I can’t even begin to tell you how much I wish this wasn’t true, but Operation Straight Up has been authorized to “support” the troops by making sure they’ve been saved. I understand that the Christians believe that they are helping soldiers by giving them something to believe in, but I think it’s manipulative to capitalize on the fear of men and women who know they have a good chance of becoming wounded or dying while they’re in Iraq. When people are away from their friends and family in a stressful situation, they are much more vulnerable to ideas they wouldn’t normally accept. It shows very little compassion and tolerance for the beliefs of others. Is this really what Jesus would do?
Here are some major problems that both BlueBloggin and I see with Operation Straight Up:
- Baldwin became a right-wing, born-again Christian after the 9/11 attacks, and now is the star of Operation Straight Up (OSU), an evangelical entertainment troupe that actively proselytizes among active-duty members of the US military. As an official armof the Defense Department’s America Supports You program, OSU plans to mail copies of the controversial apocalyptic video game, Left Behind: Eternal Forces to soldiers serving in Iraq. OSU is also scheduled to embark on a Military Crusade in Iraq in the near future.
- “We feel the forces of heaven have encouraged us to perform multiple crusades that will sweep through this war torn region,” OSU declares on its website about its planned trip to Iraq. “We’ll hold the only religious crusade of its size in the dangerous land of Iraq.”
- The Defense Department’s Chaplain’s Office, which oversees OSU’s activities, has not responded to calls seeking comment.
- “The constitution has been assaulted and brutalized,” Mikey Weinstein, former Reagan Administration White House counsel, ex-Air Force judge advocate (JAG), and founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, told me. “Thanks to the influence of extreme Christian fundamentalism, the wall separating church and state is nothing but smoke and debris. And OSU is the IED that exploded the wall separating church and state in the Pentagon and throughout our military.”
- Weinstein continued: “The fact that they would even consider taking their crusade to a Muslim country shows the threat to our national security and to the constitution and everyone that loves it.”
- But behind OSU’s anodyne promises of wholesome fun for military families, the organization promotes an apocalyptic brand of evangelical Christianity to active duty US soldiers serving in Muslim-dominated regions of the Middle East. Displayed prominently on the “What We Believe” section of OSU’s website is a passage from the Book of Revelations (Revelation 19:20; 20:10-15) that has become the bedrock of the Christian right’s End Times theology: “The devil and his angels, the beast and the false prophet, and whosoever is not found written in the Book of Life, shall be consigned to everlasting punishment in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
- With the endorsement of the Defense Department, OSU is mailing “Freedom Packages” to soldiers serving in Iraq. These are not your grandfather’s care packages, however. Besides pairs of white socks and boxes of baby wipes (included at the apparent suggestion of Iran-Contra felon Oliver North, according to OSU) OSU’s care packages contain the controversial Left Behind: Eternal Forces video game. The game is inspired by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins’ bestselling pulp fiction series about a blood-soaked Battle of Armageddon pitting born-again Christians against anybody who does not adhere to their particular theology. In LaHaye’s and Jenkins’ books, the non-believers are ultimately condemned to “everlasting punishment” while the evangelicals are “raptured” up to heaven.
- This controversy has not deterred OSU from encouraging US troops to play virtual rounds of kill or convert after a hard day of house-to-house searches and counterinsurgency warfare against Iraqi insurgents. What’s more, OSU’s “Freedom Packages” include a copy of evangelical pastor Josh McDowell’s More Than A Carpenter -- a book advertised as “one of the most powerful evangelism tools worldwide” — that is double-published in Arabic. Considering that only a handful of American troops speak Arabic, the book is ostensibly intended for proselytizing efforts among Iraqi civilians.
If the Christians really cared about our troops, they would be putting an end to THIS: 3,690 US soldiers killed in Iraq, 27,279 US soldiers wounded in Iraq
Having only read a part of one of the “Left Behind” book a few years ago, the scenario is actually that the “righteous” have already bee taken up and the battle is between the forces of the devil and those who were “Left behind”.
I have no idea if the video game is any good but I am sure soldiers will play it a lot in their down time.
Baby wipes are very popular in overseas deployments.
I dont have a problem with Christian prostletizing, as long as those being preached to have a choice to listen or not. And they can always throw the game away.
I do have a problem with this being backed by the U.S. government. Letting the OSU in, sure; giving them support, NO.
Exmi,
I don’t feel that providing the troops with such a skewed way of entertaining themselves is fair. Now, if they were to send a choice of video games, that would be a little more Christian. Baby wipes are probably the best thng in that package.
