Air Force Academy Retreats From Christmas Charity
The Air Force Academy apologized Thursday night for promoting Operation Christmas Child, a program designed to send holiday gifts to impoverished children around the world.
Mikey Weinstein, of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, said the military crossed the line when they promoted the gift program, sponsored by Samaritan’s Purse, an organization run by the Rev. Franklin Graham.
Operation Christmas Child planned to send more than 8 million shoe box gifts to underprivileged children in 100 countries. An evangelical Christian message is also included in the boxes.
“This is a proselytizing entity of Franklin Graham,” said Weinstein. He filed a complaint on behalf of 132 Academy personnel including two sets of Muslim-American parents.
Oddly, conservatives have blamed President Obama who has nothing to do with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.
Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA) told Fox News: “This is beyond political correctness. This is an anti-faith mode that we see over and over again coming from this administration and the people serving in it.”
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, told Fox News that this is evidence that the Obama administration “has engaged in a culture war beyond measure. We see here the collateral damage – the fallout of religious freedom and the attack on Christian organizations that are simply reaching out to help those in need. This is a long pattern under this administration under a president who apologized for everything that is American.”
“It’s so outrageous,” said Jordan Sekulow an attorney with the American Center for Law and Justice. “This is a perfect example of how heartless these groups are when it comes to defending their anti-religion position. It’s not about the First Amendment. It’s about a real hatred of religious people and people of faith that they would go so far as to stop an assistance program like Operation Christmas Child.”
Weinstein refuted that allegation: “We are not trying to take shoe boxes of toys and candy away from kids. But this is clearly an egregious Constitutional mistake.”
Weinstein said he was alerted to the program on Wednesday after he was notified by an upset cadet: “The cadet sent an e-mail saying, ‘This just shows how our military is supporting one religion – which is Christianity."
He later received a telephone call from Brig. Gen. Richard Clark, the Academy’s commandant of cadets, to apologize: “He said it was a mistake and he would fix it. Lady Liberty is smiling tonight. This is a victory for the Constitution.”
“We agree that it was inappropriate,” Academy spokesman Lt. Col. John Bryan told the Colorado Gazette. He told the newspaper that the initial e-mail was sent by cadets without the knowledge of senior leaders.
Weinstein said he doesn’t have a problem with secular toy drives, but Graham’s, he said, crossed the line. He argued that Operation Christmas Child should have been promoted through the Academy’s chaplains – not the entire Academy. And that’s exactly where the project rests – in the hands of the chaplains.
“The kids will still get their toys,” he said acknowledging that it will only be promoted to a smaller subset of people.
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The Air Force Generals need to grow some BALLS!
you mean violate their oath to protect the Constitution....Your an ignorant ass.
Chuck
This is just another example of the Secular Progressive Left's war on Christianity. Any other religion is to honored but not Christi anity--heaven forbid! The nation's Christian heritage must be sabotaged before they can construct their own specious version of history that denigrates the Founders and the Faith that gave birth to this once-great nation.
July 7, 1775: John Adams, who was to become the second President of the United States and co-drafter of the Declaration of Independence, expressed his great concern for America in a portion of a letter to his wife, Abigail, saying, “Our consolation must be this, my dear, that cities may be rebuilt, and a people, reduced to poverty, may acquire fresh property. But a constitution of government, once changed from freedom, can never be restored. Liberty once lost, is lost forever. When the people once surrender their share in the Legislature, and their right of defending the limitations upon the Government, and of resisting every encroachment upon them, they can never regain it.”
And James Madison, Father of the Consitution, said, "Nothwithstanding the general progress made within the two last centuries in favour of this branch of liberty, & the full establishment of it, in some parts of our Country, there remains in others a strong bias towards the old error, that without some sort of alliance or coalition between Gov' & Religion neither can be duly supported: Such indeed is the tendency to such a coalition, and such its corrupting influence on both the parties, that the danger cannot be too carefully guarded against."
Keith Smith.....You are despicable for trying to alter the meaning of John Adams words. A typical trick of the christian right.
Chuck
Rev. Grant Storms, a renowned anti-gay Christian pastor from Louisiana, was arrested last week for masturbating at a public park, in the vicinity of a carousel and playground where children were present.
According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, one woman saw Storms parked in his van "looking at the playground area that contained children playing, with his zipper down...," the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office report read. After judging that Storms was masturbating, the woman and another mother who witnessed the event both alerted deputies.
Chuck
What the hell does this crap have to do with the story here, moron?
Charles posted something off-topic and irrelevant. You're actively being abusive of another user. I thought about taking your side, but then realized then I'd be backing the guy who took an even lower road.
CRW, Your opinions on Christians getting along together are totally off base and really shows your lack of contact with any Christian group. Catholics, Baptists, and Pentecostals get together all the time at conferences, prayer programs, and interfaith services. For example, Catholics have joined with the Billy Graham Crusade for years--and he is a Baptist. Pentecostals also have been much involved in various crusades. In the military, Chaplains work together, share ideas, pray for one another, and support one another. In the civilian world, there are ministerial associations in almost every large town and city where Catholics, Baptists, and Pentecostals and all other denominations work together. There are places where students in those denomination's seminaries can take classes in the others seminaries where it is possible. Missionaries from those denominations ofter get together to share Christmas and othe special times. You need to find the facts before spewing so much hatred and lies.
Bob Edwards