Jesus Rifles

Rifles with sights that are inscribed with Biblical references.

ABC NewsAt the end of this gun scope’s model number is a Biblical reference, “JN8:12,” for the Book of John, Chapter 8, Verse 12.

“Coded references to New Testament Bible passages about Jesus Christ are inscribed on high-powered rifle sights provided to the U.S. military by a Michigan company,” ABC News reported:

One of the citations on the gun sights,2COR4:6, is an apparent reference to Second Corinthians 4:6 of the New Testament, which reads: “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.”

According to the report, such markings may break U.S. military rules that prohibit proselytizing by American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some also worry that the presence of Biblical inscriptions could prove inflammatory:

“It’s wrong, it violates the Constitution, it violates a number of federal laws,” said Michael “Mikey” Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an advocacy group that seeks to preserve the separation of church and state in the military.

“It allows the Mujahedeen, the Taliban, al Qaeda and the insurrectionists and jihadists to claim they’re being shot by Jesus rifles,” he said.

Trijicon, the company which manufactures the rifle sights, told ABC that it has been inscribing its products with Biblical references for a number of years. In a later report, ABC noted that Trijicon announced it would cease to add religious inscriptions on products for the U.S. military and would provide kits for removing existing inscriptions.