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The Truth About General Boykin’s Comments on Islam
By Paul Strand
Washington Sr. Correspondent
October 30, 2003

Chuck Holton, a former Army Ranger who has covered adventure stories for CBN, recently heard Boykin at a church service in Maryland. Holton served under Boykin in Somalia.

CBN.com – WASHINGTON, D.C. — Lieutenant General William Boykin is under siege for comments he made during speeches at various churches. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have criticized the decorated combat veteran for alluding to the war on terror as a religious struggle. Even the President has distanced himself from Boykin.

But Boykin's defenders say the General's comments have been taken out of context. To find out what all the fuss is about, CBN News decided to take a closer look at General William Boykin and the comments that have gotten him into so much trouble.

Critics blast Boykin for saying God picked George W. Bush to be President, for stating we are in a war of good versus evil with Satan backing the terrorists, and for saying radical Muslims hate America because it is a nation of believers.

Chuck Holton, a former Army Ranger who has covered adventure stories for CBN, recently heard Boykin at a church service in Maryland. Holton served under Boykin in Somalia.

"He's one of the most highly-decorated soldiers in the military today, and has been in every conflict known and unknown since Desert One back in 1979," Holton said.

Holton brought us an audio copy of Boykin's sermon. Here is what the General says, in context, about America being a nation of believers and a backer of Israel:

"Why do they hate us so much? I will tell you this. This is my own personal belief. One of the most fundamental reasons they hate us is (a) because we are a nation of believers, and (b) because we support Israel. Now, if you don't believe that this nation was founded on Christian beliefs, Christian values, then go back and read the writings and the orations of the founders of this nation, read what they said. Every man that signed the Constitution of the United States was of the Christian faith."

Holton said, "And he made it very clear by specifically saying that what he was talking about was his own personal beliefs. He was not speaking for the military or for the government or anything like that."

As for Boykin's comment that God picked Bush to be President, here's why the General says that:

"This is not a political speech. I am in fact apolitical. But why is George W. Bush in the White House? …You must recognize that we as Americans saw a miracle unfold with the election of George W. Bush. Whether you voted for him or not is irrelevant. The fact is he is there today not only to lead America, but to lead the world, and that is what he is doing. Where does he start his day? He starts his day in the Oval Office at 4:30 with a Bible in his hand."

The media has insinuated that Boykin is saying America's military is God's army and that the radical Muslims are Satan's army. But hearing him in context, it becomes clear what Boykin sees as God's army is Christians on their knees praying for the Lord's mercy and His will.

And does Boykin state radical Muslims are Satanic, like the media has suggested? Here is what the General actually says about the likes of Osama bin Laden:

"We as Americans, we as Christians, need to understand that that's not the enemy that America's up against. In fact, the enemy that we're up against is called the principality of darkness, he's called Satan. We are in fact in a spiritual battle, ladies and gentlemen, more than we are in a physical battle."

And even if Boykin does imply we are in a religious war, Holton said, "The extreme element in Islam has no question that this is a war of religion, that this is a religious war. It is only the United States that has attempted to not be inflammatory in its rhetoric. And there was nothing in the speech that I heard General Boykin give that was inflammatory towards Muslims at any point."

Source:
CBN report on Boykin Speech