Luke Rosiak on May 7, 2019
Federal officials restored a Bible to a prisoner of war display at a veterans hospital and said it “will not be bullied” by an activist group that wants it removed.
Department of Veterans Affairs staff at the Manchester, New Hampshire, veterans hospital “temporarily removed the Bible from the display out of an abundance of caution” after receiving a complaint, the VA’s national headquarters said in a statement Tuesday.
“Following that removal, Manchester VAMC received an outpouring of complaints from Veterans and other stakeholders – many of whom dropped off Bibles at the facility – in protest of this action,” the VA said. “We apologize to the Veterans, families and other stakeholders who were offended by the facility’s incorrect removal of this Bible.”
The Bible is part of a display in the hospital’s lobby honoring prisoners of war and missing soldiers.
A nonprofit called the Military Religious Freedom Foundation filed a lawsuit Tuesday to remove the Bible permanently. “This is an action requesting injunctive relief pursuant to the first amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America. The plaintiff, James Chamberlain, and others are seeking the removal of a Christian Bible from the POW/MIA table in the entrance way of the Manchester VA Medical Center,” it says.
The lawsuit says Chamerlain is a “devout Christian” and veteran but “despite his strong personal religious beliefs, he believes that the Christian Bible has no place being displayed on the POW/MIA table.”
It says 14 other veterans also complained.
The hospital removed the Bible after the nonprofit initially complained in January, according to the lawsuit, but then the Bible returned in a “locked plexiglass box,” which it called “even more objectionable.”
“This lawsuit – backed by a group known for questionable practices and unsuccessful lawsuits – is nothing more than an attempt to force VA into censoring a show of respect for America’s POW/MIA community. Make no mistake: VA will not be bullied on this issue,” Curt Cashour, press secretary for the VA, said in a statement.
MRFF founder Mikey Weinstein told TheDCNF in an email: “That sectarian Christian bible BOLTED down to that POW/MIA table at the Manchester NH VAMC is a grotesque gang sign of fundamentalist Christian triumphalism, exceptionalism and supremacy, indeed a middle finger of unconstitutional repugnance to the plurality and separation of church and state. … The VA is wretchedly disrespecting millions of American veterans by doing so. The VA has ignominiously made sure that that sectarian Christian bible sticks out like a tarantula on a wedding cake.”
The Manchester VA has been the site of significant criticism for poor service and mismanagement. After a July 2017 Boston Globe expose, New Hampshire Republican Gov. Chris Sununu stepped in to permit VA doctors to treat patients at facilities outside the VA.
“Only in 3rd World countries is it common to see patients end up as disabled from myelopathy as the ones who have been showing up after referral from you,” one doctor told a Manchester VA physician.
The hospital’s chief of medicine Stewart Levenson told the Globe his efforts to fix the system by working through the bureaucracy went nowhere. “I have never seen a hospital run this poorly — every day it gets worse and worse,” he said.
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douchebag.
yeah, but which side were you on?
then ask it.
Yeah, that’s crap.. why’nt you go criticize the MUSLIMS, if they don’t kill you for it, they tend to do that.. when was the last time an avowed Christian suicide-bombed a place?
Ever hear the phrase “NON-sequitor”??
Bashing Christians is fashionable, I know, but isn’t it a sh*tty thing to do, given that every OTHER religion on this planet (excepting Buddhism) is a BILLION times worse??
Oh, I’ve been an ATHEIST since the nineteen-SEVENTIES, and I STILL think you are that which issues from the south end of a Bull.
How soon will the VA replace the bible at the Kerrville Texas VA Hospital?
Lets see, I read the King James version, what do you read? Everything I was taught and read over the past 63 years is not what I see being practiced by todays so called christians.
The same things happened in all the other countries prior to Communism take over. History will always repeat itself if we do not learn from it. The educational system has been indoctrinating our kids for many decades by not teaching true history. Now we are going to reap the consequences of it.
…and so display of the christian bible is not afforded protection under the first amendment?
Oh, and YOU, DO??
