I knew my God was bigger than his
• Religious Intolerance
Yet the former commander [ Lt. Gen. William G. "Jerry" Boykin] and 13-year veteran of the Army's top-secret Delta Force is also an outspoken evangelical Christian who appeared in dress uniform and polished jump boots before a religious group in Oregon in June to declare that radical Islamists hated the United States "because we're a Christian nation, because our foundation and our roots are Judeo-Christian and the enemy is a guy named Satan."
Discussing the battle against a Muslim warlord in Somalia, Boykin told another audience, "I knew my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God and his was an idol."
"We in the army of God, in the house of God, kingdom of God have been raised for such a time as this," Boykin said last year.
On at least one occasion, in Sandy, Ore., in June, Boykin said of President Bush: "He's in the White House because God put him there."
Richard T. Cooper, Los Angeles Times: General Casts War in Religious Terms
The Interfaith Alliance, a Washington-based group, wrote to Rumsfeld and Bush on Thursday, urging that Boykin be reprimanded.
"Given his discordant views on Islam — as reported in detail — and other religions, can Gen. Boykin serve the U.S. while in the Middle East with the necessary respect and diplomacy? At this point, I would have to say no," said the Rev. C. Welton Gaddy, president of the alliance. "The remarks of Gen. Boykin fly in the face of the pleas of the president and violate the basic principles of tolerance and inclusion that are implicit in the culture of this nation."
John Hendren, Los Angeles Times: Religious Groups Want Outspoken General Punished
Comments
Posted by: James | October 19, 2003 10:24 AM
Posted by: Granpajohn | June 20, 2004 1:35 PM