Todd Starnes, host of Fox News & Commentary reports that Senior Master Sgt. Phillip Monk, a 19-year Air Force veteran, “with a spotless record could be booted out of the military because of his Christian beliefs.”1
Monk said, “I was relieved of my position because I don’t agree with my commander’s position on gay marriage.” He added, “We’ve been told that if you publicly say that homosexuality is wrong, you are in violation of Air Force policy.”2
Interestingly enough, Monk noted that his Lackland Air Force Base commander is “openly gay.”3 Why doesn’t this come as a surprise?
Starnes said that Monk found himself at odds with his “Base commander after he objected to her plans to severely punish an instructor who had expressed religious objections to homosexuality.”4 He said, “During the conversation, his commander ordered him to share his personal views on homosexuality.” Really?
Once the Senior Master Sargent was relieved of his duties, a religious discrimination complaint was filed by the Liberty Institute on his behalf. Starnes said when Monk was to meet with an Air Force investigator “tasked with gathering facts about the complaint…Monk was immediately read his Miranda Rights and accused of providing false statements in a conversation Monk had with me (Starnes).”5
When describing Monk, his pastor, Steve Branson, said he is, “One of the finest men I’ve ever met in my life.”6 The pastor believes, “He lost his job because of what he thought. He’s paying the price.”7 The pastor added, “as many as a half dozen of his church members are currently facing persecution on the base for their religious beliefs.”8
Given Monk’s military record over the last 19-years, his willingness to stand up for those under his command, and the testimony of his pastor regarding his character, it appears on the surface like an “openly gay” commander is using her position to advance her own personal beliefs and those who disagree will have a price to pay.
Given the level of passion among many within the gay community over this issue, is it really a surprise that this sort of thing is happening?
Sadly, regardless of one’s personal religious beliefs, some of the best and most dedicated servicemen I served with were Christians. If the Air Force or military in general allows gays holding positions of leadership to treat those who do not embrace their lifestyle in such a manner as Monk, then they will not only lose some of the best military personnel, but at some point, those embracing biblical teachings will stop enlisting in the military for fear of such treatment.
Our country was founded on Judeo Christian standards and beliefs. It was God who blessed and allowed this nation to come into being with the sweat and blood of great patriots, most of whom held to Christian beliefs. When we openly begin to turn on, and away from such truths, we best be prepared to forfeit our greatness just like Israel of old.
The Lord declares in 1 Samuel 2:30, “Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained.”
One may claim that they do not “despise” the Lord, but if they ignore or wrongly “interpret” His Word for personal gain, they despise Him in doing so. John 1:1 helps us understand that God and His Word are one and the same when it says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
When someone like Phillip Monk is taken to task for embracing scripture such as Romans 1:26-27, “Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion,”and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11”Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God,” those taking him to task show disdain for the God who allowed this nation life, and allowed its military to be so successful so many times around the globe.
Leaders like General George Washington prospered as a military leader because he embraced passages such as Psalm 62:5-8, “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. 6 He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. 7 My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. 8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.”
Washington said, “No Man has a more perfect reliance on the all-wise and powerful dispensations of the Supreme Being than I have, nor thinks his aid more necessary…The man must be bad indeed who can look upon the events of the American Revolution without feeling the warmest gratitude towards the great Author of the Universe whose divine interposition was so frequently manifested in our behalf….In war He directed the sword, and in peace, He has ruled in our councils.”
As our nation and military stray from the “Supreme Being” that our first and in some ways our most important General heavily relied on, they side with the “bad” Washington spoke of so long ago. Washington, unlike so many today, while on the cutting edge of war and the birth of a country, credited God as, “He directed the sword, and in peace, He has ruled in our councils.”
In his Inaugural address in 1789, Washington recognized the importance of maintaining harmony with the God of the Bible saying, “The propitious smiles of heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregard the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.” Washington also noted on a different occasion that, “It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible.”
If the great General and first President warned us of our ongoing need to embrace God and His Word, when we make men such as Phillip Monk the enemy of our country and military, we in turn make ourselves the enemy of God and His Word.
No amount of legislation or judicial manipulation of the truth can turn a lie into a truth. No amount of public pressure or branding can take what the Creator of man and woman deems “unnatural,” “natural.”
As Senior Master Sgt. Phillip Monk continues to embrace the Lord and His Word, he can rest assured, no matter what the outcome; he stands in good company–the man credited for doing the most to help bring forth this country, George Washington himself!
Quotes 1 through 8 by Todd Starnes came from his article: Air Force cracking down on Christians
Todd’s American Dispatch – FoxNews.com – Published September 06, 2013
Read it at: Air Force cracking down on Christians