The Navy is reportedly investigating a complaint a Bible display inside a hospital in Okinawa – the Navy's largest overseas – was used by sailors to convert Japanese citizens to Christianity.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported Rear Adm. Paul Pearigen, the commander of Navy Medicine West, in San Diego, got the complaint from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation last week.
The nonprofit charges military leaders placed a Christian Bible on a Prisoner of War/Missing in Action display inside the hospital's public gallery March 26.
A placard on the "Missing Man" display told visitors in English and Japanese the religious book "represents the strength gained through faith to sustain those lost from our country, founded one nation under God," the Union-Tribune reported.
"The statement on the exhibit's placard is nothing more than an illegal, unconstitutional proselytization from an extremist, fundamentalist Christian sect," wrote lawyer Donald Rehkopf Jr. of Rochester, N.Y., who is representing the foundation.
"We reached out initially to the hospital at the beginning of the week, but they didn't take care of this," said Mikey Weinstein, a former Air Force officer and the foundation's founder.
"This might've violated our treaty with Japan."
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7 comments:
I don't see that you can get any more a clear cut violation of the establishment clause. This display needs to be modified or removed.
On top of that it is an insult to those brave American Soldiers of differing religions, or of no religion. It sullies their service and sacrifice.
This is a Christian country the Bible stays.
@11:04
Actually, that's wrong. This country is a Secular Republic that guarantees the right to practice religion as you choose... i.e., America is NOT a Christian Nation.
It DOES happen to have a population that is made up of mostly Christians... 70% identify as such, is that what you mean?
Don't you understand that the founders put the Bill of Rights into the Constitution to protect the rights of Americans, including protecting Americans from the tyranny of a majority.
Which is sort of what your reply implies...
10:41...blah,blah,blah. You people really have to get over yourself. I'm sure we have more pressing needs to tend to. You people just can't seem to live without running your mouth or causing other problems. If you are offended, just look away. I'm offended when I have to put up with your crap and demands, but we don't go running to the media with our demands. Save your self righteous crap for yourself and move along. We've had enough of it....
@11:04
Actually, that's wrong. This country is a Secular Republic that guarantees the right to practice religion as you choose... i.e., America is NOT a Christian Nation.
It DOES happen to have a population that is made up of mostly Christians... 70% identify as such, is that what you mean?
Don't you understand that the founders put the Bill of Rights into the Constitution to protect the rights of Americans, including protecting Americans from the tyranny of a majority.
Which is sort of what your reply implies...
Pretty sure that’s incorrect. Wasn’t your “bible” written long before the America’s were discovered?
Gotta watch that blind faith. Make you look stupid in a heartbeat.
@12:22 "We've had enough of it"
I understand. You have enjoyed your majority rule Christian privilege, and it stings when you are made to be just as equal as everyone else.
You see, your strawman of "being offended" is just that. A strawman. This isn't about being offended, it's about what is legal or not. This isn't about being offended, it's about celebrating only Christian American Soldier, while consciously erasing the contributions of American soldiers of other faiths or no religion at all.
If you don't think, that letting a religion overextend its reach is a problem, you've not studied many nations that are theocracies now have you? You see, it's not "us" as you say... causing the problems... it's Christians who keep on ratcheting their religion into things that they have no business doing, and when you get called on it, you throw a fit like a child who had a toy taken away.
You see, freedom of religion means YOU get to follow your religion as you see fit. It DOES NOT mean you get to impose it on the rest of America.
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