6/22/2005
Air Force Academy Flies Past Religious Intolerance Charge
It is good to hear that that the US Air Force Academy was not found to be a hotbed of evangelical Christian intolerance by an investigating panel. One of the more egregious acts of a campus chaplain was to tell new cadets to be born again or risk the fires of Hell. While that may be a bit extreme and probably should be moderated, one would hope that our future military leaders can handle the occassional heavy handed tactic by clergy. Other "charges" by the report border on the ludicrous. Apparently some have complained that chaplains have had the gall to pressure cadets to "attend religious services and receive theological training." Shocking! A chaplain telling folks to go to church and learn about their religion. Wow, clearly these chaplains need to understand that all roads lead to God, not make any recommendations regarding the spiritual life since feeling that God loves you is what is important, and become well-mannered ministers of secularism. Of course, the chaplains and cadets at the academy should respect the various religious and non-religious viewpoints of others. At the same time, however, if the Air Force wants to have religious chaplains it needs to be willing to let those folks express their religious creeds to those around them, for as too many secularists forget, tolerance is a two-way street.
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Tom E. - Speaking of tolerance being a two-way street, I thought it interesting that our own national church (leaders)seem willing to punish Israel while apparently turning a blind eye to her Arab neighbors' gross human rights violations.
IRD Laments Anti-Israel Actions by United Methodists
At least two regional conventions of the 8.2 million member United Methodist Church have endorsed a divestment campaign aimed at Israel.
Many officials of liberal-led mainline church denominations, starting with the the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) last year, have been calling for divestment from firms conducting business with Israel. They portray this action as a protest Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.
Mainline church officials have proposed no similar actions, nor do they make similar protests, against the human rights abuses of Israel’s non-democratic Arab neighbors.
This week the New England and Virginia Annual Conferences of United Methodism voted to endorse the divestment campaign against Israel. Not surprisingly the Palestine News Agency has saluted the church protest against what it called “Apartheid Israel.”
“There are basically only two nations in the world whose human rights records are of great concern to liberal mainline church officials,” observed Mark Tooley, who directs IRD’s United Methodist program. “They are Israel and the United States.”
Tooley noted that United Methodist officials, like officials form other mainline denominations, almost always ignore human rights violations by repressive Arab governments, by harsh Islamic regimes, and by communist regimes.
Last year, the General Conference of the United Methodist Church declined to consider IRD-submitted resolutions on human rights violations in China, North Korea, Iran, Vietnam, Pakistan, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Syria, and Egypt.
“Mainline church officials will condemn Israel for its restrictions on Palestinian life, just as they will condemn U.S. detainment policies at Guantanamo,” Tooley observed. “But they will NOT condemn North Korean concentration camps, or Saudi Arabian religious persecution, or Iranian treatment of women, or Fidel Castro’s impoverishment of Cuba.”
“The preoccupation with the sins of the United States and Israel, and the indifference to far grosser human rights violations around the world, shows a perplexing double-standard by mainline church elites.” Tooley concluded. “I cannot help but suspect an underlying spiritual and theological problem.”
For more information, see IRD’s Human Rights Advocacy in the Mainline Protestant Churches (2000-2003): A Critical Analysis.
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