USAF Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado
THIS BLOG PROUDLY STANDS
WITH THE CHRISTIAN USAF CADET
WHO BRAVELY POSTED A BIBLE VERSE ON HIS DOOR
AT THE USAF ACADEMY IN
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO.
By Pamela Rae Schuffert presenting investigative journalism from a Biblical Christian perspective-
Due to a firestorm of controversy contributed to by Jewish opposition leader Mikey Weinstein (who hates Jesus Christ and the Christian Bible openly) claiming that people had come to him "complaining," this brave cadet was ordered to take down the precious Bible verse and confession of his faith in Jesus Christ before men.
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/03/13/what-going-on-at-air-force-academy-god-word-vs-pentagon-word/
This clearly violated his First Amendment rights and discriminated against his freedom to express who he is and what he firmly believes in without interference from others. This is what America has always been about from the beginning.
It is insignificant that "some" people felt offended by the Bible verse on his door. America remains a land of liberty and religious freedom, and just because someone is "offended" cannot take away the other person's right to liberty and to declare personal beliefs without fear of discrimination and persecution.
POWER TO ALL THE CHRISTIAN CADETS THROUGHOUT THE USAF ACADEMY IN COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO!
KEEP POSTING THOSE BIBLE VERSES!
"He that confesses Me before men, will I confess before my Father which is in Heaven."
~Jesus Christ~
AND MAY GOD BE WITH YOU ALL.
-Pamela Rae Schuffert-
Posts
Galatians 2:20 One of my favorite verses !!! One by which I live also,humbly!! PTL for those Troops !!
ReplyDeleteI am a Christian, a USAFA graduate ('85) and a former AF officer. Because of my background, I think I can offer a pretty good 'insider' perspective on this situation.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing people need to understand is that, upon joining the military, each of us agreed to surrender some amount of the freedom of expression that we enjoyed as civilians. This is not a new concept, some of these rules go back to the mid-20th century and perhaps even further.
One of the areas of expression where military leaders are obligated to balance their personal expression with what is required of them under military rules is religious expression. There is no limitation whatsoever on what any military leader or member can believe -- that aspect of religious freedom is sacrosanct. The expression of that belief, though, can be limited by the military in terms of its time, place and manner. Air Force Instruction 1-1 says that a military leader must avoid "the actual or apparent use of their position to promote their personal religious beliefs to their subordinates."
In this case, the cadet posted the Scripture verse in the squadron hallway, on a board next to his name and position. While I'm sure his intentions were good, doing it that way changed it from a 'personal' statement to a 'public' statement. Had it been in his room, it would have been rightly protected. Consider that a similar act by, say, an atheist cadet who might post "There is no God" on a board outside his room would be violating the same rule.
Remember, the cadet dorms are actually a working squadron duty area, so that in regard they differ greatly from the dorms of a civilian college. The other important difference from a civilian college is that cadets are not just "neighbors" --- they have real military reporting relationships to one another.
Personally, I love Galatians 2:20. But I must agree with Academy leadership that the manner in which this cadet expressed his belief in this case was not appropriate.
Hope this perspective is helpful. Peace to you.