Where’s the sackcloth and ashes, you hypocrite screedster.
how would you know that we allowed you to come here and live free of war and other crap only to have you sht on our beleafs so get back to where you belong war torn countries where rape and killing is a way of life
you POS leave our country now we didnt invite you so leave
Actually, their religion is secular humanism, with a HEALTHY dose of hedonism thrown in. The Leftist LOONS think they are using Islam to hasten the ushering in of the NWO world government the UN is trying to become. They are TOO blind and STUPID to realize that it is Islam who are using THEM to facilitate their conquest and destruction of the US.
It actually takes MORE faith to believe in the Big Bang Theory and evolution than it does to believe the Biblical account of creation, because there is way more scientific evidence for the Creationist version than the so-called “scientific” one.
For example: There are very tall tree fossils embedded in multiple layers of rocks in the Grand Canyon. If those trees were sticking out exposed to the elements while the Colorado River slowly wore down the rock over millions of years, those trees would have rotted and disappeared LONG before they became fossilized. BUT, if that canyon was formed very quickly by a massive FLOOD, for example, that deposited vast amounts of dirt, rock and sediment that CREATED the walls (rather than them being a product of ‘eroision’, that would explain the tree fossils. Recent massive floods have also taught scientists that the formation of rock from flood waters saturated with sediment could occur MUCH faster than they previously thought.
Actually, if Darwin had been alive today, he would have been forced to repudiate his OWN “theory of evolution,” if he as an HONEST scientist. Why? DNA. When mutation occurs, it is ALWAYS because something is SUBTRACTED from the DNA, NEVER because something is added. Ask one of those evolution theory advocate scientists to cite ONE example where mutation occurred because something was ADDED to the DNA strand of a species, and you will get a blank stare, because it DOES NOT HAPPEN.
First of all, the Constitution defines and undergirds freedom OF religion, NOT freedom FROM religion. The phrase “separation of church and state” does NOT appear ANYWHERE in the Constitution, nor does it define a “right not to be offended” for Leftist snowflakes! Both of these are constructs invented by liberal LOONS who are trying to erase both our history and GOD from American culture.
You’re laughing now…
Nor is it in the Constitution. In fact, the First Amendment specifically allows those veterans to practice their faith, even outside of their church! And yes, I know the V.A. is a government run bureaucracy. I don’t think you would be able to argue that Judeo – Christian beliefs did not greatly influence the establishment of the United States, nor that most veterans subscribe to one or another “religion” which falls within that description. Sorry to have to say, once in a while the majority wins!
May I suggest you read a little more…
say it to my face coward and it wont be the last thing you lose sight of
God had the energy in his little finger!
You are so right.
Nobody is forcing you to become a Christian. If you do not want to be a Christian then just be on your way, turn your head and ignore it. Keep your anti Christian views away from me.
So all you Einsteins out there: It’s not a Bible display, it’s a POW/MIA table which consists of many components, of which the Bible is just a part. Get over it, nancies.
Freedom of Religion does not mean Freedom FROM Religion. We are FREE to worship Jesus Christ in the manner we choose and that is guaranteed by the Constitution. People are also Free to choose not to worship Jesus.
Upon entering Many VFW Posts members see a single table set appropriately for a meal but is never used. This special scene honors those who cannot join us at a local Post–prisoners of war or those missing in action. Please reflect when you pass this table knowing that our POW-MIA would give anything to join their family and friends for a meal.
The small table is set for one – symbolizing the frailty of one prisoner.
The table is round – showing our everlasting concern for our POW/MIA’s.
The cloth is white – symbolizing the purity of our men and women’s motives when answering the call to duty.
The single red rose – reminding us of the lives of these men and women – their loved ones and friends who keep the faith, while seeking answers.
The red ribbon – symbolizes our continued determination to account for them.
A slice of lemon – reminds us of the bitter fate of those missing, captured and held as prisoners in foreign lands.
A pinch of salt – symbolizes the tears of our missing and their families who long for answers after decades of uncertainty.
The Holy Bible – represents the strength gained through faith in our country, founded as one nation under God, to sustain those lost from our midst.
The candle – is reminiscent of the light of hope which lives in our hearts to illuminate their way home.
