The Christian Embassy video scandal was previously covered at Talk To Action in a December 14th posting entitled Theocons at the Pentagon; Exclusive Video!:
There is a controversy brewing over a video that shows senior military officers in uniform promoting their religion inside the Pentagon. In the last few years, starting with the appointment of General Weida as Commandant of Cadets and in cooperation with James Dobson and Ted Haggard (until his outing last month) who leveraged the proximity of their headquarters to the US Air Force Academy, the theocons have transformed life at this key institution by fostering a climate of religious intolerance. Here and here.Jews On First has a writeup of this gathering scandal and threat to church/state separation: Six uniformed senior offices, Army and Air Force generals and colonels, offer testimonials in a promotional video (see box at left) for the Christian Embassy, a Washington based Christian Right group that evangelizes official Washington. According to the Christian Embassy, the Pentagon permitted the video to be shot on its premises. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) brought the video to public attention and the Washington Post broke the story. "This video contains some of the most blatant and egregious violations of both the Constitution and military regulations I have ever seen," said Mikey Weinstein, MRFFs president and founder. "It is truly astonishing that senior military officials have the impudence to appear in their official capacity discussing their desire to proselytize Christianity to fellow military personnel during the duty day and in the offices of the Pentagon itself."Two parallel, growing scandals illustrate different dimensions of growing militarism within the Christian right. One of those two is a scandal over an evangelical recruiting video recently filmed within the Pentagon illustrates one aspect of the growing penetration of the US military by right wing Christian associations. Another is the twin scandal of religious warfare video game being marketed to teenagers, whose maker has made statements implying that such a product will desensitize teens who play it to killing and which has been endorsed by leading conservative religious organizations even though recent research has shown violent video games can lead to changes in brain function in kids. ( see here for 37+ stories on the game )
These are intertwined phenomenon, really, that are pervasive and deserve far more scrutiny than they have received, because they threaten to undermine the fabric of American democracy.
New ministries have focused on specific areas of the military such as special forces ( the target of FORCE Ministries and the issue of religious coercion at the US Air Force Academy has never really gone away although media attention has passed on. Another lens on the pervasive nature of this, as reported by the Agency French Presse, mass baptisms before the first US assault on Fallujah: Men with buzzcuts and clad in their camouflage waved their hands in the air, M-16 assault rifles beside them, and chanted heavy metal-flavoured lyrics in praise of Christ late on Friday in a yellow-brick chapel. They counted among thousands of troops surrounding the city of Fallujah, seeking solace as they awaited Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's decision on whether or not to invade Fallujah. "You are the sovereign. You're name is holy. You are the pure spotless lamb," a female voice cried out on the loudspeakers as the marines clapped their hands and closed their eyes, reflecting on what lay ahead for them.... The marines then lined up and their chaplain blessed them with holy oil to protect them. "God's people would be anointed with oil," the chaplain said, as he lightly dabbed oil on the marines' foreheads. The crowd then followed him outside their small auditorium for a baptism of about a half-dozen marines who had just found Christ.... The three laid down in a rubber dinghy filled with water and the chaplain's assistant, navy corpsman Richard Vaughn, plunged their heads beneath the surface. Various ministries on the Christian right inculcate children into the ideology of religious warfare : "Jesus Camp" was far from the only manifestation of that ( see: The Road To "Jesus Camp" ? - "Kids In Combat", Young Christian Soldiers ) and legions of "Royal Rangers", a Pentacostalist analog to The Boy Scouts, pledge allegiance not to the United States but to "God, Church, and Family" Meanwhile, within the larger American culture, conservative religious figures make bloodthirsty exhortations for the nuclear destruction of entire cities and an apocalyptic end-times lobby labors to bring on an Armageddon it is predicted will rain down nuclear destruction of the East and West coasts of the United States. We ignore these phenomenon at our peril. For related Talk To Action stories, see: Religious Bias and the Air Force, On Spiritual Rape and the Air Force, On Spiritual Rape And The Air Force, Evangelicals and The USAF Academy, ONward Christian Soldiers: Hidden Agendas, Francis Schaeffer's Manifesto, Bill Bright and the Rise of the Religious Right, Christ's Righteously Equipped Warriors Talk To Action has a number of site topic areas with more related material including Religous Militarism, Religious Supremacy, , Church State Separation, and "Faith Based Initiative"
Christian Embassy Video Meets Religious War Video Game | 4 comments (4 topical, 0 hidden)
Christian Embassy Video Meets Religious War Video Game | 4 comments (4 topical, 0 hidden)
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Left Behind: Eternal Forces: Installments of Jonathan Hutson's Talk To Action expose series
on the "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" video game have been viewed by up to 1/2 million people. See our site section featuring Over 35 original articles covering the controversial "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" video game that has provoked a boycott by a coalition of religious groups and a letter writing campaign urging Walmart to stop selling the game. Media inquiries click here(image: detail from Francoise Dubois' rendition of the Bartholomew's Day Massacre reveals the actual nature of religious warfare)
Palin: "A Natural Choice" for Catholics?
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Major Christian Organization Endorses the Military Religious Freedom Foundation
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Palin's Churches and the Third Wave
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What is Dominionism? Palin, the Christian Right, & Theocracy
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EVENT CANCELLED Speaking in Philadelphia on September 27th
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Sarah Palin's Theocratic End Times - UPDATED
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At Palin Church, Jews For Jesus Head Says Terrorism vs Israel Is God's Punishment
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Rest Assured New Orleans, I'm Sure Lt. Gen. Van Antwerp is Praying for You
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Future links to upcoming documentaries on Palin's Churches
Will live here, at this URL address. ...... By Bruce Wilson (0 comments)
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Palin Steals Hockey Mom Joke from John Hagee?
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New revelations re "stealth dominionist" Sarah Palin
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Sarah Palin: Dominionist Stalking Horse
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Richard Land Picks Republican Veep Candidate
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"Yes on 8" RSVP? Need your advice.
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Alabama PSC Cantidate Matt Chancey: His Views on Suffrage, Women, Marriage, etc.
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Jews and Christians Unite against the Empire of Neo-cons and 'Christian' Zionists
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Hope Never Dies for Extremists
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Prosyletization in Iraq: A threat to national security
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Proselytization in Iraq: A minor history
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What Does the Religious Right Fear the Most?
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UK Abortion Limit Stays at 24 Weeks Despite Washington Think Tank's Tactics
IN GOD'S NAME is a revealing documentary about how the Alliance Defense Fund is using its tactics to try to restrict abortion in Europe as well as in America. Watch this trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeTfW8-dCNE ...... By TMurray (3 comments)
'Christians United For Israel' Joyfully Sing of Israel's Invasion and Destruction
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The Petrification of John McCain
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More Biblical Precedent for Allowing Abortion
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John Hagee Says God Made AIDS and Bird Flu But Lord will Protect Him Personally
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2001 John Hagee Film Shows Gangsterish Rabbi, Foppish Catholic Priest In League With anti-Christ
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Bush 41 salutes Sun Myung Moon's effort to subdue the planet.
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