Meet Army Spc. Jeremy Hall
Hall is an Iraq vet, former Baptist, and current Atheist:
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.
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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 (who is not seeking compensation in his suit, just an affirmation of religious freedom in the military) also claims he was denied promotion because "I can't put my personal beliefs aside and pray with troops I wouldn't make a good leader."
Of course, there might be more to this story but it fits a pattern of proselytizing within the military. And perhaps we remember the "Christian Embassy" videos which feature high-ranking military officers in the Pentagon openly proclaiming that they put their faith above their duties to the country. And the Air Force has been cited as a particularly unpleasant place for non-conservative Evangelicals.
The last thing this country - hell, the world - needs is a military that sees itself as an avatar of any deity. That way leads to very bad things.
The CNN report of Spc. Hall can be viewed here.
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