Military Christianizing Under Bush, Benito, Hitler

There’s a great article in the Christian Science Monitor that reveals a growing problem in the military, systematic evangelism. The article claims that there is evidence that there could be a growing movement to pressure Christian uniformity in the armed forces. We’ve seen it from this bunch before; they did it at the justice department, religious people are more compliant, less likely to ask questions, more likely to submit to authority. Creating a perfect environment for the abuses that has characterized this administration.

The problem isn’t small…Michael Weinstein, who founded the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) said his group has collected “More than 5,000 complaints”, “More than 95 percent of those complaints come from other Christians”

American Hero

That’s scary; it’s freaking out the Christians. Mr. Weinstein says the complaints “point to a growing willingness inside the military to support a particular brand of Christianity and to permit improper evangelizing in the ranks”.

From CSM

For example, he says, Lt. Gen. William Boykin, who gave speeches at churches while in uniform that disparaged Islam and defined the war on terror in fundamentalist, "end times" terms, was not fired but promoted. (Speaking of a Muslim warlord he had pursued, Lt. Gen. Boykin said, "I knew my God was a real God and his was an idol." And our enemies "will only be defeated if we come against them in the name of Jesus.")

Aside from reminding me of Alberto Gonzales’s scandal torn Justice Department, this article reminded me Laurence W. Britt’s article entitled “Fascism Anyone?” In the article, he examines the historical circumstances leading to fascist governments and establishes 14 trends. Number 8 is important for our purposes.

8. Religion and ruling elite tied together. Unlike communist regimes, the fascist and protofascist regimes were never proclaimed as godless by their opponents. In fact, most of the regimes attached themselves to the predominant religion of the country and chose to portray themselves as militant defenders of that religion. The fact that the ruling elite’s behavior was incompatible with the precepts of the religion was generally swept under the rug. Propaganda kept up the illusion that the ruling elites were defenders of the faith and opponents of the “godless.” A perception was manufactured that opposing the power elite was tantamount to an attack on religion.