Posted on 11/26/2011 5:28:51 PM PST by mandaladon
Reporting from Colorado Springs, Colo.— In the still of a cold November evening, a small gathering of pagans, led by two witches, begins preparations for the coming winter solstice. But these are not just any pagans, and this is not just any setting. They are future officers of the United States Air Force practicing their faith in the basement of the Air Force Academy's cadet chapel.
Their ranks are slim. According to the academy's enrollment records, only three of 4,300 cadets identified themselves as pagans, followers of an ancient religion that generally does not worship a single god and considers all things in nature interconnected.
Still, the academy this year dedicated an $80,000 outdoor worship center — a small Stonehenge-like circle of boulders with propane fire pit — high on a hill for the handful of current or future cadets whose religions fall under the broad category of "Earth-based." Those include pagans, Wiccans, druids, witches and followers of Native American faiths.
Witches in the Air Force? Chaplain Maj. Darren Duncan, branch chief of cadet faith communities at the academy, sighs. A punch line waiting to happen, and he's heard all the broom jokes.
For the record, there are no witches among the cadets this year. But the two spiritual leaders for all Earth-based religions — one a civilian, one an Air Force reservist — are witches and regularly cast spells, which they say is not so different from offering prayer. There also are no druids this year. But there could be next year.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
That is odd, sure enough.
There must be some exception for self-defense allowed within the dogma or they’d be useless in the military. Why would the recruiter even accept someone who applied but espoused strict non-violence ? Will they only serve in Logistics, or what ?
Now that there is a place to worship, maybe they’ll get more than just the 3 Pagans. I’m sure the Christian chapel cost much more than $80K, so they just need more Pagans enrolled to justify the cost the way the many Christians justify the cost of their chapel. Otherwise, the $80K cost is pretty ridiculous to accommodate just 3 students.
This new guy told me when he gave me the film that “he had selected me wisely, with the consultation of his church, and they had agreed to share this with me because they would not throw pearls before swine”
I was like, hoo boy! I got a live one!
But I won’t say squat unless the fellow can’t perform his job.
Of course this fellow misses something astute.
He misses that men who would build Utopia do not have the answer.
Zeitgeist reads like pure liberal propaganda.
Watch the propaganda officer in “enemys at the gate”
He come to the conclusion that Utopia/equality on earth can not be done.
He becomes jealous, and envious, even of a poor boy.
Well, I am a Jew (a real one, not a “messianic jew”) and when I was an Army cadet we went to chapel (Christian) every day. Far from demanding my own “worship center” I never would have thought of not praying with my Christian buddies. Jesus had it right: “Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there I am.”
Soon there will be mosques at Annapolis.
Point taken, when you get down to the nitty-gritty, they all have their problems resulting from the democrat party policies/culture. Rick Perry has said that he would reinstate DADT, that’s a point in Rick’s favor as far as I’m concerned because I know of no other GOP candidate who has even commented on it—correct me if I’m wrong.
Excellent point.
There is another thread on this over here with some other good background and comments:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2812774/posts?page=7
Hey, now, only 99.99% of Pagans give the rest of us a bad name.
This is why I’m a solitary practitioner. Most so-called Pagans I know use the faith as little more than a fashion accessory. If they actually cared enough about Paganism to educate themselves, they’d realize our ancient ancestors would have hacked the sh*t out of their pacifist, tree-hugging pansy arses.
and bush allowed and recognized wicca in the military
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