a soldier standing in front of a medieval knight. It was titled Blessed are the Peacemakers and was created to honor heroes after the 9/11 attack. Included in the artwork is a reference to the Scripture Matthew 5:9 which says, Blessed are the Peacemakers for they will be called sons of God.
Founder of Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), Mikey Weinstein, is the watchdog that fights against any kind of Christian expression. The Pentagon has tightened its religious belt after MRFF demanded action and, especially lately, has gotten it. The anti-Christian extremist has compared proselytizing to rape and called Christians fundamentalist monsters. Not long after MRFF complained of objectionable art, the Blessed piece was removed.
Another censor came in the form of a video called God made a First Sergeant, forbidden to use with the explanation that using the word God might be offensive to Atheists, Agnostics or Muslims. The video began: On the eighth day, God looked down on His creation and said, I need someone who will take care of the Airmen, so God created a First Sergeant.
The U. S. Department of Defense has responded to allegations of Christian prejudice by stating that they make reasonable accommodations for all religions.
Big dogs have come out with guns blazing, standing strong for religious liberty within the ranks of those fighting for the same cause worldwide.
Family Research Council petitioned Secretary Chuck Hagel to resist the demands of anti-Christian activists who are calling for a court-martial order upon chaplains and service members who share their faith. More than 160,000 signatures have been garnered so far, including many congressmen.
To the military men and women who see faith as an integral part of themselves, it seems anathema to separate their belief system from the battle at hand.
Col. Sheryl Rafferty, who has been in the Army for 29 years and on three combat tours, tells Sunshine State News that on the front line of battles where soldiers risk their lives, she has seen many come to faith.
When were in the midst of combat, we go first to our faith and then to our skills, she said. When the bullets are flying, the knees are dropping!
Florida is home to 1.6 million veterans, including Master Sergeant Ismael Irizarry who was a medic in the Air Force for 21 years, and says proselytizing at the workplace has always been forbidden. Yet he had opportunities then to pray with others in their time of need and never felt prohibited from expressing his faith.
It would be a sad day indeed if that same freedom was not allowed, he said.
Speaking at a National Day of Prayer gathering, Rear Admiral William Lee of the Coast Guard, who is determined to defy any moves against religious freedom, the top soldier added a caveat: he was not talking about proselytizing, rather gently whispering the Gospel.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered U.S. soldiers to carry Bibles in their pockets to free prisoners from Nazi concentration camps. As of late, no Bibles are allowed on the desks of military personnel.
Times have surely changed.
Lisa Folch writes special to Sunshine State News.
