Synopses & Reviews
One of the most elite educational institutions in the world, the Air Force Academy has, from its inception, attracted the best and the brightest, producing leaders not only in the military but throughout American society.
In recent years, however, the Academy has also been producing a cadre of zealous evangelical Christians intent on creating a fundamentalist power base at the highest levels of our country.
With God on Our Side is shocking exposé of life inside the United States Air Force Academy and the systematic program of indoctrination sanctioned, coordinated, and carried out by fundamentalist Christians within the U.S. military.
It is also the story of Michael L. Weinstein, a proud Academy graduate and the father of two graduates and a current cadet, who single-handedly brought to light the evangelicals' utter disregard of the constitutional principle of separation of church and state that is so essential to the nation's military mission. Weinstein's war would pit him and his small band of fellow graduates, cadets, and concerned citizens against a program of Christian fundamentalist indoctrination that could transform our fighting men and women into "right-thinking" warriors more befitting a theocracy. In the process, he would come face to face with religious bigotry and at its most extreme and fight an unrelenting battle to save his beloved Academy, the ideals it stood for, and the very future of the country.
An important book at a critical time in our nation's history, With God on Our Side is the story of one man's courageous struggle to thwart a creeping evangelism permeating America's military and to prevent a taxpayer-funded theocracy in which only the true believers have power.
Review
"With God on Our Side is the story of one man's willingness to stand up for the Constitution of the United States. Arrayed against Mikey Weinstein are those who would transform the United States military, our most revered institution, into a force of evangelical crusaders, intolerant of the diversity of our society and willfully subversive of our national security interests. It is an important call to arms for all who love our country and the principles for which it stands."
--Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, author of The Politics of Truth
"The extremists and the militants of the Muslim world would like us to believe that the world is embroiled in a cosmic battle between Christianity and Islam. Yet instead of debunking this twisted ideology, there are those in the armed forces who are legitimizing it with their fundamentalist indoctrination of our nation's troops. If the war on terrorism is a war of ideology, then Weinstein deserves a medal because his battle to put an end to the rampant Christian evangelism in the United States military is making the whole country safer."
--Reza Aslan, author of No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam
"U.S. Air Force Academy graduate Mikey Weinstein's struggle to keep his beloved school--and the U.S. military--a secular institution has meaning for all of us. Wherever you are on America's religious and political spectrums, you'll find With God on Our Side a challenging and provocative read."
--Ray Suarez, author of The Holy Vote: The Politics of Faith in America, and senior correspondent, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
"No one I know is more willing than Mikey Weinstein to take on such a tough, unpopular issue that goes to the very heart of one of our nation's most important and long cherished principles. Read this book to understand why we should all share Mikey's concern."
--Robert T. Herres, General, USAF (Retired), former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
"Mikey Weinstein's stand against intolerance, intimidation, and inappropriate evangelism in the armed forces is a courageous defense of the principles on which our country was founded. Read this book and be enlightened and motivated to protect the ideals of our Founding Fathers."
--Richard T. Schlosberg III, publisher and CEO (retired), Los Angeles Times
About the Author
MICHAEL L. WEINSTEIN, the leader of the movement to restore the Constitutionally mandated separation of church and state in the United States military, is the founder and president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. He is an attorney and businessman who served on active duty in the U.S. Air Force as a judge advocate (JAG) for ten years and also worked for more than three years as legal counsel in the Reagan White House. He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. DAVIN SEAY, a reformed evangelical Christian, is the son of a career naval officer. The author of ten books, he lives in Woodland Hills, California.