I would also like to correct something that I noticed a little over a week ago. The reports that the government misused the Patriot Act to arrest Ashton Lundeby were fabricated by his mother to get media attention on the issue. One of the schools that was called in with a bomb threat was Mill Valley High School in Shawnee, Kansas. I know several students at that school and I apologize for bringing publicity to this issue. He’s obviously guilty, well known online as “Tyrone” for making prank phone calls in the past. That being said, he still deserves fair justice and, while being fake, still draws attention to why the Patriot Act needs to be reworked.
Archive for May 20th, 2009
Bibles burned; Qu’rans flushed - it’s all the same
As my readers know, I’m Christian. As such, I do believe in the Grand Commission to spread the faith to those who don’t have a relationship with Jesus Christ, but this is an example of where I would draw the line.
The Constitution and military guidelines prohibit prosyletizing any “faith or action” to a group of people being occupied by U.S. forces. So why then are some evangelicals in our army doing just that? With some clever wording, apparently they can.
Despite their actual actions of spreading the faith being peaceful, it is hardly under nonviolent circumstances. If taken the wrong way, which can easily be done, Muslims (and other religions) could view this as violently forcing the Christian faith on the local populace. I can recall a particular moment when the religious views of the Muslim faith were forced upon us as they “spread the faith by the sword.”
So why should Christians be getting mad about this? Though they were erroneous, the Newsweek reports from a few years ago that Qu’rans were being flushed down the toilet hardly left a warm fuzzy feeling with the Muslim community either. This is honestly an instance where I have to say what comes around goes around. To my Christian brothers and sisters, welcome to the feeling that those in Afghanistan and Iraq must feel about us being there. Kinda stinks, doesn’t it?
I would hardly call how the army disposed of the Bibles as disrespectful, but more as a matter of necessity. Troops are required to burn trash while they’re occupying countries, and while the Bible isn’t trash, they needed to be gotten rid of to protect the best interests and intent of the army. If they had sent the Bible’s back to the organization they were donated by, it is likely they would have been redistributed giving the impression that the army was funding the operation.
I’m sure God will forgive us.