Pentagon contractor etches Bible "codes" on rifle sights

A Pentagon contractor with a $660 million contract to make rifle sights for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is etching Bible references onto their product, ABC News reports. The company, Trijicon, confirms that it has always engraved these "codes" on its rifle sights:

One of the citations on the gun sights, 2COR4:6, is an apparent reference to Second Corinthians 4:6 of the New Testament, which reads: "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."

Other references include citations from the books of Revelation, Matthew and John dealing with Jesus as "the light of the world." John 8:12, referred to on the gun sights as JN8:12, reads, "Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." [ABC]

Military spokespeople swear the Pentagon had no idea it was buying rifle parts etched with Christian propaganda. Let's hope they're telling the truth.

Trijicon should lose the contract and the people responsible for the Bible code fiasco should lose any security clearances they may have. There should be an investigation to determine if anyone inside the military condoned the codes.

It is totally unacceptable for a contractor entrusted with national security to be peddling Christian propaganda. If Trijicon didn't have enough sense to tell the Pentagon that it was inscribing Christian codes on equipment bound for wars in Muslim countries, it doesn't deserve our trust. Trijicon is doing the Taliban's work by reinforcing the perception that the U.S. is waging a Christianist crusade against Muslims.

[HT: Boing Boing]

Comments

[t Anderson]

Get a life, Private companies can serial products any way they want. Trijicon scopes are the best on the market, lets take them away from our troops 'cause a couple of religiophobes are sweating a few digits, WOW! Call it what you want but soldiers (myself included)throughout history turn to a higher power to carry them through times of trial. (how many tours of duty do you have?)
Theres no athiests in foxholes!

Since when does religious position disqualify one for a security clearance? Lets get rid of dog tags too, "Oh my, they have religious preference on them, and money too! "In God We Trust", and the Declaration of Independance.....etc, etc, etc.

Find something of substance to cry about, and stay away from our equipment!

[frank burns]

Whats wrong with shooting Muslims with Jesus rifles? This is the Holy War on Terror, after all. Probably just some atheist complainers here, trying to end the war before it can burst out into the magnificent Armageddon.

[Lindsay Beyerstein]

No, T Anderson, you get a life. If you've really done multiple tours of duty in Iraq or Afghanistan, you know that public relations is a huge part of the mission. A big part of convincing the local people to like and trust the U.S. and its allies is convincing them that we're NOT at war with Islam. When you've got a company that's secretly inscribing Bible codes onto hardware that's undermining the mission. Now the Taliban can truthfully say that the U.S. is shooting at Afghans with Jesus rifles. Duh.

If the military is telling the truth and the company DIDN'T tell them about the Bible codes, that's inexcusable. The customer should have been informed. Military equipment is described down to the nuts and bolts level, so if the Trijicon didn't tell Uncle Sam about the codes, that's a serious omission for which they should lose the contract. Trijicon blew off national security for the sake of religious kitsch.

[Bret]

Really? This is what has you upset? It would seem that by now everyone realizes that enemies grab on to any excuse, no matter how implausible, to justify their own actions.

The hyperbole of your rhetoric is at such a high pitch it is almost comedic to read this, if it weren't so pathetic. Would it be better that we use substandard equipment that is "atheist"? Or, perhaps take it a step further - instead of shooting bullets that would send the enemy to their maker, we could carpet bomb Bibles and win from that PR angle. Or, on a more serious note, how about we take away this business' livelihood (developed from a superior product) because of its religious affiliations? THAT has worked well every time it has happened.

Seriously, this is laughable. Take a breath and focus on some of the real ills in the world.

[foxhole nihilist]

It doesn't matter how many tours of duty anyone has done. It is your job, that you agreed to do in return for pay, housing, benefits, and education.

[Little Richardjohn]

"Since when does religious position disqualify one for a security clearance?"
You mean: Since when does calling yourself a Christian stop you killing strangers? Never, it seems.
'Since when does Christianity allow you to kill strangers?' is another question entirely. People who make a living from killing people won't understand the difference.
There are no Christians in foxholes.

[Lindsay Beyerstein]

Bill, I'm deleting your comment because it's off topic. Come back when you want to talk about Trijicon.

Trijicon should lose the contract for being incredibly stupid and irresponsible. Putting Christian slogans on equipment without telling the Pentagon is utterly reckless.

[Paul_D]

"and stay away from our equipment!"

"Our" equipment?

"Your" bunk, uniform, chow, weapon, ammo and yes, your prized optics are courtesy of the American taxpayer, all of which is used to support and defend the Constitution of the United States (which requires a separation of church and state).

Did you forget that part of your oath, soldier?

