Beautiful People: Part 1
mac...@mindspring.com
By Kim Sue Lia Perkes, American-Statesman Staff, June 10, 1999
A group of politically influential conservative religious organizations
told Christians on Wednesday to boycott joining or re-enlisting in the
U.S. Army until it bans witchcraft rituals on posts.
"Until the Army withdraws all official support and approval from
witchcraft, no Christian should enlist or re-enlist in the Army, and
Christian parents should not allow their children to join the Army,"
said Paul M. Weyrich, president of the Free Congress Association, one of
the organizations calling for the boycott. "An Army that sponsors
satanic rituals is unworthy of representing the United States of
America."
Among the 13 groups calling for the boycott are such familiar names as
the Christian Coalition, Traditional Values Coalition, Christian Action
Network and the American Family Association. The Christian Coalition
alone boasts 2.1 million members.
Pentagon officials -- busy because of the Yugoslavia peace accord signed
Wednesday -- were unavailable for comment.
The controversy over military approval allowing followers of Wicca -- a
nature worship that claims roots in pre-Christian Europe and does not
believe in Satan -- to practice their rituals on installations erupted
after an Austin American-Statesman story last month about witches on the
nation's largest military installation, Fort Hood in Killeen.
Fort Hood officials, faced with a congressman's demand that Wicca
rituals be banned, said last month that the practices would be allowed
to continue.
Fort Hood sanctioned Wicca three years ago by providing space for
rituals, and Wiccan groups now are springing up on U.S. military bases
worldwide.
Subsequent reports by other media have focused on the Army, which is why
the conservative religious groups are boycotting that branch, according
to the Free Congress Foundation.
The religious groups also are lobbying the Army to change its handbook
for chaplains, which lists the Church of Satan among alternative
religious groups that could be sanctioned to practice on military posts.
"The official approval of Satanism and witchcraft by the Army is a
direct assault on the Christian faith that generations of American
soldiers have fought and died for," Weyrich said.
John Machate, coordinator for the Military Pagan Network, called the
boycott "a direct attack on the Constitution of the United States."
One of the country's most sacred tenets is the First Amendment, which
guarantees the freedom of speech and religion, Machate said.
"All religions are protected, not just those that Congress, the
president or Supreme Court determine," he said. "All religions are and
should be permitted free practice on military bases, within reasonable
limits."
According to the pagan network, a national civil rights organization for
pagans, at least six military installations allow witches to practice
their rituals.
Thirteen installations and two Navy ships are home to Wiccan study
groups.
Several other groups on bases worldwide are in the process of getting
formal approval to practice their faith.
At Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio -- the Air Force's only basic
training base -- about 100 recruits and personnel attend a weekly Wiccan
study group.
Soon after the American-Statesman story, U.S. Rep. Bob Barr, R-Ga.,
called for banning Wicca from military installations.
Barr attempted, but failed, to attach an amendment dealing with the
issue on to the U.S. Department of Defense budget. Barr has called the
practice of witchcraft on bases "nonsense."
In Georgia, Warner Robins Air Force Base near Macon permits a monthly
discussion group for pagans.
Rev. Carroll D. Kraston
>UNTIL ARMY REJECTS WICCA, 13 GROUPS CALL FOR BOYCOTT
>By Kim Sue Lia Perkes, American-Statesman Staff, June 10, 1999
>
>A group of politically influential conservative religious organizations
>told Christians on Wednesday to boycott joining or re-enlisting in the
>U.S. Army until it bans witchcraft rituals on posts.
>
>"Until the Army withdraws all official support and approval from
>witchcraft, no Christian should enlist or re-enlist in the Army, and
>Christian parents should not allow their children to join the Army,"
>said Paul M. Weyrich, president of the Free Congress Association, one of
>the organizations calling for the boycott. "An Army that sponsors
>satanic rituals is unworthy of representing the United States of
>America."
>
Good GAWD!
These people will find ANYTHING to bitch about!
*raGdoLL*
>"An Army that sponsors
>satanic rituals is unworthy of representing the United States of
>America."
wow, that's kind of... really stupid, considering that Wiccans don't believe
in any form of supreme evil being...
>"The official approval of Satanism and witchcraft by the Army is a
>direct assault on the Christian faith that generations of American
>soldiers have fought and died for," Weyrich said.
mmm? refresh my mind, please. what was the last full scale religious war
fought in america? come now. people are fucking ridiculous. it'd be rather
funny if the "alternative religions" section of the military boycotted until
the army discontinued the allowance of space to practice christianity.
except... they're not quite that stupid.
i don't think religion has a place there, anyway- imho, it should be
practiced privately, but i highly commend the military for allowing pagans
equal rights... we're making progress.
*raGdoLL*
wanna go to the circus?
Ryan Huston
[article about boycott snipped]
:Good GAWD!>These people will find> ANYTHING to bitch about!
Hey, maybe their boycott of the Army is a good thing. After all,
anything that keeps fundies away from guns, tanks, and artillery can't
be THAT bad.
-Ryan
http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/Strasse/7827/
"Wickedness is a myth invented by good people to account for the curious
attractiveness of others" - Oscar Wilde