SGT Eric Cooper (AKA Medicyne Eagle) begins his 4th combat tour on or about Nov 21st 2005. He has been a Celtic Shaman around 5 years and followed the Wiccan Path about 10 years before that. Eric runs a Pagan Military Grove called Forest Moon Grove and a combat branch called Desert Moon Grove which he started in Balad, Iraq in 2004 The Grove will need supplies for the coming year, particularly candles, incense, Pagan books (particularly Faerie and Dragon oriented), books and materials for Divination and Scrying, and anything morale boosting including little luxuries like flavored creamers for coffee, which are particularly highly prized! To support Desert Moon Grove, email roxanne@exploringthecauldron.com

Here at Pagan News, we pray for a swift and peaceful end to the war in Iraq. Whatever the politics behind it, we support the troops that are being asked to put their lives on the line each day over there. Consequently, for the coming year (and possibly longer) we will do what we can to support the Desert Moon Grove, and hope to keep in touch with Sgt. Cooper, the author of this article, "Is this a Christian Nation?"

Is This A Christian Nation?

By Eric Cooper

I look around at all the fighting and harassment. I read the debates and arguments about which religion is right and which is wrong. The fundamentalists trying to infiltrate our government and make everyone see through their beliefs and make everyone believe as they do, this is not what our founding fathers wanted. If the fifty-six signers of the Declaration of Independence knew what was going on today they would roll over in their graves and I know for a fact if they were alive none of this religious crap going on today would be happening. The Bill of Rights was designed to go hand-in-hand with the Declaration of Independence to keep church and state separated. Religious overtones do not belong in schools, courthouses or government buildings. I have researched the beliefs of all fifty-six of our founding fathers of the Declaration and found about half were religious, therefore I ask, “Is this a Christian nation?” I think not. I found eleven Presbyterian, thirteen Episcopalian, one Catholic, two Universalist, one Quaker, eleven Congregationalists, and two Anglican. The rest, no religion. Now lets talk about Thomas Jefferson, the founder of the Declaration of Independence who was a Deist. What is a Deist you ask? Well I’ll quote for you from the Deist website. Deism is defined in Webster's Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1941, as: "[From Latin Deus, God. Deity] The doctrine or creed of a Deist." And Deist is defined in the same dictionary as: "One who believes in the existence of a God or supreme being but denies revealed religion, basing his belief on the light of nature and reason."

Ok, and in the same Organization found at www.deism.com Deism does not believe in the same god as any other religion whether it is Christianity, Buddhism, Muslim, but in nature and a higher power that guides and directs nature using the common sense humans have. Abraham Lincoln was also a Deist as is shown through historical documents. Now I ask again, is this country founded on Christianity? I say emphatically, NO!!!!!! My comment to that is also who cares, get over your bigoted selves and live your life. Who cares how one religion acts and lives so long as it’s not illegal and doesn’t affect others. My point to all this is the fact that being in the Army it is my job to defend this nation from enemies foreign and domestic and keep this nation free. I don’t see this as a free nation however; when I hear of people killing others, maiming property, and causing out and out mayhem because they don’t like the way someone lives or their beliefs. I see custody court cases involving children where one parent uses religion to take the kids away from another. WHY? Your causing more damage to the child, and your infringing on the constitutional rights of another human being in this country. SHAME ON YOU, and who in the hell do you think you are? I get angered by the bigotry and arrogance of our Government leaders, Religious leaders, and all others who feel they are the final authority on religious belief. If everyone put aside their differences, this would be a unified country and there would be no enemies foreign or domestic, there would be no reason for a military, and this planet would be a much safer place to be.

Eric Cooper is a Pagan fighting in Iraq. He organized a combat group called Desert Moon Grove.