Praise the Lord and Pass the Gun Scope
Posted: January 25th, 2010 | Author: david | Filed under: Christ & Culture in Paradox, Christ Above Culture, examples, justification | 1 Comment »I heard an interesting story on NPR the other day about a company that supplies gun scopes to the US military. What’s peculiar about these scopes is that they engrave a Bible verse on the scope, next to the serial number.
Christians in America often mix patriotism and Christianity. This example of Christ Above Culture is particularly troublesome when these scopes are used in the war against Islamic terrorism. It almost implies that the battle is between Muslims and Christians. Although some Muslims have phrased the battle in this way, most American soldiers do are not fighting because they are Christian.
Take, for example, the soldier who tells this story. He may be a Christian- he doesn’t talk about his faith except much- but he is an American soldier. This distinction is characteristic of someone who is Christ and Culture in Paradox.
What do you think?
- Should the gun company remove the Bible verses from their scopes?
- Can you think of other examples when people mix patriotism and their faith?
- Why doesn’t the company put a verse on the scope such as the one quoted by the soldier?
- Should our approach to Christ and culture consider what non-Christians think?
That is such a great idea. I am glad they are not ashamed of their faith and can engrave the scripture versus on the scopes. I think that will also make the weapon more personal to the soldiers!