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BREAKING NEWS: Pentagon Burns Soldiers Bibles – Military Chaplains Attacked

BY CHAPLAIN GORDON JAMES KLINGENSCHMITT

A Pentagon spokesman under the Obama Administration recently acknowledged and defended seizing and burning the privately owned Bibles of American soldiers serving in Afghanistan.  The Bibles had been printed in the local Pashto and Dari languages, and sent by private donors last year (under the Bush Administration) to American Christian soldiers and chaplains, for distribution to American troops on overseas military bases during optionally-attended Christian worship services. Had the Bibles not been recently seized and destroyed (as verified and defended by the Obama Administration), they could have legally been given as gifts during off-duty time to Afghani citizens who welcome our troops in their homes, as an expression of American gratitude for Afghani hospitality, promoting the democratic ideals of freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and freedom to print and distribute Christian Bibles like the new Afghani Constitution specifically allows.

But the Muslim controlled Al Jazeera television network obtained video footage of the Bibles, held by American soldiers while listening to a chaplain on the Bagram Air Base (inside the base chapel) whose sermon encouraged outreach and personal evangelism. The American values of freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom of Christian speech >easily offended some extremist Muslim groups, (who apparently hate their own Constitution) and angered a small group of American atheists, who demanded the chaplain be punishedfor “proselytizing” because he simply repeated Jesus’ words to “Go and make disciples of all nations” in church. (Can you imagine their outrage if we burned the Koran, instead of the Bible?)

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IT’S NOT PROSELYTIZING, IT’S EVANGELISM:

The 4 May 09 Al Jazeera video proves the chaplain properly explained U.S. Central Command’s General Order Number One, which prohibits “proselytizing” (forcing religious conversions by threats or weapons) but fully permits soldiers of any religion to engage in non-threatening “evangelism” (voluntary conversations about their faith) and legally allows giving private gifts, including books, to Afghani citizens during off-duty hours in their unofficial capacity. The Afghani Constitution likewise protects freedom of the press and religion, so no laws were broken by our troops, despite complaints by anti-Christian Muslim extremists. The Al Jazeera film-maker Brian Hughes even admitted the Bibles could have been useful in helping soldiers learn the Pashto and Dari languages of the Afghan people.

Instead, the privately owned Bibles were confiscated and destroyed. Caving in to pressure from the Muslims and Atheist groups, the U.S. military spokesman Maj. Jennifer Willis told Reuters reporters, “I can now confirm that the Bibles shown on Al Jazeera’s clip were, in fact, collected by the chaplains and later destroyed. They were never distributed.”  Her careful use of the words “later” and “now” indicate the Bibles were destroyed this year, not last year, only after and because of the recently publicized video. And even if they had been destroyed last year,why is the Obama administration now defending burning Bibles? When questioned about the authenticity of the Al Jazeera video, U.S. Army Colonel Greg Julian admitted the Al Jazeera reporting was biased against the American Christians: “Most of this is taken out of context … this is irresponsible and inappropriate journalism.”

GENERAL DOUGLAS MACARTHUR ENCOURAGED EVANGELISM

After World War II, in order to carry out the democratization of Japan, Five-Star General Of The Army Douglas MacArthur brought Christian leaders to the country to meet with Emperor Hirohito and encouraged mass distribution of Bibles to the population.  MacArthur later stated to a visiting American churchman, “We must have ten thousand Christian missionaries and a million Bibles to complete the occupation of this land.”

(Source: Rodger R. Venzke, Confidence In Battle – Inspiration In Peace, 1977, p.24-25.)

But today, instead of confronting Muslim and Atheist enemies of religious liberty, President Obama’s Four-Star Admiral Chairman Of The Joint Chiefs Mike Mullen now appears to defend the destruction of the soldiers’ privately owned Bibles, stating during a Pentagon briefing that the military’s position is that it will never “push any specific religion.”  He did not address the possibility that by seizing and burning privately owned Bibles, the Obama Administration is now enforcing atheistic silence upon our troops, against their private rights.

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(After you sign the petition, please donate generously to help us defend religious liberty for our military. Part of your donation will go toward shipping Pashto Bibles to Afghanistan.)

