We are at the very beginning of the US government's gradually increasing persecution of Bible-believing Christians--Christians who place their allegiance to Jesus Christ above all others. Unfortunately, the State is beginning to demand that the Church and Christ followers must subordinate their religious beliefs to the will and morality of the State, much like the Nazi government did in Germany. This is obviously unacceptable to Bible-believing Christians, and because of this they will therefore be deemed a threat and "extremists" by the State.
However, Army spokesperson George Wright denies this claim:
“The notion that the Army is taking an anti-religion or anti-Christian stance is contrary to any of our policies, doctrines and regulations,” said Army spokesperson George Wright. “Any belief that the Army is out to label religious groups in a negative manner is without warrant.” (The Blaze)
What follows are two examples that contradict Wright's position. The first example is an Equal Opportunity (EO) presentation reportedly given to US Army Reserve soldiers in Pennsylvania where evangelical Christianity is considered religious "extremism."
According to the EO presentation, an extremist is defined as "[a] person who advocates the use of force or violence; advocates supremacist causes based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or national origin; or otherwise engages to deprive individuals or groups of their civil rights."
As you can see in one of the presentation's slides shown below, evangelical Christianity is placed
first in the list of extremist groups, above Al Qaeda, Hamas, and the Ku Klux Klan.
When you look at the notes associated with the presentation's title slide (
link here), the Army Equal Opportunity Program apparently obtained some of its data from the Southern Poverty Law Center, who deliberately exaggerated the threat of domestic terrorism from "conservative" groups in a recent report (
see article here).
In another slide it states that "Extremist Organization's goals are inconsistent with the Army's goals, beliefs and values with regard to equal opportunity." Does this mean that is you are an evangelical Christian that you can no longer be a member of the United States Army?
The presentation later states that "Commanders have the inherent authority to prohibit military personnel from engaging in or participating in any other activities the commander determines will adversely affect good order and discipline or morale within the command. This includes, but is not limited to, the authority to order the removal of symbols, flags, posters, or other displays from barracks, to place areas or activities off-limits, or to order Soldiers not to participate in those activities that are contrary to good order and discipline or morale of the unit or pose a threat to health, safety and security..."
A second example of the Army's increasing anti-Christian stance is how one battalion commander, LTC Jack Rich at Fort Campbell's 101st Airborne Division, uses his authority to denigrate two Christian organizations that support the Christian view of family in an email to his subordinate leaders (
link to Todd Starnes who broke this story):
"Just want to ensure everyone is somewhat educated on some of the groups out there that do not share our Army Values," Rich warned. "When we see behaviors that are inconsistent with Army Values--don't just walk by. Do the right thing and address the concern before it becomes a problem." The 14-page email goes on to smear FRC [Family Research Council] and AFA [American Family Association] by name, lumping us in with the real extremists of the Ku Klux Klan, Black Panthers, and neo-Nazis--a la the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). "The religious right in America has employed a variety of strategies in its efforts to beat back the increasingly confident gay rights movement," Rich insists. "One of those has been defamation." They are also guilty, he claims, of "engaging in the crudest type of name-calling, describing LGBT people as 'perverts' with 'filthy habits' who seek to snatch the children of straight parents and 'convert' them to gay sex." (taken from the Family Research Council website)
In my opinion, this is just the beginning of forcing Christians to submit to the morality of the State over that of Christ.
As a nation, we used to have Christ as our King. Now that a majority of Americans are no longer followers of Christ, but a people who have subordinated Christ to their own selfish desires or do not believe in Him at all, we have now relocated our king to the government. This will only result in tyranny.
Here is a link to the full
US Army Reserve Equal Opportunity presentation.
Family Research Council mission statement:
Family Research Council's mission is to advance faith, family and freedom in public policy and the culture from a Christian worldview. (
Source)
American Family Association mission statement:
The mission of the American Family Association is to inform, equip, and activate individuals to strengthen the moral foundations of American culture, and give aid to the church here and abroad in its task of fulfilling the Great Commission. (
Source)
