WASHINGTON — The leader of an organization that fights against Christianity in the military was confronted by a Virginia Congressman this week during a hearing on religious freedom in the Armed Forces.
Rep. Randy Forbes (R), questioned Mikey Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation on Wednesday regarding statements that he had made in the past regarding the purpose of his activist organization and its views.
“Mr. Weinstein, in a Washington Post article dated July 16, 2006, they attributed a quote to you that said, ‘We’ve created this foundation to be a weapon. We going to lie down a withering field of fire and leave sucking chest wounds.’ Was that an accurate quote?” Forbes asked.
“I want to make it clear that what we are facing is a tsunami of fundamentalist Christian…” Weinstein proceeded.
“Did you make that quote or not?” Forbes asked, stating that he had just a few minutes to ask questions.
After a few seconds of arguing in an attempt to obtain an answer, Weinstein conceded, “Of course I said those words. And proudly.”
Forbes then presented Weinstein with a second quote.
“On June 16, 2013, you said, ‘Today we face incredibly well-funded gangs of fundamentalist Christian monsters who terrorize their fellow Americans by forcing their weaponized and twisted version of Christianity upon their helpless subordinates in our nations armed forces.’ Did you you make that quote?” he asked.
“I did,” Weinstein replied frankly.
“I haven’t heard any people of faith calling atheists ‘monsters’ or saying they want to put sucking wounds in them,” Forbes later commented.
As previously reported, last year, Weinstein had asked Department of Defense officials to punish superiors who attempted to proselytize their subordinates.
“Someone needs to be punished for this,” he told reporter Todd Starnes. “Until the Air Force or Army or Navy or Marine Corps punishes a member of the military for unconstitutional religious proselytizing and oppression, we will never have the ability to stop this horrible, horrendous, dehumanizing behavior.”
“It is a version of being spiritually raped and you are being spiritually raped by fundamentalist Christian religious predators,” Weinstein asserted.
Christian groups, such as the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, were also represented at Wednesday’s hearing. Chaplain (COL) Ron Crews, USA Retired spoke of concerns surrounding the rights of chaplains to share their faith.
“While there is no question chaplains will continue to serve all service members with respect and care, there is increasing reason to fear that the government will not allow them their constitutional freedom to do that job as their faith requires and their own conscience demands,” he said. “And that diminution in liberty will in turn harm the rights of those such chaplains exist to serve: the men and women of our military.”
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