An inscription on Army rifle scopes referenced the verses John 8:12 and Second Corinthians 4:6 in the Bible.The U.S. Army ordered troops to remove Bible inscriptions from the scopes of weapons.
Fox News reported Fort Wainwright in Alaska received scopes made by Trijicon inscribed with references to Bible verses. The inscriptions — JN8:12 and 2COR4:6 — appear at the end of the scopes' serial numbers.
An Army memo obtained by Fox includes instructions for removing the references.
"The biblical verse (JN8:12) must be removed utilizing a Dremel type tool and then painted black," the memo says.
It asks Army personnel to "verify that the scripture reference is completely removed."
The inscriptions refer to John 8:12 and Second Corinthians 4:6. Both verses mention light.
John 8:12 reads, "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'." And Second Corinthinans 4:6 says, "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 God's glory displayed in the face of Christ."
In a statement to Fox, Army spokesman Matthew Bourke said, "The vendor etched those inscriptions on scopes without the Army's approval. Consequently, the modified scopes did not meet the requirement under which the contract was executed."
Trijicon has gotten in trouble before for a similar stunt. In 2010, the contractor inscribed biblical references on the scopes of so-called "Jesus rifles," guns.com reported.
The Pentagon ordered the references removed.
Then, as now, the inscriptions stirred debate.
An Army officer called the "Jesus rifles" of 2010 "a dangerous situation. It literally could be a matter of life and death for a soldier if he fell into the wrong hands." The fear was that the inscriptions furthered the notion that the U.S. is waging a crusade against Islam.
But a Christian Fort Wainwright soldier interviewed by Fox said the order to remove the inscriptions "blows my mind. It doesn't help the Army do its mission to take off a biblical reference."