38
US soldiers carry "Jesus Rifles"
The US military clearly violates at least one of the Ten Commandments all the time. But it turns out that some of the weapons being used to kill people have inscriptions from the Bible on them. As you might imagine, this has sparked quite a controversy.
It was first reported by ABC News. Watch the story here. The gun sights containing the Biblical passages are made by the Michigan company Trijicon. Trijicon has a $660 million contract with the Marines to provide "Brilliant Aiming Solutions." The company's Christian founder says he's been putting the Bible references on his gun sights for years, like so:
"It's wrong, it violates the Constitution, it violates a number of federal laws," said Michael "Mikey" Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an advocacy group that seeks to preserve the separation of church and state in the military.
Weinstein, an attorney and former Air Force officer, said many members of his group who currently serve in the military have complained about the markings on the sights. He also claims they've told him that commanders have referred to weapons with the sights as "spiritually transformed firearm[s] of Jesus Christ."
Weinstein said coded biblical inscriptions play into the hands of those who call the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan "a Crusade."
The US military actually has rules against proselytizing that were drawn up specifically for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some are saying these inscriptions aren't proselytizing because the guns are in the hands of US soldiers (as if weapons never change hands during a war).
Still, according to ABC, the military is looking into this:
"We are aware of the issue and are concerned with how this may be perceived," Capt. Geraldine Carey, a spokesperson for the Marine Corps, said in a statement to ABC News. "We will meet with the vendor to discuss future sight procurements." Carey said that when the initial deal was made in 2005 it was the only product that met the Corps needs.
However, a spokesperson for CentCom, the U.S. military's overall command in Iraq and Aghanistan, said he did not understand why the issue was any different from U.S. money with religious inscriptions on it.
Interesting point. Is it any different?
In addition to the church and state issues and the military possibly stoking Crusade talk, it seems fair to ask: How do you justify putting sayings from the Bible on a gun?
And if the military's correct in saying that these sights are the best available, if it confiscates all the Jesus rifles, will the government be impairing the ability of American soldiers to get through the war alive? There are so many questions here.
We'll have more on Marketplace tonight. Your thoughts?
Pages
The point that many of you are purposely missing is that some of these arms DO end up in the hands of soldiers on "our" side. There is video proof of allied troops being trained on these weapons.
For all those worried about the "hearts and minds" component of our mission in SW Asia, this ham-handed "let's shoot at Muslims with Christian firearms" BS is a genuine issue.
Frankly, the irony here is that the Talibangelicals who make these sights probably scoff at anyone who would question their integrity and would associate them with al-Qaeda. Sadly, their own work will do more for anti-American recruiting than anything folks who question their rationale ever could.
<i>Sadly, their own work will do more for anti-American recruiting than anything folks who question their rationale ever could</i><p>
The salt(Trijicon, it's Christian owners and employees) must have savour. Is this a publically traded company? I'm interested.<p>
From Trijicon's website:<br>
<b>Morality</b><br>
<i>We believe that America is great when its people are good. This goodness has been based on biblical standards throughout our history and we will strive to follow those morals. </i><p>
Matthew 5<br>
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. <br>
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. <br>
13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
<br>
So let me get this straight. The objection is that a Muslim who only understands Arabic is going to see what looks like a serial number, discern that its a Bible verse, and become so enraged that he will put on a pair of shoe bombs and head off for the U.S.A.? Give me a break.
The only people this offends are the commie lib terrorists at the ACLU who are on a jihad to eradicate Christianity from America, and thus protect Atheism as our national religion.
