In a victory for secular America and the U.S. Constitution, the United States Air Force has suspended a Bible based, Christian themed course mandated for all nuclear launch officers.
Jesus loves nuclear weapons?
Earlier this week the Air Force announced the course called "Christian Just War Theory" had been indefinitely suspended. The course had been part of the curriculum for future nuclear launch officers for more than 20 years. Taught by chaplains at Vandenberg Air Force Base, the course used scripture from both the Old and New Testament to demonstrate that nuclear war can be a moral enterprise.
The Air Force suspended the controversial course after the publication of an exclusive report by Truthout. Immediately following publication of the report, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation filed a complaint on behalf of Air Force missile launch officers claiming the course violates constitutional protections guaranteeing separation of church and state. Subsequent to the complaint, the course was suspended.
Commenting on the suspension, David Smith, spokesman for the Air Force’s Air Education and Training Command, told Fox News Radio:
In an effort to serve all faiths we try to introduce none in our briefings and our lectures. Once we heard there were concerns we looked at the course and said we could do better.
In addition to using Jesus to justify nuclear war, the course also referenced German rocket scientist Wernher Von Braun as an authority on the morality of nuclear war. A questionable reference since Von Braun was once a member of the Nazi Party and used Jews imprisoned in concentration camps to build V-2 rockets for Hitler's Third Reich.
Atheists, agnostics, freethinkers and others who value secular society and respect the Constitution's demand for a separation of church and state were pleased with the decision.The following is a sample of comments from The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science:
I feel safer already. The bible is not exactly a good guideline for a launch officer.
I suppose if your job is blowing the shit out of innocent civilians, the bible may be the perfect instruction manual.
I guess being a faith-head helps when it comes to killing millions of people.
Do the submarine rocket launchers learn about Noah's flood?
This makes sense. You can't have any fighting in the War room. Religious nut jobs are easily manipulated and fooled. Just tell them their God wants it.
Jesus wept. What century are we in?
The suspension of the Bible-centered, Christian-centric course represents a significant victory for the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. The foundation, headed by Mikey Weinstein, is "dedicated to ensuring that all members of the United States Armed Forces fully receive the Constitutional guarantee of religious freedom to which they and all Americans are entitled by virtue of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment."
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation has been a tireless advocate for our nation's men and women in uniform, fighting to make sure all branches of the United States military are afforded the same rights to religious freedom as are American civilians.
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