Setting The Record Straight

Mikey Weinstein

First of all, Michael "Mikey" Weinstein deserves our respect. He's a U.S. service veteran. He served his country well and he deserves to be recognized and honored for that.

Secondly, when I published a post about him on May 4, I erroneously inferred that he had been hired by the Pentagon. Contrary to what I posted, his relationship with the Pentagon seems to be strictly a perfunctory role in an advisory capacity.

And thirdly, I inferred that President Barack Obama was directly responsible for Weinstein obtaining his role with the Pentagon. There is no evidence to suggest that Obama opened the door for Weinstein at the Pentagon.

When I published that post, I was quite upset with some remarks that Weinstein had published on the Huffington Post concerning evangelical Christians. I allowed my emotions to cloud my judgment and I wrote things that weren't factual. That's my mistake and I own up to it. One should never allow their personal emotions to influence a story. Unfortunately, it happens. As a Christian, I have no problem admitting my mistakes.

Several of Weinstein's supporters contacted me to criticize me for describing him as a "dancing monkey." A dancing monkey is a pejorative used to describe a person who willingly allows himself to be exploited by others for personal gain. A more popular definition for such a person is a puppet or a sycophant. I didn't use the term "dancing monkey" to disparage Weinstein personally. As a Christian, I don't insult people whom I disagree with.

I do believe that Weinstein and his organization, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, (MRFF) are being used by the Obama Administration to promote propaganda that denigrates evangelical Christians by making them look like intolerant bigots who want to shove Christianity down the throats of those who either follow other religions or secularism. It's certainly no secret that the Obama Administration loathes evangelicals.

When he was recently interviewed by Bill O'Reilly on the Factor, Weinstein used the term "Crusaders" to describe those who want to use the U.S. military to spread Christianity across the world. "Crusaders" is a derogatory term often used by Muslim propaganda groups such as CAIR to explain the Islamic world's hatred of America. 

These groups claim that U.S. troops were perceived as crusaders when they invaded Afghanistan and later Iraq. The fact that Weinstein uses the term "Crusaders" to disparage evangelicals in the military leads me to believe that he isn't speaking for himself but rather for the Obama Administration and its surrogates. 

One of Weinstein's supporters also accused me of "cherry-picking" his comments after I republished some of his quotes from his Huffington Post blog that disparaged evangelicals. Here are Weinstein's own words: "If these fundamentalist Christian monsters of human degradation and tyranny cannot broker or barter your acceptance of their putrid theology, then they crave for your universal silence in the face of their rapacious reign of theocratic terror. Indeed, they ceaselessly lust, ache, and pine for you to do absolutely nothing to thwart their oppression. Comply, my friends, and you become as monstrously savage as are they. I beg you, do not feed these hideous monsters with your stoic lethargy, callousness and neutrality. Do not lubricate the path of their racism, bigotry, and prejudice. Doing so directly threatens the national security of our beautiful nation." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-l-weinstein/fundamentalist-christian-_b_3072651.html

When you cherry-pick a comment, you lift it out of the context of a broader statement to make it convey something that it was never intended to mean. How do you cherry-pick the type of invective that Weinstein leveled against evangelicals? Out of what context were the above remarks taken? Was Weinstein merely joking? Or, where has he written something that disproves his hatred of evangelicals? Show it to me. Send it to me. I'm willing to listen.

True Christians aren't homophobes, Islamophobes, racists or bigots as Weinstein claims. I may reject the homosexual lifestyle, but I don't denigrate homosexuals. I may reject Islam, but I don't insult Muslims. True Christians are taught to respect others whether or not they accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. And certainly, there are always phonies who claim to be Christians who live contrary to their faith. Of those, Christ stated: "Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them." (Matthew 7:20)

In conclusion, Mikey Weinstein recently hurled some extremely vicious slurs against evangelical Christians. His remarks were repugnant. They were disgusting. And they define him the same way he defines his enemies.

I urge all Christians to pray for this man. And forgive him. He needs salvation through Jesus Christ. Don't return his insults. That will only harden him and justify his hatred. Deep down, I think Mikey Weinstein is a decent man who's been influenced by some very bad people. Let's hope he repents.