Mixed Messages

The following is an article my friend shared with me on the distribution of Bibles in Afghanistan by American Soldiers, followed by my response to him. Let me know what you think of both the article and the response.

The Article:
Read this first: US army 'does not promote religion' (Al Jazeera)

The Response:

"hmm, this is really interesting. I'm not even really sure how to respond to it.

On one hand, Al Jazerra is at fault for making the huge generalization that the America Army, as a whole, is responsible for the propagation of conversion. It's obvious that not every soldier nor every american is a christian and feels the need to convert as many muslims as possible.

On the other hand, what place does the American government have to tell these soldiers they are not allowed to share their beliefs. Don't get me wrong, I not sure these soldiers and chaplains were being very smart about the whole situation, but let's face it, sharing your faith is a core and essential component to the Christian faith. In doing this, the American government is only offering a conditional freedom of religion. If a freedom is conditional, is it really true freedom? The whole issue reminds me of Pax Romana. Is peace inforced by the military really true peace? ... Read more

This whole thing really strengthens the argument for pacifism. How can a christian don the uniform of an organization that is not only killing people, but denying them their responsibility to be christian witnesses. I guess it goes along with Jesus' teaching, "you cannot serve two masters." Perhaps you cannot be in the military and be a witness in the Middle East.

In the end though, I don't see... Read more why everyone is getting so upset about distributing a text that is seen as part of the Muslim scriptures to Muslims...

What did you think when you were reading this? Is anything I'm saying making sense to you or do you think I'm way off?"

So what do you think? Let's have a conversation.