[Ismone]

I can introduce you to some atheists in foxholes. My grandfather was one of them, although he is dead now. Most of them keep their mouths shut out of fear that the Christians will discriminate against them. Based on my own time in a training environment, I can tell you that fear is well-founded.

[istic]

Wasn't all this prefigured in Dr Strangelove and the devout Christian military chief''s views? No doubt this hardware company shares this outlook. Perhaps one ought to request that they put something about turning swords into ploughshares on the next batch.

[Cat Martini]

The last thing we need is allowing the Pat Robertson-ites turn the War on Terror into more of a holy war than the Islamic radicals already advertise it as. I agree that they should either lose their government contract or fire those employees altering the equipment. Unless the contract called specifically for Bible verses to be imprinted on the equipment, the company failed to uphold their end of the contract. Any employee who believes they should have free reign to alter equipment contracted by the government, has no business working at a company with government contracts. How would all you Christian radicals feel if the equipment were stamped with passages from the Koran?

[Daniel]

>>A big part of convincing the local people to like and trust the U.S. and its allies is convincing them that we're NOT at war with Islam.

We are not at war with Islam, but Islam is at war with us. Please, let that sink into your closed liberal brain.

>> It is your job, that you agreed to do in return for pay, housing, benefits, and education...

So, in essence you see the US Armed Forces personnel as nothing other than mercenaries. Keep it up, great way to keep a republic. And consider that it has been the liberal elite that has hallowed out the American manufacturing industry to the benefit of liberal affiliated businesses such as lawyering, wall-streeting and government which compels so many middle (white) Americans to join the military. Whey bother. Kick it in.

[minstrel hussain boy]

from the lessons of history department:

one of the flashpoints of the sepoy rebellion in india was a rumor that the rifle cartriges issued to the sepoy battalions under british (including miltary units of british east india) were lubricated with pork fat. since the loading process of the rifles involved biting off the tip of the cartridge the muslim troops, the hindu troops and the sikhs were all enraged. it wasn't true, but the rumor had legs.

now, imagine you are one of the muslim folks we are over there to train. imagine yourself being told, and seeing it with your own eyes, that the u.s. has inscribed christian bible verses on the rifle optics you have been issued. one true offense against the sincere faith of these people will give rise to many, less plausible, but nonetheless believed, rumors. by doing this they are digging american graves. i don't think that's what jesus had in mind.

if the inscriptions were not part of the order then the parts are out of contract. this is something that can do direct and violent damage to our serving troops. the offending company needs to buy back all the defaced equipment at the price paid, and optics that do not put our mission and our troops at grave risk need to be manufactured and brought on line quickly.

what was done was not acceptable behavior.

[LongHairedWeirdo]

Having seen references to the verses (e.g.: "Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.") for light enhancing scopes, I don't feel that this is not as big a deal as people are making out. Yes, it's from a religious text, but it sounds like it's more of a joking allusion than anything else.

That said, I would still argue that the Pentagon should say that they'll require them to be removed from future purchases.

[[email protected]]

Great points! My thoughts exactly.

[Gordy]

Paul_D: There is nothing in the US Constitution regarding separation of church and state. Maybe you should try reading it sometime.

[Paul_D]

So, in essence you see the US Armed Forces personnel as nothing other than mercenaries."

Far from it. No one joins the military solely for a paycheck. Then again, who does it for free?

[TK]

Are you serious? What is the difference between a company serializing a product as they see fit and a sticker or inscription being on a product that says "made in China", etc.? Other than the manufacturers of the product how would anyone else ever have known about the scripture references unless it was disclosed to them in the first place? Additionally, for those who were curious enough to "verify" that the coding was in fact biblical in nature, they would have had to go to a bible and confirm it for themselves, right? For those who are so upset about it, why would they have even bothered to look up the references anyway. Furthermore, do we pitch as much of a fit about products imported from other parts of the world where the U.S. is not "liked", etc? There's a bit of give and take involved in everything. Anybody purchased a gallon of unleaded fuel lately?

[Alon Levy]

If the US had actually cared about superior product, they'd have jettisoned the M-16 and its clones decades ago. Right now about the only people who haven't switched to AK-47s are Americans, and people who get their weapons and military doctrines from Americans. The US rifles are so crappy that in Vietnam, Viet Cong troops wouldn't pick them up from dead US troops.

But we can't have that. The US military must always use substandard American-made weaponry.

And no, the US Constitution said nothing about church-state separation. In fact, the establishment clause was inserted into the constitution by a communist spy in the 1920s. Pat Robertson says so, so it must be true.

