Onwards Christian Soldier

Atheist soldier sues Army for 'unconstitutional' discrimination
Army Spc. Jeremy Hall was raised Baptist. Like many Christians, he said grace before dinner and read the Bible before bed. Four years ago when he was deployed to Iraq, he packed his Bible so he would feel closer to God. He served two tours of duty in Iraq and has a near perfect record. But somewhere between the tours, something changed. Hall, now 23, said he no longer believes in God, fate, luck or anything supernatural. His sudden lack of faith, he said, cost him his military career and put his life at risk. Hall said his life was threatened by other troops and the military assigned a full-time bodyguard to protect him out of fear for his safety. In March, Hall filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, among others. In the suit, Hall claims his rights to religious freedom under the First Amendment were violated and suggests that the United States military has become a Christian organization. "I think it's utterly and totally wrong. Unconstitutional," Hall said. Hall said there is a pattern of discrimination against non-Christians in the military. Two years ago on Thanksgiving Day, after refusing to pray at his table, Hall said he was told to go sit somewhere else. In another incident, when he was nearly killed during an attack on his Humvee, he said another soldier asked him, "Do you believe in Jesus now?" Hall isn't seeking compensation in his lawsuit -- just the guarantee of religious freedom in the military. Eventually, Hall was sent home early from Iraq and later returned to Fort Riley in Junction City, Kansas, to complete his tour of duty. He also said he missed out on promotions because he is an atheist. "I was told because I can't put my personal beliefs aside and pray with troops I wouldn't make a good leader," Hall said. Michael Weinstein, a retired senior Air Force officer and founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, is suing along with Hall. Weinstein said he's been contacted by more than 8,000 members of the military, almost all of them complaining of pressure to embrace evangelical Christianity.

Funnily enough I don’t have much of a problem with left wing evangelical Christianity, but do think there is a deep problem with right wing evangelical Christianity. The new liberal evangelical movement in America is much more liberation theory focused on the environment, AIDs treatment and poverty where as the right wing are focused on burning gays in hell, burning abortion doctors in hell and donating millions to Israeli groups to buy guns in an attempt to fuel the apocalypse in the valley of Armegedden to induce the rapture. The irony of a Western evangelical Christian crusade army in the middle east in the 21st century can’t be lost on anyone.