The glass is inverted – to symbolize their inability to share this evening’s toast.
The chair is empty- they are missing (silent moment) and please remember their service.
This is a judeo-christian nation and those who find our beliefs objectionable can leave…no one will care if they go
Take your fake concern, wrap it in your dismissiveness, and CRAM it up the orifice of your choice.
Do I understand that due to a single person’s complaint these cowards removed the Bible? I do not know a single veteran who would turn tail and run from a single enemy.
?what?
big bang = nothing there then out of nothing bang all matter was created.
God = same
Big Bang = some how everything, heavens, earth created,
God = same
Big bang = it rained and pools of melted stone made a primordial ooze couple of lighting strikes bang life.
God = created man and beast, plants, etc.
Big bang = once man appeared all evolution stopped (white privileged)
Big Bang , if it started from nothing where did the energy come from, where did the mass come from, why can’t we duplicate life from melted rock and water?
Big bang= your religion
I will stick with the Lord God, much more believable.
None of you are a real christian either.
The problem with the bible is none of you really practice what written in it.
Then keep your religion away from me. By the way none of you are a real Christian, not by what I have read in the bible.
The first is about the Fed/central gov. Not making any one religion “THE” religion, like the king of England had made himself the monarch and religious leader, or like England Protestant vs Catholic just ask the the leprechauns.
Not that religion couldn’t be part of government, just no picking one religion; so put a Torah, and any other religion book/scroll on the table. Has to be a religion so no Karan (murder ideology), could put evolution on the table as it is followed like a religion.
I want the holy bible of the Spaghetti monster to be displayed also.
Actually as veteran myself, no religious texts should be there.
No More! They can just get out. So tired of these cretons.
Political correctness does not mean political bullying. If you can not stand the freedom we have go somewhere where they will actually kill you for doing the same thing we allow here and should not.
So so SICK of this. If they do not like it, they can get OUT. We cannot bow down to these cretons anymore!!!!
Thank you, my thoughts exactly!!!!
James Chamberlain, real and true Christians do not deny their faith or the Bible. You are nothing but a Wolf in sheep’s clothing!!!!!
The separation of church and state simply means the government can’t set up a state religion like the Church of England. It has zero to do with what is displayed as part of history. Why does everyone want to take offense over every little thing? Satan is alive and well on planet earth causing division and hatred wherever he can make inroads and gain control. Disgusting!
They just wanted money and limelight ! Another fraudulent lawsuit and all the drama that comes with it for the losers !
It is not primarily , the physical or mental strength of American soldiers; but rather our spiritual fortitude that drives us and allows us to persevere . God bless America !
The problem that the left has with the Bible is that it is a book of ‘good, hope, honesty, doing the right thing for the right reasons’. Everything the left is against.
What else do you expect to come out of the Northeast? That is a socialist country up there.
I might add, the separation of church and state, has nothing to do with our respect of our Christian soldiers.
This group has totally forgotten that everyone else in this country has the exact same rights that they do. The overwhelming majority wants the Bible to be there.
The Anti-God thugs have spilled over into Australia too. They have an abundance of funds and follow the same route of hatred of anything Christian. Question now is: who is funding them….Communist China, Communist Russia, Communist Soros of the One World Order or the Democrats of the USA?
Don’t laugh MustGoFish your words are truer than you think.
This Chamberlin is NOT a Christian, a true Christian would be fighting for all he’s worth to keep Christianity in the forefront of his complete being and never attack Christianity or the display of the BIBLE. There are a lot of these fake Christians who claim one thing while working to attack Christianity with their every action. As for the VA temporarily removing the BIBLE from the display out of caution….The ever reliant last excuse of a coward.
The bible having to be displayed in a bolted down box bears witness to the danger to our christian beliefs from radicals who would tear away the bible just as they have tried to destroy America’s hostory. Be vigilent!
Your Right no LOL! Democrats have established their new Religion ISLAM!
Our own PC Liberals bend to a little crying, if Omar want her Holy Quran there no one would have cried, then if a Christian objected they would have been jailed!
Bet they want the Quran instead! lol
Time to battle against these radicals, by any means necessary!!