[John3:16]

Give me a break! Who cares, if it has a religious reference or not. We are their and a lot of our soldiers are Christian so what is the big deal. Do they need us there, YES! So tell them to deal with it. The problem with our country is now days people are so happy to jump on the soap box and point fingers at anything. We can't pray in schools, can't spank our kids, can't put bible codes on scopes! What is next? It is a code, not the actual scripture.

But hey wait maybe the ACLU will get on this one! They aren't done with wrecking America yet anyways.

Our grand parents generation had it right. Look how we have declined as a country since WW2. It is really shocking. But then again, it was bound to happen they way they take JESUS out of everything.

[Peter K.]

"I can introduce you to some atheists in foxholes. My grandfather was one of them, although he is dead now. Most of them keep their mouths shut out of fear that the Christians will discriminate against them. Based on my own time in a training environment, I can tell you that fear is well-founded."

"I found I had been sent a near-incredible video clip from the Al Jazeera network. It had been shot at Bagram Air Force Base last year, and it showed a borderline-hysterical address by one Lieutenant Colonel Gary Hensley, chief of the United States’ military chaplains in Afghanistan. He was telling his evangelical audience, all of them wearing uniforms supplied by the taxpayer, that as followers of Jesus Christ they had a collective responsibility “to be witnesses for him.” Heating up this theme, Lieutenant Colonel Hensley went on: “The Special Forces guys, they hunt men, basically. We do the same things, as Christians. We hunt people for Jesus. We do, we hunt them down. Get the hound of heaven after them, so we get them in the kingdom. Right? That’s what we do, that’s our business.”

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/12/hitchens-theocracy-200912

America has the separation of church and state for a reason, and if the Jesus freaks don't like it, they can move to a different country. Must be a good time in Afghanistan getting shot at and "hunted down" by religious nuts. Whatever the soldiers are getting paid, it's not enough.

[Peter K.]

"We are not at war with Islam, but Islam is at war with us. Please, let that sink into your closed liberal brain."

Islam is not at war with us. The United States government is allied with the governments of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia, Egypt, Qatar, Afghanistan, etc.

Bush used to hold hands with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. Better trolls, please.

[Reality]

The point is that more americans are going to be put in harms way and die because a company decided to do something stupid. What soldier is going to endorse his fellow soldiers dieing? A pretty fucking stupid one apparently.

[E. J. D.]

God forbid that we actually read the Bible to discover that Jesus Christ came in the flesh to redeem mankind of his sin. The truth is that the LIGHT of the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only thing which will truly expose the false, DARK teaching of Islam. The fact of the matter is that muslims are the real victims of terror. Their only hope they have of heaven is to a) be good enough to get their or b) to die in war for the name of Allah. Lets take a gander of what the Bible says instead. I John 4 says that perfect LOVE casts out all fear. Whose love is perfect but God's? I John 4 (and the whole story of Scripture) says that God's love was demonstrated in his Son, Christ Jesus, by allowing his death to satisfy God's wrath on our sin. Do you get it? Each muslim in Jihad thinks the action of his death satisfies Allah, securing him a spot in paradise. But God clearly states that the death of only one man is needed! This is cause for REJOICING! If you are a muslim reading this, you should have a great, great cause for rejoicing!

We need to realize that every thing God hates is embodied in the religion of Islam. The Scriptures say that in the last days, people will call evil good and good evil. Read your history books folks, Islam is not a peaceful religion. What kind of religion has followers which demand we convert to Islam only to kill us if we don't? What kind of religion says that true peace can only be obtained when the world is free from all non-muslims? What kind of religion condones the rape of women and killing of innocent children? What kind of religion revolves around a calendar which begins when its Prophet set out to murder the Jews of Medina? Under the guise of peace, muslims desire to turn our constitution upside down and bring our country under Sharia Law. Don't believe me? Why don't you check up on your so-called moderate muslim officials appointed to our government and the things they've said? The phony idea that Islam is a nice peaceful religion is foreign to virtually all muslim scholars outside the West. If you have a brain you know deep down that Islam cannot be the truth. So, believe it or not for a very long time Islam has been waging a war against the West through any means possible (financial, political, physical). They want you, me, our children, and our grandchildren to submit or be killed.

This being said, Bible verses or no Bible verses in the serial number of the Trijicon gun scopes, Muslims across the world have already long since viewed our efforts as a crusade against them. It is a just thing to defend our freedoms and our country. But, like I said, the Gospel can do what no gun can do.

[E. J. D.]

Believe it or not, we all personally have GOD'S CODE in each of our hearts! How do you know it is wrong to murder? How about stealing? Adultery? The bottom line is that we all were born with a conscience stemming from our souls - we each bear the image of God in our lives. The Bible explains this world better than anything else, how we squash God's image and quench our consciences with sin, and how God's gracious redemptive plan unfolded through history.