Atheists Demand Air Force Punish Chaplain for “Anti-secular Diatribe”
By Jerry A. Kane
In Barack Obama’s transformed military, anti-Christian activists dictate what Christian chaplains are allowed to say.
“When anti-Christian activists like Mikey Weinstein are dictating the rules for what chaplains are allowed to do, then we must ask the question why we have chaplains?”—Jerry Boykin, Lt. General, Ret
Air Force chaplain Kenneth Reyes wrote a column “expressing his beliefs about the role of faith in the lives of service members.” Reyes’ piece, “No Atheists in Foxholes: Chaplains Gave All in World War II,” has been removed from his “Chaplain’s Corner” column on the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson website, and now Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) wants the chaplain reprimanded for writing the piece.
Colonel Brian Duffy, commander of the Alaska base, pulled the piece after Weinstein butt-boy Blake Page complained in a letter that Reyes’ column publicly denigrated “those without religion.” The 24-year AF veteran capitulated to Page’s demands “out of respect for those who considered its title offensive.”
To set up his piece on faith, Reyes explained the historical context of the “No Atheists in Foxholes” phrase. Reyes did not attack or insult atheists or agnostics in the column, yet Page demanded the chaplain be reprimanded for his “anti-secular diatribe.”
“Faith based hate, is hate all the same. Lt. Col. Reyes must be appropriately reprimanded.”— Blake Page, Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF)
Page claims that Reyes’ “use of the bigoted, religious supremacist phrase, ‘no atheists in foxholes'” violates military regulations. However, when Fox News asked the Air Force brass to point out the regulation, the military leaders did not respond.
“My legal research on this issue uncovered no regulation prohibiting Reyes’ speech, which looks like expression protected by the free speech and religious freedom provisions of the First Amendment.”—Ken Klukowski, author, media contributor, constitutional lawyer
Weinstein, who once described believers in Jesus Christ as “enemies of the Constitution” and the sharing of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the military as an act of “spiritual rape,” is using his influence to coerce Air Force officials to punish a military chaplain for referencing a phase coined by a Catholic priest in World War II.
“It is a sad day for the Air Force and for our country when officers obey every command from Weinstein to silence even chaplains from talking about their faith.”—Ron Crews, executive director, Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty
I.M. Kane
For more on this story, see “Chaplain Ordered to Remove Religious Essay From Military Website” and “Military Censors Christian Chaplain, Atheists Call for Punishment.”
Here’s the “anti-secular diatribe” that put Weinstein’s atheist ass-hats in such an uproar:
No Atheists in Foxholes: Chaplains Gave All in World War II
By Lt. Col. Kenneth Reyes
Many have heard the familiar phrase, “There is no such thing as an atheist in a fox hole.”
Where did this come from?
Research I verified in an interview with former World War II prisoner of war Roy Bodine (my friend) indicates the phrase has been credited to Father William Cummings.
As the story goes, Father Cummings was a civilian missionary Catholic priest in the Philippines. The phrase was coined during the Japanese attack at Corregidor. During the siege, Cummings had noticed non-Catholics were attending his services. Some he knew were not Catholic, some were not religious and some were even known atheists.
Life-and-death experiences prompt a reality check.
Even the strongest of beliefs can change, and, I may add, can go both ways – people can be drawn to or away from “faith.”
With the pending surrender of allied forces to the Japanese, Cummings uttered the famous phrase “There is no such thing as an atheist in a fox hole.”
In one of my many discussions with Roy, he distinctly remembered a period on the “Hell Ships” – these were ships the Japanese used to bring POWs from the Philippines back to Japan. They were unmarked and thus ‘fair game’ for attacks from the allies from the air and sea. Of the 3,000-plus POWs listed on the ships, only 180 survived the journey.
“When our own planes were attacking us,” Roy said, “I remember Father Cummings calming us down by reciting the Lord’s Prayer and offering up prayers on our behalf. For a brief moment I did not hear the yells and screams of dying men as our boat was attacked by our own men.”
He went on to say, “There was a peaceful quiet during the attack that I cannot explain nor have experienced since.” Later on during the trip to Japan, Cummings, after giving his food to others who needed it more, succumbed to his own need and died of starvation.
Everyone expresses some form of faith every day, whether it is religious or secular.
Some express faith by believing when they get up in the morning they will arrive at work in one piece, thankful they have been given another opportunity to enjoy the majesty of the day; or express relief the doctor’s results were negative.
The real question is, “Is it important to have faith in ‘faith’ itself or is it more important to ask, ‘What is the object of my faith?’”
Roy never affirmed or expressed whether his faith was rooted in religion or not, but for a moment in time on the “Hell Ships,” he believed in Cummings’ faith.
What is the root or object of your faith?
Is it something you can count on in times of plenty or loss; peace or chaos; joy or sorrow; success or failure?
Is it something you can count on in times of plenty or loss; peace or chaos; joy or sorrow; success or failure?
What is ‘faith’ to you?
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