The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) seems keen on removing every vestige of Christianity in America. This time, it has set its sight on the Bible on the desk of an Air Force major.
The atheist civil rights organisation has demanded that Major Steve Lewis, a supervisor at the Reserve National Security Space Institute at the Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado, should be "aggressively punished" for displaying his Bible in the open, according to the Colorado Springs Independent.
As far as the MRFF is concerned, Lewis violated the separation of church and state when he placed his Bible on his desk which, according to the group, belongs to the American people.
MRFF founder Mikey Weinstein told Fox News' Todd Starnes that the Bible is a statement of Christian preference and primacy. "Had that been the Book of Satan or the Quran there would be blood in the freaking streets," he said.
Weinstein also accused Lewis of "harbouring and encouraging a truly abhorrent example of First Amendment civil rights violations."
"That desk belongs to the American people, to the U.S. military. If that desk was in his home or his car it would not be a problem," he said.
As for Col. Damon Feltman, 310th Space Wing commander, he said they are trying to find the "right balance" between religious freedom and secular views. He said they are waiting for the unit commander to review the complaint before making an assessment. But as long as the religious belief does not interfere with military service, he believes that's okay.
"As long as he's not doing something excessive, the existence of a Bible or the Quran or the Torah or some other religious article is not prohibited," he said. "It's what you do with it when you have it."
But for now, Lewis has voluntarily removed the Bible from his desk since he does not want it "to cause attention or disruption to his unit."
Weinstein produced a list of the names of some 33 unnamed Air Force personnel who allegedly opposed the placing of the Bible on the officer's desk. "We have 33 very scared Air Force families," Weinstein said. "Major Lewis has created an around-the-clock Christian Bible Shrine on his official USAF workstation desk that has been in prominent static display for years. The pages in his open Bible on his USAF desk never change, ever."