Dave,
I seriously have a problem with this being done. USO shows ARE mandatory, so when they provide “entertainment” shows, everyone will be forced to go and listen to the Christian message.
oy — this makes a Bob Hope road show look like a work of genius by comparison.
If USO shows are mandatory, then I have a massive problem with it. Surely this is seriously unconstitutional. No one should be required to go to a revival if they dont want to, and that’s all these are at heart.
As for the video games, from the sound of things, the troops are too exhausted to “enjoy” them anyway. But if they were not, no one makes them play (though I still agree with you, they ought to provide more than one).
Also, will the Christians be claiming that their game is “best selling” because they’ve shipped so many units (and somebody had to pay for them)?
How about instead of video games they give them armor and protective equipment? Better yet, get them out of that meat-grinder. Crusades, my ass. Most, if not all, of the wars that occured on this planet did so in the name of God. And most of these religions are nothing but modernized Sun worship.
The strangle-hold evangelical Christians have on our government is appalling. I was under the impression that religious liberty and separation of church and state were core elements of our nation.
Nothing worse than a born again crack head!
CIRCLE JERKS LYRICS
“Killing For Jesus”
All across the world
The holy armies on a tear
Ripping through the planet’s faiths
Population’s running scared
Christianity’s all around
Zealots they abound
I wanna blow them to pieces
Cause I…I’m
[Chorus:]
Killing For Jesus
Killing For Jesus
With god on my side
The holy armies gonna ride
Go on a rampage
To rape, plunder and pillage
Insanity’s everywhere
Must be something in the air
I wanna blow them to pieces
cause I…I’m
[Chorus]
I’m never bored
When I’m killing for the lord
Now I’ve seen the light
Hail Mary! I’ve got Jesus on my side!
Insanity’s everywhere
Must be something in the air
I wanna blow them to pieces
cause I…I’m
[Chorus]
Separation of church and state issues aside, I did not know that it was intolerant to share your beliefs with others. Actually, I believe in your last post, you share your beliefs about how the environment should be protected. What makes one tolerant and information sharing and the other intolerant proselytizing?
Funding of such things is another issue entirely.
As far as whether Jesus would be speaking/preaching to stressed out people -the Gospels are full of Him doing just that…..
AQ, it’s not the preaching that I object to, preach away! It’s the cloaking of that preaching in USO robes, especially if attendence is mandatory. If you are made by the government to attend a religious revival meeting, is that not a government sponsored religious event?
I agree with that Dave. I was speaking to other claims UWL made in her post.
And More Than A Carpenter was written by Josh McDowell, not Jonathan. Just a minor correction.
Dave,
They are a part of Mandatory Rest, and soldiers don’t really have rights when it comes to orders. Of course, these are unlawful orders, but when it’s that or guard duty, wouldn’t you chose to listen to some idiot preach rather than be shot at? Also, I think it’s like the book lists. Books aren’t best sellers because they’ve sold a lot of copies, it’s a lable based on PROJECTED sales.
Dianarn,
Welcome, and that’s a great idea! We’ve been at war for 4 years and soldiers still do not have adaquate armor, water supplies, etc… Why don’t we take care of their bodies first? Leave their souls to them!
Raynvaan,
Welcome. Unfortunately we are under the mistaken impression that there is such a thing as the separation of church and state.
Aq,
Why are separation of church and state issues aside? I think they’re pretty importantand should not be thought of so lightly. So might you if you were of a minority religion or no religion at all. Did you know that there are almost as many atheists and agnostics in the US as there are Christians?
As to what makes one tolerance and the other prostelytizing: no one is forced to read my blog. No one is forced to listen to my opinions. I am not handing out literature (which destroys many more trees than necessary, by the way) telling people that my opinion is the only one. These soldiers are forced to accept these packages because they’re sponsored by the US government, and they’re forced to go see the OSU (conveniently the opposite of USO) shows tha do nothing but prostelytize. Jesus never forced anyone to listen to him. He started speaking and they came. Nice try, though.
Not for nothin’ but I was never ordered to go to a USO show in 13 years of military service in and out of war zones. I was offered the opportunity plenty of times and in fact ate many meals in USOs all over the world. But i was never mandated to attend a show.
I did NOT say that it was okay to FORCE people to attend these rallies. And the reason I put separation of church and state aside is that it is not the part I was taking disagreeing with.
Your opening paragraph takes issue with the message and the fact that it is being taken to men and women under stress. You said that it is intolerant and lacks compassion for Christians to share their beliefs to those in harms way. THAT is what I was addressing. Did I misunderstand your first paragraph?
If you look at my comment to Dave, you will notice that I agreed that the salvation message should not be funded with tax money and that the soldiers should not be forced to attend..
