Posted on 05/30/2008 5:57:49 PM PDT by daniel1212
BAGHDAD — A U.S. Marine handed out coins promoting Christianity to Muslims in the former insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, outraged Sunni officials said Friday. The U.S. military responded quickly, removing a trooper from duty pending an investigation.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
“He most certainly did not earn that right”
That’s right. He should have done it the way Sunni’s “evangelize” to Shiites, and the way Sunni’s “evangelize” to Kurds.
Nah, I’m thinking Marines have the right idea. Evangelize their people, and shoot holes in their Koran.
Sure, it’s against regulations, but it’s also the right thing to do.
The Marines are more about the right thing to do than regulations, even if it lands them out of the Corps. God bless ‘em, every one.
You are quite correct, AP is NOT unbiased. You should read some of the postings by Conservatism is Compassion.
The point is, it is irrelevant. He is a MARINE, not a MISSIONARY.
This is true in this type of situation.
Our troops have always been missionaries in the past; why should it be different now?
“Despite my commendation of the Marine, it cannot work like that”
I commend him too, but the mission is ambiguous, what’s a soldier to do? You can’t kill them, but you can’t trust them either. I think this is a symptom that we ought to hand that country over to forces more appropriate for a police action.
Yeah. Reactionary assumption all right.
Tell me all about your service in the outskirts of Fallujah that makes you think an idiotic, irresponsible action like that is just A-OK?
I’ve never been in the Marines, and I’ve never been in Fallujah, but you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to see that evangelizing in a country that is host to a religion where apostasy is the WORST sin and punishable by death is just plain STUPID and IRRESPONSIBLE.
If this guy wants to do that and get himself killed as a civilian missonary, I would take my hat off to him.
HE DOES NOT HAVE THAT RIGHT AS A US MARINE, EITHER TO HIS GOVERNMENT OR THE MEN HE SERVES WITH.
It was only to be used to cut off ears.
You use the term “relatives” pretty loosely.
They can't trust all of their relatives
I'm sure as soon as the Iraqis saw the prayer they wept and wanted to be baptized. It's all AP lies.
I don’t know the answer to your question, but I was a Marine for 21 years, with considerable combat time, and I spent no time handing out worthless trinkets, and much time doing what I was sent to do. I will not debate with you the proposition that our military has any business attempting to pursue their own particular religious interests. They absolutely do not. Let us not suppose that you and I can find some common middle ground on this question. If that Marine were under my command, he would be relieved of duty and disciplined. Period. End of Report.
Onward Christian Soldiers...
“The sword, while in use to kill one’s relatives in the neighborhood isn’t what Jesus had in mind, I’m pretty sure.”
For sure, and in fact under the New Covenant (which was not instituted till Jesus death: Heb. 6:16-18), there is no case for the church using the sword of men, which the Bible places in the civil gov. hands (Rm. 13:1-7; 1 Pt. 2:14), to either expand or defend the faith. And the Scriptures also make it clear that the church was not to exercise civil powers over those without (1 Cor. 5:12, 13). Or in any way compel conversions.
I don’t know the answer to your question, but I was a Marine for 21 years, with considerable combat time, and I spent no time handing out worthless trinkets, and much time doing what I was sent to do. I will not debate with you the proposition that our military has any business attempting to pursue their own particular religious interests. They absolutely do not. Let us not suppose that you and I can find some common middle ground on this question. If that Marine were under my command, he would be relieved of duty and disciplined. Period. End of Report.
Gee...could it BE because they are fighting in a RELIGIOUSLY OVERCHARGED CONFLICT where the one of the most CRiTICAL tasks is to keep the area as free of religious conflicts and overtones as possible?
Ya think?
Do you think for a second that our troops who fought the Japanese were going to have an issue with proselytizing to the Shinto natives? Or the Buddhists in Vietnam?
Name me a war we fought in where our troops were missionaries. Name just one, The only one that might have even come close was the Philippine Insurrection.
Alienating the population is not what they’re there for
Right now we are continuing the enslavement of Iraqis by islam and paying for it with our blood.
This is just crazy. I can’t believe what I am reading here. Either these people have never been in the military or haven’t read the papers for the last twenty five years.
Or both.
In my corner of Christianity, we strongly believe killing is a sin that you have to cleanse your self from, even in defense of your country. It is inconceivable to get a soldier trying to convert anyone while on duty.
Some of us here would like to exercise what I call “superpower christianity”.
I find it shameful.
My commendation of the Marine was relative to his courage, not sufficiently considering the context.
That Christian Marine was obeying orders
To echo the prosecution of Captain Queeg in “The Caine Mutiny”, if a man can get through Marine boot camp and serve in Fallujah, we cannot doubt his courage. If he made a mistake, it is not in his lack of courage, but in his commonsense.
I hear many of the arguments FOR what this Marine did, and if the guy was operating in a vacuum, I wouldn’t be as worked up.
But if he wants to ratchet up the heat knowingly or unknowingly by preaching Christianity, it might not be HIM that gets the bullet in the head or grenade at his feet.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.