My husband is a Marine Veteran and a Priest. Last night I finally got some free time to tell him about the most recent MRFF Diary. In Case You Missed It:
Wounded Warrior Battalion to be healed by Jesus
Now, it may seem odd that I am an atheist and my husband is a priest. But in addition to truly loving each other we also respect each other’s beliefs or lack thereof. When he heard about what happened with the Colonel basically performing a faith healing at a mandatory meeting he was a bit confused. He was a Chaplain candidate in the military for period of time, and he knows the rules. That kind of thing is not permitted. He wondered how that could happen because he knows that there are at least two Chaplains on base, and whenever there is any meeting where a prayer is being said there is or should be a Chaplain present. According to my husband if there were a Chaplain present the Chaplain would have put a stop to the “Faith Healing” immediately. He knows that if he were there it would not have been allowed to continue. His only conclusion is that this was not an approved religious event and that no Chaplain was at the event.
My thoughts on the situation were a bit more confrontational. I thought about it and thought that if I had been there, after the Colonel had said "You can be healed by faith in Jesus." I would let out a nice loud HAIL SATAN. I would then continue to say HAIL SATAN every time Jesus was mentioned. Now, I had my own reasoning for this type of outburst, but when I told my husband what I would have done, he paused for a second. I could tell that he was uncomfortable with that approach, but then he recalled that outbursts during prayers are allowed. People often say “Amen” or “Praise Jesus” or other, and according to my husband this is what they are officially called, ejaculations. According to my husband, Chaplains in the military fought a long and hard battle to have these types of verbal releases or ejaculations permitted and allowed. Since, I would have claimed to have converted to Satanism, my first amendment rights to let out a nice loud HAIL SATAN would be protected speech and since it was said during what was obviously a prayer, there is nothing anyone could have done about it. In my mind that would have really put a damper on the Colonels prayer and probably would have pissed him off. But if I were there I would have been pissed off for having to attend a mandatory faith healing. I guess I am just a bit more of a confrontational person when it comes to others forcing their faith on me.
I guess what is needed is a few more Satanists to stand up and verbally let out a nice loud Hail Satan when they are forced to attend a religious event that specifies Jesus is the lord and savior during a prayer. At the very least it would remind them that Christianity is not the only religion in our military. With any luck it might make them think twice about making prayers mandatory attendance.
Of course, thank DOG for Mikey Weinstein and the MRFF – You go boy! I love your work!