[Pat Robertson loses his shit when the Air Force no longer requires recruits say "So help me God" when swearing oath]
TV preacher Pat Robertson lashed out at a “Jewish radical” on Thursday who he said was responsible for God being removed from the Air Force oath.
The Air Force announced on Thursday that the words “so help me God” were an optional part of the oath after an atheist airman crossed out the words on his reenlistment paperwork. Military officials had initially refused to accept the paperwork, but Department of Defense General Counsel eventually ruled that the words could be omitted.
Although the American Humanist Association had represented the airman, Robertson on Thursday blamed Military Religious Freedom Foundation President Mikey Weinstein for the movement against religion in the armed services.
“There’s a left-wing radical named Mikey Weinstein who has got a group about people against religion or whatever he calls it, and he has just terrorized the armed forces,” Robertson opined. “You think you’re supposed to be tough, you’re supposed to defend us, and you got one little Jewish radical who is scaring the pants off of you.”
“You want these guys flying the airplanes to defend us when you got one little guy terrorizing them?” he asked. “That’s what it amounts to.”
34 comments
So they repealed that rule in the end, huh?
This has been bugging me about this whole "issue": -Why do you need to believe in a deity that forbids you from killing, in order to be a soldier and kill people?
Could you American commenters shed a little light my way?
Not everyone in your job will share the same religious or political views, so a soldier would have to be paranoid if they fear an atheist's loyalty, due to their lack of belief.
If would-be recruits are scared, or should I say terrorised (LOL!), by someone because of this, then perhaps they shouldn't join the military.
Why do you hate Traditional American Values?
Also, why do we need an airforce if the giant man with a long white beard who lives on clouds is on our side? I mean, he's already up there in the air.
The most powerful military in the world is terrorized” because one guy doesn’t want to say four short words
Pat doesn’t have a high opinion of American soldiers, does he?
(Please substitute soldier with airmen/sailors/marines/whatever is appropriate.)
As much as I think it's not a huge deal to say "God", I have to wonder why it's necessary. I'm not one of those people suing over "under God" being in the pledge because ultimately, that has no power over me. That being said, I don't understand why theists flip a shit when someone who doesn't even share their beliefs simply omits it.
I thought faith was the most important thing, but what you're recommending is arbitrary conformity. You've turned your religion into nothing more than a set of cultural norms. What's more offensive? An atheist being honest and admitting he does not believe he should be swearing allegiance to a god he doesn't believe in or making it so Christianity boils down to nothing more than forced conformity, stripping out the spirituality of it in the process. I thought Christians were supposed to be special but apparently you think they're nothing but more willing followers of cultural etiquette.
OK Pat,
You are aware that it is engineering and pilot skills that keep an aircraft in the air don't you? I wouldn't normally point this out to anyone, but in your case you actually appear to be dumb enough to not realise that it is this, and not an appeal to an invisible man, that allows us to function. Just sayin'...
you’re supposed to defend us
They do defend us, Pat. The "Jewish radical" and the atheist airman are also us.
What Pat doesn't realize is that Mr. Weinstein started the Military Religious Freedom Foundation after attending the Air Force Academy and being constantly barraged with Jesus.
And what Pat also doesn't realize (or doesn't care) is that nobody's taking their Jesus away. They're just making PUBLIC institutions supported by PUBLIC tax dollars all-inclusive so that it's not a publicly-funded Christian club any more.
@ Grimsoncrow:
This has been bugging me about this whole "issue": -Why do you need to believe in a deity that forbids you from killing, in order to be a soldier and kill people?
Could you American commenters shed a little light my way?
Because apparently it's OK to kill people when God tells you to do it. And since God is an American (and Republican), our military is doing his will.
@dionysus
That being said, I don't understand why theists flip a shit when someone who doesn't even share their beliefs simply omits it.
There are several reasons, but mainly because Christians see themselves losing a little bit more power when everyone isn't forced to acknowledge their god. And when they lose a little power, they turn it around into "Christian persecution" and claim that a few godless atheists are at first taking God out of everything, and then as they get more hysterical claim that their rights to worship are being taken away. Yes, they actually think they have a right to force Christianity into government and onto everyone else.
TV preacher Pat Robertson lashed out at a “Jewish radical” on Thursday who he said was responsible for God being removed from the Air Force oath.
So you think Jesus is being horri...oh wait, you mean another Jewish radical.
I don't get how this ever became an issue. When I joined the USAF back in '06, I was told the 'so help me God' part of the Oath of Enlistment was optional. A couple people in my group didn't say it, and they still got to enlist just like everyone else. Did they make it mandatory for a short time? If so, why does anybody flip their lid if they only put the rule back the way it was?
"But I say to you, Do not swear at all ... Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil." (Matt 5:34-37)
Jesus didn't seem to think much of swearing "so help me God", either.
“You want these guys flying the airplanes to defend us when you got one little guy terrorizing them?”
An atheist named Ted Williams did it with thousands of Japanese around him. But hey, after you hit .406 for a season, you're pretty well God.
image
Also....
Hey, Pat! Are you aware that you supposedly WORSHIP a Jewish radical.
If Weinstein's a radical for upholding the First Amendment, then I'll eat my toes.
Imagine that! People not being forced to recite an oath with religious connotations in order to defend their country!
Lets see, what kind of country would require such a thing? Iran, maybe. Or any other theocratic fascists state!
Get over it Robertson! Not everyone is a Christian or believes in god. Those people should not be forced to pretend or swear an oath that includes something that they do not agree with.
One more thing. How's the blood diamond business going you piece of shit?
You want these guys flying the airplanes to defend us
It's a well known fact that Jesus' dream as a young boy was to become an Air Force pilot and fly around dropping bombs on people. He was very upset that airplanes and bombs hadn't been invented by the time he was crucified.
You have no right to dictate anything to any military personnel, Robertson. The only ones "terrorizing" the military, other than the actual terrorists whom they fight, are the religious radicals making their life more hellish by forcing their bullshit regulations on them. The last thing soldiers need is one more chore to do on Sunday mornings.
Pat, if it weren't for a little Jewish radical 2,000 years ago, now you would probably worship Norse or Roman gods. Although I think you would still be an arch-bigot.
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
To post a comment, you'll need to Sign in or Register . Making an account also allows you to claim credit for submitting quotes, and to vote on quotes and comments. You don't even need to give us your email address.
