Before you read any further, if you are anti-Christian and you feel offended when someone shares their beliefs, or in my opinion facts, about God, then please just click the little x at the top of your browser and close this page now. Okay:
(From our earlier report: Weinstein is the head of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, and says Christians--including chaplains--sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ in the military are guilty of “treason,” and of committing an act of “spiritual rape” as serious a crime as “sexual assault.” He also asserted that Christians sharing their faith in the military are “enemies of the Constitution.”)
This is the paragraph that I found myself laughing at. The laughs just came out of nowhere. To me, everything about this statement is completely ludicrous and senseless. For starters, I'm not sure how Christians sharing their faith means they are against the Constitution. From my understanding, this country was founded on Christian beliefs from the very beginning. On the contrary, taking away the rights of someone to speak about God is what goes against the constitution. You just keep telling yourself that you know what you're talking about Mr. Weinstein. (I'm going to take a minute to pray for you before I continue.)
(I'm not going to go do all the research to back up my statements, as I should really be studying right now and not blogging to begin with, so feel free to do your own research and correct me if you'd like.)
When I came to the statement, "spiritual rape", I couldn't stop myself from chuckling. What does that even mean? When I hear the word rape I think of someone doing physical and emotional harm to another human being. I can assure you that speaking God's truth does neither of these things. In fact it does quite the opposite. The fact of the matter is GOD DOES EXIST! He does not exist to cause harm on anyone. He exists to help those that will allow him to enter their lives. Not only that, but to save those who accept him from the eternal doom of hell. Sorry if you didn't want to hear that, but it's the truth, plain and simple. So, sharing our faith about our loving God is as serious a crime as sexual assault? If you say so Mr. Weinstein. (as I shake my head in disbelief)
Poor misguided Mr. Weinstein, what would you suggest a chaplain do? It is a chaplains job to share their faith in Jesus Christ. That is what they joined the military to do. I know chaplains and I know from first hand knowledge that they can make a huge difference in the moral of soldiers. They have helped soldiers through deployments, they have led soldiers away from committing suicide, they have helped mend relationships, they have helped with parenting advice... really this list is endless. Would you like to know how they have helped all these soldiers Mr. Weinstein? Let me tell you. They have allowed Christ to work through them. They have used scripture from the Word of God. They have shared Christ's unconditional love, peace, joy, and forgiveness. These Chaplains, Mr. Weinstein, are the ones that have allowed God to use them to save lives, save marriages, save relationships and help build moral. That's HUGE! I personally can't imagine the military without them. This world took God out of our schools and look what happened. Imagine if you were to take God out of the military. I don't even want to think what would happen to our men and women that serve to protect our country. Oh wait, it wouldn't really be a free country anymore, would it? They'd have one less freedom to defend. The very people that are going off to war would be losing the very rights they are fighting, and sometimes dying, to defend. Hmm... I can see how that makes sense. (shaking my head in disbelief once again).
I can personally say that there are Chaplains and their wives that have helped me, as an Army spouse, to push through the hard times. They have made me a better person today because they have guided me to make wise Christian decisions and to put my faith and trust in God when times were rough. I can honestly say that it is God, and God alone, that brought my family through 3 deployments, months of separation due to training, three pcs moves, and all the stresses that come with this life. I have watched friends that don't believe in God struggle daily to survive this military life. I've seen their trials result in unfaithfulness, divorce, distress, depression, severe and constant worry, among other unpleasant things. They just don't seem to know where to turn or how to deal with what they face. The results are devastating. I've seen believers facing the same trials that these non believers face, but there's one difference. GOD! As Christians, we do go through trials, we get sad, we get lonely, we worry about our spouses while they're away, we grieve when fellow soldiers are lost or wounded... we have these feelings like everyone. The difference is that we give it all to God. We allow God to carry us through the difficult days. We lean on each other and we talk about God! AH. Did I just say we talk about God? Oh no! Shame on us for discussing the one thing that gives us hope and strength to carry on. (you got it, disbelief head shaking)
Okay, so I admit, the article doesn't point out that spouses can't talk about God. It pinpoints military members. About that... If it weren't for the Bible my husband carries in his pocket that he can pull out to read for comfort, if it weren't for the opportunity to attend church services while deployed, if it weren't for the discussions my husband has had with our amazing chaplains (that entailed talking about God by the way), I'm honestly not sure where he, or our entire family, would be today. When our brothers and sisters ask us how our family keeps growing stronger through everything we face as a military family, we are not ashamed to let them know that it's only because of God. When they ask us the secret to staying together for 15+ years, we will not hesitate to say that it's all God. I don't care if we're in our home, at a military fun day, or at his company, the answer, whether you like it or not Mr. Weinstein, is always God!
With all that said, you go right on ahead and voice your beliefs that God doesn't exist Mr.Weinstein. You go right on ahead and lobby that you feel the very freedoms our men and women in uniform are defending don't apply to them. As much as it hurts us as Christians that anyone would denounce the existence of the very God that gave us life and salvation, it is your right to speak your belief. The fact of the matter is, God has given us all the gift of free will in hopes that we will choose to follow him. Just remember that whether you believe or not, God does still love you and he won't give up on you. Until your very dying day, God will seek your love. (Luke 19:10) After all he loves you so much that he sent his very son, Jesus Christ, to suffer on the cross for everyone, including you. Also, keep in mind, Mr. Weinstein, that whatever the outcome of your push for change, God is still in control. If speaking about God causes a person to lose their job or worse, God will pick that person right back up and give them something bigger and better than what they lost. (Romans 8:28) Ironic how that works, isn't it Mr. Weinstein?
Regardless of your efforts Mr. Weinstein, military policy or not, you will not be able to keep believers from sharing the truth about our one and only living God!
