Coded references to passages about Jesus Christ in the New Testament have been inscribed on high-powered rifle sights provided to the American military by a Michigan company for years, a media report said on Tuesday.
The sights are used by US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and in the training of Iraqi and Afghan soldiers. The maker of the sights, Trijicon, has a $660 million multi-year contract to provide up to 800,000 sights to the Marine Corps, and additional contracts to provide sights to the US army, the ABC News reported.
US military rules specifically prohibit the proselytizing of any religion in Iraq or Afghanistan and were drawn up in order to prevent criticism that the United States was embarked on a religious "Crusade" in its war against al-Qaida and Iraqi insurgents.
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."
Trijicon confirmed that it adds the biblical codes to the sights sold to the US military. Tom Munson, director of sales and marketing for Trijicon, which is based in Wixom, Michigan, said the inscriptions "have always been there" and said there was nothing wrong or illegal with adding them. Munson said the issue was being raised by a group that is "not Christian." The company has said the practice began under its founder, Glyn Bindon, a devout Christian from South Africa who was killed in a 2003 plane crash.
The company's vision is described on its website: "Guided by our values, we endeavor to have our products used wherever precision aiming solutions are required to protect individual freedom." "We believe that America is great when its people are good," says the website. "This goodness has been based on Biblical standards throughout our history, and we will strive to follow those morals."
Spokespeople for both the US army and the Marine Corps said on Tuesday their services were unaware of the biblical markings. They said officials were discussing what steps, if any, to take in the wake of the report. It is not known how many Trijicon sights are currently in use by the US military.