<i>Aside from the obviously bizarre and hypocritical concept of putting messages from Jesus on weapons used to kill other human beings</i><p>
The message is from Trijicon about Jesus and reflects on the quality of their product. There is nothing inconsistant about Christianity and military service.<p>
Matthew 8<br>
8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. <br>
9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. <br>
10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
<p>
<i>first, it is a violation of the government contract pure and simple. </i><p>
Oh, did you read the contract? I have not seen the contract so I can't say that there is a violation.<p>
<i>the defacing of the product by the inclusion of such inscriptions leaves the company open to claims...</i><P>
The product was not defaced it was enhanced. And I'm sure it was enscribed before the Government took possesion.<p>
<i>The fact that the such things as currency may have a vague reference to God is of no moment.</i><p>I consider "In God We Trust" to be unobscure and of great significance.<p>
While I believe it's impossible to not offend you, I'll have to ask God to forgive me for taking a little joy at your offence. I'm not being persecuted so there is no just cause for my joy.
Wow. Is evangelism and religious peer pressure so persistent that we need the "Military Religious Freedom Foundation"? From what I've heard from recent recruits it is quite the contrary. Those that do want to practice Christianity or any other religion need protection from those that prefer the Sunday morning hangover to a church service.
<i>would it be just as acceptable if the referenced was from a similarly themed passage of the Qur’an?</i><p>
I think the manufacturer has a right to express themselves in their product. I think the United States has a right to negotiate a contract to disallows such expression on the equipment. Both side can choose whether or not to do business. If I were a solider with a Qur'ran reference on my scope, I admit I'd be mildly irritated and I would ask to remove it and if not allowed I would ignore it. That is, unless I were a special operator with a captured Taliban weapon, in which case, I would leave the inscription for it's historical value. I'm not superstitious, the message has no power unless one believes it.
Since capital punishment and warfare are proscribed throughout the Mosaic Law, it's totally invalid to judge our military as violating the 6th commandment while defending our nation and way of life by justly killing our enemies.<p>
As for putting scripture on scopes. I think it's a great idea. Remember the sniper in <i>Saving Private Ryan</i> who uttered Psalms to calm himself in battle, while lining up rifle shots. It's a great tradition!
<p>
"Be not that far from me, for trouble is near; haste Thee to help me."<p>
"Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight."<p>
"My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me."<p>
"O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me."
dogzdik writes "The American company Trijicon has been nailed for discretely taking on biblical code behind the serial numbers on the gun scopes that it manufacturers and sells to the military. The format is typically 123456 JN8:12 — meaning John 8:12: or some other reference code.
The firm vows on its website to follow "biblical standards" it says make America great.
To undo some of this revisionist history — of cults:
Hmmmm In the Beginning......
Lots of monkey people loped out of africa and up into the nile delta and syria / mesopotamia regions.
They created cities. They created stories. They created laws.
In Babylon, the King — Hammurubi posted the city laws on a big block of stone. Getting into the "Me Too" clubby act, were one of the many dead beat goat herding tribes., With a little literacy they copied the Code of Hammurubi., and redrafted it by scrubbing the kings name out and rewriting the heading with the name of their own diety.
They declared the auspices of their diety to be a holy people who had the god given right and direction to slaughter anyone and anything who did it different to their dietie's decrees.
And they called themselves Jews.
Along came a guy called Abraham and then another bunch of the middle eastern "Me Too's", then redrafted another version of the Jews ripped off city laws., and they called themselves Moslem and their own book, and called it the Koran.
Then along came another pack of crooks who invented a son of a diety, purporting all these miracles some 2 lifetimes after his non existance, and they called him Jesus.
Up sprang another cult, and the followers of the cult — well they all claim to be "christians" and they mostly do some of the half baked dogma of each of their thousands of whacko splinter groups, but Jesus (the fraud) was not practicing christianity — he was Jewish, practicing the Jewish religious cult — as stolen from the state laws of Babylon by King Hammuribi.
The first 6 books of the old testament are basically verbatim copies of the Code of Hammurubi — it's one of the worlds biggest scams of plagarisim and deceit.
And the half baked christian cultists eating their non kosher bacon burgers are inscribing this drivel on the gun sights?
QED: There is no such thing as being jewish, moslem or christian - because all religion's ARE bullshit.
Pages
