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evangelical Christians are the No. 1 extremist threat to America (Be Very Very Afraid.)
U.S. military have been told in a training briefing that evangelical Christians are the No. 1 extremist threat to America
wnd.com | Soldiers in the U.S. military have been told in a training briefing that evangelical Christians are the No. 1 extremist threat to America -- ahead of groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, KKK, Nation of Islam, al-Qaida, Hamas and others.
"Men and women of faith who have served the Army faithfully for centuries shouldn't be likened to those who have regularly threatened the peace and security of the United States," said Col. (Ret.) Ron Crews, executive director of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty. "It is dishonorable for any U.S. military entity to allow this type of wrongheaded characterization. It also appears that some military entities are using definitions of 'hate' and 'extreme' from the lists of anti-Christian political organizations. That violates the apolitical stance appropriate for the military."
The briefing, which was given to an Army reserve unit in Pennsylvania, came from a U.S. Army Reserve Equal Opportunity training brief titled "Extremism and Extremist Organizations."
The material mentions neo-Nazis, the KKK and other white supremacist organizations. Pictures are shown on various slides of people in Klan attire and Nazi flags. The significance of gang tattoos, and racist acronyms and the significance of numbers were also discussed.
While the material on gangs and racist organizations is similar to what one might receive from a local police briefing on gang issues, after teaching on neo-Nazis in the military such as Timothy McVeigh, the material makes an amazing link.
A slide titled "Religious Extremism" lists multiple organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaida, Hamas, the Nation of Islam, the Ku Klux Klan and the Christian Identity movement as examples of extremist groups.
However, the first group on the list is evangelical Christianity. Catholicism and ultra-orthodox Judaism are also on the list of religious extremist organizations.
See what Christian really is, in "Body of Divinity: The Sum and Substance of the Christian Religion."
Following the briefing, one of the soldiers who attended the presentation and describes himself as an evangelical told the trainer he was offended at the material and asked for a copy of the briefing. After receiving a copy, he forwarded the material to Crews.
The material describes religious extremism as those having beliefs, attitudes, feelings or actions that are "far removed from the ordinary." It then elaborates by saying that "every religion has some followers that believe that their beliefs, customs and traditions are the only 'right way' and that all others practicing their faith the 'wrong way.'"
Crews said it is astounding that soldiers were taught that a key foundation of the Christian faith is now considered extreme and compared to those who want to implement Shariah law.
"The idea of salvation being exclusively through Christ is a key doctrine of the Christian faith," Crews said. "It is amazing that the trainer felt they had the authority and right to list evangelical Christian, Catholics and orthodox Jews alongside groups like the Muslim Brotherhood."
When pressed as to how evangelical Christians and Catholics are a danger to those serving in the military, the brief does not provide any examples. However, it does provide several examples of Muslim extremists in the military. Among them are:
Navy petty officer Hassan Abujihad who emailed classified information to jihadists for possible attacks while serving on a destroyer.
Ali Abdul Saoud Mohammed, who was an Army Special Forces instructor at the Special Ops Warfare School at Ft. Bragg while simultaneously being a trainer for al-Qaida and traveling overseas to fight with jihadists.
Sgt Hasan Akbar, who killed two of his soldiers and injured 14 others at a military base in Kuwait when he threw four grenades into three tents where soldiers were sleeping. His reasoning was to prevent the killing of his fellow Muslims.
Conspicuously missing was one Muslim Maj. Nidal Hasan, who opened fire on fellow soldiers at Ft. Hood while allegedly shouting "Allahu Akbar." Hasan's rampage left 13 dead and 30 injured.
The Army has gone to great lengths to minimize the Hasan attack, going so far as to call it simply a case of workplace violence, similar to when an employee gets into a fight with another co-worker.
The Army has doubled down on its decision by issuing a report to Congress claiming that recent legislation that would label the shootings a terrorist act in order to help survivors and victim's families would jeopardize Hasan's chances of receiving a fair trial.
"Passage of this legislation could directly and indirectly influence potential court-martial panel members, witnesses, or the chain of command, all of whom exercise a critical role under the Uniform Code of Military Justice," the Army said. "Defense counsel will argue that Major Hasan cannot receive a fair trial because a branch of government has indirectly declared that Major Hasan is a terrorist -- that he is criminally culpable."
Crews said the major problem with the training brief is that it relies heavily on material provided by the Southern Poverty Law Center which has claimed that groups such as WND, the Family Research Council and other pro-family groups are hate groups and extremists.
"We're concerned the use of the SPLC list is not isolated," Crews said. "The Army should make sure its equal opportunity officers across the military do not fall prey and use this SPLC list that identifies Christian and conservative organizations as hate groups as the basis for their briefing."
He went on to say that placing evangelical Christians first on the list of religious extremists speaks volumes about how the SPLC views Christianity compared to other religious groups.
"This is absolutely abhorrent to all those who identify themselves as evangelical Christians in this country," Crews said. "We know other commands have used the SPLC list in briefing soldiers about hate crimes and hate groups, but this particular briefing is the most egregious in terms of blatantly identifying evangelical Christianity as the number one extremist group in the United States."
The material claims the number of "hate groups, extremists and anti-government organizations" has increased because of the prospect of "4 more years under a black president who many on the far right view as an enemy to their country."
It goes on to state the purpose of the training is the belief that this issue "may be an indication of internal issues all services will have to face." It advised participants that extremist organizations are inconsistent with the Army's goals, beliefs and values regarding equal opportunity.
According to Crews, the Army Chief of Chaplains office told the Chaplain Alliance the training was an isolated incident and would not happen again.
