EVANGELICAL EXCESS IN THE MILITARY -- MIKEY WEINSTEIN INTERVIEW ABOUT FUNDAMENTALIST ATTACK ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

One of the blogs I regularly read ('melech hagawblinim') alerted me to an interview with Mikey Weinstein about evangelical excess in the US military.

The interview is here:
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/12/13/weinstein/index.html


Now, you may be asking why you should take time out from your busy schedule to read it - after all, it is a good thing that our soldiers have a faith to succour them when the shells are coming right at them, isn't it?


ONE WORD: EVANGELICAL EXCESS.


[Many members of my family served in the military, and on both sides we've been here since well before the civil war. I make mention of this to clarify that I am as American as you, just so you don't go overboard on ad-hominem xenophobia.]


AGAIN: EVANGELICAL EXCESS



Some juicy quotes, to convince you that you should read the interview, and not only read it, but take it to heart, and alert others to it.


1. "We have a virulently dominionist, fundamentalist evangelical Christian element within the Pentagon. They would prefer this to be the "Pentecostalgon," not the Pentagon. That's what they would prefer. They're trying to turn the Pentagon into a frickin' faith-based initiative, and that is not what our military is about. "


2. "...it's also blatantly violative of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights, and at least as important it's violative of Clause 3, Article 6 of the Constitution -- you don't even have to get into the Bill of Rights -- which states that we will never have a religion test for any position in the federal government, which was brilliantly prescient of our Founding Fathers. "


3. "...like that one person, Catton, whom I knew when I was a kid at the [Air Force] Academy, and he goes, "I share my faith, that's who I am, and let me tell you right now, the hierarchy as an old-fashioned American is that your first duty is to the Lord, second to your family and your third is to your country." That is the exact opposite of what is taught, and for anyone who understands anything about the military, it is always the country first. "


4. "These are Christians being preyed upon by evangelical Christians and being told that you're not Christian enough, therefore you're going to burn in a hell of fire. "


5. "When you have the leadership believing that to be a good soldier, good Marine, good airman or sailor you have to be not just a Christian but the right type of Christian, we're no better than al-Qaida."


If, at this point, your dander ain't up, there's something very wrong with you.

Your dander IS up, isn't it?


Or are you one of those people? You know, those fundamentalist bigot screwball whackjobs all hepped up on your sacred duty to insult everyone else unless they convert to your own brand of self-righteous idiocy.

If you are, please fee free to leave comments - I love reading the rabid spew of your type, and ripping you apart (I admit it, I like a cheap dirty battle of wits with unarmed people, I'm kinda vicious that way).