My cousin said that he was ordered to go to the last one, and that they’re ordering them to do various things for “mandatory rest” that his dad, my dad, and my mom never had to do. It’s not you’re father’s army anymore.
AQ,
I didn’t say you did, I just said that’s what’s happening. It is intolerant to assume that anyine who doesn’t ask want a Bible or a Christian Based video game. It’s not compassionate to use fear to manipulate those in danger. If they only sent their packages to Christian soldiers and they weren’t being sponsored by the military, that would be different.
I can see your point about the bibles being sponsored by the military.
However, I see no difference between sending a Christian bible unsolicited and sending any other message unsolicited.
The difference would be that sending an unsolicited Bible with government money is illegal.
I’m sorry – I should have been more clear. I meant sending them with private funds.
Your post indicates that you are against the entire program – not just the origin of the funding. Specifically, you said the unsolicited care packages were intolerant and lacked compassion. Again, maybe I misunderstood.
If the same program existed without government funding and the soldiers were not required to attend, but merely invited to attend, would you still be against it?
I should include that the soldiers were invited, rather than required to PARTICIPATE, also, since some of this objection has been to items being sent, and not just the rallies.
Would you object to this even if the funding was from private sources?
Put an “if” in that last comment for the soldiers being invited.
Hmmm When I was in Iraq and Afghanistan USO shows were not mandatory. Maybe some commanders are taking that on themselves but I doubt it is military wide.
Besides which, the USO is not funded by the Government. It is funded by donations. The military does I believe provide transportation and such but that is all.
Tow quote their website “Donations of any size are needed and greatly appreciated! The USO is funded solely by private donations. It receives no government or United Way funding. “
1. I am against the entire program. That’s my opinion. I think it’s wrong to do this while people are so vulnerable, though vulnerability is what builds religion in the first place. The soldiers I know said that USO events have been mandatory, and that there’s noreason to assume that OSE events wouldn’t be, but as Exmi mentioned, that COULD be specific to certain units.
Exmi,
The USO is not funded by the government. The OSU, however; is receiving government funding.
I understand you’re against it, but you’ve only backed up your opinion that the funding is inappropriate. That I do agree with.
I don’t see any reason it shouldn’t be permitted if the organization should find other funding sources.
If yopu were in the middle fo a war zone in the desert being shot at without seeing your family for 15 months, would you want someone trying to convert you?
That’s not an argument. Those who ARE converted might say yes. Or not – I don’t know. But your question is not an argument, nor does it back up your opinion.
At this point, it would probably be better for us to agree to disagree.
Actually, I might question the strength of a battlefield (or USO-field) conversion. What’s the saying, “there are no atheists in fox-holes”. But I’ll bet there are plenty back home a year later.
Then I don’t understand your question. I don;t know if I made clear that they’re also prostyletizing to the MUSLIMS in Iraq, and that doesn’t really do much to help out situation there.
Dave,
There ARE atheists in foxholes. I know several. I have been through some pretty difficult times where I felt I was in serious danger and I didn’t pray.
You said that it is intolerant and lacks compassion for Christians to share their beliefs with others. But it appears that you do not believe it is intolerant if the beliefs are not religious (previous posts). What makes one sharing of beliefs intolerant and the other merely a sharing of beliefs?
Why is it wrong to “scare” people into believing God is real, but perfectly fine to “scare” them into believing driving an SUV, (or not recycling, etc.) is wrong? Is it okay to “scare” people into believing the food supplies are dangerous and we should all eat organic? Is it okay to “scare” people into believing that our government is really against us and none of those elected ever act in the best interests of the people?
Don’t give me one set of ideas is an fallacy and the others are provable because all these are debatable issues. There are facts supporting each side – and opinions formed for/against each side of the arguments.
So, the question that you are misunderstanding is: – why is the sharing of beliefs intolerant and lacking compassion when they are Christian beliefs, but not when the beliefs are rooted in something else, such as politics, sexual preferences, or healthy lifestyles?
I hope that was more clear.
Okay, let me start b saying this – I would like to talk to my parents abotu the environemtn. I would like to talk to mybrother about politics. I would like to talk to my family about religion. I tried, they’re not interested, and so I don’t discuss it with them anymore. I never tried to scare them into believing what I believe, and if I did, that WOULD be intolerant.
As for one set of beliefs being a fallacy, I discussed in another post how not believing facts or saying that there are facts supporting boths sides is a uniquely American thing. Facts are facts. They cannot support both sides. They support one side or the other.
A fact cannot support more than one idea? Hmmm – I find that strangely interesting.