Dispatches from the Culture Wars

Moral courage was a defining trait of Paul himself. On any policy issue that turned on a core principle, he never failed to take a public stand-regardless of how that stand might affect his professional or personal relationships. A political animal of the highest order, he always chose principle over any temporary "strategic" abandonment of principle designed to win some transitory political victory.

One wonders what principle he was refusing to bend upon and what "moral courage" Weyrich was showing when, in 1999, he launched a campaign to get Christians to boycott joining the military until Wiccans were banned from joining the armed services. The only "principles" at work there were bigotry and discrimination.

I'm going to reprint below the entire text of an op-ed that Weyrich wrote in July 1999 about this issue. It will show you just what an utter wingnut and a bigot Weyrich was.

A few weeks ago the Free Congress Foundation stood up for our Judeo-Christian heritage and opposed the decision by the U.S. Army to permit the Wiccan religion to hold services on base. The Army is even considering chaplains for the Wiccans.

The Wiccans are an ancient pagan religion run by covens of witches. They invoke pagan "gods" to support their causes. If that's not bad enough, the Army has even listed the Church of Satan among its approved religions for holding services on base.

A few organizations joined us in our call for a boycott of Army recruitment until this matter is settled. We are, after all, a country where military service is voluntary. Do Christian or religious Jewish parents want to send their kids off to the military only to have them proselytized by a pagan religion? I think not. When we go to war, even a war we dislike, such as the war in Kosovo, we implore the God of our fathers to watch over our men and women in the armed services. If the Army permits prayers to pagan "gods" how long will it be that God's blessing will continue to be upon His people?

I have heard from every Wiccan in the country about this. They may be a small group but they are well organized.

Christians and religious Jews, with the exception of the few organizations that have joined us, have been silent on this issue until now.

The Rev. Pat Robertson has acted and spoken. First off, his representative signed on to our statement on the Wiccans. But the next day, the Washington office pulled their name from the list of organizations supporting the boycott. That order came from headquarters. Now that former Interior Secretary Don Hodel is no longer running Christian Coalition, decisions like that are being made by Robertson himself. Robertson wasn't content to be neutral on the subject. No, he has now supported the right of Wiccans to hold their services on military bases.

"I'm not worried about a little coven of witches running around. ... (R)ather than suppress us all, we might give them their freedom", Robertson said.

There we have it. Moral equivalency. Robertson's "700 Club" television program sent a crew to cover the Military Pagan Network's full moon prayer circle near the Jefferson Memorial, according to the PR Newswire.

John Machete of the Military Pagan Network said: "Religious tolerance is the price of religious freedom for all. We are pleased that the Christian Broadcasting Network attended our press event. Their story was fair and balanced. We thank Reverend Robertson for his support of religious freedom," Machete told the PR newswire.

Christians, it seems, should not speak with a loud voice against pagan practices. Christians should be tolerant of what historically has been considered evil. I have news for Pat Robertson and the rest of the feminized Christians out there. When good remains silent in the face of evil, evil eventually triumphs over good.

For more than 220 years we did not depend on the approbation of witches to assert the Jewish or Christians faiths in our military. Why now? What is next, you ask? Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia has the answer. The Army is now going to permit so- called Indian religions to use peyote, a controlled illegal substance, in the conduct of their services on military bases.

How would you like to send your son up in a military plane piloted by someone who just used peyote in his so-called religious service?

No, paganism isn't just another religion. If you doubt this, read the Old Testament. Who are the witnesses? Moses proved more than once to Pharaoh whose God was the real God. Or ask Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. There are many, many other witnesses as well. You get the point.

If those of us who believe in the one true God tolerate this, we will have taken another step toward becoming a Pagan nation. We might recall that the Pagans held the Jews captive for Centuries. We might recall how the Pagans tortured the Christians for Centuries until the Emperor Constantine, equal to the Apostles, legalized Christianity.

Do we really want to go down this road? I'll make this prediction. If we do, the Rev. Robertson will be the first to be persecuted when the time comes.

This is a man of moral courage? This is a man of unbending principle? No, this is a man who was clearly batshit insane and who hated the very notion that anyone he doesn't approve of had religious freedom.