Canada’s military says it plans to remove references to the Bible that are inscribed on some of its firearm sights as soon as possible.
Before a U.S. television network broke the story in January, militaries around the world did not realize that U.S. manufacturer Trijicon had put biblical citations on firearm sights in use by forces in Afghanistan and Iraq — something U.S. military officials say could be misconstrued as a Christian crusade in a war against Islam.
Alongside the serial number on one type of Trijicon gun sight, an inscription reads JN8:12. In the New Revised Standard Version, John 8:12 reads: “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'” Trijicon’s website notes that the company has put scripture references on its products “for more than two decades.”
A Canadian Special Operations Forces Command spokesperson said the military has a limited number of the affected sights but that the inscriptions are inappropriate and the armed forces will move as quickly as possible to rectify the situation.
David Kettle, Canada’s Chaplain General and a Presbyterian minister, agrees with the removal. “The scripture reference is being removed not in opposition to its uplifting message — which I believe with all my heart and wish others to do likewise — but because it is in my opinion an inappropriate place to put a scripture reference and because the company appears to not have been upfront with informing buyers that it was there,” Kettle told the Record in an email.
Kettle said the reference may also send “an inappropriate and confusing message,” because a gun sight is used to help a soldier to his target, which at times will be human beings. “Some would ask, how does Jesus being the light of the world connect with terminating life even for a just cause?
“I know chaplains who bless guns and weapon systems. I have never done this. I choose rather to bless those who use them, and to help them to write the words and intent of scripture on their hearts.” — AM with files from ENI
