<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content="text/html; charset=windows-1252" http-equiv=Content-Type>
<STYLE>.hmmessage P {
PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px
}
BODY.hmmessage {
FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; FONT-SIZE: 10pt
}
</STYLE>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.18939"></HEAD>
<BODY class=hmmessage bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>K-</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>your elegant prose deserves wider reading.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Perhaps you could talk with the Daily News managing editor
Lee Rozen about publication in the paper......BL</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=kjajmix1@msn.com href="mailto:kjajmix1@msn.com">keely emerinemix</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=thansen@moscow.com
href="mailto:thansen@moscow.com">Tom Hansen</A> ; <A
title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">vision2020@moscow.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, September 06, 2010 12:14
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Vision2020] A Really Awful Week
For The Gospel</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<STYLE><!--
.hmmessage P
{
margin:0px;
padding:0px
}
body.hmmessage
{
font-size: 10pt;
font-family:Tahoma
}
--></STYLE>
<STYLE><!--
.hmmessage P
{
margin:0px;
padding:0px
}
body.hmmessage
{
font-size: 10pt;
font-family:Tahoma
}
--></STYLE>
This has been a really bad week for the Church whose Savior is Christ Jesus
and whose members, unfortunately, are behaving just atrociously.
<BR><BR>The screeching protests about an expanded Muslim Center at Ground
Zero, the vicious lie that Islam is a great religion for pedophiles, the
public Koran burnings, and the continued insistence that President Obama is a
secret, swarthy Muslim out to entrap and disable our country have been
in large part made by evangelical Christians -- the people most identified
with Jesus Christ, whether by similarity or, as is the case here, by
contrast. Evangelicals, and I am one, are considered within the Church
itself and outside of it to be those who hold most dearly to a high view of
the Bible, a personal and transforming encounter with Christ, and the
importance of bringing the Gospel to the world. The public nature of
that identity means that how we act, what we do, what we say and how we say it
is, more than any other "Christian thing," what people will link mention of
Jesus or the Gospel to. I shudder to think what decent non-believers
must think of Christianity after a week like this. <BR><BR>Those
evangelicals who screech and holler about a country threatened by "Muslim
terrorists," godless liberals, a socialist, terrorist-embracing President, and
a sentimentalist, Islam-affirming culture, and who do so as good Americans
fervently committed to the Constitution, honor neither it nor the Bible when
they try to violate the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment and the
notion of peaceful civil engagement spoken to "aliens and strangers" -- that
is, Christians, who believe we are "not of this world," but of heaven -- in
the Scriptures. Hatred of Muslims is not a Christian virtue, it's not a
civic virtue, and it's not possible among those who claim to be filled with
the Holy Spirit. If we can't engage with a culture, even a hostile
culture, in truth and love, then it's best we not engage at
all.<BR><BR>Likewise, Christians who whip up hate by tapping into the
wellspring of bigotry and anger in this country and who then claim innocence
when the floodwaters of violence and hate engulf the culture, are not only
steadfastly anti-American, but also anti-Christian. Christians who
demonize others who also call Abraham the father of their faith are guilty of
the sin of bearing false witness when they lie about Islam, and they're guilty
of malice and division when they use differences in belief to call for the
subordination of those with whom they disagree. There are certainly
parts of the Jewish Old Testament, which Christians revere as the very word of
God, that, apart from context and without proper exegesis, make my faith
appear violent, unjust, and even barbaric to those unfamiliar with God's Word
and the redemptive culmination of his purpose represented by the New Testament
Gospel. We don't appreciate being tarred as a people eager to stone
adulterers, sack foreign villages, or enslave those who owe us money, and most
of us have an answer to what the Gospel -- indeed, the Christian faith --
really entails. What possible justification is there, then, for doing
unto other faiths what we would never want them to do to ours? Can any
Christian truly envision the Apostle Paul striding into Ephesus and holding a
public burning of silver statues of the goddess Artemis? Would he whip
up a crowd to trash the philosophies of the various Greeks worshiping there
and demonize them for their belief in what Paul claimed, in reasoning
respectfully with them, was a god unknown now revealed in Christ?
<BR><BR>I am not a Muslim. I am a Christian, which means, among many
other things, that I don't hold to or believe in the doctrines of Islam.