Crews said while he accepts the explanation, the Army needs to go further and publically apologize to all evangelical Christians, Catholics and orthodox Jews.
"We believe the soldiers who attended this briefing should receive another class with the corrected material and the instructor should present a public apology. Evangelical Christians, Catholics and Orthodox Jews should be given an apology for having their faith called into question as extremists similar to the Muslim Brotherhood.
"We don't want this briefing to multiply. If it is truly an isolated incident then it should be stopped right now and the instructors should be warned not to teach this material again."
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Posted:
re evangelical Christians are the No. 1 extremist threat to America (Have You Ever Actually Met One of Us? )
So let me give you a brief insider's view from one who's been there for many decades.
First, nobody brainwashed me, I came from an agnostic family, though lots of Christians were nearby. The Christians never pestered me into joining, I sought them out, liked what I saw at the time, so joined the Kingdom. My own free choice, and I don't regret it.
However, the typical evangelical church these days tends to be long winded and boring, sermons usually put you to sleep, not make you into Nazi stormtroopers. The music is usually mediocre to my classical ear (I'm into Mozart and what have you) and the humor is isually third rate (none of our comedians will quit their day jobs to play Vegas!) Yet, once in awhile, you find some real master performers, including a few who've played in symphonies. One evangelical drummer I know sounds like the next Gene Krupa, but he complains church stifles his talent.
We have more than our share of phonies, hypocrites and money grubbers, but we make jokes about them. What do you expect?
Those bogus TV evangelists get our contempt and scorn, and nobody wants to admit they watch them anymore. I don't, never did.
We're all kinds of folks, yes, Democrats and liberals too. Many of us highly educated, I myself have a graduate degree. We are multiracial, with whites, blacks, Hispanics and many Asians comfortably mixing, often dating. Lots of high tech people, also lawyers, MBAs, accountants and yes, even a fair number of fine ariists, I myself moonlight as a painter. (We often poke fun of the mediocre work of the late Thomas Kincade, who was one of s, but a total jerk in every which way!). We're football fans, Giants faithful, surfers, skiers, hikers and Net fantasy gamers.
When I was growing up, a huge number of us were Tolkien fans, still are, and we were the best in the world at D and D.
Generally harmless, polite and decent people, many astonishing in their kindly generosity to strangers, but we have our family fights too.
Very few of us liked George W. Bush and even less the ultra fanatics of today's GOP. We're no Darth Vaders.
Many of us, including myself, feel gay marriage should be legal.
Abortion is not my favorite thing, but I feel it too, should be legal and not suppressed in any way, I'm pro choice.
You find us in the strangest places and most unexpected, I could tell you some stories that would amaze you, but I value privacy.
You see us at Star Trek conventions, poetry readings, art galleries and even leftist Occupy Wall Street rallies. Even weirder places.
As with every group, some I really enjoy, and some are really unpleasant, self-righteous and pompous, just like the rest of the human race.
A couple of my evanelcal buddies, one white and one Chinese, are really into steams locomotives. The Civil War is another favorite.
Before they shut down, you could find a large number of us flying into orbit on the space shuttles. One local is a successful comet hunter
We have lots of outsiders as friends, I party with Jewish people sometimes, but I've also been buddies with Palestinians.
We sometimes have flops and failures, like Rick Warren's campaigns, but we laugh, we don't goose step.
Sometimes, we have art shows and sell works right at church, I've contributed. Sometimes it's not very good, just like other creatives.
We're just people, though, no Ayatollah is around, we don't have a Christian Hezbollah. I don't even like the NRA. Or the GOP either.
I also have been part of Amnesty International, fighting for global human rights.
Church potlucks - some of our cooking could stand improvement, some is fabulous. I'm into Chinese myself, though I'm WASP.
A lot of us even are good dancers, that old taboo is now gone. Me? I've got at least five left feet! But I do try, I could tell some tales.
We go to crummy films just like everybody else now, and I have a taste for small doses of Highlands Single Malt, but never get drunk.
I used to do a lot of winery tasting too, with a lot of my Christian friends, but lately drifted into other interests. No hard feelings.
So lighten up and get to know us as human beings and quit seeing wicked plots under every pew. Stop talking like Truthers.
A Follower of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior
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re evangelical Christians are the No. 1 extremist threat to America ( (You are not too smart, are you?)
But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.
Did you get the impression that I posted this as a supporter? Let me point out something, about you and your 'serial hate postings' here on CL Politics;' you are the most uninformed, judgemental, racist and self-righteous dolt in the Public Arena. You contradict yourself over & over- did you never actually read the Bible? Jesus said "Ye shall know the Truth; and it shall MAKE you free!" Obviously you know NOT the truth. You support Genocide of Babies, God said He Hates that in Isaiah. You support Gay Marriage, Paul said "All that do such things are worthy of death."
Let me explain something to you, if you do not believe in Christ's message, as Explicitly Expressed in the Bible, then you are Damned; because you receive not the love of the truth, that you might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
GOD has SENT into YOU "Strong Delusion" because GOD wants YOU to be DAMNED.
Why? You are Luke Warm. A Reed Blowing in the Wind! Blown to and fro by every wind of false doctrine.
JESUS said "I WILL VOMIT YOU OUT OF HIS MOUTH!"
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
1 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:
2 Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.
3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
8 Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.
9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
10 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.
11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.
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re: evangelical=Nice guy. Re2=bigoted asshole (Damned if not christian? Fuck You! )
Unfortunately most evangelicals are bigots, homophobic, misogynistic and delight in telling people hateful bullshit, like
"if you do not believe in Christ's message, as Explicitly Expressed in the Bible, then you are Damned".
They are extremists, and have had a lot more to do with wrecking America than the muslims.
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