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Hamas linked CAIR whines over U.S. Military 'Jesus' Rifles Thursday, January 21, 2010
The whole controversy over these Bible verses is a contrived exercise in moral equivalence, designed once again to distract attention away from the manifest reality that there is a worldwide religious group that is waging war against unbelievers in the name of religion. And the religion in question is not Christianity. A few Bible verses on gun sights doth not a Crusader make. Did American troops in Iraq or Afghanistan impose Christianity on the populace? They did not. (Neither did the real Crusaders, for that matter, but never mind that for now.) Did they even allow proselytizing? They did not. Did the Americans allow for the establishment of Sharia provisions in the Iraqi and Afghan Constitutions that relegated local non-Muslims to second-class status in both countries? Yes, they did. More..
Markings on the Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight, which is standard issue to U.S. special operations forces, include "JN8:12," a reference to John 8:12: "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, 'I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life,'" according to the King James version of the Bible.
The Trijicon Reflex sight is stamped with 2COR4:6, a reference to part of the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians: "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ," the King James version reads.
A spokesman for U.S. Central Command, which manages military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, said the sights don't violate the ban on proselytizing because there's no effort to distribute the equipment beyond the U.S. troops who use them.
"This situation is not unlike the situation with U.S. currency," said the spokesman, Air Force Maj. John Redfield. "Are we going to stop using money because the bills have 'In God We Trust' on them? As long as the sights meet the combat needs of troops, they'll continue to be used. "Munson, Trijicon's sales director, said the practice of putting Bible references on the sites began nearly 30 years ago by Trijicon's founder, Glyn Bindon, who was killed in a plane crash in 2003. His son Stephen, Trijicon's president, has continued the practice. In full....
There is a saying: "There are no atheists in the foxhole". That may well be true for the Islamist terrorists who most notably scream "Allahu Akbar" as they rush to meet their 72 virgins, (Ft Hood murderer, anyone?!) but I have seen no documented evidence that coalition troops swear allegiance to any specific God in the heat of battle, as they help the enemies achieve their goal of martyrdom. For an interesting take on atheists in the combat zones, read this by a military atheist. Retired Master Sgt Gid White to Katie Couric:
...I find your mindless parading of that silly old aphorism, “there are no Atheists in foxholes,” to be thoughtless and downright offensive to the families of uncountable numbers of atheists, and I include Agnostics, who gave their lives wearing the uniform of the American Armed Forces. Yes, there are, and always have been Atheists, both draftees and volunteers on the battlefield, many of whom bare the scars of war or are ironically buried below white crosses in battlefields throughout the world.I’m in a position to know. After initially being nominated to WestPoint, I enlisted in the United States Army as a Private in 1964, where I served 21 years on active duty retiring as a Master Sergeant in 1985. As one who is not shy about proclaiming my firm non-belief in any supernatural nonsense, religious or otherwise, I became aware of literally thousands of fellow Atheists in uniform all over the world. Some were overt and public about their beliefs. Some were not. But all were willing to lay down their lives if necessary. Many did.
The military is fully aware of the existence of Atheists in uniform, and in fact makes specific allowances for us in the oath enlistment. In the oath there is a clear choice. We can swear before God, the Great Pumpkin, or whatever, to serve our country. Or we can affirm the oath. There are no bibles or other sacred books used in this oath unlike for some political offices. The only item required to be present is the American Flag. All my reenlistments were affirmed as were hundreds of others I witnessed. (read more here)
From Fox news on the current non-issue, which also made the Ghana Business News!:
The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations on Wednesday said the continued use of the sights with the religious references would send a negative message to the Muslim world.
"The use of military equipment with hidden Bible references sends the false message to Muslims worldwide that we are at war with Islam," said CAIR Legal Counsel Nadhira Al-Khalili. "In addition, these sights are a potential recruiting tool for anti-American forces, endanger our troops and alienate our Muslim allies. They should we withdrawn as soon as logistically possible."
It seems that in their rush not to offend anyone, not only the US military but various other military forces worldwide are now utilising kits that the weapons manufacturer is providing to remove these scripture references. From Israel National News:
IDF to Remove ‘Jesus Gun’ Codes
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu(IsraelNN.com) A Michigan company that supplies gun sights to Israel and other companies has agreed to provide a kit to remove the “JN8:12” code, a reference to the New Testament passage of John 8:12 that Jesus is the “light of the world.” Another type of the company’s gun sights is stamped with “2COR4:6,” a reference to part of the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians.
The coded references are etched on the sights and are barely visible on the hundreds of thousands of rifles supplied to several countries around the world, including the United States and Israel. The IDF Rabbinate told Arutz Sheva that the codes do not violate Jewish law but that it is preferable to remove them because of the "sensitivity" regarding their appearance on weapons used by the army of the Jewish State.
The IDF said it was unaware of the codes until the issue was raised in the United States. The coded gun sights appear on many Israeli rifles as well as 300,000 gun sights in the U.S. army and marines....
Americans have raised concerns that the sights violate a government ban on proselytizing troops. Australia and New Zealand have ordered their troops on the front lines to remove the codes, but British officials said they did not issue a similar order because it would have a “detrimental effect” on combat operations...(more here)
Since when did warriors need to be concerned with 'sensitivity'? Maybe it's just me, but when you are engaged into a battle of ideologies - to the death, I must add - does anyone shooting to kill really worry about being sensitive? And, I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong, but when a terrorist is killed by a so-called 'Jesus gun', can that honestly be considered as 'proselytising'?
Is this all a part of the current White House regime to reach out with an unclenched fist to our enemies? What happened to common sense?
I think Major Redfield, quoted above, has it right:"This situation is not unlike the situation with U.S. currency," said the spokesman, Air Force Maj. John Redfield. "Are we going to stop using money because the bills have 'In God We Trust' on them?
Very good question, as the insanity continues. Maybe CAIR et al should quit buying and selling with the American currency?! Just a thought.
God bless ALL our troops.
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