Muslims don't believe in or hold to the doctrines of Christianity,
either. But the respectful reasoning together modeled by the Apostle can
only honor God. I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; in fact,
I would gladly die for the glory of the One it points to. But I am
ashamed of those of my brethren who have demonstrated recently not actions
born of the Spirit of God but of the spirit of this fallen world, and I grieve
at the damage they've done -- to the Muslim people, to the President, to civil
engagement in our culture, and, mostly, to the testimony of what Christianity
really is. I apologize, with all my heart, for the ugliness displayed in
Christ's name. <BR><BR>And who am I to apologize? No one, really,
except for one woman who has made many mistakes in her own testimony for
Christ. That doesn't relieve me of, or excuse me from, the burden to
offer something better . . . and I can't try to offer something better without
pointing out that what's being offered now is really, really, awful.
<BR><BR>I'm so sorry for it all.<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>I don't see them, but
there may well be valid reasons to object to the expansion of a Muslim
community center on privately-owned land near Ground Zero. That's not
the point here; legitimate debate requires that debaters not lie, scream, and
stoop to falsehood and bigotry -- the lowest common denominator of American
political rhetoric<BR><BR><FONT color=#8064a2><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"
size=3><FONT
face=Verdana>Keely<BR>www.keely-prevailingwinds.com<BR></FONT></FONT></FONT><BR><BR><BR><BR>
<HR id=stopSpelling>
From: debismith@moscow.com<BR>To: thansen@moscow.com;
vision2020@moscow.com<BR>Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 21:01:06 -0500<BR>Subject: Re:
[Vision2020] Soldiers Allege Punishment Over Christian Concert<BR><BR>
<META name=Generator content="Microsoft SafeHTML">
<STYLE>
.ExternalClass .ecxshape
{;}
</STYLE>
<STYLE>
.ExternalClass p.ecxMsoNormal, .ExternalClass li.ecxMsoNormal, .ExternalClass div.ecxMsoNormal
{margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:'Calibri','sans-serif';}
.ExternalClass a:link, .ExternalClass span.ecxMsoHyperlink
{color:blue;text-decoration:underline;}
.ExternalClass a:visited, .ExternalClass span.ecxMsoHyperlinkFollowed
{color:purple;text-decoration:underline;}
.ExternalClass p.ecxMsoAcetate, .ExternalClass li.ecxMsoAcetate, .ExternalClass div.ecxMsoAcetate
{margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-size:8.0pt;font-family:'Tahoma','sans-serif';}
.ExternalClass span.ecxEmailStyle17
{font-family:'Calibri','sans-serif';color:windowtext;}
.ExternalClass span.ecxmaintitle1
{font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';color:black;font-weight:bold;}
.ExternalClass span.ecxsubtitle1
{font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-weight:bold;}
.ExternalClass span.ecxabody2
{font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';color:black;}
.ExternalClass span.ecxBalloonTextChar
{font-family:'Tahoma','sans-serif';}
.ExternalClass .ecxMsoChpDefault
{;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;}
.ExternalClass div.ecxWordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
</STYLE>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial><STRONG>This is shameful, but hardly
surprising</STRONG>. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Given the enormous swing to the religious right
in the US, the military will be heavily inhabited by those who espouse
Fundamentalist views. The military has long been using training videos which
are odious in their portrayal of non-Christians as the "<EM>enemy";</EM>
forced prayer is not uncommon, and Muslims, Athiests, Wiccans, and Buddhists
have all been targeted in some units for being <U>"un-American</U>". <EM>Don't
Ask Don't Tell</EM> may be repealed someday, but the beat goes on. Some group
<STRONG>must</STRONG> be the "outsiders", and the military always
uses this in order to utilize it as the(outdated) means of gaining
loyalty in the ranks.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>When a nation which was founded to counter
enforced religion then begins to enforce religion through its military, we
have a serious problem. Of course, this is likely to go unaddressed as the
Glen Becks, Sarah Palins, and Rush Limbaughs continue unchallenged to spew
their vilification of anyone who is not white, born again, and wealthy. Unless
the "left" gets off their collective duffs and begins to fight back, this
country is on its merry way to becoming a theocracy..........</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Debi R-S</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: rgb(228,228,228)"><B>From:</B> <A
title=thansen@moscow.com href="mailto:thansen@moscow.com">Tom Hansen</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">Moscow Vision 2020</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, August 30, 2010 5:32
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Vision2020] Soldiers Allege
Punishment Over Christian Concert</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxWordSection1>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal>Courtesy of the Army Times at:</P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal> </P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><A href="http://www.ArmyTimes.com"
target=_blank>http://www.ArmyTimes.com</A></P>
<DIV
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 1pt solid; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 1pt; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in">
<P
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in"
class=ecxMsoNormal> </P></DIV>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal> </P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN class=ecxmaintitle1><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Soldiers allege punishment over Christian
concert</SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=ecxsubtitle1> </SPAN><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><BR><BR><SPAN
