More chuch-state separation bullshit...

I could only characterize this bit of news as bizarrely inappropriate. Essentially, the U.S. armed forces have been using combat rifle sights inscribed with references to Bible verses in, of all place, Iraq and Afghanistan.

The inscriptions are subtle and appear in raised lettering at the end of the stock number. Trijicon's rifle sights use tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen, to create light and help shooters hit what they're aiming for.

Markings on the Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight, one of the company's most advanced models, include "JN8:12," a reference to John 8:12: "When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'"

The Trijicon Reflex sight is stamped with 2COR4:6, a reference to part of the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians: "For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."

The company has apparently been doing this for the last 30 years. Obviously, I'm not complaining about what the company chooses to do, but there is something unsettling about our soldiers using guns inscribed with Biblical references in a military conflict in the Middle East. Here is one extremely good point against it...

Mikey Weinstein, president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, says the biblically inscribed sights could give the Taliban and other enemy forces a propaganda tool: that American troops are Christian crusaders invading Muslim countries.

It certainly doesn't help our case that we're trying to foment peace and democracy in the Middle East and not engage Muslims in a holy war. That's for sure.

Ultimately, it may not be the most egregious violation of the establishment clause and it may not be outright proselytizing, but it's still not good. As Weinstein points out in this article, there is no question how Americans would react if references to the Koran were inscribed on rifles used by our military. My assessment: They would flip their shit and demand that the references either be removed or that the military contract with a different company. Why should Christianity get preferential treatment?

Plus, as my friend Kristen Tsetsi pointed out (albeit, on my Facebook page), it's worth considering that not all American soldiers are Christians, and that also, we're not engaged in a holy war.