ATHEISTS JOIN MUSLIM EXTEMISTS AGAINST LIBERTY

Aggressive anti-Christian secularist Mikey Weinstein immediately demanded the chaplain in the video be court-martialed for encouraging voluntary evangelism in church, despite the Pentagon’s claim that same chaplain somehow assisted in confiscating the Bibles.  I can personally attest, as the former Navy Chaplain who endured court-martial in 2006 for praying “in Jesus name” in uniform outside of Sunday chapel, (but was later vindicated by Congress),  that anti-Christian forces are powerfully at work in some parts of the U.S. military.

But together, we fought back and won!  Over 300,000 Americans, 85% of polled citizens, and 75 Congressmen agreed with me, so the entireCongress rescinded the same anti-Jesus policy the Navy enforced during my court-martial, restoring liberty to other chaplains who pray publicly “in Jesus name.”  (That victory on Capitol Hill cost my 16-year career and pension, and was not grandfathered back to my case.)Angered by our victory, the enemies of religious liberty won’t be satisfied until every Christian is silenced, and every chaplain booted from the military like I was, for the “crime” of worshiping in public.

COURT-MARTIAL THE ARMY CHIEF OF CHAPLAINS?

The favorite new ploy of Mikey Weinstein’s anti-Christian group (Military Religious Freedom Foundation) is to frighten troops into silence by “demanding the court-martial” of any soldier or chaplain who talks publicly about his or her faith.  For example, incredibly, Weinstein recently demanded the Army court-martial their Chief of Chaplains Major General Douglas Carver, because Chaplain Carver issued a proclamation calling for a day of prayer and fasting for our troops.

The Chief of Chaplains’ proclamation called for voluntary prayer by chaplains of all diverse faiths to act “in keeping with your religious traditions,” and support our troops who face difficult traumas, pressures and temptations toward suicide.  Carver consulted with two senior Jewish chaplains before issuing the proclamation.

But Mikey Weinstein claims that no chaplain can encourage prayer or Bible reading without violating what he pretends is a Constitutional mandate separating church from state. “These inciteful actions are grossly offensive to not only Muslims in Afghanistan and across the world, but to all those who hold faith in the U.S. Constitution,” said Weinstein of the troops’ Bibles.

Ironically Weinstein’s own web-site contains pictures of atheist soldiers, soliciting donations for Weinstein while wearing their full dress uniform, without any apparent legal disclaimer that their anti-Christian views do not represent the views of the U.S. military.

PLEASE SELECT HERE TO SIGN, AND WE’LL AUTOMATICALLY FAX YOUR PERSONALIZED PETITION TO ALL 435 U.S. CONGRESSMEN, DEFENDING OUR CHAPLAINS AND SOLDIERS RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS.

WILL CONGRESS PROTECT CHAPLAINS RIGHTS?

We can report without bias that in June 2009, the U.S. Congress will again consider a bi-partisan bill supporting military chaplains rights, co-sponsored by two North Carolina Congressmen, Mike McIntyre (D-NC) and Walter Jones (R-NC), in the House Armed Services Committee.  The pro-chaplain bill, H.R. 268, would simply guarantee military chaplains of all diverse faiths the right to pray publicly according to the dictates of their conscience. You can read the details in my article about that bill, which was published by the Washington Times on 7 May 09, here.

To pass that bill into law, the two North Carolina Congressmen will first need several more co-sponsors, and the blessing of the House Armed Services Committee.  Then they’ll need some bi-partisan Senators to initiate a Senate version.  Will your own Congressman or Senator co-sponsor religious freedom for chaplains?  Perhaps you might call your own Congressman at 202-225-3121, to voice your opinion about H.R. 268.

But remember, 100 emails = 10 phone calls = 1 fax in political capital, since the Congressional staffers must handle each paper and usually write a reply. So please join our automated fax-petition campaign first, and we will fax all 435 Congressmen on your behalf.

Then please forward this email to your own pastor, and to all your military friends, and download here a church flyer that pastors can copy and distribute. But first, take action right now! I pray you will not hesitate, but sign the petition and WE WILL FAX your petition right away, automatically to all 435 Congressmen.

PLEASE SELECT HERE TO SIGN, AND WE’LL AUTOMATICALLY FAX YOUR PERSONALIZED PETITION TO ALL 435 U.S. CONGRESSMEN, DEFENDING OUR CHAPLAINS AND SOLDIERS RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS.

God Bless you, in Jesus’ name,

Chaplain Gordon James Klingenschmitt