Air Force Removes Bible From POW-MIA Display…

[happyg]

All it takes is for one miserable SOB to complain and they instantly cave in.

Via Fox News:

On March 14 Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh told members of the House Armed Services committee that there was no war on religious liberty.

“The single biggest frustration I’ve had in this job is the perception that somehow there is religious persecution inside the United States Air Force,” the general told lawmakers. “It is not true.”

If that’s true, perhaps Gen. Welsh could explain why a Bible was removed from a POW/MIA Missing Man Table at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida. The removal of the Good Book was first reported by the Gannett-owned newspaper Florida Today.

Base officials confirmed to Fox News Monday that the entire Missing Man Table display had been removed from a dining hall because of the Bible. A press statement said the inclusion of the Bible ignited “controversy and division.”

Missing Man Tables are a long honored military tradition. The tables serve as a reminder of the plight of brave Americans who are missing in action or who are being held prisoner of war. The display includes a white table cloth setting with an inverted glass, a plate with lemon and salt, a single rose, a candle and a Bible.

Each item is an integral part of the Missing Man Table & Honors Ceremony, according to the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia.

“The Bible represents the strength gained through faith in our country, founded as one nation under god, to sustain those lost from our midst,” the official ceremony document states.

However, someone at Patrick Air Force Base objected to the Bible’s placement on the table.

The following is the Air Force’s explanation of what happened:

“The 45th Space Wing deeply desires to honor America’s Prisoners and War (POW) and Missing in Action (MIA) personnel. Unfortunately, the Bible’s presence or absence on the table at the Riverside Dining Facility ignited controversy and division, distracting from the table’s primary purpose of honoring POWs/MIAs. Consequently, we temporarily replaced the table with the POW/MIA flag in an effort to show our continued support of these heroes while seeking an acceptable solution to the controversy. After consultation with several relevant organizations, we now intend to re-introduce the POW/MIA table in a manner inclusive of all POWs/MIAs as well as Americans everywhere.”

Keep reading…

http://weaselzippers.us/181270-air-force-removes-bible-from-pow-mia-display/

[EC]

Put the bleep thing back. Now. Right the bleep now.

[rangerrebew]

Put the bleeping thing back. Now. Right the bleep now.

If it were a Koran, Obama would order it back himself but since it is a Bible, it will never reappear.

[LambChop]

Put the bleeping thing back. Now. Right the bleep now.

Shouldn't have been there to begin with, unless of course they included every other holy book. 

Islam aside, people of Jewish faith have long felt left out of the argument.  Theirs is the original "bible", why not display that?
Why is it ONLY Christians are to be honored with their holy book being displayed?

We don't have to roll over and play dead, but respecting others goes a long way in getting respect.

[EC]

Shouldn't have been there to begin with, unless of course they included every other holy book. 

Islam aside, people of Jewish faith have long felt left out of the argument.  Theirs is the original "bible", why not display that?
Why is it ONLY Christians are to be honored with their holy book being displayed?

We don't have to roll over and play dead, but respecting others goes a long way in getting respect.

With all respect:

an inverted glass, a plate with lemon and salt,

Jewish symbols. 100%.

[LambChop]

With all respect:

Jewish symbols. 100%.

OK  but are they meant to honor Jews?  Are Christianity and Judaism the only Religions in the US?

Here is a list of symbols for headstones and grave markers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Veterans_Affairs_emblems_for_headstones_and_markers

[EC]

It's not a grave. That is part of the point.

Everything on the table symbolizes life.

The bible - because the vast majority of MIA were raised Christian, and it both takes from the Torah (word for word) and was used in the Koran. If the table is in a chapel or church, I would expect a bible, just as if it were in a mosque I would expect The 5 Pillars.

The glass - intact. Jewish, Greek, Persian and Russian Orthodox, and, again, Muslim. A broken glass signifies the end of an old life. An intact one is life. Placed inverted, it is a life yet to be filled.

Salt - the symbol of peace, friendship, purity and harmony. Lemon may be substituted, especially among Catholics and for some reason, Japanese.

The white cloth - a symbol of purity in some cultures, a symbol of mourning in others.

The lit candle - Find a culture anywhere on the planet that does not have the equivalent of "leave the light on for me."

The rose - it's in bloom. Possibly the most beautiful flower (I have seen tables with cherry blossom too). It is love.

Symbolism is important. All of it. Not just bits.

[aligncare]

I read through the two hyperlink sources and nowhere does it distinguish whether the Bible in question was Old Testament or New Testament. I'm sure it wouldn't have mattered to the Offended One but might have shed some light on the Christian / Jewish controversy up thread.

[LambChop]

I read through the two hyperlink sources and nowhere does it distinguish whether the Bible in question was Old Testament or New Testament. I'm sure it wouldn't have mattered to the Offended One but might have shed some light on the Christian / Jewish controversy up thread.

You've got me wrong.  I'm not offended at all.  There's not much that offends me when it come to religion.
My point is there are a number of religious beliefs held by those who serve our country. 

E pluribus unum

[EC]

You've got me wrong.  I'm not offended at all.  There's not much that offends me when it come to religion.
My point is there are a number of religious beliefs held by those who serve our country. 

E pluribus unum

As in society, as in here 

I think AC's reference to the Offended One was about the person who had it removed in the first place - certainly not you!

[aligncare]

As in society, as in here 

I think AC's reference to the Offended One was about the person who had it removed in the first place - certainly not you!

Thank you. Exactly.  ^-^

[truth_seeker]

In my family, my neighborhood, my office of employment, and my AA meetings I never hear this perpetual victimhood paradigm that occurs with online Christian and conservatives.

[EC]

In my family, my neighborhood, my office of employment, and my AA meetings I never hear this perpetual victimhood paradigm that occurs with online Christian and conservatives.

Seen it once. Some woman (a rabid atheist) from the council decided we could no longer put the nativity up, in the interests of "fairness." It's on common land, means we all own it - it's public and not private and certainly not crown land. The kids love it - leave little gifts. Notes and flowers, mainly.

Every time they took it down, it was replaced within 12 hours. We have a lot of Jews, Muslims and Buddhists around here. Every last one of them was helping rebuild the display, either with time, materials or money. One of the sweetest things was the star on it - A Star of David with the Crescent. It can be easy to forget sometimes - Muslims venerate Jesus and Mary.
She got voted out the following year by a bleep massive majority  . It's the same with the harvest festival displays - everyone kicks in. Our mosque caught fire - bad wiring, not arson - and the first 17 cars of volunteers to fix it up again were from the various Christian churches.

If it is in theory, strangers are a bit scary. If they are your friends you see every day - not so much.

I do love where I live.