SCOTUS Abandons Marine Punished for Posting Bible Verses

On the corner of my desk sits a plaque with Isaiah 40:31. The scripture reads, “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; They will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

However, the military court-martialed and discharged a U.S. Marine for refusing to remove from her desk a similar inspirational verse from Isaiah 54:17. “No weapon formed against me shall prosper.”

Marine Lance Cpl. Monifa Sterling posted the verse at her workstation in 2013. She declined to remove the verse she looked to for strength after superiors ordered her to remove it. Ultimately this lead to her discharge and a lawsuit against the United States.

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to help this Marine, choosing to uphold the rulings of lower courts and not hear her case (United States v Sterling).

According to the Family Research Council, The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces “refused to protect her religious expression, interpreting RFRA in a constrained manner to protect only certain types of religious exercise and requiring that service members seek a religious accommodation, even though this is not a requirement of the statute.” [1]

Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Jerry Boykin, Family Research Council’s Executive Vice President, said in a statement:

If one thing is clear from my 36 years in the military, it is that religious faith is indispensable for the soldier facing danger and the possibility of death in battle.Throughout the history of our magnificent military, faith has played a role not just in strengthening weak knees and frail hearts, but has actually made a difference in the actions of service members who act on this faith to accomplish deeds of valor. To rob the service member of the right to express this faith will do incalculable damage to the armed forces.

Certainly, the military should have the authority to maintain order and conduct throughout their ranks, but does the state really have a compelling interest in sanitizing a Marine’s desks of Bible verses that give them the courage to serve?

The Supreme Court’s failure to correct this wrong is a sad reflection of how far our government has strayed from being a nation with a deep understanding and respect for our Judeo-Christian values and faith-heritage.

When Lance Cpl. Sterling swore an oath to the U.S. Constitution, which is founded on Christian principles, she probably never imagined she would end up in a lawsuit against her own country over a Bible verse.

Shouldn’t we assure for our service men and women the very freedoms they are fighting to protect? The faith inspiring our Military members to serve our country should be protected, not punished.

[1] Family Research Council. Supreme Court’s Refusal to Hear Military Religious Freedom Case is Troubling, Says FRC. June 5, 2017. https://www.frc.org/newsroom/supreme-courts-refusal-to-hear-military-religious-freedom-case-is-troubling-says-frc