A religious liberty case is brewing at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas over “anti-Semitic” statements posted in a Bible Study on a chaplain’s web site. Mikey Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation states he was “disgusted” by the anti-Semitic remarks and has called the military to remove them. As usual, the military was forced to give in to Weinstein’s temper tantrum and submit to political correctness. Are you curious about what the anti-Semitic remarks were? Maybe you’re envisioning a call to exterminate Jews? Kind of an American Holocaust? Or perhaps you’re thinking the army was using racial slurs to describe Jews? You’d be dead wrong. The “disgusting” anti-Semitic remarks simply stated that in the New Testament some of the Jewish people were “zealous” against the Apostle Paul. Furthermore, the online Bible Study suggested that some Jewish leaders (Pharisees) played a role in the crucifixion of Jesus. Does that sound anti-Semitic? Or does that simply sound like historical fact? This is just the latest example of a radical attempt to redefine history into a more politically correct version. We saw the same thing take place when The Passion of the Christ was released. Overly sensitive malcontents charged anti-Semitism because the movie gave the Biblical (and historical) account of the Pharisaic jealousy that led Jesus to Golgotha. History IS what it IS, and it should be accurately reported. If the military Chaplain wanted to point out the Christian Crusades as an example of those doing evil in the name of Christ, we should have no complaint. The Crusades were historical, and wrong. But to pretend they never happened is naïve and foolish. Likewise with the Cross of Christ. Another complain Weinstein had was with a statement made comparing the zealous Jews of Paul’s day with another modern day religion. Can you think of any religion that is zealous enough to kill others for the sake of their cause? I’ll give you a hint: WORLD TRADE CENTER. I’ll give you another hint: SUICIDE BOMBERS. I’ll give you another hint: AL-QAEDA. The Bible Study said there was a similarity between New Testament Judaisers and Modern Day Islamic Extremists. Would anyone in their right mind refute that? The issue here is more than simply political correctness run amuck. The Bible Studies were written in the 1980’s by Lt. Colonel George Kuykendall, who is now deceased. Religious tensions and political correctness weren’t quite as high then as they are today. Back in those days you could still speak the truth without threat of a lawsuit or government censorship. No more. This case involves 1st amendment religious liberty at its most foundational level. Weinstein is calling this an unconstitutional use of a government website to teach religion. He’s right about there being an "unconstitutional" element to this case. But unfortunately for him, he’s on the wrong side of the constitutional issue. Let me explain. If religious material is not allowed, ON A CHAPLAIN’S WEBSITE, then what on Earth is allowed. Is the Chaplain supposed to simply share his views on astrophysics? Or tell stories about his dog? Or report baseball scores? He’s a CHAPLAIN for Heaven’s sake (pun intended). Or course he’s going to post items of a religious nature. Furthermore, he’s a “Christian” Chaplain, so it is well within his right to post religious items of a “Christian” nature. And it’s impossible to do that with any integrity unless you give the facts surrounding the crucifixion. So what does the constitution say? The First Amendment, which is constantly cited but seldom read, states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” There it is! That’s the entire thing! If you read the last sentence then you’re more Constitutionally educated than 90% of Americans. Do you see anything in there to prohibit a Chaplain’s Bible Study? No. Do you see anything in there to PREVENT someone from prohibiting a Chaplain’s Bible Study? YES! The government cannot force you to belong to a religious group. Does a Chaplain’s website do that? Are soldiers required to do Bible Studies? Or course not. Maybe if the Army was posting Bible Studies on their main website, there would be a case. But NOT on a CHAPLAIN’S website. Not only is this NOT an “establishment of religion,” Weinstein has now actually infringed upon the Constitutional rights of the Chaplain, and all Americans by: “prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” All Americans, even those in the military, are supposed to have freedom of religion. If a CHAPLAIN is not allowed to post religious information, then who can? If Weinstein has his way…NO ONE. This is simply the latest example of left-wing extremism trying to turn America into an Atheistic-Secular state. Weinstein’s arguments are ludicrous and his actions are unconstitutional. The problem is that too many people fear a lawsuit, or bad publicity and simply give in to the ridiculous demands of such radical secularists. The military acquiesced and pulled the material from the website, but that’s not enough for Weinstein. He’s planning to file a lawsuit and tie up our court system with a frivolous and unconstitutional complaint. Of course depending on the sanity of the Judge who hears the case, this could go either way. Undoubtedly the military will back down (as they already have) and try to avoid any kind of religious debate. But maybe the Chaplain in question should consider a countersuit against Mikey Weinstein and his whining “watchdog” group. All Americans ARE SUPPOSED to have freedom of religion. Many in America today want to change that, and often times they have their way. Let’s hope they don’t in this case.
yes the jews historically had jesus crucified. but let us never forget Jesus words about laying His own life down. Isa. 53 tells us who had jesus crucified, it was His own father. The Jews were just doing what they had always done since their begining,shunning God. don't take it so personal jews, the American church mocks God daily, shunning His holiness, if we think the american "christians" would not have done worse, look at what we do against his Word daily. the american church looks just like the world of sin that God hates. mickey, the jews crucified jesus, His father had it done, and it was my fault. its because of my filthy sins that he died, if you work for religious freedom then why are you fighting agains freedom. i hope my tax $ is not paying this man.
Posted by: brian | June 14, 2007 at 09:31 PM