Does the world need a World War of Christian Jihadists versue Muslim Jihadists?

Petraeus Endorses "Spiritual Handbook," Betrays 21% of Our Troops


Posted August 17, 2008 | 08:00 PM (EST)
Read More: Air Force Times, Cecil Richardson, David Petraeus, Department Of Defense, Jeremy Hall, Mikey Weinstein, Military Religious Freedom Foundation, New York Times, Religion, Religion And The Military, Politics News

As is often the case here at the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), while in the course of investigating one report of constitutionally questionable activity within our armed forces, we stumble into something else that's just as bad or worse. It happened again this week. One of the thousands of MRFF supporters worldwide -- the indispensable "eyes and ears" who alert us to everything from the most egregious of constitutional violations to articles we might be interested in -- emailed MRFF founder and president Mikey Weinstein an interview with Air Force Chief of Chaplains Maj. Gen. Cecil Richardson from the August 11 print edition of the Air Force Times. Richardson, as many will remember, caused quite a stir back in 2005 when he was quoted by the New York Times as saying that Air Force chaplains "reserve the right to evangelize the unchurched." I'll get back to Richardson's Air Force Times interview in a minute, but first, here's what else this interview led MRFF to discover.

While perusing the rest of the Air Force Times issue, Weinstein noticed a half-page ad for a book by Army chaplain Lt. Col. William McCoy, titled Under Orders: A Spiritual Handbook for Military Personnel. With a title like that, MRFF, of course, had to find out just what this book was about, and this is what we found -- a pro-Christian, anti-atheist book heartily endorsed by none other than Gen. David Petraeus, a slap in the face from the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq to the 21% of the men and women fighting there who define themselves as atheists or having no religious preference. Contrary to the old "no atheists in foxholes" movie line, the percentage of non-theists in the military, according to a report from the Population Reference Bureau, is actually somewhat higher than it is among the civilian population. For Petraeus to endorse a book disparaging this segment of our military population is a reprehensible betrayal of all of the non-theists who are putting their lives on the line for our country with every bit as much bravery and dedication as their religious comrades.

Amergin: The US is no longer the shining light for the world but just another nation of religious fanaticism to oppose the Middle Eastern nations of religious fanaticism. I hope the EU proposes neutrality in your new crusades.

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Militant Agnostic: I don't know, and neither do you. There is no evidence of God so belief is optional.

That is truly scary.



Peace, Love, & Light

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The Peaceful Place: http://www.agedhippy.plus.com/

"An object is perceived, or not perceived, according as the mind is, or is not, tinged with the colour of the object. "
Patanjali - Sutra 4:17

General Petraeus's Spiritual Literary Endorsement—More Controversy We Don't Need - Bonnie Erbe (usnews.com)

Apparently in the controversy that developed Patreus withdrew his endorsement

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"it benefits us to be thoughtful, not of the glory of our minds, but rather, above all else, of the glory of God."
- Johannes Kepler