... (0 comments)This story really takes “Onward, Christian Soldier” to a new level. An Army chaplain appears to have come up with a brilliant loophole in the military’s clear ban on religious proselytizing and has called on his Christian soldiers to go out and spread the word of Jesus to the dirty Muslim heathens in Afghanistan.
A report by Al Jazeera English shows soldiers in Afghanistan passing around Bibles in Pashto and Dari, the languages of Afghanistan, presumably to be distributed. The chaplain leading the discussion acknowledges that “proselytizing” is against military rules, but one soldier says, “you can give gifts“.Check out the video:
Here’s how the video above was summarized:
Crooks and Liars has more:[T]he chaplains appear to have found a way around the regulation known as General Order Number One.
“Do we know what it means to proselytise?” Captain Emmit Furner, a military chaplain, says to the gathering.
“It is General Order Number One,” an unidentified soldier replies.
But [Sergeant Jon] Watt says “you can’t proselytise but you can give gifts“.
After revelations that some American soldiers were given Bibles and encouraged to “hunt people for Jesus,” the Pentagon on Monday denied allegations that the U.S. military allows its personnel to seek the conversion of Afghans to Christianity. But while the copies of the New Testament translated into Pashtun and jaw-dropping video from Bagram may seem like exceptions that prove the rule of American prohibition on proselytizing by the military, they are just the latest episodes in the disturbing rise in influence of Christian conservatives in the United States armed services… In word and deed, evangelicals in recent years have aggressively boosted their visibility and influence within the American military.An early warning came in 2003 in the guise of Lt. General William Boykin. Boykin, who later became a deputy under secretary of defense, claimed during speeches to prayer groups and breakfasts that militant Islamists sought to destroy America ”because we’re a Christian nation.” General Boykin also explained to evangelical audiences that Muslims worship an ”idol” and not ”a real God.” While President Bush expressed his disagreement (noting Boykin “”didn’t reflect my opinion” and “it just doesn’t reflect what the government thinks”), Boykin remained on the job.
Gee, I wonder where some Muslims get the impression that the U.S. is waging a holy war against Islam? After all, we’re just acting to save their dirty heathen souls from the fires of hell, right?
One would think that these would-be soldiers cum missionaries might think the better of this idea, considering how, ahem, “upset” some Muslims get when they see white, Western Christians trying to convert their people away from Islam:
Taliban gunmen on a motorbike killed a Christian aid worker in the Afghan capital on Monday, and the militant group said it had targeted the woman because she was proselytizing…Not to mention the fact that suborning apostasy is a crime in Afghanistan:Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, claimed responsibility for the slaying, saying the woman was killed because she was spreading Christianity.
“This woman came to Afghanistan to teach Christianity to people of Afghanistan,” Mujahid told the Associated Press. “Our (leaders) issued a decree to kill this woman. This morning our people killed her in Kabul.”
Trying to convert Muslims to any other faith is a crime in Afghanistan. An Afghan man who converted to Christianity was sentenced to death for apostasy in 2006 but was allowed to leave the country after an international uproar.
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To my mind you are totally missing the point. If we are not in the region to war on Islam, but to destroy terrorists, then we do not try to convert the locals. It is quite obvious the Moslem faith is so insecure in their beliefs that they must pass laws against other faiths, to prevent conversions. As a people, we are not so insecure, yet. Although some so called Christians do call for a national religion, it will never get there because of doctrinal disputes. The Lutheran and Catholics fought over this idea for centuries in Europe, so hopefully we have learned our lesson. The question is, are we on a crusade to convert the area, or are we acting in a war against terrorists.
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Jeff Sharlet has a great piece about this in the May 2009 Harper's:
http://harpers.org/media/pages/2009/05/pdf/Harper…
Freedom means a person can chose to worship God in whatever manner makes sense to him or her.
Tyranny is having an autocratic ruler decided what religion you will join and how you will live life.
The USA allows Muslims to promote their faith here, with no punishment. It allows all other faiths to do the same. A free middle east means an end to imam's rule like a mafia chieftain. It means an end to theocracy.
Truth fears no question. If Islam is a true faith it needs to start answering questions … starting with its sponsoring of terorms
Fine as far as it goes, but U.S. Soldiers have no business proselytizing while on active duty. It ruins relations with nations that have some kind of state religion.
You want to go to Afghanistan and proselytize, you do so as a civilian. If some law or person is overly restrictive, I'll decry it as much as any free person.
muslims already believe the teaching in the old testament and new testament they believe JESUS to be the word and hold the madonna in high esteem. The total ignorance of these soldiers is bordering on the moronic
Yes,there is big need of time each good christian soldier must go ahead remembering "Onward christian soldier marching as to war with the cross of Jesus going on before "
and as the Psalm 91is for the US soldiers in Afghanistan.So they must do what they are doing serving Lord, and this is the only best way to save this world and to make it a safer place to live God may continue in blessing all soldiers and America for their efforts for world peace.
A Paki Christian.