TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – An atheist soldier suing over prayers at military formations claims a larger pattern of religious discrimination exists in the military, citing attempts to convert Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan and an evangelical bias in a suicide prevention manual.
Category: Military
LITERATURE – “The War Prayer” by Mark Twain
The country was up in arms, the war was on, in every breast burned the holy fire of patriotism; the drums were beating, the bands playing, the toy pistols popping, the bunched firecrackers hissing and spluttering; on every hand and far down the receding and fading spread of roofs and balconies a fluttering wilderness of flags flashed in the sun; daily the young volunteers marched down the wide avenue gay and fine in their new uniforms, the proud fathers and mothers and sisters and sweethearts cheering them with voices choked with happy emotion as they swung by; nightly the packed mass meetings listened, panting, to patriot oratory which stirred the deepest deeps of their hearts, and which they interrupted at briefest intervals with cyclones of applause, the tears running down their cheeks the while; in the churches the pastors preached devotion to flag and country, and invoked the God of Battles beseeching His aid in our good cause in outpourings of fervid eloquence which moved every listener. It was indeed a glad and gracious time, and the half dozen rash spirits that ventured to disapprove of the war and cast a doubt upon its righteousness straightway got such a stern and angry warning that for their personal safety’s sake they quickly shrank out of sight and offended no more in that way.
CANADA: Symposium to be held on Conscientious Objection
The Public Affairs and Religious Liberty Department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada is sponsoring a Symposium on Conscientious Objection in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The Symposium is planned for November 6 ñ 9, 2008 in Oshawa, Ontario.
The Army Wants You…Again! (Yes, Really.)
By Colby Buzzell – Imagine that you graduated from college, and a couple years afterward your alma mater contacts you and says, Sorry, you didn’t graduate from college. In fact, you have five weeks to drop everything that you’re doing–quit your job, get out of your lease, put all your stuff in storage, cancel your Netflix, etc.–and report back to campus so that you can redo all the schooling that you’ve already done. And not only that, here’s a Smith & Wesson .357 revolver with only one round in the chamber–spin the chamber, point it at your head, and pull the trigger. If you live, you live. If you don’t, you don’t.
VIDEO: Is there room for peace?
VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED With all that is going on in the world today, it is easy to forget that there is a war going on overseas. I wondered whether to post this video because it has some violent scenes and language in it, but maybe it is time to honestly face what is happening…
Announcing and Enacting Peace in an Age of Empire
By Ryan Bell Introduction/Story Who are the children of God? Who will inherit the kingdom of God? These are the questions that are heavy on the minds of the Jewish people at the time Jesus begins his public ministry. There was a great debate between the various parties of the Jewish people about how…
Does Constitution apply to enemy combatant on U.S. soil? (AP)
In the War Against Terror, it may be difficult to determine who the enemy is. Does the Constitution apply to a U.S. resident held on U.S. soil? WASHINGTON (AP) — If his cell were at Guantanamo Bay, the prisoner would be just one of hundreds of suspected terrorists detained offshore, where the U.S. says the…
Armageddon is not an Exit Strategy (Israel e News)
Attorney MIkey (Michael) Weinstein discusses proselytism in the military. Read the full article at http://www.israelenews.com/view.asp?ID=1886 On the heels of a scathing report issued by the Defense Department’s inspector general that took high-level Pentagon officials to task for allowing an evangelical Christian organization unfettered access to the Department of Defense (DOD) to promote its fundamentalist agenda,…