Call To Courtmartial General For Talking about God

"That was our nation; a constitution, written for flawed sinners, with the moral compass of the Bible. So does it work? Has it worked? Yes. How do we keep it working? We get back to that moral compass and we pray."

that's not an endorsement of christianity?

"Officially endorsing" is what is prohibited. Did he or did he not claim that was the official position of the Air Force?
he did not. but his rank, in uniform, speaking about life in the military

it could reasonably be construed that it was an official endorsement.

I think that is a serious stretch, and one I'm not willing to make. It would appear the Air Force isn't willing to make it either. If he had reminisced about taking his family on Sunday drives in the family chevy, would that have been a commercial endorsement?
 
"That was our nation; a constitution, written for flawed sinners, with the moral compass of the Bible. So does it work? Has it worked? Yes. How do we keep it working? We get back to that moral compass and we pray."

that's not an endorsement of christianity?

"Officially endorsing" is what is prohibited. Did he or did he not claim that was the official position of the Air Force?

But, he did officially endorse it as he is in uniform. You have to listen to what he is saying.

I told you, I am not going to sit through a 23 minute sermon. Nothing in 2.12 says he can't be in uniform and the fact he was in uniform did not make it an official endorsement of anything.
 
"That was our nation; a constitution, written for flawed sinners, with the moral compass of the Bible. So does it work? Has it worked? Yes. How do we keep it working? We get back to that moral compass and we pray."

that's not an endorsement of christianity?

"Officially endorsing" is what is prohibited. Did he or did he not claim that was the official position of the Air Force?

But, he did officially endorse it as he is in uniform. You have to listen to what he is saying.

I told you, I am not going to sit through a 23 minute sermon. Nothing in 2.12 says he can't be in uniform and the fact he was in uniform did not make it an official endorsement of anything.

Well, Prat, we are at an impasse.

If you are unwilling to listen to what he said (and look, that's perfectly understandable) then you have no argument.
 
The Air Force has refused to punish a general for referring to God in a speech, despite agitations from a group interested in stripping the military of religion.

On May 7, Maj. Gen. Craig Olson stated at the congressionally supported National Day of Prayer Task Force that God guided and strengthened his career, and without God’s help, he wouldn’t have been able to fly aircraft or execute nuclear missions, Air Force Times reports.

He further stated that he is a “redeemed believer in Christ.” Such a profession was too much for the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. The group wrote a letter to Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh on May 13 demanding for Olson to be court-martialed immediately due to violations of Air Force rules. According to the group, Olson’s speech was “brazenly illicit” and constituted “fundamentalist Christian proselytizing,” effectively amounting to an endorsement of a particular belief.

The Air Force disagrees. According to a spokesman for the service, Lt. Col. Pete Hughes, Olson did not breach Instruction 1-1 dealing with the exercise of religion.

“His remarks were his own personal opinions and do not represent the views of the United States Air Force,” Hughes told Air Force Times.

That decision didn’t satisfy the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.

Commenting on the National Day of Prayer controversy, Rev. Franklin Graham, a prominent evangelical Christian leader, said in a Facebook post that “this group would’ve tried to court martial George Washington when he prayed at Valley Forge! Come on — whose civil liberties are really being infringed on here? They want to bully Christians into silence.”
 
The Air Force has refused to punish a general for referring to God in a speech, despite agitations from a group interested in stripping the military of religion.

On May 7, Maj. Gen. Craig Olson stated at the congressionally supported National Day of Prayer Task Force that God guided and strengthened his career, and without God’s help, he wouldn’t have been able to fly aircraft or execute nuclear missions, Air Force Times reports.

He further stated that he is a “redeemed believer in Christ.” Such a profession was too much for the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. The group wrote a letter to Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh on May 13 demanding for Olson to be court-martialed immediately due to violations of Air Force rules. According to the group, Olson’s speech was “brazenly illicit” and constituted “fundamentalist Christian proselytizing,” effectively amounting to an endorsement of a particular belief.

The Air Force disagrees. According to a spokesman for the service, Lt. Col. Pete Hughes, Olson did not breach Instruction 1-1 dealing with the exercise of religion.

“His remarks were his own personal opinions and do not represent the views of the United States Air Force,” Hughes told Air Force Times.

That decision didn’t satisfy the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.

Commenting on the National Day of Prayer controversy, Rev. Franklin Graham, a prominent evangelical Christian leader, said in a Facebook post that “this group would’ve tried to court martial George Washington when he prayed at Valley Forge! Come on — whose civil liberties are really being infringed on here? They want to bully Christians into silence.”

The Air Force was right.
 
An Air Force general who recently spoke about how God has guided his career should be court-martialed, a civil liberties group is saying.

In a speech at a National Day of Prayer Task Force event on May 7, Maj. Gen. Craig Olson credits God for his accomplishments in the military, and refers to himself as a “redeemed believer in Christ.”

