Tag Archives: Bible

There are No Atheists in Foxholes

The phrase “there are no atheists in foxholes” is not without controversy.  (In fact, one Soldier even went so far as to file an official complaint because an officer used the “discriminatory” phrase.)  The old saying, whose origin is unknown, isn’t meant as a moral conclusion or a statement of fitness.  It simply characterizes the belief that in extreme situations and faced with mortal danger, many people are open to the concept of some form of higher power.

There are certainly examples of the opposite truth.  A New Hampshire publication Read more

Atheist-Turned-Baptist Chaplain Serves All

An interesting article in the Houston Chronicle discusses the rise and fall of religious iconography in the Protestant church.  The interesting part of the article is the subject, US Army Chaplain (LtCol) John Laing.  Laing is an atheist-turned-Baptist preacher:

Growing up, Laing was also taught that the honorable thing for young men to do is to serve their country. The Laing that joined the Army was a self-proclaimed atheist, though his basic training drill sergeant made him put “no religious preference” on his dog tag rather than “atheist.”

After he became a Christian, Laing led his fellow scouts, who often had to miss chapel service for reconnaissance missions, in prayer Read more

The Rules are Written in Blood

Fighter aircraft are amazing combinations of machinery, technology, software, and the human mind.  Old and young alike are awed at airshows that display fighters from the Pursuit (P) aircraft of the World Wars to the Fighter (F) and Attack (A) aircraft of the modern era.

Miracles in motion that they are, they are still bound by rules and regulations.

They have simple rules like speed limits, g-limits, and angle of attack limits.  They also have more complex rules that say if you’re rolling left with a missile on the right wing and you’ve got half a tank of gas, make sure not to exceed 14 units of AoA.  Some rules seem arbitrary (“Don’t fly with your feet resting on the brake pedals…”), and others ridiculous (“Lower landing gear prior to touching down…”).

There’s a saying, though, that the rules of aviation Read more

Soldiers Learn Biblical History in Iraq

Many US military members have taken advantage of their unique access to Biblical history while they have been deployed to Iraq.  A recent US Army article reports on the visit by some US Soldiers to a traditional resting place of Abraham.  As with some other visits, a proactive Chaplain helped the Soldiers understand the history of the location.

[Chaplain] Capt. Michael T. Lanigan…has studied the Bible and the history of the site.

“Abraham’s oasis was one of the few stopping points that … according to the oral tradition of the Bedouins, was where Abraham and his family stopped before going on to Canaan, which is Jerusalem, the promised land, where God had called him,” said Lanigan…

The Soldiers recognize Read more

“Jesus Rifles” and the Trijicon Sword Drill

Trijicon, the now-infamous maker of high quality gun sights, has been accused of illegally “proselytizing” for adding Bible references to the weapon sights it provided to the US military.  The initial accusation has already been discussed, as has Trijicon’s voluntary offer to remove the inscriptions.

The term proselytize carries a negative stigma and is frequently misused, as it has been in this case.  An astute letter to the editor at the Stars and Stripes notes that it would likely take more than 6 characters “to convert” someone from or to a faith, as the definition of proselytize indicates.

Still, the accusations of “conversion by Bible reference” have been largely based on the presence of New Testament references to Jesus Christ on Trijicon’s sights.  However, not a single major news outlet asked why Trijicon selected the specific verses they did.  It would appear most, if not all, made the assumption that Trijicon was picking “Jesus verses” for the ineptly worded purpose of “proselytizing”–an assessment supported by news organizations generally paraphrasing only the “Jesus” part of the relevant verses, as well as the popularity of the inaccurate and perjorative term “Jesus rifle” that resulted.  However, an elementary web search reveals that is not the case.  If one considers all of the verses that Trijicon has selected, it puts their “intent” in a whole new light.  Read more

Trijicon Offers to Remove Bible References from Sights

Trijicon, the maker of the gun sight that has a Bible reference on it, has volunteered to remove the references and cease marking future sights to be used by the US and foreign governments.  It will also provide free kits to remove the markings from those sights that have already been deployed.  The company issued a press release that was picked up by Fox, CNN, and other news organizations.

The offer to pre-empt an official call for their removal, while unexpected, is actually an excellent public relations decision both from a business and faith perspective.  It avoids a “confrontation” over contracts and religious controversy, and it permits Trijicon to be viewed as both forthright and amenable to its customer, even if it does not have to be.  While some Christians in similar situations may dig their heels in, there is no moral imperative that requires Trijicon to refuse to accede to the feelings of its customer.  Their offer alleviates the concerns of the military and diffuses the public scandal.

For its part, the stern government reaction (as noted by General Petraeus, at least) undermines those who have claimed this was an unConstitutional collusion Read more

Campus Crusade Helps Soldiers and their Families

Campus Crusade for Christ (see links) recently hosted a large-scale event near Fort Campbell (which straddles the state line between Kentucky and Tennessee) to provide resources to help Soldiers and the local community come to grips with the realities and challenges of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The seminar was led by Maj Gen (Ret) Bob Dees, who the article notes is the former commander of the 3rd BCT and the current executive director of CCC.

One person who presented his story of PTSD described the ability of the church to support Soldiers and their families:

“Church can provide compassion, comfort and understanding,” said Stephen Dorner, who along with his wife Karen was one of three couples who provided first-hand tales of fighting through combat trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder.

CCC has been unfairly criticized, going back before 2007, for its work Read more

“Secret Bible Codes” on Military Weapons

The latest “breaking scandal” on religion and the military is nearly laughable.  In short:

  • Trijicon has a well-known reputation for building high quality weapons sights.
  • The US military contracted with them to buy their commercial rifle sights.
  • The company includes an abbreviated Bible reference in the model name on the sight.
  • ABC News reported that Michael Weinstein has called these “Jesus rifles.”

This “controversy” is so contrived as to be ridiculous.  However, if you’d like to read more, what follows is a cross-section of the comments made and the reasoning (or lack thereof) behind them.    Read more

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