class=ecxsubtitle1>Army officials launch inquiry</SPAN></SPAN></B><BR><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 9.5pt"><BR><SPAN
class=ecxabody2>The Army is investigating alle­gations that soldiers
were pres­sured to attend a Christian con­cert — and punished when
they refused.</SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN class=ecxabody2>Pvt. Anthony Smith says he
was one of 80 soldiers in Advanced Individual Training at Fort Eustis, Va.,
who were punished for opting not to attend a Christian rock con­cert on
post. The soldiers were confined to their barracks, ordered to clean and
were barred from using cell phones and other elec­tronics, according to
Smith and another soldier who has asked to remain
anonymous.</SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN class=ecxabody2>The Army is conducting an
investigation into the incident, ordered by Lt. Gen. John E. “Jack”
Sterling, Training and Doctrine Command chief of staff, TRADOC spokesman
Harvey Perritt said. Perritt and a Fort Eustis spokesman declined to offer
details while the investigation continues.</SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN
class=ecxabody2>Col. Thomas Collins, an Army spokesman at the Pentagon, said
the military should not impose religious views on
soldiers.</SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN class=ecxabody2>“It’s not a problem to hold a
Christian rock concert on an Army post; it’s a problem if soldiers who
didn’t want to attend were com­pelled to attend or feel punished for not
attending,” he said. “That is not consistent with Army poli­cy.” Smith
said he believes his spiri­tual life should remain
private.</SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN class=ecxabody2>“The religion thing being
shoved down my throat is really something that doesn’t work for me,” said
Smith, now in Arizona with the 640th Aviation Support Battalion. “As far as
what I believe, I believe there’s some­thing out there, but it’s a
really personal thing with me. If I have a relationship with God or that
entity, it is not anybody’s busi­ness, ever.” BarlowGirl, the Christian
rock­ers who played at Eustis as part of a Commanding General’s
Spiritu­al Fitness Concert Series, describe themselves on their website
as “tender-hearted, beautiful young women who aren’t afraid to take an
aggressive, almost warrior-like stance when it comes to spreading the gospel
and serving God.” The Military Religious Freedom Foundation is readying a
federal lawsuit, according to its founder, Mikey Weinstein. He blasted the
commander who originated the concerts as a “walking neon sign of Defense
Department-sanctioned, ignominious fundamentalist Christian supremacy and
excep­tionalism.” On the evening of May 13, Smith was with A Company,
1st Battalion, 222nd Aviation Regi­ment, which was in training at the
Army Aviation Logistics School. The student leader and the duty
noncommissioned officer, a first sergeant, assembled the company in
formation and marched it to the mess hall for dinner. After dinner, the unit
was marched to the parking lot just outside the concert
venue.</SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN class=ecxabody2>“As soon as they told us we were
marching to chow because we were going to this concert togeth­er, people
started to f---ing freak out, people started to get angry,” Smith said.
“There were several Muslims in the company, and peo­ple started getting
upset right away.” Smith said A Company appeared to be the only group
entering the concert as a unit.</SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN class=ecxabody2>Outside
the venue, the troops were asked to split into two groups, those attending
and those who would not. Smith and the oth­ers who opted out were
marched to the barracks, where they were placed on “lockdown,” their
activi­ties were restricted until the con­cert
ended.</SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN class=ecxabody2>“Anybody in the military will
tell you that lockdown is a form of punishment,” Smith said. “When we don’t
want to go to this concert and we’re not allowed to use our laptops or our
cell phones or music, we’re not allowed to be sit­ting in our beds —
that’s a form of punishment.” Smith and eight other soldiers attempted to
file a complaint with a succession of Equal Opportunity officials in their
chain of com­mand.</SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN class=ecxabody2>Smith said as he
went through the ranks, each official tried to dis­suade him from filing
a formal complaint, and all but one of the soldiers who first complained
with him backed off.</SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN class=ecxabody2>Smith said he spoke
with the company commander, who told him he took responsibility for
directing the first sergeant to send the unit to the
concert.</SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN class=ecxabody2>Smith and the other soldier,
who asked not to be identified, said they would be willing to join the
planned federal lawsuit. Neither said they want to see soldiers
pun­ished; Smith said he wants sol­diers to “know and understand”
why he and the other soldiers were wronged.</SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN
class=ecxabody2>“I want to help other people; I don’t think that anyone
should have to feel this,” Smith said. “I think that somebody should look
into these spiritual fitness events because I’m pretty sure all of them are
Christian. I guarantee I can’t go to an Army base and see a Mus­lim rock
concert described as spir­itual fitness.” Both soldiers said the
incident has changed their view of the Army and the country. The soldier
speaking anonymously about the incident said he fears people who are
irreligious by choice are no longer tolerated.</SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN
class=ecxabody2>“We have mob rule, where it is purely Christian in every
direc­tion,” he said. “For someone like me, you feel surrounded.” Brig.
