Trijicon

Trijicon: We'll Stop Putting Bible Inscriptions On Military Rifle Scopes

Justin Elliott | January 21, 2010, 1:10PM

Iraqi police officer in Hayy, Iraq, looks through Trijicon scope with Bible verse in March, 2009 (magnified below).

Trijicon, the company that produces the military rifle scopes with Biblical inscriptions, will end the decades-old practice and provide the military with modification kits to remove the markings, ABC is reporting.

General David Petraeus also addressed the scopes this morning, calling the matter "disturbing and a serious concern for me." That's a markedly different response from the Central Command spokesman who minimized the significance of the New Testament inscriptions this week, comparing them to "In God We Trust" on currency.

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Fox and Friends

Doocy On Bible Rifle Scopes: If Anybody's Making This A Religious Thing, The Terrorists 'Started It' (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | January 21, 2010, 8:44AM

Fox's Steve Doocy came out this morning with a new defense of the controversial U.S. military rifle scopes featuring inscriptions that cite the New Testament: if anyone made America's wars about religion, our Muslim extremist foes started it!

"My wife made a good observation yesterday when we were taking about this story, and that is, 'Hey, wait a minute, the Taliban and the extremists -- what is it they say just before they blow themselves up which kills somebody, they say, 'Allahu Akbar.'' So if anybody's making this a religious thing, they started it," Doocy said.

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Trijicon

Military On Rifle Scope Bible Citations: It's Just Like 'In God We Trust' On Money

Justin Elliott | January 19, 2010, 6:01PM

Iraqi police officer in Hayy, Iraq, looks through Trijicon scope with Bible verse in March, 2009 (magnified below).

Responding to the controversy over Biblical inscriptions on military rifle scopes in Iraq and Afghanistan, a spokesman for the U.S. Central Command told the AP, "This situation is not unlike the situation with U.S. currency. Are we going to stop using money because the bills have 'In God We Trust' on them?"

In an interview with ABC, the spokesman, Air Force Maj. John Redfield, argued that the inscriptions on Trijicon rifle scopes do not violate the military's ban on proselytizing "because this equipment is not issued beyond the U.S. Defense Department personnel. It's not something we're giving away to the local folks."

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Trijicon

Despite Extensive Online Discussions, Military Denies Knowledge Of Rifle Scope Bible Verses

Justin Elliott | January 18, 2010, 6:20PM

Trijicon scope's Bible verse pointed out on YouTube last year.

Responding to the revelation that rifle sights used by the military in Iraq and Afghanistan are inscribed with Bible citations, a Marine Corps spokesman told TPMmuckraker today that the branch simply didn't know about the inscriptions until inquiries were made last week.

But posts on gun enthusiast forums from as early as 2006 and Youtube videos watched thousands of times extensively discuss the Bible verses on the Trijicon rifle sights, casting doubt on the military's claim that it was unaware of what was apparently a poorly kept secret.

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Trijicon

U.S. Rifle Scopes In Iraq And Afghanistan Feature Bible Verse Citations

Justin Elliott | January 18, 2010, 1:21PM

Iraqi police officer in Hayy, Iraq, looks through Trijicon scope with Bible verse in March, 2009 (magnified below).

Here's one that will play well in the Muslim world.

ABC is reporting that soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan have been using rifle scopes that bear abbreviated references to Bible verses, including lines like "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."

That verse is rendered on tiny letters on the the scopes, made by Wixom, Michigan-based Trijicon, as "2COR4:6" referring to chapter 4, verse 6 of the Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians.

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