by StarmanSkye » Sat Jan 07, 2006 3:59 am
Taking advantage of the Bush Regime's ambiguity over the separation between Church and State and recognizing no real difference between the US Military and a Righteous Army of Christ, Colorado Spring's area Protestant evangelicals have made the Air Force Academy the site for unofficial mass-indoctrination. Zealous Religious rightwing fanatics -- with top leadership endorsement -- have apparently been training a military Cadre to have primary loyalty to a Dominionist version of Christ in preparation for pre-emptive wars against Muslim infidels.<br><br>THESE are the guys who will have control over nuclear weapons -- nothing like religious extremists to be given the keys to total warfare, eh?<br>Starman<br><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.insider-magazine.com/Devil-USAF.html">www.insider-magazine.com/Devil-USAF.html</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br>Evangelicals exploit Air Force Academy; military officials interlocked with local activists<br>By Devlin Buckley<br><br>Dec 23, 2005, 00:50<br><br>Four Air Force officers -- all graduates of the Air Force Academy's U.S. Air Force Academy Class of 2008, Swearing In Ceremony class of 2004 -- have recently joined a lawsuit that accuses leaders at the academy of overtly pressuring cadets to undertake evangelical religious instruction. The original lawsuit was filed in October by Mikey Weinstein, a former Air Force officer and graduate of the academy, whose son experienced religious discrimination while attending the school. <br><br>Controversy over the influence of Christian fundamentalism at the academy is nothing new, and the lawsuit is only the latest development in an ongoing struggle -- the source and extent of which have been largely underreported by the corporate media -- among evangelical organizations, academy leaders, congressional lawmakers, and First Amendment advocates.<br><br>The Air Force Academy, located in Colorado Springs, is surrounded by right-wing evangelical groups, several of which maintain close relationships with the academy's faculty, staff, and cadets. These groups and the military officials who follow them have been integrating evangelical Christianity into official academy activities for at least 12 years. Over this time, they have promoted evangelical beliefs to cadets, used their religion as a tool for military training, and encouraged religious conformity on campus.<br><br>'Spiritual Gettysburg'<br><br>In addition to being headquarters for Air Force Space Command, Northern Command, NORAD, numerous Air Force bases, and the Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs is also home to the nation's largest, most influential and politically active evangelical organizations: James Dobson's Focus on the Family, which is so large that it maintains its own zip code, claims more than 200 million followers worldwide, and is located directly across the highway from the academy.<br><br>Dobson, who is one of the most powerful and influential religious leaders in the world, believes the Supreme Court is guilty of "the biggest holocaust in world history"; regularly denounces "judicial tyranny" against Christians; and has gone after the creators of Sponge Bob Square Pants and many other cartoons for "promoting a homosexual agenda to children." Most recently Dobson has been in the news for receiving "inside" information regarding failed Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers' willingness to overturn Roe v. Wade.<br><br>Also situated on the far north side of Colorado Springs is New Life Church, where it was built, in part, so it could be seen from the Air Force Academy. [1] Sporting Air Force colors, the silver and blue megachurch, along with its leader Ted Haggard, are there not just to be seen, but to aggressively recruit new members for what they believe to be a "spiritual war" of epic proportions.<br><br>Haggard, who many consider to be more influential than Dobson, meets with President Bush or his advisors every Monday and leads the nation's most powerful religious lobbying group: the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), which claims about 45,000 churches consisting of 30 million members nationwide.<br><br>Haggard's influence deserves notice because he preaches that wars, disasters, and other tragedies are opportunities for spreading evangelical Protestantism throughout the world [2] and that the end result of globalization will be a final spiritual battle between Muslims and evangelicals. "My fear," he told Jeff Sharlet of Harpers Magazine, "is that my children will grow up in an Islamic state."<br><br>For this reason (see above link) Haggard believes "spiritual war" requires a military component. He teaches a "strong ideology of the use of power, of military might, as a public service" and supports preemptive war because he believes the Bible instructs Christians to proactively abolish sinners. He told Sharlet he believes in violent warfare because "the Bible's bloody. There's a lot about blood."<br><br>One New Lifer who spoke to Sharlet thinks of Colorado Springs as a "spiritual Gettysburg" -- "a battleground between good and evil." He believes God called him to Colorado Springs and says many of the people he knows, including those working at the surrounding Air Force Bases, feel the same way. [3] "I'm a warrior for God. Colorado Springs is my training ground," he said.<br><br>Focus on the Air Force Academy<br><br>The religious organizations of Colorado Springs, which literally surround the Air Force Academy, have been influencing school activities and interacting with academy officials and cadets for over a decade.<br><br>When the Focus on the Family headquarters opened in 1993, the academy's parachute team, the Wings of Blue, participated in the opening ceremony by delivering "the keys of heaven" to James Dobson's new facility -- directly from the sky. [4]<br><br>During official Air Force Academy reunions, graduates are invited to the Focus on the Family headquarters for a tour that promotes James Dobson's religious/political views and encompasses a video portraying Dobson as a hero receiving accolades from such figures as Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush.<br><br>Leaders from Focus on the Family and New Life Church are regularly invited to attend Bible Study programs on campus, and every week, New Life Church dispatches vans to transport between 100 and 200 cadets to and from Friday night services. According to Pastor Aaron Stern of New Life Church, these cadets are encouraged to hand out fliers at the academy and recruit new members.<br><br>Captain Melinda Morton, who until recently was the executive officer to the chief chaplain at the academy, said while she was there chaplain activities and events exclusively focused on "conservative Christian evangelical ideology" and used only "local and national evangelical presenters and resources."<br><br>Conversely, the former coach of the academy's football team, Jim Weidmann, is now executive director of Focus on the Family's Family Ministries and is also vice chairman of the Focus on the Family National Day of Prayer Task Force.<br><br>The current coach of the school's football team, Fisher Deberry, while promoting his book, "For God and Country: Foundations of Faith," received help from Focus on the Family, as well as George H.W. Bush.<br><br>"Coach DeBerry defines 'winner' not just because of his records and victories on the gridiron, but as much for his character and faith", says former President George Bush. "What a great American!'"<br><br>In his book, DeBerry describes openly how his "Christian beliefs coincide with his career of preparing young men to defend their country and possibly fight in wars and other international conflicts." In order to motivate the players of the football team, Deberry hung a banner in the locker room stating:<br><br>"I am a Christian first and last . . . I am a member of team Jesus Christ. I wear the colors of the cross . . . I am a Christian Competitor and as such, I face my challenger with the face of Christ . . . I rely solely on the power of God. I compete for the pleasure of my Heavenly Father, the honor of Christ and the reputation of the Holy Spirit."<br><br>"I don't think you separate religion from normal, everyday life," Deberry said at a symposium in February. "Football, academics, military training -- everything -- all encompasses everything. Religion is a part of life," he said.<br><br>Some evangelicals in Colorado Springs have even portrayed the academy as a symbol for the fundamentalist movement in the area. Last December, for instance, the Colorado Springs-based International Bible Study distributed copies of the New Testament -- with a picture of the Air Force Academy's cadet chapel on the cover -- in the local Colorado Springs Gazette.<br><br>Tom Minnery, vice president of Government and Public Policy for Focus on the Family, said the school's cadet chapel "is not there by accident."<br><br>"These cadets are being trained to make the ultimate sacrifice for their country, to meet their maker," he said<br><br>--snip-- <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=starmanskye>StarmanSkye</A> at: 1/7/06 1:05 am<br></i>
