Comments on: Christian GI Ruled Conscientious Objector

Oregon Native Granted Discharge After Saying Religious Awakening Left Him Opposed To War

[barbaraf4]

BarbaraM99, good to see you again!

[barbaram99]

I am a daughter of a Vet and this person wants his cake and eat iy too. That person raised his/her paw to serve and that what they should do. America has sep of church and state. I don''t believe in illegal wars however they can still serve this nation while in the military. I do hate war. Serve. I can''t as of my age and blindness. That person maybe a vet but I feel he/she has slapped this nation in her face. I think it is wrong to fight illegal wars. That should remain in the service. I Wnt to thank our vets who earnt thanks and more. I see it as that person wanted out due to church. Give him/her non combat duties. I take it like he/she is is too ashame to do his/her duties. An ungrateful person that person is. I can see it if they need to take care of their family if there is small kids needing a parent. Not over church. If they get out on the church issue than they best not ask us to call them vets. They did not earn it if they walk out. I knew a kid when I was a kid felt he was too good to face the flag,he is handicapped so he could not serve. Most use the loop hole to get out. is it right . I don''t think so. They use church,gender,etc to get out. They should think before they talk that oath. If they are given orders to leave the service for med reasons that one thing. America is not/has never been a christian nation.

[makemyday2da]

So Barnes says, "I have been trying to justify being a soldier and finding a way to do so while still being a Christian, because that is what I wanted to do since I was a kid," Barnes wrote in his request for conscientious objector status in December 2006. OK, if he''s known this since he was a kid but still enlisted AFTER knowing we''re clearly "AT WAR" in Iraq, then I find this a ''cop out''. You can''t have it both ways! There are MANY soldiers who are ''christian'' or believe in a ''higher power'' who haven''t taken an easy way out. To still receive an honorary discharge is a slap in the face to the THOUSANDS of returning troops who are mentally unfit for the military - or society. These troops are being discharged WITHOUT BENEFITS since they''ve been duped into believing they had a "preexisting personality disorder". I guarantee, there are so many stories like this and it''s disgusting!

[random_radar]

I have no issue with people being conscientious objectors. I have no issue with people fighting wars in service to their country.

I do have an issue with leaders waging unjustified wars of aggression. I do have an issue with people who support leaders in waging wars of aggression.

War should be the last resort of civilized countries, but it seems to be very popular in America as a first response to everything.

And if Americans could connect the dots, they would see that the financial cost of war has been a major factor in the economic crisis we are experiencing. War is bankrupting America--morally and economically.

[duhrer]

Interesting comments on the thou shalt not kill/murder interpretation. I was not aware that the bible is a legal document. Murder is a legal term. Kill is not a legal term, it is a conceptual term. So by the interpretation of the word murder as the correct translation, the christians would set up the bible as a document of legal validity, which it is not. Therefore I say, make up your minds. I''m pretty sure that on such an important topic as one of the ten commandments, the christian god would not have left up to secular interpretation a command that he handed down to Moses for the chosen people. Or is it rather that some christians would like to use the bible as a legal document. In that case an entire host of activities we consider illegal today would be considered "okay", including murder.
Also, I wish people would stop calling our presence in Iraq a "war". Congress has never declared war and the president cannot without them, so what we have is a "police action", not a war. If this were a war, we would throw all our resources into defeating the enemy which to date we clearly have not. The military is not a police force so why do we insist on using them that way?

[trumpetstuff]

Some Christian. Doesn`t believe in a Crusade!


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Posted by Terrapin78 at 11:15 AM : Sep 24, 2008


Refreshing, isn`t it?

[cbs_tom]

"Isn''''t it funny how noone seems to "find God" until they find their a$$ in a bind... then it seems like out of some miraculous event...God always manages to suddenly appear. Sounds to me like God is more like an ambulance chaser"!!!
Posted by shawnp20 at 11:30 AM : Sep 24, 2008

Shawn, for some, they must fall on their face before they realize that they need God.

[terrapin78]

Some Christian. Doesn''t believe in a Crusade!

[cbs_tom]

"NO, "thou shalt not murder" is a revisionist interpretation promoted by right-wing "christian" preachers who are far more right-wing than they are christian".
Posted by jaydee102 at 10:47 AM : Sep 24, 2008
Not to argue Christian points on a public forum, but in your logic, wouldn''t this make God a hipocrat since after he gave the commandments, he instructed the hebrews to destroy all of the cannonites?

[sfcusarmy1]

jaydee102-So are you saying that this individual has way more character than a soldier that fully fulfilled their contract to their country?