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beam me up scottie

(57,349 posts)
Thu Sep 11, 2014, 03:21 PM Sep 2014

No atheist should be permitted to serve in the U.S. military

From Right Wing Watch


Bryan Fischer Calls For Atheists To Be Banned From Serving In The Armed Forces


One of the very first posts we ever wrote about the American Family Association's Bryan Fischer highlighted a column he wrote calling for Muslims to be banned from serving in the military. That was nearly five years ago and now Fischer is finally getting around to calling for atheists to be banned from serving in the U.S. armed forces as well.

Responding to a situation in which an airman was denied his request to re-enlist in the Air Force because he refuses to take an oath containing the phrase "so help me God," Fischer asserts that atheists should be prohibited from serving in all braches of the military because "there is no place in the United States military for those who do not believe in the Creator who is the source of every single one of our fundamental human and civil rights":



Our military exists to uphold and defend our Constitution, and the Constitution in turn identifies the "unalienable rights" the Declaration refers to that our government is obligated to protect.

These rights do not come from government, they do not come from the commander-in-chief, and they most certainly do not come from some activist judge. They come from God himself. We are not evolved, as this wannabe-enlistee believes, but we are "created," and "endowed by (our) Creator with certain unalienable rights."

This is an absolutely foundational, non-negotiable, bed-rock American principle: there is a Creator - with a capital "C" (you could look it up) - and he and he alone is the source of the very rights the military exists to protect and defend.

An individual who does not understand and believe this has no right to serve in the U.S. military. Military service should rightly be reserved for those who believe in and are willing to die for what America stands for - and what America stands for is a belief in God as the source of our rights.

A man who doesn't believe in the Creator the Founders trusted certainly can live in America without being troubled for being a fool. But he most certainly should not wear the uniform.

The other branches of the military do not require the same oath - yet. But they should. Military service should be reserved for genuine Americans and genuine Americans, like the Founders, believe in God.



In the original column he informs us that


Congress agrees. It is actually a matter of statutory law that every enlistee and every officer must take an oath that ends with “So help me God.” U.S. Code, Title 10, Section 502 reads as follows :

(a) Enlistment Oath.—Each person enlisting in an armed force shall take the following oath:

“I, XXXXXXXXXX, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”



Serving in the military is a privilege, not a constitutional right. And it should be reserved for those who have America's values engraved on their hearts.

Naturally, the American Humanist Association, which has never seen a constitutional liberty it respects, intends to challenge this decision.

This case should be thrown out of court. The Constitution nowhere gives the federal judiciary any authority to set military policy. That's reserved for Congress and Congress alone.

(The "religious test" referred to in Article VI of the Constitution is a reference to a detailed or specific Christian statement of faith, and refers to elective or appointive office and not to military service. States, under the Constitution written by the Founders, can require any kind of religious test they want, and Article VI was designed to protect that power and reserve it for the States.)




I guess this means that my honorable discharge should be replaced with a dishonorable one and all records of my service scrubbed.



15 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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No atheist should be permitted to serve in the U.S. military (Original Post) beam me up scottie Sep 2014 OP
Moronic. MineralMan Sep 2014 #1
LMAO... well when Bryan Fischer is ready to step in and take the place of SomethingFishy Sep 2014 #2
Your comment makes much sense. LisaLynne Sep 2014 #5
Atheism is the new LGBT taboo. no_hypocrisy Sep 2014 #3
So could an atheist claim C.O. status? KamaAina Sep 2014 #4
Depends on what they think of atheists. beam me up scottie Sep 2014 #6
You can only serve and kill the enemy if you love Jesus. sarcasmo Sep 2014 #7
That's terrible. el_bryanto Sep 2014 #8
Safely assume Fischer would oppose non-Christians having rights or citizenship. Chan790 Sep 2014 #15
So wrong on so many levels. Here's an idea Bryan... bluesbassman Sep 2014 #9
Some things are so moronic and vile that the only appropriate reply involves laxatives n/t JHB Sep 2014 #10
Kick. Warren DeMontague Sep 2014 #11
No Christian should be permitted to serve in the U.S. military jmowreader Sep 2014 #12
This guy should crack a book about the Founders spiritual sides... Oktober Sep 2014 #13
He was the chaplain of the Idaho State Senate years ago IDemo Sep 2014 #14

MineralMan

(146,286 posts)
1. Moronic.
Thu Sep 11, 2014, 03:24 PM
Sep 2014

When I took the oath upon enlisting in the USAF in 1965, we were informed, before repeating the oath, that we could substitute the word "affirm" in the oath and omit the "so help me God" clause.

The AFA is a collective moron.

SomethingFishy

(4,876 posts)
2. LMAO... well when Bryan Fischer is ready to step in and take the place of
Thu Sep 11, 2014, 03:28 PM
Sep 2014

an "Athiest" who is willing to get shot at for his country, then he can open his pie hole. The guy has never served as far as I can see, so his opinion means nothing.

beam me up scottie

(57,349 posts)
6. Depends on what they think of atheists.
Thu Sep 11, 2014, 05:16 PM
Sep 2014

Some seem to believe that our very existence is a crime of moral turpitude.

sarcasmo

(23,968 posts)
7. You can only serve and kill the enemy if you love Jesus.
Thu Sep 11, 2014, 05:58 PM
Sep 2014

In the 80's on my dog tags next religion the word was none.

el_bryanto

(11,804 posts)
8. That's terrible.
Thu Sep 11, 2014, 06:06 PM
Sep 2014

I wonder what he thinks about non- Christians serving in the Military - very dominionist talk.

Bryant

 

Chan790

(20,176 posts)
15. Safely assume Fischer would oppose non-Christians having rights or citizenship.
Fri Sep 12, 2014, 08:36 AM
Sep 2014

I'm pretty sure that Fischer's American dream is Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. Not only were Catholics and Non-Christians not allowed to serve...they were rounded-up, executed and their remains left hanging on a wall.

bluesbassman

(19,370 posts)
9. So wrong on so many levels. Here's an idea Bryan...
Thu Sep 11, 2014, 06:10 PM
Sep 2014

If the Constitution's rights are "God given", then defending the Constitution should be the obligation of ever Christian young adult in America so lets make active duty compulsory for all of them. This way there will be no need for Atheists, Muslims, Hindus, and every other non-Christian American to enlist. I'm sure all of the Christian parents and young people will jump all over this idea.

Some people should just leave their pie holes to pie.

jmowreader

(50,555 posts)
12. No Christian should be permitted to serve in the U.S. military
Fri Sep 12, 2014, 06:09 AM
Sep 2014

A True Christian must always live according to the tenets of his faith. If an order given by a superior officer conflicts with the tenets of his faith (like, say, being ordered to work on the Sabbath) he must disobey that order. Moreover, Christians are required to kill anyone they see who isn't a Christian, including people in their own units - think Major Hasan with a cross around his neck. Since the risk that a True Christian will commit fratricide or war crimes, or undermine unit cohesion by hewing too closely to his faith, is too great, all Christians must immediately be discharged with no benefits or severance pay.

Which is as ludicrous a suggestion as Bryan "never served a day in his life so obviously he knows more about the needs of the military than us silly veterans" Fischer's "throw out all the nonbelievers" stance.

 

Oktober

(1,488 posts)
13. This guy should crack a book about the Founders spiritual sides...
Fri Sep 12, 2014, 06:25 AM
Sep 2014

I don't think he would be quite so smug.

IDemo

(16,926 posts)
14. He was the chaplain of the Idaho State Senate years ago
Fri Sep 12, 2014, 08:26 AM
Sep 2014

Perhaps that's where his confusion about government came from.

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