Truthout: Fort Leavenworth Chaplains Accused of Anti-Semitic Publishing

[babylonsister]

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/061107A.shtml

Fort Leavenworth Chaplains Accused of Anti-Semitic Publishing
By Jason Leopold
t r u t h o u t | Report

Monday 11 June 2007

At the Fort Leavenworth, Kansas Army base, military chaplains have been holding Bible classes for US soldiers using study guides that appear to be anti-Semitic.

The Fort Leavenworth chaplains have posted these lesson plans on the Internet under a web address that is maintained by the federal government, giving off the appearance that the religious materials in question are endorsed by the Pentagon. Moreover, disseminating the ideology via a government funded web site may violate the law mandating the separation between church and state.

The nonprofit watchdog group, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an organization that seeks to enforce the law mandating the separation between church and state in the US military, discovered the documents late last week. The anti-Semitic materials are posted as PDF files at the web site, Command Chaplain Bible Studies, which is maintained by the US Army's Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth.

more...

[Betsy Ross]

1. I would say this is f*cking unbelievable but it's not.

I am dumbstruck.

[WinkyDink]

6. Bushco HAS lowered the bar, has it not?

[LeftishBrit]

2. Scary stuff!

[hfojvt]

3. I just started reading, but it is inaccurate very early

"the materials refer to Jews as "Judiazers""

Yet on page 3 of the referenced material, it defines Judaizers as "those who preach a Jewish version of Christianity". Thus, they do not refer to Jews as Judiazers, but to a branch of Christianity.

[rockymountaindem]

4. I wouldn't characterize them as anti-Semitic either

except for some of the comments at the very end of the article. I think they would be more accurately described as "anti-Judaic", which is to say attacking Judaism as a religion as opposed to attacking Jews as an ethnic or national group. It's an important distinction, because within a theological realm such as the chaplain's office, I think the latter description is more unforgiveable in its own way. That's to say that a chaplain who may be as insensitive to ethnic issues as anybody else should at least be aware of his responsibilities not to speak ill of other religions on theologial grounds.

Regardless, I hope Weinstein continues to shed light on all this.

[hfojvt]

5. this isn't right either

Leopold: "In discussing modern day Jerusalem, chaplains ask soldiers to provide an answer to the following question: "How does the present Jerusalem represent slavery?"

That directly refers to Galatians 4: 25 which reads (in NIV) "corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children."

That is, the study guide is asking about the verse, meaning "present Jerusalem" is Jerusalem at the time of Paul's writing.

also this:
Leopold: "The 34-page Galatians study guide deals primarily with "Paul," who the Jews "persecuted," according to the study guide."

It is Galatians 5: 11 where Paul claims to be persecuted. So, it is not the study guide making that claim, although in that chapter of Galatians, Paul does not say who is persecuting him, it is apparently people who want him to preach circumcision instead of the cross.

[spoony]

9. I'd say I was shocked but

this is not exactly the most accurate of 'journalists' we're talking about.

[hfojvt]

10. he also quoted himself

This is verbatim from an article he wrote on 8 May 2007:

"Military Religious Freedom Foundation, whose founder, Mikey
Weinstein, a former White House counsel who defended the Reagan
administration during the Iran-Contra probe, has been waging a one-man war against the Department of Defense for what he says is a blatant disregard of the Constitution. He recently published a book on the issue: "With God on Our Side: One Man's War Against an Evangelical Coup in America's Military." Weinstein is also an Air Force veteran and a graduate of the Air Force Academy. Three generations of his family have attended US military academies.

Since he launched his watchdog organization 18 months ago, Weinstein
said he has been contacted by more than 4,000 active duty and retired
soldiers, many of whom served or serve in Iraq, who told Weinstein that they were pressured by their commanding officers to convert to Christianity."

His articles appear on the Military Religious Freedom Foundation website as 'press releases'
http://militaryreligiousfreedom.org/urgent_issues.html

[hfojvt]

7. not clear to me, how this is supposed to be anti-semitic

"In the 14-page study guide Nehemiah, chaplains discuss a portion of the Sanballat, the first high priest of the temple at Samaria, who, according to the Bible study, had to deal with a "Jewish problem." He mocked the Jews' efforts to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in the hopes that they would give up.

The study guide then poses the following questions for soldiers: "How do you interpret Sanballat's reaction to the Jews progress? Anxiety and fear? In light of what we know about the Jews performance today, were his fears reasonable?"

Another question in the same study guide asks soldiers to offer suggestions on a title for the portion of the scripture discussing Nehemiah.

"How would you short-title this portion of scripture?" the study guide asks. "Jews take advantage of Jews?" "

It seems generally accurate to the book of Nehemiah, which is in the Old Testament, for whatever that is worth. I also like what the study guide points out, and it's relevance to today. "What is the primary problem? There was a great famine (v. 3) and the rich Jews were exploiting the poor Jews because of their need." Nehemiah's answer was to rebuke the rich people.

However, I notice how they slipped this in: "To fail to honor this public promise to God would be equivalent to perjury (a crime abhorrent to God)" At least they left out "and one that is impeachable". I guess Bush is off the hook, since he only lies when he is not under oath, and refuses to testify under oath.

[Karenina]

11. No surprise.

:puke:

[hfojvt]

12. your lack of explication

doth not become you.

Tolstoi would not be so terse.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/hfojvt

[Hangingon]

8. I think this is misleading too

It looks like a bible study course fro the protestant view. As for being on a government sponsored web site, the chaplain is given a portion as a service to troops and families. Why doesn't this "Truthout" bunch take a look at Ft. Hood and try to get people stirred up because they offer Wiccan studies.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

13. LOL