Marine removed from duty over Bible coin reports »
Posted By monte-g 4 months, 2 weeks ago in NewsA U.S. Marine in Iraq has been removed from duty amid complaints that he was handing out coins with Bible verses at an American checkpoint, the military said Thursday.
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reviewer4 months, 2 weeks ago
Don't the marines believe in duty,honor, God, and country...or is that just in the movies? I know it's not that simple. (sigh)
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TGrass30014 months, 2 weeks ago
"...duty,honor, God, and country." maybe you are thinking about the boy scouts? But the Marines sure as ___ ain't no boy scouts! Which is as it should be. No offense to the boy scouts but we need the Marines to be Marines not boy scouts. The Marines are THE BEST at what they do! Why muck it up with this behavior while ON DUTY?
I for one would be willing to support a Marine talking to a civilian about religion, politics, the weather, local eateries or whatever when OFF DUTY and NOT in uniform representing the U. S.. But DUDE, ON DUTY? That's just NOT acceptable behavior for a Marine, and a Marine should know that.
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ScrimshawComment removed: User banned.
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Charlson4 months, 2 weeks ago
Sounds like isolated incidents and not a concerted effort to proselytize or deface their Quran. Discipline the troops involved, apologize and then move on. It still might not disquiet some but at least we should address their concerns and put an end to these type of incidences that does not help the situation for the rest of our troops in Iraq. When we insult the people who are supporting us at this time, it promotes opposition and strife rather than friendship and peace.
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Dionys4 months, 2 weeks ago
"Sounds like isolated incidents and not a concerted effort to proselytize or deface their Quran. "
Someone handing out coins with Bible quotes at a required checkpoint while in military uniform sounds like a concerted effort to take advantage of a position of power that should be respected and not used to proselytize.
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JohnQPublicComment removed: User banned.7 Replies
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KvilleTXComment removed: User banned.
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jordan114 months, 2 weeks ago
The far right dominionists have been plotting a takeover of our secular government for years. I know, I know. 'Tin foil hat'. But the facts ARE the facts. And one segment they're working on is our military, with the blessings of this administration. Matter of fact, Ashcroft is one of them. Even took a job at Regents University after he left. Regents was started by Pat Robertson, and ranks 136th in Universities. The bush administration appointed 150 of their 'graduates' to the Dept. of Justice. Regents is training their 'lawyers' to take over by use of the judiciary, using their flawed interpretations of our Constitution. Those interpretations include that we are a 'christian nation.'
A google search of dominionists infiltrating the military will lead to hours of reading. Domionists believe they are quite literally leading a holy war, and of course that requires an 'army.'
This is not an isolated incident.
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Dionys4 months, 2 weeks ago
It's not "tin foil hat." There's plenty of mainstream proof and examples to back up the fact that extreme right-wing "evangelical" dominionists are taking up high positions within the military and using those positions to recruit new soldiers for their twisted vision of Christianity.
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Helixbuilder4 months, 2 weeks ago
When you enlist you swear to uphold the constitution. Part of which that is the bill of rights, implicit in the first amendment is the concept of freedom to worship without interference from others. Clearly this man doesn't care about anything other than his own self aggrandizing agenda.
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seanymike4 months, 2 weeks ago
When citizens of the United States are in another country, are they bound by our constitution or the constitution of that country? I know when anyone tounches US soil they are immediately covered by our constitution. If the solider falls under the Iraqi constitution, then has he broken any laws?
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nikkibabe4 months, 2 weeks ago
Religiously fanatic Christian Red Neck Republicans in military uniform. That is the problem.
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ScrimshawComment removed: User banned.
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taurine4 months, 2 weeks ago
What I dont understand, why is it that it is such a big deal for a soldier to push God in such a minor way as passing out coins with verses on them, and it is not a big deal to push any other ideas or even opposing ideas in a far greater way, such as the a belief in no God. Is it not a religion not to believe in a God and to believe in man as diety?
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Candida4 months, 2 weeks ago
It is a big deal for two reasons: (1) he is in a role of authority, which he is exploiting, and (2) he is representing the United States Government, not his church.
When people stop me on the street trying to convert me to Christianity, I dislike it because I consider it harassment, but I realize that they have a right to do it. When they come to my home, I resent it because they are invading my private life. If my boss ever tried to convert me to a religion, I would file a complaint, and if the government tried it, I would do everything within my power to try to stop it.
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Cybnetic4 months, 2 weeks ago
evangelism needs to be eradicated in all forms. religion is a poison to humanity.
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koranagirl4 months, 2 weeks ago
Well, if we are going to spread "free speech" and "freedom of religion" throughout the world, then this can't be much of a big deal. Service men and contractors in Afghan-Iraq are raping women and getting off left and right, so passing out a few bible coins should just be a warning not to do it again. And if he does it again, he should just be sent to cultural awareness training.
Prosletyzing and evangelization should always take place on the street corner with a megaphone and a few pamphlets, or on the internet.
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koranagirl4 months, 2 weeks ago
Well, except in the US we have freedom of religion and freedom to spread it to others in public forums and on the streets.
Because of this, there are soooo many religions and beliefs out there, it's impossible for the govt to control and for people to worry about it at all.
It seems to me that all this guy should have been told is to not do it in uniform and not on govt time. If he persisted, he should have been sent to cultural awareness training.
The US is supposed to be bringing freedoms to the Iraq/Afghanistan area and how does it look when we sharply discipline a soldier for a big act of nothing. People are free to take or toss the coins.
What's interesting is that the coins state the philosophy that Yeshua was a god or demi-god. Muslims often believe that Yeshua was a Messiah, but not god, like the early Christians. It wasn't until 325 AD that Yeshua was officially voted god by Constantine/Augustine.
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koranagirl4 months, 2 weeks ago
I guess the bigger question is would the guy have been allowed to do this on his own time not in uniform. And if he did, would he have been required to pass out a legal disclaimer such as "not an official view of the US government", or perhaps even a lengthier explanation regarding freedom of religion and it's importance in society.
And if the US is in Iraq/Afghanistan, why isn't it explaining and promoting freedom of religion and speech on the TV/news and in books there?
Interesting
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bluetexasvalley4 months, 2 weeks ago
Yes, the U.S. is in Iraq and Afghanistan, but they are still sovereign countries. We do not *own* them. According to Bush, they are now democracies. That means *they* get to decide what freedoms and/or religion(s) they want. Comprende?
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