Gen. Brian R. Layer, who was the commanding general of the Army
Transportation School at Fort Eustis during the May inci­dent, inherited
the spiritual fit­ness concert series from Maj. Gen. James E. Chambers.
A professed born-again Christian, Chambers went on to Fort Lee, Va., and in
April became director for logistics at Central Command, MacDill Air Force
Base, Fla.</SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN class=ecxabody2>As head of Army Combined Arms
Support Command at Fort Lee, Chambers duplicated the series, telling a post
newspaper in 2008, “The idea is not to be a pro­ponent for any one
religion ... It’s to have a mix of different perform­ers with different
backgrounds.” Between 2007 and 2009, the Army paid $125,000 to a booking
agency for Christian performers for events at Fort Lee and Fort Eustis,
according to <A href="http://xn--usaspending-.gov"
target=_blank>USAspend­ing.gov</A>, a searchable database of federal
spending. The contractor was Indiana-based Street Level Artist
Agency.</SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN class=ecxabody2>Several performers who were
publicized in the post newspaper and played at Eustis in recent months all
advertised themselves as conveying a Christian message: Mark Schultz, Josh
Wilson, the Micah Watson Band, Brandishing Steel, True Liberty, Alathea,
Phil Keaggy, SonicFlood and Barlow-Girl.</SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN
class=ecxabody2>Lauren Barlow, a band member, said in her Twitter feed Aug.
21 that the band “knew nothing at all about soldiers being forced to go to
our show.” A federal lawsuit by Military Religious Freedom Foundation would
be the third in a series it has undertaken against the Army over the last
few years. The two prior lawsuits, which took aim at alleged proselytizing
by members of the armed forces, were dismissed.</SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN
class=ecxabody2>In January, a federal judge in Kansas dismissed Spc. Dustin
Chalker and the foundation’s law­suit against the Defense
Depart­ment, ruling Chalker failed to exhaust all available remedies
before filing suit.</SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN class=ecxabody2>Chalker claimed his
rights were violated when he was compelled to attend military events at Fort
Riley, Kan., where prayers were made without regard to his status as an
atheist.</SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN class=ecxabody2>Also in 2008, a voluntary
dis­missal was filed in a federal law­suit in which Spc. Jeremy Hall
alleged he was harassed and dis­criminated against because he is an
atheist.</SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN class=ecxabody2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9.5pt"></SPAN></SPAN> </P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal>------------------</P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal> </P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN class=ecxabody2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9.5pt">The Christian rock band BarlowGirl was performing
in concert at Fort Eustis, Va., when some soldiers protested that they were
punished for deciding not to attend.</SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN class=ecxabody2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9.5pt"></SPAN></SPAN> </P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><IMG id=ecxPicture_x0020_0 border=0
alt=ChristianBand_BarlowGirl.jpg src="" width=584 height=397></P>
<DIV
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 1pt solid; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 1pt; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in">
<P
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in"
class=ecxMsoNormal> </P></DIV>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal> </P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal>In my twenty years of Army service I had never
experienced anything even remotely similar to this allegation.</P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal> </P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal>But then I retired back in 1989, long before
enlistment criteria was tragically weakened.</P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal> </P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal>Seeya round town, Moscow.</P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal> </P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal>Tom Hansen</P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal>Moscow, Idaho</P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal> </P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">"Patriotism is not a short and
frenzied outburst of emotion but the tranquil and steady dedication of a
lifetime."</SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"></SPAN> </P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">--
Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr.</SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal> </P></DIV><BR>
<HR>
<BR>=======================================================<BR> List
services made available by First Step Internet, <BR> serving the
communities of the Palouse since 1994.
<BR>
http://www.fsr.net
<BR>
mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com<BR>=======================================================</BLOCKQUOTE><BR>=======================================================
List services made available by First Step Internet, serving the communities
of the Palouse since 1994. http://www.fsr.net mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com
=======================================================
<P>
<HR>
<P></P>=======================================================<BR> List
services made available by First Step Internet, <BR> serving the
communities of the Palouse since 1994.
<BR>
http://www.fsr.net
<BR>
mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com<BR>=======================================================</BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>