"Her commanding officer told her to take down the Bible verse, calling it a profanity that we will not repeat here...."
Posted on 06/24/2015 6:54:31 AM PDT by Maudeen
Received the following this morning in an e-mail
Court Martialed for Bible Verse
"A Christian woman in the military has been court martialed for her faith. Marine Lance Corporal Sterling was convicted over a Bible verse. She placed the verse, "No weapon formed against me shall prosper," (Isaiah 54:17) on her desk. Her commanding officer told her to take down the Bible verse, calling it a profanity that we will not repeat here. When she refused to comply with this unbelievably unlawful order, the officer threw the verse in the trash and had her court martialed. Even worse, the court held that a Bible verse isn't protected "religious exercise." It's not only absurd; it's dangerous for religious liberty in the military. Now the case is in federal appeals court, and we're fighting back. In just days, we're preparing to file a critical amicus brief to aggressively defend the religious liberty of those who defend our freedoms. We're representing key Members of Congress, and we need you to join us."
Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel, American Center for Law and Justice
I’m afraid that whatever qualifies as “military leadership” at ANY AND ALL LEVELS is enemy territory now.
Sign the petition.
http://aclj.org/religious-liberty/defend-christians-in-the-military-from-anti-christian-attacks
You beat me to it! I just signed and was going to post the url.
I have been a contributor to the ACLJ for several years. This case is a prime reason why. I would be willing to bet my mortgage that her commanding officer demanding the verse be removed is a homosexual. It should be very clear to everyone that Christianity and Homosexuality cannot coexist. Too bad for them, we know which will be standing at the end.
I admire the woman for her faith. But she posted the verse on her desk. That was her work station. Her commander had every right to order it to be removed.
As long as her commander enforced workplace rules uniformly, I really don’t see any civil rights violation here.
Not a thread hijack...
Just a warning.
The U.S. military will fire upon civilians. More so now than before.
Trust me.
5.56mm
The military, acting on orders from presidents, (Bush and 0bama) deliberately and intentionally overlooked the actions of a certain Major, who then murdered fellow soldiers.
The same military now arrests a soldier for displaying a Christian bible verse.
Is there any institution in the country that has not been taken over by the radical left?
Aclj is very good, Liberty Counsel is tremendously good.
"Her commanding officer told her to take down the Bible verse, calling it a profanity that we will not repeat here...."
No, I don’t either. Although the verse is harmless and actually in line with the attitude that surrounded me as a young Marine in the early 70s, the order to remove it from her duty station is not out of line. It was a legal order as far as I can see.
How the commander may have handled the situation is questionable and should lead to charges against him/her as well.
She was not court-martialed for “her faith”, she was court-martialed for disobeying a direct order, numerous times.
Just because NCO’s and officers don’t understand all of the damned nuances that are in the military now, doesn’t mean those who gave her the orders are homosexual either.
She chose a molehill to die on instead of seeking legal advice and then coming back to not only educate and edify, but to win.
There’s a process, sometimes a painful one, but a process nonetheless. I’m sure there are many who would/could have helped her, but once she disobeyed a direct order, none are going to jump on that boat.
Related post from last month...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3293784/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3293784/posts?page=56#56
First, there is MUCH more to this story than just the Bible verse.
But, to your point, other Marines had Christian decorations on their desks, but this Marine was PROHIBITED, by the presiding judge, from mentioning that other people had Christian displays on their workstations.
So, I think from that angle, she may have an argument.
The ACLJ is barking up the wrong tree, as multiple others have already pointed out, by trying to structure this as a denial of her faith. She brought it on herself by refusing to follow orders. There is no 1st Amendment in the UCMJ and that Dishonorable Discharge is going to leave a long-lasting mark on her life.
I wonder why the article doesn’t mention the court martial was probably for disobeying a direct order from a superior and not the bible quote. The only reason for the discussion about the quote would be to determine if it had been an illegal order.
That said, I do doubt if they want Christians in the military, these days.
That's very interesting. Why would that be?
But, to your point, other Marines had Christian decorations on their desks
if that is the case, then the commanding officer is vulnerable to the charge of inconsistent workplace discipline, and the case is completely different than that detailed above...
we need to know more in order to formulate a proper reaction...
The commander should not have used profanity and should be charged.
But the workplace is under his command if NO personal signs are allowed then the policy was fair if ANY other signs were permitted then it was religious discrimination.
I do often wonder how many people would rush to the defense of a soldiers religious freedom if that same sign had been
Sahih Muslim, 1:149
“To believe in Allah and to fight for His Cause.”
allah is satan
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