A few days ago, I reported on the shocking story about the Army instructor in Pennsylvania who labeled Evangelical Christians, Catholics, Orthodox Jews and Mormons “religious extremists” alongside Hamas and al Qaeda during an Army Reserve Equal Opportunity training brief on extremism. An Army spokesman told Todd Starnes of Fox News that this was an “isolated incident not condoned by the Dept. of the Army.”
It was not an isolated incident.
Today, Todd Starnes reports at Townhall that an Army officer at Ft. Campbell, KY recently sent an email to subordinates using similar descriptions to describe two mainstream Christian ministries that were put in the same category as Neo-Nazis, Racist Skinheads, White Nationalists and the Ku Klux Klan.
A U.S. Army officer sent an email to dozens of subordinates listing the American Family Association and Family Research Council as “domestic hate groups” because they oppose homosexuality — and warned officers to monitor soldiers who might be supporters of the groups.
“Just want to ensure everyone is somewhat educated on some of the groups out there that do not share our Army Values,” read an email from LTC Jack Rich to three dozen subordinates at Fort Campbell in Kentucky. “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.”
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, told Fox News he was disturbed by the contents of the email.
“It’s very disturbing to see where the Obama Administration is taking the military and using it as a laboratory for social experimentation — and also as an instrument to fundamentally change the culture,” he said. “The message is very clear – if you are a Christian who believes in the Bible, who believes in transcendent truth, there is no place for you in the military.”
Ron Crews, executive director of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty reportedly asked the Army instructor who conducted the briefing on religious extremism, where she got her information, and was told it was the Southern Poverty Law Center.
This latest Army email has all the markings of SPLC anti-Christian propaganda.
*Last November, they came out with a report labeling the Family Research Council (FRC), the American Family Association and other family advocates as “hate” groups because of their stand on marriage.
The National Prayer Network reported that the SPLC’s 10-page attack was distributed to police officers all across America.
Called 18 Anti-Gay Groups and Their Propaganda, it encourages police to especially watch the hateful, violence-inciting propaganda from Christian/conservative “watchdog” organizations. These include the American Family Association, Concerned Women for America, Family Research Council, Coral Ridge Ministries, Liberty Council, and Traditional Values Coalition.
According to Dr. Gary Cass, who is affiliated with the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission, “To say that anybody who has a principled objection to homosexuality [and warns of] the impact that that sinful lifestyle has on individuals and on society is somehow morally equivalent to overt racism and violence is absolutely defamatory.”
According to emails obtained by Judicial Watch, Attorney General Eric Holder’s Justice Dept. has worked closely with the SPLC, even inviting co-founder Morris Dees to appear as the featured speaker at a July 31, 2012, “Diversity Training Event” sponsored by the Civil Rights and Tax divisions of the DOJ, for which employees who were instructed qualified “for mandatory annual diversity training for supervisors.”
The demonization of the Christian right has apparently now spread to the US Army.
Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Jerry Boykin, now an executive vice president of the FRC, told Fox News that all Americans should be concerned about the contents of the email.
“If this is the action of a single Army lieutenant colonel, it needs to be investigated,” he said. “On the other hand, if what he reflects is a shifting policy or attitude of the Army or DOD, then I think it is a much bigger issue.”
Boykin served more than 36 years in the military before retiring in 2007. Since 2008 he said he’s seen withering attacks on religious liberty.
Keep reading here for a complete listing of the incidents.
It should be noted that the anti-Christian propaganda found on the SPLC website incited Floyd Lee Corkins to attempt a mass shooting at the Family Research Council, last August.
*Correction: The SPLC report came out in November of 2010.
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