Watch that freedom of speech

Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
Regarding Turtle's post#37, how many tanks had the inscription?
Does it matter? I mean, what's the acceptable number? The only ones I know of from a reliable source, from other than the linked article, is that "about half" of the M3 Bradley Fighting Vehicles and M1A1 Abrams tanks of the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment (2nd ACR) had that particular inscription or similar written on them during the Battle of 73 Easting in 1991. That would have been 108 Bradley Fighting Vehicle and 81 Abrams tanks, with about half of them with writing on them.
 

Maverick

Seasoned Expediter
Regarding Turtle's post#37, how many tanks had the inscription?
This is what I think you were referencing.

I suspect this article serves both purposes, and two birds with one stone.

It not only makes hypocrites of Christians, it stirs the passions of those who really think (mistakenly) this is Muslim against Christian. Not sure of the authors intent either way.....but I doubt it's validity as written.

He only makes a handful of quotes, the remainder are his own words.

One of those quotes could be especially agenda driven from some ignorant person; either caught up in the propaganda, or totally misguided.

“Each time I go into combat I get closer to God” ?????
 

muttly

Veteran Expediter
Yes is does matter if it was an isolated incident regarding ONE tank or widespread in the war you were referencing.
 

Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
Regarding the bible references on the military weaponry, it had been that way for 30 years and is also on milk shake cups at In N Out burger.
And no one in the military noticed, for 30 years, that the scopes didn't meet military specifications? Logic and common sense says otherwise.

And as far as I know, In-N-Out Burger milkshake cups (and drink cups and burger wrappers and French fry containers) have never been used in God's name by a state military during a holy war. In-N-Out Burger, Forever 21 (John 3:16 on the bottom of every bag), Alaska Air (Old Testament Bible verse with every breakfast), Hobby Lobby, Interstate Foods, Tyson Chicken, Mary Kay, Timberland, Marirott Hotels (Mormon), JetBlue (Mormon), ServiceMasster (Merry Maids, Terminix and American Home Shield), George Foreman Cooking and HEB Grocery Stores are all companies which make clear their religious beliefs on either their packaging or their Websites. The difference between these private companies and the US Armed Forces should be glaring - there is no separation of church and In-N-Out Burger.
 

muttly

Veteran Expediter
And no one in the military noticed, for 30 years, that the scopes didn't meet military specifications? Logic and common sense says otherwise.

And as far as I know, In-N-Out Burger milkshake cups (and drink cups and burger wrappers and French fry containers) have never been used in God's name by a state military during a holy war. In-N-Out Burger, Forever 21 (John 3:16 on the bottom of every bag), Alaska Air (Old Testament Bible verse with every breakfast), Hobby Lobby, Interstate Foods, Tyson Chicken, Mary Kay, Timberland, Marirott Hotels (Mormon), JetBlue (Mormon), ServiceMasster (Merry Maids, Terminix and American Home Shield), George Foreman Cooking and HEB Grocery Stores are all companies which make clear their religious beliefs on either their packaging or their Websites. The difference between these private companies and the US Armed Forces should be glaring - there is no separation of church and In-N-Out Burger.

Apparently the British and the New Zealand military didn't notice either according to the wikipedia link I posted.
 

Maverick

Seasoned Expediter
The difference between these private companies and the US Armed Forces should be glaring - there is no separation of church and In-N-Out Burger.

That's the whole thing.

Was there a forcing of religion upon those scopes, or tanks? Who said they were required etchings, stamps, or paint inscriptions?

Very crafty, these people. Whipped the whole duped country into a frenzy. :rolleyes:
 

Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
Regarding Bush's use of the word CRUSADE a couple of times. Yes, there is the religious definition, but there is also another definition,which is used often:' Vigorous, concerted action for some cause or against some abuse.'
The latter definition is more commonly used when saying the word, even by christians.
A valiant effort at a red herring, since Bush didn't use the term in that way, particularly in light of his beliefs and previous comments on the matter, not the least of which was his comments to the French president, which provides clear context of definition.