The Air Force Times reports that the Military Religious Freedom Foundation has taken issue with Olson’s remarks, is calling for the two-star general to be court-martialed and "aggressively and very visibly brought to justice for his unforgivable crimes and transgressions."

The group authored a letter to Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Walsh, arguing that Olson’s speech violates rules within the Air Force, which prohibits airmen from endorsing a particular faith or belief.

The letter, posted on the group’s website, begins, “This demand letter is sent to you on behalf of countless members of the United States Air Force who are utterly disgusted and shocked by the brazenly illicit and wholly unconstitutional, fundamentalist Christian proselytizing recently perpetrated, on international television (“GOD TV”), and streaming all over the Internet and in full military uniform, by USAF Major General Craig S. Olson on Thursday, May 7, 2015 during a VERY public speech for a private Christian organization (The “National Day of Prayer Task Force”: NDPTF) headed up by Focus on the Family founder, Dr. James Dobson’s, wife Shirley Dobson. “

The group, which believes that the American flag and the U.S. Constitution are the only religious symbol and scripture, respectively, for those who serve in the military, also wants other service members who helped Olson to be investigated and punished "to the full extent of military law."

During Olson’s 23-minute talk, the Air Force Times reports, Olson spoke of "flying complex aircraft; doing complex nuclear missions — I have no ability to do that. God enabled me to do that."

"He put me in charge of failing programs worth billions of dollars,” Olson said. “I have no ability to do that, no training to do that. God did that. He sent me to Iraq to negotiate foreign military sales deals through an Arabic interpreter. I have no ability to do that. I was not trained to do that. God did all of that."

At the end of his speech, Olson asked those in attendance to pray for Defense Department leaders and troops preparing to be deployed.

Olson is the program executive officer at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts, where he is responsible for more than 2,200 personnel, according to the U.S. Air Force website. He was commissioned in 1982 following graduation from the U.S. Air Force Academy and has extensive operational, flight test and acquisition experience.

Shoulda sent the guy to a shrink for examination. Mighta stayed out in the sun too long. :) Shouldn't have made it into this big thing though. The guy's just nuts. If we tried every crazy person the countryside'd be overrun with rabbits.
 
An Air Force general who recently spoke about how God has guided his career should be court-martialed, a civil liberties group is saying.

In a speech at a National Day of Prayer Task Force event on May 7, Maj. Gen. Craig Olson credits God for his accomplishments in the military, and refers to himself as a “redeemed believer in Christ.”

The Air Force Times reports that the Military Religious Freedom Foundation has taken issue with Olson’s remarks, is calling for the two-star general to be court-martialed and "aggressively and very visibly brought to justice for his unforgivable crimes and transgressions."

The group authored a letter to Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Walsh, arguing that Olson’s speech violates rules within the Air Force, which prohibits airmen from endorsing a particular faith or belief.

The letter, posted on the group’s website, begins, “This demand letter is sent to you on behalf of countless members of the United States Air Force who are utterly disgusted and shocked by the brazenly illicit and wholly unconstitutional, fundamentalist Christian proselytizing recently perpetrated, on international television (“GOD TV”), and streaming all over the Internet and in full military uniform, by USAF Major General Craig S. Olson on Thursday, May 7, 2015 during a VERY public speech for a private Christian organization (The “National Day of Prayer Task Force”: NDPTF) headed up by Focus on the Family founder, Dr. James Dobson’s, wife Shirley Dobson. “

The group, which believes that the American flag and the U.S. Constitution are the only religious symbol and scripture, respectively, for those who serve in the military, also wants other service members who helped Olson to be investigated and punished "to the full extent of military law."

During Olson’s 23-minute talk, the Air Force Times reports, Olson spoke of "flying complex aircraft; doing complex nuclear missions — I have no ability to do that. God enabled me to do that."

"He put me in charge of failing programs worth billions of dollars,” Olson said. “I have no ability to do that, no training to do that. God did that. He sent me to Iraq to negotiate foreign military sales deals through an Arabic interpreter. I have no ability to do that. I was not trained to do that. God did all of that."

At the end of his speech, Olson asked those in attendance to pray for Defense Department leaders and troops preparing to be deployed.

Olson is the program executive officer at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts, where he is responsible for more than 2,200 personnel, according to the U.S. Air Force website. He was commissioned in 1982 following graduation from the U.S. Air Force Academy and has extensive operational, flight test and acquisition experience.

Shoulda sent the guy to a shrink for examination. Mighta stayed out in the sun too long. :) Shouldn't have made it into this big thing though. The guy's just nuts. If we tried every crazy person the countryside'd be overrun with rabbits.

Logic not only failed you ... but clearly, it didn't even visit your block.
 

New Topics

Forum List

Back
Top