Well, one really can’t say that Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz is worried about Jesus. But apparently he is concerned that some in the upper echelon of his own service have decided that “Christianity” as they define it is more important than respecting the Constitution. Therefore, General Scwartz issued a memo on September 1st of this year that required commanders to avoid even the appearance of favoring one religion over another:
Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz sent a servicewide memo Sept. 1 cautioning leaders at all levels to balance the Constitution’s protection of religious freedom and the prohibition on government intrusion.
“We have seen instances where well-meaning commanders and senior noncommissioned officers appeared to advance a particular religious view among their subordinates, calling into question their impartiality and objectivity. We can learn from these instances,” said Lt. Col. Sam Highley, Schwartz’s spokesman. […]
In the memo, titled “Maintaining Government Neutrality Regarding Religion,” Schwartz wrote leaders must avoid even the appearance of using their position to proselytize.
“Commanders or supervisors who engage in such behavior may cause members to doubt their impartiality and objectivity,” Schwartz wrote. “The potential result is a degradation of the unit’s morale, good order and discipline.”
Specifically what concerned General Norton was the fact that in training classes led by USAF military chaplains on the ethics of nuclear war expressly taught that Christianity and the Catholic Church approved of nuclear war. Some anonymous Air Force officer called lt the “Jesus loves Nukes Speech.” Furthermore days after learning of the Christian themed ethics training being given to Air Force personnel regarding their nuclear weapons duties, further evidence of overt Christian influence in the Air Force was found in its ROTC Leadership Training materials.
The ROTC briefing, called “Core Values and the Air Force Member,” contains references to the Sermon on the Mount and the Ten Commandments as examples of ethical values. Two additional slides list the New Testament teachings of Jesus known as the Beatitudes, and seven of the commandments, including “Have no other gods before me.”
The 22-slide briefing also cites the Golden Rule as an example of ethical values. One of the slides points out that the Golden Rule — “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” — is found in five of the world’s major religions.
Mikey Weinstein, founder and president of the foundation, said he has been contacted by 21 instructors and 42 cadets from various universities about the training. He said the majority of both groups say they are Roman Catholic or Protestant.
All this pissed off Senator Cornyn of Texas who sent an angry letter to Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley. In that letter he claimed that the Air Force decision was inappropriate and an overreaction. I wonder why the Senator from Texas considers teaching and preaching Christianity to a members of a branch of the military, which under the Constitution is required to not promote any specific religion appropriate, especially since many of them are (1) not Christians and/or (2) even if the are members of Christian denominations, consider such training a violation of their constitutional right to be free from governmental intrusion into their religious beliefs or lack thereof?
Actually, I don’t wonder about it at all, not when Texas Governor (and presidential candidate) Rick Perry has allied himself with Dominionist Christians such as David Barton and the “Prayer Warriors” of the New Apostolic Reformation movement, who believe Christians should dominate all sectors of society, including the government and the military:
Another advantage for Perry is support from an extensive 50-state “prayer warrior” network, organized by the New Apostolic Reformation. A religious-political movement whose leaders call themselves apostles and prophets, NAR shares its agenda for control of society and government with other “dominionists,” but has a distinctly different theology than other groups in the Religious Right. They have their roots in Pentecostalism (though their theology has been denounced as a heresy by Pentecostal denominations in the past). The movement is controversial, even inside conservative evangelical circles. Nevertheless, Perry took the gamble that NAR could help him win the primaries, a testament to the power of the apostles’ 50-state prayer warrior network.
While it may not have been obvious to those outside the movement, Perry was publicly anointed as the apostles’ candidate for president in his massive prayer rally a few weeks ago, an event filled with symbolism and coded messages. This was live-streamed to churches across the nation and on God TV, a Jerusalem-based evangelical network.
There’s little doubt that Perry is NAR’s candidate — its chosen vehicle to advance the stated agenda of taking “dominion” over earthly institutions.
Imagine what would happen to our armed forces if a Dominionist Christian backed candidate was elected President? Obviously the Air Force is overrun with Fundamentalist Christians in its officer corp. To what, or to whom would they pledge their allegiance if Rick Perry becomes President?
What other intrusions into our diverse secular and religious culture by this extreme fundamentalist christian sect would be given the President’s blessing? Would we all end up having to register what religious faith we practice? Would women be asked on government applications for student aid, grants employment if they ever had an abortion? I’d rather not find out, frankly.