It's amusing that you're trying to pick away at small points in trying to downplay them or dismiss them as irrelevant, in the hopes of discrediting the overall point that Christianity doesn't play a rather large role in the US Armed Forces, and the Holy Wars of Iraq and Afghanistan have nothing to do with Christianity.
 

Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
Well, yeah, of course he said that. He had to. If he had said otherwise as the President, it would have been a political disaster on a global scale. He also said, when he wasn't in the public eye, that “Gog and Magog are at work in the Middle East…. The biblical prophecies are being fulfilled…. This confrontation is willed by God, who wants to use this conflict to erase his people’s enemies before a New Age begins.”
 

Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
That's the whole thing.

Was there a forcing of religion upon those scopes, or tanks? Who said they were required etchings, stamps, or paint inscriptions?
No one said they were required, as far as I know, nor was there a forcing of religion upon those scopes or tanks. There was tacit approval, though.
 

Maverick

Seasoned Expediter
It's amusing that you're trying to pick away at small points in trying to downplay them or dismiss them as irrelevant, in the hopes of discrediting the overall point that Christianity doesn't play a rather large role in the US Armed Forces, and the Holy Wars of Iraq and Afghanistan have nothing to do with Christianity.

Let's use this example:

Was it Christians who burned witches during the witch hunts of late 1600 AD?

And, do you know why born again Christians are privy to what this verse means?

[20] Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
[21] Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
[22] Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
[23] And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
 

Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
Apparently the British and the New Zealand military didn't notice either according to the wikipedia link I posted.
Like I said, logic and common sense says otherwise. Maybe not with New Zealand, as they had only been using he scopes for a few weeks before the publicity hit, so it is possible that in New Zealand that no one in those few weeks bothered to look at the scopes. But in the case of the US over the course of 30 years, it stretches all credulity to believe that the military didn't notice it until 2010 and that millions of people are all that unobservant, because they weren't.

Even I've know about it for more than 20 years. My cousin, who is is a colonel in the Army, has spoken about it more than once over the years, and first voiced the concern not too long before the invasion of Afghanistan, of which he was a part of the first wave. He doesn't have a problem with the Bible verses per se (he's devoutly Christian), only that they are on rifle scopes that could get a soldier killed if that solder and his rifle were captured by Islamic extremists, who will record the serial numbers of every serialize part of the rifle, and they'll see the Bible reference.
 

aristotle

Veteran Expediter
A valiant effort at a red herring, since Bush didn't use the term in that way, particularly in light of his beliefs and previous comments on the matter, not the least of which was his comments to the French president, which provides clear context of definition.

It's amusing that you're trying to pick away at small points in trying to downplay them or dismiss them as irrelevant, in the hopes of discrediting the overall point that Christianity doesn't play a rather large role in the US Armed Forces, and the Holy Wars of Iraq and Afghanistan have nothing to do with Christianity.

An overwhelming segment of the current US military personnel would identify themselves as being of the Christian tradition. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have as much to do with Islam as Christianity. These two civilizations will continue to clash over and over. Call it irreconcilable differences or incompatibility; the cultural divide between them might never be bridged. We can be sure the adherents of Islam are just as proud and protective of their societies as the Western world is of Christianity.

The mystic bonds of heritage trump logic and reason. 10,000 years of human progress find us still as tribal beings.
 
Last edited:

muttly

Veteran Expediter
A valiant effort at a red herring, since Bush didn't use the term in that way, particularly in light of his beliefs and previous comments on the matter, not the least of which was his comments to the French president, which provides clear context of definition.

It's amusing that you're trying to pick away at small points in trying to downplay them or dismiss them as irrelevant, in the hopes of discrediting the overall point that Christianity doesn't play a rather large role in the US Armed Forces, and the Holy Wars of Iraq and Afghanistan have nothing to do with Christianity.
. Just examinng the comments you made is all. Like if there widespread tanks with the inscription or just one. Not a small point and would give context. Not downplaying christianity in the military ( your red herring perhaps?) Just questioning your premise that it was christians vs muslims.

Bush Speaks Out Against Islamophobia | Informed Comment
 
Top