I wrote this diary after hearing a hate-filled misleading ad on WKYX-WKYQ. Already using a church to propogandize the masses in Western Kentucky, they had also decided to play blantantly false ads about the healthcare bill from this site. That is when I realized the people at this station would sink as low into the abyss as possible to preserve profits over people.
Featuring a "preacher, chaplain, or whatever" who seems to have thrown a gasket along the way. It is filled with hateful and misleading statements and prayers which seem to have the tinge of occultism. So, who is such a man that would say such things who is running ads on this station??
It seems to me he is a little more worried about spreading a political agenda than the teachings of Christ:
So, here's how Gordon Klingenschmitt led MRFF into the astonishing story that follows. About a month ago, both MRFF and Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) began receiving a lot of emails about Klingenscmitt using a photo of himself in his Navy uniform and identifying himself as "Chaplain" in order to promote political causes and solicit money, a perceivable violation of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, so MRFF and AU decided to issue a joint letter to the Chief of Naval Operations requesting an investigation into Klingenschmitt's current activities. This letter led Klingenschmitt to do two things. One was to issue an imprecatory prayer calling on his followers to essentially pray for the deaths of AU's Barry Lynn and MRFF's Mikey Weinstein and their families. The other was to post a very strange disclaimer on his website, in which he called Lynn and Weinstein "bone-heads," and defended his right to call himself "Chaplain," stating that he has a current endorsement as a "Chaplain and Evangelist to America" from the Chaplaincy of Full Gospel Churches (CFGC). It was this statement that led MRFF to take a closer look at the CFGC, a chaplain endorsing agency headed by retired Army colonel and chaplain Jim Ammerman, and authorized by the Department of Defense to provide the ecclesiastical endorsement required by the military for all military chaplains, with several hundred of its chaplains currently serving in all branches of the military.
Right off the bat, MRFF found the expected stuff -- which alone provides ample reason to demand that the DoD revoke the chaplain endorsing authority of Jim Ammerman and the CFGC.
CFGC should be disqualified as an endorsing agency because of its repeated denigration of all other religions and Christian denominations that aren't Charismatic or Pentecostal, which is completely contrary to Department of Defense Instruction Number 1304.28.
And how do his colleagues and the men who served with him in the military feel about him?? Just scroll down at the link above to see some of their comments. Here are a couple of highlights:
Camp Lejeune Marine said...
We Marines love our Navy chaplains because they freely choose to go with us into very dangerous ground combat to minister to us. I have never met a Navy chaplain that was a bad person. However, it appears that former Lt Klingenschmitt is the first really bad person that I have ever heard of who became a Navy chaplain. I applaude the Navy for getting rid of this guy. After reading his website, I can't believe that the Navy didn't send him to General Court Martial rather than the lower Special Court Martial. Seriously, this man should be serving time in Fort Leavenworth.
Navy Priest in Iraq said...
I agree with Lejeune Marine. Klingenschmitt should be breaking rocks at Ft. Leavenworth! Gordon is the only man I know that could (and probably has) started an argument with a glass of water. His nasty disposition is the source of all his problems. It was obvious that his character flaws was making it impossible for him to serve successfully in the Chaplain Corps. Gordon is just too difficult in his dealings with other people. He was failing both as an officer and as a chaplain. He was fired by a very devout evangelical Christian, not because he disagreed with Gordon's theology, but because Gordon was being an unprofessional jerk with the Sailors. Gordon then contrived the story that he was fired for praying in Jesus' Name. I do this all the time in public, in uniform, in the Navy and Marine Corps without any complaints at all. Then again, I am friends with most of the people in my unit here in Iraq. If Gordon acted on the ship like he did in Chaplain's School, he had everyone upset with him because of his inability to accept people for whom they were. The command climate survey bears this out. Gordon thinks that his abysmal numbers are a sign that he was being successful. Actually, I have never seen any chaplain that much hated in any Navy or Marin unit! Gordon took a golden opportunity to minister and turned it into a "Look At How Wonderful I Am" moment. Like one of your blogs says, Gordon already has his reward. Men have seen him. It is too bad that his poor behavior overshadows the very message he wants to get out.
Fighting Fifth Marine said...
All of you are right about Klingenschmitt, WHAT A FRAUD. He should be in Iraq today ministering to those of us who are serving our country. He shouldn't be sitting safely at home pretending to be a hero for manufacturing "persecution" by the Navy. Every Navy chaplain I have ever had in the Marine Corps has always prayed in Jesus' Name. We Marines always love it and we always say AMEN, even if the chaplain isn't from our own church. Who does this Klingenschmitt think he is? He obviously invented an entire story to try to cover up the fact that he is one big fat failure as an officer and as a chaplain. I say again, WHAT A FRAUD!
Some of the comments are not that friendly. Way to honor our military heros!! They say birds of a feather flock together so that makes the good folks at our local right-wing looney tunes station FRAUDS!!
It is particularly disgraceful when some people think that any church should be exploited for propoganda. However even more shameless for WKYX-WKYQ is the simple fact that in their desperation to preserve insurance profits they will sink to any level to mislead and scare the people of this area into opposing it. They will embrace such a person who prays for the deaths of others publicly and left a stain on the proud fraternity of Chaplains within our military.
Even for the folks at WKYX-WKYQ that is a lowly abyss to sink into. Maybe they should just go back to playing music:
