Wounded Soldiers’ Families Denied the Right to Bring Them Bibles

By: American Decency Staff

By:  Chris Johnson We hear stories all the time about politically correct censorship. We know that ACLU lawyers get out of bed in the morning to ensure that there are no crosses in the range of the public eye. We hear about people in California who can't have a home Bible study without the city's permission. Or a valedictorian whose mic gets cut in the middle of her prayer at her graduation ceremony. We hear these stories all that time and they are tragic and ridiculous and horribly revealing of our postmodern culture. But I think the worst yet comes out of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Walter Reed Chief of Staff C.W. Callahan released a policy memo on September 14th which included the statement that, “No religious items (i.e. Bibles, reading material, and/or artifacts) are allowed to be given away or used during a visit.â€Â Fortunately, with the influence of Congressman Steve King, the military hospital decided to rescind this policy; but what does it say about our "politically correct" culture that such a policy was ever dreamed up, let alone implemented, if only temporarily? The fact remains that, for a time, it was the policy of our foremost military hospital to not allow a family to bring their loved one a Bible or a devotion that they thought would be a blessing in what will probably be their greatest hour of need for such materials. As Congressman King explained before Congress, “That means you can’t bring in a Bible and read from it when you visit your son or your daughter, perhaps – or your wife or husband,â€Â King said. “It means a priest that might be coming in to visit someone on their death bed couldn’t bring in the Eucharist, couldn’t offer Last Rites. This is the most outrageous affront.â€Â Rep. King also said that it was a marker as to the mindset of the leadership. “I don’t think there’s any excuse for it and there’s no talking it away. The very existence of this, whether it’s enforced or not, tells you what kind of a mindset is there. The idea that these soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines that have fought to defend our Constitution, and that includes our First Amendment rights to religious liberty –would be denied that religious liberty when they are lying in a hospital bed recovering from wounds incurred while defending that liberty is the most bitter and offensive type of an irony that I can think of.â€Â A hospital spokeswoman nonetheless did try to explain it away, “The instructions about the Bibles and reading material have been rescinded,â€Â said Sandy Dean, “It will be written to articulate our initial intention which was to respect religious and cultural practices of our patients.â€Â How could it possibly be considered respectful to blockade religious materials brought to comfort the troops? Banning religious materials is the opposite of religious freedom. This is further evidence that, in spite of the First Amendment and its prohibition of "an establishment of religion," the government continues to enforce atheism in its organizations. ========================================================== Your support is important to our ability to make a difference. Donate online at: https://secure4.afo.net/ada/donate.php American Decency Association is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. American Decency Association Bill Johnson, President P.O. Box 202 Fremont, MI 49412 ph: 231-924-4050 www.americandecency.org http://www.twitter.com/billwjohnson

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