From Justin Griffith...
Rock Beyond Belief is a festival that I am organizing on Fort Bragg. It is for soldiers, their families and the general public. This event is partially in response to the offensive Rock the Fort events at Fort Bragg and across the nation. Rock the Fort is a radical evangelical Christian group with the stated goal of converting as many military members as possible, and is funded by Billy Graham Evangelical Association. They bragged about 'saving' 200 soldiers on stage at one event last year and 500 at another. There is a lot more to this story, if you want to read more check this post out: Rock The Fort revisited
We are endorsed by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), American Atheists, and the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers (MAAF). We are close to securing major funding from a few sources that wish to remain anonymous for now. We are also going to have the full support of the Fort Bragg MWR*, for logistics and event-related funding.
On a personal note, I'm a little worried about my career, but if nobody stands up to the overwhelming religious extremism in our military, the problem will continue to get worse and worse. I really believe in the cause, and I hope it will help to get people to stop repeating the offensive myth "there are no atheists in foxholes."
Please check our website for more information. http://rockbeyondbelief.com/
*Fort Bragg's MWR is going to be evaluating likely attendee's through various methods. Of course, we will be adding more big-name entertainers, which will help. But they are requiring a '2,500+ expected attendance'
Even if you can't attend for whatever reason, simply going to the link and clicking 'like' will help us prove that there is interest in the event
I'm a Jewish service member, not an Atheist, but I've been seeing this problem grow bigger and bigger. There are many denominations of faith (and non-faith) in the military, and most meet in private and respect the beliefs of others, or at least are respectful enough to shut up when no one solicits their opinion.
ReplyDeleteThe evangelicals are an insidious cancer on the military, especially because so few people see the harm in letting them have their way. I commend Justin for standing up and saying "enough is enough".
As an Army leader, I would never impede someone's right to worship (or not worship) as long as it didn't impact the mission, nor would I force my beliefs on anyone else. If any readers here are also Army leaders, are they man or woman enough to make the same pledge?
@Cognoramus:
ReplyDeleteThat's the best response I think anyone could have. Very nicely put.