EVANGELISM AT THE PENTAGON

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation charged this week that military officers working at the Pentagon are risking national security by being heavy-handed with their professions of Christian faith.

The officers include four generals and three colonels, according to the foundation. Public displays of faith by those officers might give the impression that the United States is a Christian nation fighting a new Crusades, says Mikey Weinstein, president of the foundation. He called it an "internal national security issue every bit as great as the one we're fighting outwardly."

Cybercast News Service reports:

Weinstein called on incoming Defense Secretary Robert Gates to investigate a promotional video for the Christian Embassy, an organization that ministers to members of Congress, ambassadors, presidential appointees and Pentagon officials.

Christian Embassy, established in 1975, works with government leaders "not only because of their personal needs, but also because of their position as decision-makers to influence our families and freedoms," according to its website. At the Pentagon, the group holds weekly prayer meetings and Bible studies every weekday.

In the promotional video cited by Weinstein, four generals and three colonels appear wearing their uniforms. Among them is Lt. Col. Lucious Morton, who says that Christian Embassy-led Bible studies benefit the military as a whole because they create "Godly men" who will lead others into battle.

Maj. Gen. Jack Catton also appears in the video and says he shares his faith with people he meets in his office: "I start with the fact that I'm an old-fashioned American, and my first priority is my faith in God, then my family, and then my country."

Weinstein said the video raises questions about whether the officers followed military regulations that restrict appearances in uniform for non-military purposes.

We're not sure about the validity of the claim that this is a national security risk. We're more queased by the fact that the seven colonels and generals are wearing their uniforms while evangelizing for Jesus. Talk about coercion.